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NINETY-THIRD DAY
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MORNING SESSION
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Senate Chamber, Cherberg Building, Olympia, Tuesday, April 10, 2001
The Senate was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by President Owen. The Secretary called the roll and announced to the President that all Senators were present except Senators Brown, Costa, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Hale, Parlette, Patterson and Rasmussen. On motion of Senator Eide, Senators Brown and Fairley were excused. On motion of Senator Honeyford, Senators Finkbeiner, Hale and Parlette were excused.
The Sergeant at Arms Color Guard, consisting of Pages Shannon McKinley and Anthony Castano, presented the Colors. Reverend Ed Quillin, pastor of the Timberline Baptist Church of Lacey, and a guest of Senator Swecker, offered the prayer.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Betti Sheldon, the reading of the Journal of the previous day was dispensed with and it was approved.
SECOND READING
CONFIRMATION OF GUBERNATORIAL APPOINTMENTS
MOTION
On motion of Senator Shin, Gubernatorial Appointment No. 9022, Arun G. Jhaveri, as a member of the Board of Trustees for Highline Community College District No. 9, was confirmed.
APPOINTMENT OF ARUN G. JHAVERI
The Secretary called the roll. The appointment was confirmed by the following vote: Yeas, 41; Nays, 0; Absent, 3; Excused, 5.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Carlson, Constantine, Deccio, Eide, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Prentice, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 41.
Absent: Senators Costa, Patterson and Rasmussen - 3.
Excused: Senators Brown, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Hale and Parlette - 5.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Eide, Senator Costa was excused.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Gardner, Gubernatorial Appointment No. 9017, Elizabeth Hancock, as a member of the Board of Trustees for Skagit Valley Community College District No. 4, was confirmed.
APPOINTMENT OF ELIZABETH HANCOCK
The Secretary called the roll. The appointment was confirmed by the following vote: Yeas, 43; Nays, 0; Absent, 1; Excused, 5.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Carlson, Constantine, Deccio, Eide, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 43.
Absent: Senator Hargrove - 1.
Excused: Senators Brown, Costa, Fairley, Finkbeiner and Parlette - 5.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Betti Sheldon, Senator Hargrove was excused.
SECOND READING
HOUSE BILL NO. 1855, by Representatives Hunt, Conway, Clements, Ericksen, Pennington and Kenney
Allowing private clubs to serve liquor at special events.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Prentice, the rules were suspended, House Bill No. 1855 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of House Bill No. 1855.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 1855 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 42; Nays, 3; Absent, 0; Excused, 4.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Fairley, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 42.
Voting nay: Senators Eide, Long and Oke - 3.
Excused: Senators Brown, Finkbeiner, Hargrove and Parlette - 4.
HOUSE BILL NO. 1855, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
HOUSE BILL NO. 1040, by Representatives Ballasiotes, O'Brien, Jarrett, Conway and Simpson
Authorizing crime victims' compensation benefits in hit-and-run vehicular assault cases.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Kline, the rules were suspended, House Bill No. 1040 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of House Bill No. 1040.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 1040 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 44; Nays, 0; Absent, 1; Excused, 4.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 44.
Absent: Senator Sheldon, T. - 1.
Excused: Senators Brown, Finkbeiner, Hargrove and Parlette - 4.
HOUSE BILL NO. 1040, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
HOUSE BILL NO. 1706, by Representatives Morris and Cairnes (by request of Department of Revenue)
Authorizing the department of revenue to issue direct pay permits.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Constantine, the rules were suspended, House Bill No. 1706 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of House Bill No. 1706.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 1706 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 47; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 2.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 47.
Excused: Senators Brown and Parlette - 2.
HOUSE BILL NO. 1706, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Eide, Senator McAuliffe was excused.
SECOND READING
ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1364, by House Committee on Health Care (originally sponsored by Representatives Pflug, Edmonds, Cody, Campbell, Boldt, Doumit, Pennington and Schual-Berke)
Mandating general anesthesia services.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTIONS
On motion of Senator Thibaudeau, the following Committee on Health and Long-Term Care striking amendment was adopted:
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 41.05 RCW to read as follows:
(1) Each employee benefit plan offered to public employees that provides coverage for hospital, medical, or ambulatory surgery center services must cover general anesthesia services and related facility charges in conjunction with any dental procedure performed in a hospital or ambulatory surgical center if such anesthesia services and related facility charges are medically necessary because the covered person:
(a) Is under the age of seven, or physically or developmentally disabled, with a dental condition that cannot be safely and effectively treated in a dental office; or
(b) Has a medical condition that the person's physician determines would place the person at undue risk if the dental procedure were performed in a dental office. The procedure must be approved by the person's physician.
(2) Each employee benefit plan offered to public employees that provides coverage for dental services must cover general anesthesia services in conjunction with any covered dental procedure performed in a dental office if the general anesthesia services are medically necessary because the covered person is under the age of seven or physically or developmentally disabled.
(3) This section does not prohibit an employee benefit plan from:
(a) Applying cost-sharing requirements, maximum annual benefit limitations, and prior authorization requirements to the services required under this section; or
(b) Covering only those services performed by a health care provider, or in a health care facility, that is part of its provider network; nor does it limit the authority in negotiating rates and contracts with specific providers.
(4) This section does not apply to medicare supplement policies, or supplemental contracts covering a specified disease or other limited benefits.
(5) For the purpose of this section, "general anesthesia services" means services to induce a state of unconsciousness accompanied by a loss of protective reflexes, including the ability to maintain an airway independently and respond purposefully to physical stimulation or verbal command.
(6) This section applies to employee benefit plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2002.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 48.43 RCW to read as follows:
(1) Each group health benefit plan that provides coverage for hospital, medical, or ambulatory surgery center services must cover general anesthesia services and related facility charges in conjunction with any dental procedure performed in a hospital or ambulatory surgical center if such anesthesia services and related facility charges are medically necessary because the covered person:
(a) Is under the age of seven, or physically or developmentally disabled, with a dental condition that cannot be safely and effectively treated in a dental office; or
(b) Has a medical condition that the person's physician determines would place the person at undue risk if the dental procedure were performed in a dental office. The procedure must be approved by the person's physician.
(2) Each group health benefit plan or group dental plan that provides coverage for dental services must cover medically necessary general anesthesia services in conjunction with any covered dental procedure performed in a dental office if the general anesthesia services are medically necessary because the covered person is under the age of seven or physically or developmentally disabled.
(3) This section does not prohibit a group health benefit plan or group dental plan from:
(a) Applying cost-sharing requirements, maximum annual benefit limitations, and prior authorization requirements to the services required under this section; or
(b) Covering only those services performed by a health care provider, or in a health care facility, that is part of its provider network; nor does it limit the health carrier in negotiating rates and contracts with specific providers.
(4) This section does not apply to medicare supplement policies, or supplemental contracts covering a specified disease or other limited benefits.
(5) For the purpose of this section, "general anesthesia services" means services to induce a state of unconsciousness accompanied by a loss of protective reflexes, including the ability to maintain an airway independently and respond purposefully to physical stimulation or verbal command.
(6) This section applies to group health benefit plans and group dental plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2002."
MOTIONS
On motion of senator Thibaudeau, the following title amendment was adopted:
On page 1, line 1 of the title, after "services;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "adding a new section to chapter 41.05 RCW; and adding a new section to chapter 48.43 RCW."
On motion of Senator Thibaudeau, the rules were suspended, Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 1364, as amended by the Senate, was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 1364, as amended by the Senate.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 1364, as amended by the Senate, and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 47; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 2.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 47.
Excused: Senators McAuliffe and Parlette - 2.
ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1364, as amended by the Senate, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
HOUSE BILL NO. 1162, by Representatives McMorris, Cody, Alexander, Schual-Berke, Mastin, Cox, Mulliken, Sump, G. Chandler, Lisk, B. Chandler, Hatfield, Schoesler, Grant, Armstrong, Kessler, Doumit, DeBolt, Delvin, Dickerson, Kenney, Bush, Conway, Edmonds, Pflug and Haigh
Providing medical assistance reimbursements for small, rural hospitals.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTIONS
On motion of Senator Thibaudeau, the following Committee on Ways and Means striking amendment was adopted:
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that promoting a financially viable health care system in all parts of the state is a paramount interest. The health care financing administration has recognized the crucial role that hospitals play in providing care in rural areas by creating the critical access hospital program to allow small, rural hospitals that qualify to receive reasonable cost-based reimbursement for medicare services. The legislature further finds that creating a similar reimbursement system for the state's medical assistance programs in small, rural hospitals that qualify will help assure the long-term financial viability of the rural health system in those communities.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 74.09 RCW to read as follows:
Payments for recipients eligible for medical assistance programs under this chapter for services provided by hospitals, regardless of the beneficiary's managed care enrollment status, shall be made based on allowable costs incurred during the year, when services are provided by a rural hospital certified by the health care financing administration as a critical access hospital. Any additional payments made by the medical assistance administration for the healthy options program shall be no more than the additional amounts per service paid under this section for other medical assistance programs.
For purposes of this section, "medical assistance programs" means the programs defined in RCW 74.09.010 for which federal matching funds are available.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 74.09 RCW to read as follows:
The department shall implement the program created in section 2 of this act within sixty days of the effective date of this act regardless of the beneficiary's managed care status.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 2001, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void."
MOTIONS
On motion of Senator Thibaudeau, the following title amendment was adopted:
On page 1, line 3 of the title, after "hospital;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "adding new sections to chapter 74.09 RCW; and creating new sections."
On motion of Senator Thibaudeau, the rules were suspended, House Bill No. 1162, as amended by the Senate, was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of House bill No. 1162, as amended by the Senate.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 1162, as amended by the Senate, and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 48; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 1.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 48.
Excused: Senator McAuliffe - 1.
HOUSE BILL NO. 1162, as amended by the Senate, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1781, by House Committee on Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives H. Sommers, Sehlin, Clements, Conway and Kenney) (by request of Liquor Control Board)
Making payment of agency commissions for agency liquor vendor stores.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Brown, the rules were suspended, Substitute House Bill No. 1781 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1781.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1781 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 48; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 1.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 48.
Excused: Senator McAuliffe - 1.
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1781, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1004, by House Committee on Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives Morris and Doumit)
Adjusting disability payments.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Brown, the rules were suspended, Substitute House Bill No. 1004 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1004.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1004 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 49; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 0.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 49.
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1004, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
HOUSE BILL NO. 1851, by Representative McMorris
Modifying the definition of small employer to include school districts.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Thibaudeau, the rules were suspended, House Bill No. 1851 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of House Bill No. 1851.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 1851 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 49; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 0.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 49.
HOUSE BILL NO. 1851, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
MOTION
On motion of Senator McAuliffe, the following resolution was adopted:
SENATE RESOLUTION 2001-8667
By Senators McAuliffe, Spanel, Sheldon, B., Rasmussen and Kohl-Welles
WHEREAS, it is the One Hundred and Twentieth Anniversary of the Holy Names Academy; and
WHEREAS, Holy Names Academy, a private Catholic college-preparatory school for young women, is the oldest continually operating school in Washington State; and
WHEREAS, Established in 1880 by the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, Holy Names Academy has graduated over 10,000 students; and
WHEREAS, The Academy strives to provide the best for people of diverse backgrounds and to create a strong female voice in our society by preparing young women for lives of leadership, community service, and good citizenship; and
WHEREAS, A rich heritage of academic excellence and values is transmitted to students through a caring staff with a commitment to academic excellence; and
WHEREAS, The school’s programs include student activities which foster individual growth and respect for others; and
WHEREAS, Holy Names prepares its students well with students taking AP exams earning scores that far exceed the national average; and
WHEREAS, Students in the graduating class of 2001 have been named high scorers in the National Merit and National Achievement or National Hispanic Recognition programs; and
WHEREAS, The graduates of the Academy demonstrate courageous and imaginative leadership in religious, professional and social spheres;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate honor Holy Names Academy for its one hundred and twenty years of continuous education for young women in Washington State; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to Holy Names Academy.
Senators McAuliffe, Deccio and Kohl-Welles spoke to Senate Revolution 2001-8667.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Benton, the following resolution was adopted:
SENATE RESOLUTION 2001-8627
By Senators Benton, Fraser, West, Stevens, Prentice, Thibaudeau, Morton, Patterson, Rasmussen and Kohl-Welles
WHEREAS, The 2001 Prudential Spirit of Community Award, presented by The Prudential Insurance Company of America in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals, honors young volunteers across America who have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to serving their communities; and
WHEREAS, Cameron Byrd, 16, from Camas, Washington, and a sophomore at Portland Christian High, has helped raise more than $300,000 for breast cancer prevention and youth causes by recording CD’s and playing concerts with his rock band; and
WHEREAS, Tim Wilken, 16, a 4-H member and a student at Sprague High School, founded a program that provides computers and computer lessons to senior citizens and low-income families in his rural community; and
WHEREAS, Michaela Raikes, 13, an eighth-grader at Villa Academy, started a program that provides birthday parties for children staying at an emergency shelter with their mothers; and
WHEREAS, Jennifer Gibson, 17, of Granite Falls, a senior at Granite Falls High School, helped start a Teen Court in her school to help troubled youth avoid suspension and learn from their mistakes; and
WHEREAS, Heath Hilton, 15, of Monroe, a student at Monroe High School, organized a group of young people and senior citizens to plant an intergenerational community garden and donate the harvest to a local food bank; and
WHEREAS, Corey McCrea, 18, of Snohomish, a senior at Snohomish High School, initiated the development of a skate park in his community, and raised $110,000 and secured land for the park, to be built in April of this year; and
WHEREAS, Sonja Ray, 17, of Seattle, a senior at Tyee High School in SeaTac, co-chaired a campaign to collect clothes and money for homeless youth in the Seattle area; and
WHEREAS, Erin Richardson, 17, of Spokane, a senior at Joel E. Ferris High School, helped win a $25,000 grant to conduct a public awareness campaign about the environmental and health hazards of field burning; and
WHEREAS, Alden Tucker, 17, of Lacey, a junior at North Thurston High School, lobbied the State Legislature to pass a bill enabling teenagers to serve as bone marrow donors (the bill was signed into law in March, 2000) and helped collect money and registrations for marrow donations; and
WHEREAS, the success of the state of Washington, the strength of our communities, and the overall vitality of American society depend, in great measure, upon the dedication of young people like Cameron Byrd, Tim Wilken, Michaela Raikes, Jennifer Gibson, Heath Hilton, Corey McCrea, Sonja Ray, Erin Richardson and Alden Tucker, who use their considerable talents and resources to serve others;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Senate congratulate and honor Cameron Byrd, Tim Wilken, Michaela Raikes, Jennifer Gibson, Heath Hilton, Corey McCrea, Sonja Ray, Erin Richardson and Alden Tucker as recipients of Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, recognize their outstanding records of volunteer service, peer leadership, and community spirit, and extend best wishes for their continued success and happiness; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Secretary of the Senate immediately transmit copies of this resolution to Cameron Byrd, Tim Wilken, Michaela Raikes, Jennifer Gibson, Heath Hilton, Corey McCrea, Sonja Ray, Erin Richardson and Alden Tucker.
Senators Benton, Fraser, Patterson, Stevens, Thibaudeau and Morton spoke to Senate Resolution 2001-8667.
INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS
The President welcomed and introduced the Prudential Spirit of Community Award Winners, who were seated in the back of the Chamber.
MOTION
At 10:25 a.m., on motion of Senator Betti Sheldon, the Senate was declared to be at ease.
The Senate was called to order at 11:35 a.m. by President Owen.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Betti Sheldon, the Senate recessed until 1:30 p.m.
The Senate was called to order at 1:30 p.m. by President Owen.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Betti Sheldon, the Senate reverted to the first order of business.
REPORT OF STANDING COMMITTEE
HB 1633 Prime Sponsor, Representative Campbell: Making technical corrections to provisions concerning the individual health insurance market. Reported by Committee on Health and Long-Term Care
MAJORITY Recommendation: Do pass as amended. Signed by Senators Thibaudeau, Chair; Franklin, Vice Chair; Deccio, Fraser, Parlette and Winsley.
Passed to Committee on Rules for second reading.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Betti Sheldon, the Senate advanced to the sixth order of business.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Honeyford, Senator Hale was excused.
SECOND READING
CONFIRMATION OF GUBERNATORIAL APPOINTMENTS
MOTION
On motion of Senator Brown, Gubernatorial Appointment No. 9030, Carol Landa-McVicker, as a member of the Board of Trustees for Spokane and Spokane Falls Community Colleges District No. 17, was confirmed.
APPOINTMENT OF CAROL LANDA-McVICKER
The Secretary called the roll. The appointment was confirmed by the following vote: Yeas, 38; Nays, 0; Absent, 10; Excused, 1.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, Morton, Oke, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau and Zarelli - 38.
Absent: Senators Deccio, Hargrove, Haugen, Horn, Kline, McDonald, Parlette, Patterson, West and Winsley - 10.
Excused: Senator Hale - 1.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Costa, Gubernatorial Appointment No. 9059, Gene L. Chase, as a member of the Board of Trustees for Everett Community College District No. 5, was confirmed.
APPOINTMENT OF GENE L. CHASE
The Secretary called the roll. The appointment was confirmed by the following vote: Yeas, 45; Nays, 0; Absent, 3; Excused, 1.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hargrove, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 45.
Absent: Senators Haugen, Kline and Patterson - 3.
Excused: Senator Hale - 1.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Eide, Senator Kline was excused.
SECOND READING
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1202, by House Committee on Finance (originally sponsored by Representatives Cairnes and Morris) (by request of Department of Revenue)
Improving property tax administration.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Brown, the following striking amendment by Senators Brown, Fraser and Rossi was adopted:
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"Sec. 1. RCW 84.14.110 and 1995 c 375 s 14 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) If improvements have been exempted under this chapter, the improvements continue to be exempted and not be converted to another use for at least ten years from date of issuance of the certificate of tax exemption. If the owner intends to convert the multifamily development to another use, the owner shall notify the assessor within sixty days of the change in use. If, after a certificate of tax exemption has been filed with the county assessor the city or assessor or agent discovers that a portion of the property is changed or will be changed to a use that is other than residential or that housing or amenities no longer meet the requirements as previously approved or agreed upon by contract between the governing authority and the owner and that the multifamily housing, or a portion of the housing, no longer qualifies for the exemption, the tax exemption must be canceled and the following must occur:
(a) Additional real property tax must be imposed upon the value of the nonqualifying improvements in the amount that would normally be imposed, plus a penalty must be imposed amounting to twenty percent. This additional tax is calculated based upon the difference between the property tax paid and the property tax that would have been paid if it had included the value of the nonqualifying improvements dated back to the date that the improvements were converted to a nonmultifamily use;
(b) The tax must include interest upon the amounts of the additional tax at the same statutory rate charged on delinquent property taxes from the dates on which the additional tax could have been paid without penalty if the improvements had been assessed at a value without regard to this chapter; and
(c) The additional tax owed together with interest and penalty must become a lien on the land and attach at the time the property or portion of the property is removed from multifamily use or the amenities no longer meet applicable requirements, and has priority to and must be fully paid and satisfied before a recognizance, mortgage, judgment, debt, obligation, or responsibility to or with which the land may become charged or liable. The lien may be foreclosed upon expiration of the same period after delinquency and in the same manner provided by law for foreclosure of liens for delinquent real property taxes. An additional tax unpaid on its due date is delinquent. From the date of delinquency until paid, interest must be charged at the same rate applied by law to delinquent ad valorem property taxes.
(2) Upon a determination that a tax exemption is to be canceled for a reason stated in this section, the governing authority shall notify the record owner of the property as shown by the tax rolls by mail, return receipt requested, of the determination to cancel the exemption. The owner may appeal the determination to the governing authority within thirty days by filing a notice of appeal with the clerk of the governing authority, which notice must specify the factual and legal basis on which the determination of cancellation is alleged to be erroneous. The governing authority or a hearing examiner or other official authorized by the governing authority may hear the appeal. At the hearing, all affected parties may be heard and all competent evidence received. After the hearing, the deciding body or officer shall either affirm, modify, or repeal the decision of cancellation of exemption based on the evidence received. An aggrieved party may appeal the decision of the deciding body or officer to the superior court under RCW 34.05.510 through 34.05.598.
(3) Upon determination by the governing authority or authorized representative to terminate an exemption, the county officials having possession of the assessment and tax rolls shall correct the rolls in the manner provided for omitted property under RCW 84.40.080. The county assessor shall make such a valuation of the property and improvements as is necessary to permit the correction of the rolls. The owner may appeal the valuation to the county board of equalization under chapter 84.48 RCW and according to the provisions of RCW 84.40.038. If there has been a failure to comply with this chapter, the property must be listed as an omitted assessment for assessment years beginning January 1 of the calendar year in which the noncompliance first occurred, but the listing as an omitted assessment may not be for a period more than three calendar years preceding the year in which the failure to comply was discovered.
Sec. 2. RCW 84.26.130 and 1989 c 175 s 178 are each amended to read as follows:
Any decision by a local review board on an application for classification as historic property eligible for special valuation may be appealed to superior court under RCW 34.05.510 through 34.05.598 in addition to any other remedy at law. Any decision on the disqualification of historic property eligible for special valuation, or any other dispute, may be appealed to the county board of equalization in accordance with RCW 84.40.038.
Sec. 3. RCW 84.33.120 and 1999 sp.s. c 4 s 702 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) In preparing the assessment rolls as of January 1, 1982, for taxes payable in 1983 and each January 1st thereafter, the assessor shall list each parcel of forest land at a value with respect to the grade and class provided in this subsection and adjusted as provided in subsection (2) of this section and shall compute the assessed value of the land by using the same assessment ratio he or she applies generally in computing the assessed value of other property in his or her county. Values for the several grades of bare forest land shall be as follows.
LAND OPERABILITY VALUES
GRADE CLASS PER ACRE
1 $141
1 2 136
3 131
4 95
1 118
2 2 114
3 110
4 80
1 93
3 2 90
3 87
4 66
1 70
4 2 68
3 66
4 52
1 51
5 2 48
3 46
4 31
1 26
6 2 25
3 25
4 23
1 12
7 2 12
3 11
4 11
8 1
(2) On or before December 31, 1981, the department shall adjust, by rule under chapter 34.05 RCW, the forest land values contained in subsection (1) of this section in accordance with this subsection, and shall certify these adjusted values to the county assessor for his or her use in preparing the assessment rolls as of January 1, 1982. For the adjustment to be made on or before December 31, 1981, for use in the 1982 assessment year, the department shall:
(a) Divide the aggregate value of all timber harvested within the state between July 1, 1976, and June 30, 1981, by the aggregate harvest volume for the same period, as determined from the harvester excise tax returns filed with the department under RCW 82.04.291 and 84.33.071; and
(b) Divide the aggregate value of all timber harvested within the state between July 1, 1975, and June 30, 1980, by the aggregate harvest volume for the same period, as determined from the harvester excise tax returns filed with the department under RCW 82.04.291 and 84.33.071; and
(c) Adjust the forest land values contained in subsection (1) of this section by a percentage equal to one-half of the percentage change in the average values of harvested timber reflected by comparing the resultant values calculated under (a) and (b) of this subsection.
For the adjustments to be made on or before December 31, 1982, and each succeeding year thereafter, the same procedure shall be followed as described in this subsection utilizing harvester excise tax returns filed under RCW 82.04.291 and this chapter except that this adjustment shall be made to the prior year's adjusted value, and the five-year periods for calculating average harvested timber values shall be successively one year more recent.
(3) In preparing the assessment roll for 1972 and each year thereafter, the assessor shall enter as the true and fair value of each parcel of forest land the appropriate grade value certified to him or her by the department of revenue, and he or she shall compute the assessed value of such land by using the same assessment ratio he or she applies generally in computing the assessed value of other property in his or her county. In preparing the assessment roll for 1975 and each year thereafter, the assessor shall assess and value as classified forest land all forest land that is not then designated pursuant to RCW 84.33.120(4) or 84.33.130 and shall make a notation of such classification upon the assessment and tax rolls. On or before January 15 of the first year in which such notation is made, the assessor shall mail notice by certified mail to the owner that such land has been classified as forest land and is subject to the compensating tax imposed by this section. If the owner desires not to have such land assessed and valued as classified forest land, he or she shall give the assessor written notice thereof on or before March 31 of such year and the assessor shall remove from the assessment and tax rolls the classification notation entered pursuant to this subsection, and shall thereafter assess and value such land in the manner provided by law other than this chapter 84.33 RCW.
(4) In any year commencing with 1972, an owner of land which is assessed and valued by the assessor other than pursuant to the procedures set forth in RCW 84.33.110 and this section, and which has, in the immediately preceding year, been assessed and valued by the assessor as forest land, may appeal to the county board of equalization by filing an application with the board in the manner prescribed in subsection (2) of RCW 84.33.130. The county board shall afford the applicant an opportunity to be heard if the application so requests and shall act upon the application in the manner prescribed in subsection (3) of RCW 84.33.130.
(5) Land that has been assessed and valued as classified forest land as of any year commencing with 1975 assessment year or earlier shall continue to be so assessed and valued until removal of classification by the assessor only upon the occurrence of one of the following events:
(a) Receipt of notice from the owner to remove such land from classification as forest land;
(b) Sale or transfer to an ownership making such land exempt from ad valorem taxation;
(c) Determination by the assessor, after giving the owner written notice and an opportunity to be heard, that, because of actions taken by the owner, such land is no longer primarily devoted to and used for growing and harvesting timber. However, land shall not be removed from classification if a governmental agency, organization, or other recipient identified in subsection (9) or (10) of this section as exempt from the payment of compensating tax has manifested its intent in writing or by other official action to acquire a property interest in classified forest land by means of a transaction that qualifies for an exemption under subsection (9) or (10) of this section. The governmental agency, organization, or recipient shall annually provide the assessor of the county in which the land is located reasonable evidence in writing of the intent to acquire the classified land as long as the intent continues or within sixty days of a request by the assessor. The assessor may not request this evidence more than once in a calendar year;
(d) Determination that a higher and better use exists for such land than growing and harvesting timber after giving the owner written notice and an opportunity to be heard;
(e) Sale or transfer of all or a portion of such land to a new owner, unless the new owner has signed a notice of forest land classification continuance, except transfer to an owner who is an heir or devisee of a deceased owner, shall not, by itself, result in removal of classification. The signed notice of continuance shall be attached to the real estate excise tax affidavit provided for in RCW 82.45.150. The notice of continuance shall be on a form prepared by the department of revenue. If the notice of continuance is not signed by the new owner and attached to the real estate excise tax affidavit, all compensating taxes calculated pursuant to subsection (7) of this section shall become due and payable by the seller or transferor at time of sale. The county auditor shall not accept an instrument of conveyance of classified forest land for filing or recording unless the new owner has signed the notice of continuance or the compensating tax has been paid, as evidenced by the real estate excise tax stamp affixed thereto by the treasurer. The seller, transferor, or new owner may appeal the new assessed valuation calculated under subsection (7) of this section to the county board of equalization in accordance with the provisions of RCW 84.40.038. Jurisdiction is hereby conferred on the county board of equalization to hear these appeals.
The assessor shall remove classification pursuant to (c) or (d) of this subsection prior to September 30 of the year prior to the assessment year for which termination of classification is to be effective. Removal of classification as forest land upon occurrence of (a), (b), (d), or (e) of this subsection shall apply only to the land affected, and upon occurrence of (c) of this subsection shall apply only to the actual area of land no longer primarily devoted to and used for growing and harvesting timber: PROVIDED, That any remaining classified forest land meets necessary definitions of forest land pursuant to RCW 84.33.100.
(6) Within thirty days after such removal of classification as forest land, the assessor shall notify the owner in writing setting forth the reasons for such removal. The owner of such land shall thereupon have the right to apply for designation of such land as forest land pursuant to subsection (4) of this section or RCW 84.33.130. The seller, transferor, or owner may appeal such removal to the county board of equalization in accordance with the provisions of RCW 84.40.038.
(7) Unless the owner successfully applies for designation of such land or unless the removal is reversed on appeal, notation of removal from classification shall immediately be made upon the assessment and tax rolls, and commencing on January 1 of the year following the year in which the assessor made such notation, such land shall be assessed on the same basis as real property is assessed generally in that county. Except as provided in subsection (5)(e), (9), or (10) of this section and unless the assessor shall not have mailed notice of classification pursuant to subsection (3) of this section, a compensating tax shall be imposed which shall be due and payable to the county treasurer thirty days after the owner is notified of the amount of the compensating tax. As soon as possible, the assessor shall compute the amount of such compensating tax and mail notice to the owner of the amount thereof and the date on which payment is due. The amount of such compensating tax shall be equal to the difference, if any, between the amount of tax last levied on such land as forest land and an amount equal to the new assessed valuation of such land multiplied by the dollar rate of the last levy extended against such land, multiplied by a number, in no event greater than ten, equal to the number of years, commencing with assessment year 1975, for which such land was assessed and valued as forest land.
(8) Compensating tax, together with applicable interest thereon, shall become a lien on such land which shall attach at the time such land is removed from classification as forest land and shall have priority to and shall be fully paid and satisfied before any recognizance, mortgage, judgment, debt, obligation or responsibility to or with which such land may become charged or liable. Such lien may be foreclosed upon expiration of the same period after delinquency and in the same manner provided by law for foreclosure of liens for delinquent real property taxes as provided in RCW 84.64.050. Any compensating tax unpaid on its due date shall thereupon become delinquent. From the date of delinquency until paid, interest shall be charged at the same rate applied by law to delinquent ad valorem property taxes.
(9) The compensating tax specified in subsection (7) of this section shall not be imposed if the removal of classification as forest land pursuant to subsection (5) of this section resulted solely from:
(a) Transfer to a government entity in exchange for other forest land located within the state of Washington;
(b) A taking through the exercise of the power of eminent domain, or sale or transfer to an entity having the power of eminent domain in anticipation of the exercise of such power;
(c) A donation of fee title, development rights, or the right to harvest timber, to a government agency or organization qualified under RCW 84.34.210 and 64.04.130 for the purposes enumerated in those sections, or the sale or transfer of fee title to a governmental entity or a nonprofit nature conservancy corporation, as defined in RCW 64.04.130, exclusively for the protection and conservation of lands recommended for state natural area preserve purposes by the natural heritage council and natural heritage plan as defined in chapter 79.70 RCW: PROVIDED, That at such time as the land is not used for the purposes enumerated, the compensating tax specified in subsection (7) of this section shall be imposed upon the current owner;
(d) The sale or transfer of fee title to the parks and recreation commission for park and recreation purposes;
(e) Official action by an agency of the state of Washington or by the county or city within which the land is located that disallows the present use of such land;
(f) The creation, sale, or transfer of forestry riparian easements under RCW 76.13.120; or
(g) The creation, sale, or transfer of a fee interest or a conservation easement for the riparian open space program under RCW 76.09.040.
(10) In a county with a population of more than one million inhabitants, the compensating tax specified in subsection (7) of this section shall not be imposed if the removal of classification as forest land pursuant to subsection (5) of this section resulted solely from:
(a) An action described in subsection (9) of this section; or
(b) A transfer of a property interest to a government entity, or to a nonprofit historic preservation corporation or nonprofit nature conservancy corporation, as defined in RCW 64.04.130, to protect or enhance public resources, or to preserve, maintain, improve, restore, limit the future use of, or otherwise to conserve for public use or enjoyment, the property interest being transferred. At such time as the property interest is not used for the purposes enumerated, the compensating tax shall be imposed upon the current owner.
(11) With respect to any land that has been designated prior to May 6, 1974, pursuant to RCW 84.33.120(4) or 84.33.130, the assessor may, prior to January 1, 1975, on his or her own motion or pursuant to petition by the owner, change, without imposition of the compensating tax provided under RCW 84.33.140, the status of such designated land to classified forest land.
Sec. 4. RCW 84.33.130 and 1994 c 301 s 32 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) An owner of land desiring that it be designated as forest land and valued pursuant to RCW 84.33.120 as of January 1 of any year shall make application to the county assessor before such January 1.
(2) The application shall be made upon forms prepared by the department of revenue and supplied by the county assessor, and shall include the following:
(a) A legal description of or assessor's tax lot numbers for all land the applicant desires to be designated as forest land;
(b) The date or dates of acquisition of such land;
(c) A brief description of the timber on such land, or if the timber has been harvested, the owner's plan for restocking;
(d) Whether there is a forest management plan for such land;
(e) If so, the nature and extent of implementation of such plan;
(f) Whether such land is used for grazing;
(g) Whether such land has been subdivided or a plat filed with respect thereto;
(h) Whether such land and the applicant are in compliance with the restocking, forest management, fire protection, insect and disease control and forest debris provisions of Title 76 RCW or any applicable regulations thereunder;
(i) Whether such land is subject to forest fire protection assessments pursuant to RCW 76.04.610;
(j) Whether such land is subject to a lease, option or other right which permits it to be used for any purpose other than growing and harvesting timber;
(k) A summary of the past experience and activity of the applicant in growing and harvesting timber;
(l) A summary of current and continuing activity of the applicant in growing and harvesting timber;
(m) A statement that the applicant is aware of the potential tax liability involved when such land ceases to be designated as forest land;
(n) An affirmation that the statements contained in the application are true and that the land described in the application is, by itself or with other forest land not included in the application, in contiguous ownership of twenty or more acres which is primarily devoted to and used for growing and harvesting timber.
The assessor shall afford the applicant an opportunity to be heard if the application so requests.
(3) The assessor shall act upon the application with due regard to all relevant evidence and without any one or more items of evidence necessarily being determinative, except that the application may be denied for one of the following reasons, without regard to other items:
(a) The land does not contain either a "merchantable stand of timber" or an "adequate stocking" as defined by rule adopted by the forest practices board, except this reason (a) shall not alone be sufficient for denial of the application (i) if such land has been recently harvested or supports a growth of brush or noncommercial type timber, and the application includes a plan for restocking within three years or such longer period necessitated by unavailability of seed or seedlings, or (ii) if only isolated areas within such land do not meet such minimum standards due to rock outcroppings, swamps, unproductive soil or other natural conditions;
(b) The applicant, with respect to such land, has failed to comply with a final administrative or judicial order with respect to a violation of the restocking, forest management, fire protection, insect and disease control and forest debris provisions of Title 76 RCW or any applicable regulations thereunder;
(c) The land abuts a body of salt water and lies between the line of ordinary high tide and a line paralleling such ordinary high tide line and two hundred feet horizontally landward therefrom, except that if the higher and better use determined by the assessor to exist for such land would not be permitted or economically feasible by virtue of any federal, state or local law or regulation such land shall be assessed and valued pursuant to the procedures set forth in RCW 84.33.110 and 84.33.120 without being designated. The application shall be deemed to have been approved unless, prior to May 1, of the year after such application was mailed or delivered to the assessor, the assessor shall notify the applicant in writing of the extent to which the application is denied.
(4) An owner who receives notice pursuant to subsection (3) of this section that his or her application has been denied may appeal such denial to the county board of equalization in accordance with the provisions of RCW 84.40.038.
Sec. 5. RCW 84.33.140 and 1999 sp.s. c 4 s 703 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) When land has been designated as forest land pursuant to RCW 84.33.120(4) or 84.33.130, a notation of such designation shall be made each year upon the assessment and tax rolls, a copy of the notice of approval together with the legal description or assessor's tax lot numbers for such land shall, at the expense of the applicant, be filed by the assessor in the same manner as deeds are recorded, and such land shall be graded and valued pursuant to RCW 84.33.110 and 84.33.120 until removal of such designation by the assessor upon occurrence of any of the following:
(a) Receipt of notice from the owner to remove such designation;
(b) Sale or transfer to an ownership making such land exempt from ad valorem taxation;
(c) Sale or transfer of all or a portion of such land to a new owner, unless the new owner has signed a notice of forest land designation continuance, except transfer to an owner who is an heir or devisee of a deceased owner, shall not, by itself, result in removal of classification. The signed notice of continuance shall be attached to the real estate excise tax affidavit provided for in RCW 82.45.150. The notice of continuance shall be on a form prepared by the department of revenue. If the notice of continuance is not signed by the new owner and attached to the real estate excise tax affidavit, all compensating taxes calculated pursuant to subsection (3) of this section shall become due and payable by the seller or transferor at time of sale. The county auditor shall not accept an instrument of conveyance of designated forest land for filing or recording unless the new owner has signed the notice of continuance or the compensating tax has been paid, as evidenced by the real estate excise tax stamp affixed thereto by the treasurer. The seller, transferor, or new owner may appeal the new assessed valuation calculated under subsection (3) of this section to the county board of equalization in accordance with the provisions of RCW 84.40.038. Jurisdiction is hereby conferred on the county board of equalization to hear these appeals;
(d) Determination by the assessor, after giving the owner written notice and an opportunity to be heard, that:
(i) Such land is no longer primarily devoted to and used for growing and harvesting timber. However, land shall not be removed from designation if a governmental agency, organization, or other recipient identified in subsection (5) or (6) of this section as exempt from the payment of compensating tax has manifested its intent in writing or by other official action to acquire a property interest in designated forest land by means of a transaction that qualifies for an exemption under subsection (5) or (6) of this section. The governmental agency, organization, or recipient shall annually provide the assessor of the county in which the land is located reasonable evidence in writing of the intent to acquire the designated land as long as the intent continues or within sixty days of a request by the assessor. The assessor may not request this evidence more than once in a calendar year;
(ii) The owner has failed to comply with a final administrative or judicial order with respect to a violation of the restocking, forest management, fire protection, insect and disease control and forest debris provisions of Title 76 RCW or any applicable regulations thereunder; or
(iii) Restocking has not occurred to the extent or within the time specified in the application for designation of such land.
Removal of designation upon occurrence of any of (a) through (c) of this subsection shall apply only to the land affected, and upon occurrence of (d) of this subsection shall apply only to the actual area of land no longer primarily devoted to and used for growing and harvesting timber, without regard to other land that may have been included in the same application and approval for designation: PROVIDED, That any remaining designated forest land meets necessary definitions of forest land pursuant to RCW 84.33.100.
(2) Within thirty days after such removal of designation of forest land, the assessor shall notify the owner in writing, setting forth the reasons for such removal. The seller, transferor, or owner may appeal such removal to the county board of equalization in accordance with the provisions of RCW 84.40.038.
(3) Unless the removal is reversed on appeal a copy of the notice of removal with notation of the action, if any, upon appeal, together with the legal description or assessor's tax lot numbers for the land removed from designation shall, at the expense of the applicant, be filed by the assessor in the same manner as deeds are recorded, and commencing on January 1 of the year following the year in which the assessor mailed such notice, such land shall be assessed on the same basis as real property is assessed generally in that county. Except as provided in subsection (1)(c), (5), or (6) of this section, a compensating tax shall be imposed which shall be due and payable to the county treasurer thirty days after the owner is notified of the amount of the compensating tax. As soon as possible, the assessor shall compute the amount of such compensating tax and mail notice to the owner of the amount thereof and the date on which payment is due. The amount of such compensating tax shall be equal to the difference between the amount of tax last levied on such land as forest land and an amount equal to the new assessed valuation of such land multiplied by the dollar rate of the last levy extended against such land, multiplied by a number, in no event greater than ten, equal to the number of years for which such land was designated as forest land.
(4) Compensating tax, together with applicable interest thereon, shall become a lien on such land which shall attach at the time such land is removed from designation as forest land and shall have priority to and shall be fully paid and satisfied before any recognizance, mortgage, judgment, debt, obligation or responsibility to or with which such land may become charged or liable. Such lien may be foreclosed upon expiration of the same period after delinquency and in the same manner provided by law for foreclosure of liens for delinquent real property taxes as provided in RCW 84.64.050. Any compensating tax unpaid on its due date shall thereupon become delinquent. From the date of delinquency until paid, interest shall be charged at the same rate applied by law to delinquent ad valorem property taxes.
(5) The compensating tax specified in subsection (3) of this section shall not be imposed if the removal of designation pursuant to subsection (1) of this section resulted solely from:
(a) Transfer to a government entity in exchange for other forest land located within the state of Washington;
(b) A taking through the exercise of the power of eminent domain, or sale or transfer to an entity having the power of eminent domain in anticipation of the exercise of such power;
(c) A donation of fee title, development rights, or the right to harvest timber, to a government agency or organization qualified under RCW 84.34.210 and 64.04.130 for the purposes enumerated in those sections, or the sale or transfer of fee title to a governmental entity or a nonprofit nature conservancy corporation, as defined in RCW 64.04.130, exclusively for the protection and conservation of lands recommended for state natural area preserve purposes by the natural heritage council and natural heritage plan as defined in chapter 79.70 RCW: PROVIDED, That at such time as the land is not used for the purposes enumerated, the compensating tax specified in subsection (3) of this section shall be imposed upon the current owner;
(d) The sale or transfer of fee title to the parks and recreation commission for park and recreation purposes;
(e) Official action by an agency of the state of Washington or by the county or city within which the land is located that disallows the present use of such land;
(f) The creation, sale, or transfer of forestry riparian easements under RCW 76.13.120; or
(g) The creation, sale, or transfer of a fee interest or a conservation easement for the riparian open space program under RCW 76.09.040.
(6) In a county with a population of more than one million inhabitants, the compensating tax specified in subsection (3) of this section shall not be imposed if the removal of classification as forest land pursuant to subsection (1) of this section resulted solely from:
(a) An action described in subsection (5) of this section; or
(b) A transfer of a property interest to a government entity, or to a nonprofit historic preservation corporation or nonprofit nature conservancy corporation, as defined in RCW 64.04.130, to protect or enhance public resources, or to preserve, maintain, improve, restore, limit the future use of, or otherwise to conserve for public use or enjoyment, the property interest being transferred. At such time as the property interest is not used for the purposes enumerated, the compensating tax shall be imposed upon the current owner.
Sec. 6. RCW 84.34.035 and 1992 c 69 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
The assessor shall act upon the application for current use classification of farm and agricultural lands under RCW 84.34.020(2), with due regard to all relevant evidence. The application shall be deemed to have been approved unless, prior to the first day of May of the year after such application was mailed or delivered to the assessor, the assessor shall notify the applicant in writing of the extent to which the application is denied. An owner who receives notice that his or her application has been denied may appeal such denial to the board of equalization in the county where the property is located. The appeal shall be filed in accordance with RCW 84.40.038((, within thirty days after the mailing of the notice of denial)). Within ten days following approval of the application, the assessor shall submit notification of such approval to the county auditor for recording in the place and manner provided for the public recording of state tax liens on real property. The assessor shall retain a copy of all applications.
The assessor shall, as to any such land, make a notation each year on the assessment list and the tax roll of the assessed value of such land for the use for which it is classified in addition to the assessed value of such land were it not so classified.
Sec. 7. RCW 84.34.108 and 1999 sp.s. c 4 s 706 and 1999 c 233 s 22 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(1) When land has once been classified under this chapter, a notation of such classification shall be made each year upon the assessment and tax rolls and such land shall be valued pursuant to RCW 84.34.060 or 84.34.065 until removal of all or a portion of such classification by the assessor upon occurrence of any of the following:
(a) Receipt of notice from the owner to remove all or a portion of such classification;
(b) Sale or transfer to an ownership, except a transfer that resulted from a default in loan payments made to or secured by a governmental agency that intends to or is required by law or regulation to resell the property for the same use as before, making all or a portion of such land exempt from ad valorem taxation;
(c) Sale or transfer of all or a portion of such land to a new owner, unless the new owner has signed a notice of classification continuance, except transfer to an owner who is an heir or devisee of a deceased owner shall not, by itself, result in removal of classification. The notice of continuance shall be on a form prepared by the department of revenue. If the notice of continuance is not signed by the new owner and attached to the real estate excise tax affidavit, all additional taxes calculated pursuant to subsection (4) of this section shall become due and payable by the seller or transferor at time of sale. The county auditor shall not accept an instrument of conveyance of classified land for filing or recording unless the new owner has signed the notice of continuance or the additional tax has been paid, as evidenced by the real estate excise tax stamp affixed thereto by the treasurer. The seller, transferor, or new owner may appeal the new assessed valuation calculated under subsection (4) of this section to the county board of equalization in accordance with the provisions of RCW 84.40.038. Jurisdiction is hereby conferred on the county board of equalization to hear these appeals;
(d) Determination by the assessor, after giving the owner written notice and an opportunity to be heard, that all or a portion of such land no longer meets the criteria for classification under this chapter. The criteria for classification pursuant to this chapter continue to apply after classification has been granted.
The granting authority, upon request of an assessor, shall provide reasonable assistance to the assessor in making a determination whether such land continues to meet the qualifications of RCW 84.34.020 (1) or (3). The assistance shall be provided within thirty days of receipt of the request.
(2) Land may not be removed from classification because of:
(a) The creation, sale, or transfer of forestry riparian easements under RCW 76.13.120; or
(b) The creation, sale, or transfer of a fee interest or a conservation easement for the riparian open space program under RCW 76.09.040.
(3) Within thirty days after such removal of all or a portion of such land from current use classification, the assessor shall notify the owner in writing, setting forth the reasons for such removal. The seller, transferor, or owner may appeal such removal to the county board of equalization in accordance with the provisions of RCW 84.40.038.
(4) Unless the removal is reversed on appeal, the assessor shall revalue the affected land with reference to full market value on the date of removal from classification. Both the assessed valuation before and after the removal of classification shall be listed and taxes shall be allocated according to that part of the year to which each assessed valuation applies. Except as provided in subsection (6) of this section, an additional tax, applicable interest, and penalty shall be imposed which shall be due and payable to the county treasurer thirty days after the owner is notified of the amount of the additional tax. As soon as possible, the assessor shall compute the amount of such an additional tax, applicable interest, and penalty and the treasurer shall mail notice to the owner of the amount thereof and the date on which payment is due. The amount of such additional tax, applicable interest, and penalty shall be determined as follows:
(a) The amount of additional tax shall be equal to the difference between the property tax paid as "open space land", "farm and agricultural land", or "timber land" and the amount of property tax otherwise due and payable for the seven years last past had the land not been so classified;
(b) The amount of applicable interest shall be equal to the interest upon the amounts of such additional tax paid at the same statutory rate charged on delinquent property taxes from the dates on which such additional tax could have been paid without penalty if the land had been assessed at a value without regard to this chapter;
(c) The amount of the penalty shall be as provided in RCW 84.34.080. The penalty shall not be imposed if the removal satisfies the conditions of RCW 84.34.070.
(5) Additional tax, applicable interest, and penalty, shall become a lien on such land which shall attach at the time such land is removed from classification under this chapter and shall have priority to and shall be fully paid and satisfied before any recognizance, mortgage, judgment, debt, obligation or responsibility to or with which such land may become charged or liable. Such lien may be foreclosed upon expiration of the same period after delinquency and in the same manner provided by law for foreclosure of liens for delinquent real property taxes as provided in RCW 84.64.050 now or as hereafter amended. Any additional tax unpaid on its due date shall thereupon become delinquent. From the date of delinquency until paid, interest shall be charged at the same rate applied by law to delinquent ad valorem property taxes.
(6) The additional tax, applicable interest, and penalty specified in subsection (4) of this section shall not be imposed if the removal of classification pursuant to subsection (1) of this section resulted solely from:
(a) Transfer to a government entity in exchange for other land located within the state of Washington;
(b)(i) A taking through the exercise of the power of eminent domain, or (ii) sale or transfer to an entity having the power of eminent domain in anticipation of the exercise of such power, said entity having manifested its intent in writing or by other official action;
(c) A natural disaster such as a flood, windstorm, earthquake, or other such calamity rather than by virtue of the act of the landowner changing the use of such property;
(d) Official action by an agency of the state of Washington or by the county or city within which the land is located which disallows the present use of such land;
(e) Transfer of land to a church when such land would qualify for exemption pursuant to RCW 84.36.020;
(f) Acquisition of property interests by state agencies or agencies or organizations qualified under RCW 84.34.210 and 64.04.130 for the purposes enumerated in those sections: PROVIDED, That at such time as these property interests are not used for the purposes enumerated in RCW 84.34.210 and 64.04.130 the additional tax specified in subsection (4) of this section shall be imposed;
(g) Removal of land classified as farm and agricultural land under RCW 84.34.020(2)(d);
(h) Removal of land from classification after enactment of a statutory exemption that qualifies the land for exemption and receipt of notice from the owner to remove the land from classification;
(i) The creation, sale, or transfer of forestry riparian easements under RCW 76.13.120; or
(j) The creation, sale, or transfer of a fee interest or a conservation easement for the riparian open space program under RCW 76.09.040.
Sec. 8. RCW 84.36.385 and 1992 c 206 s 13 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) A claim for exemption under RCW 84.36.381 as now or hereafter amended, shall be made and filed at any time during the year for exemption from taxes payable the following year and thereafter and solely upon forms as prescribed and furnished by the department of revenue. However, an exemption from tax under RCW 84.36.381 shall continue for no more than four years unless a renewal application is filed as provided in subsection (3) of this section. The county assessor may also require, by written notice, a renewal application following an amendment of the income requirements set forth in RCW 84.36.381. Renewal applications shall be on forms prescribed and furnished by the department of revenue.
(2) A person granted an exemption under RCW 84.36.381 shall inform the county assessor of any change in status affecting the person's entitlement to the exemption on forms prescribed and furnished by the department of revenue.
(3) Each person exempt from taxes under RCW 84.36.381 in 1993 and thereafter, shall file with the county assessor a renewal application not later than December 31 of the year the assessor notifies such person of the requirement to file the renewal application.
(4) Beginning in 1992 and in each of the three succeeding years, the county assessor shall notify approximately one-fourth of those persons exempt from taxes under RCW 84.36.381 in the current year who have not filed a renewal application within the previous four years, of the requirement to file a renewal application.
(5) If the assessor finds that the applicant does not meet the qualifications as set forth in RCW 84.36.381, as now or hereafter amended, the claim or exemption shall be denied but such denial shall be subject to appeal under the provisions of RCW 84.48.010(5) and in accordance with the provisions of RCW 84.40.038. If the applicant had received exemption in prior years based on erroneous information, the taxes shall be collected subject to penalties as provided in RCW 84.40.130 for a period of not to exceed three years.
(6) The department and each local assessor is hereby directed to publicize the qualifications and manner of making claims under RCW 84.36.381 through 84.36.389, through communications media, including such paid advertisements or notices as it deems appropriate. Notice of the qualifications, method of making applications, the penalties for not reporting a change in status, and availability of further information shall be included on or with property tax statements and revaluation notices for all residential property including mobile homes, except rental properties.
Sec. 9. RCW 84.36.812 and 1984 c 220 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:
All additional taxes imposed under RCW 84.36.262 or 84.36.810 shall become due and payable by the seller or transferor at the time of sale. The county auditor shall not accept an instrument of conveyance unless the additional tax has been paid or the department of revenue has determined that the property is not subject to RCW 84.36.262 or 84.36.810. The seller, the transferor, or the new owner may appeal the assessed values upon which the additional tax is based to the county board of equalization in accordance with the provisions of RCW 84.40.038.
Sec. 10. RCW 84.38.040 and 1994 c 301 s 34 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Each claimant electing to defer payment of special assessments and/or real property tax obligations under this chapter shall file with the county assessor, on forms prescribed by the department and supplied by the assessor, a written declaration thereof. The declaration to defer special assessments and/or real property taxes for any year shall be filed no later than thirty days before the tax or assessment is due or thirty days after receiving notice under RCW 84.64.050, whichever is later: PROVIDED, That for good cause shown, the department may waive this requirement.
(2) The declaration shall designate the property to which the deferral applies, and shall include a statement setting forth (a) a list of all members of the claimant's household, (b) the claimant's equity value in his residence, (c) facts establishing the eligibility for the deferral under the provisions of this chapter, and (d) any other relevant information required by the rules of the department. Each copy shall be signed by the claimant subject to the penalties as provided in chapter 9A.72 RCW for false swearing. The first declaration to defer filed in a county shall include proof of the claimant's age acceptable to the assessor.
(3) The county assessor shall determine if each claimant shall be granted a deferral for each year but the claimant shall have the right to appeal this determination to the county board of equalization, in accordance with the provisions of RCW 84.40.038, whose decision shall be final as to the deferral of that year.
Sec. 11. RCW 84.40.038 and 1997 c 294 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The owner or person responsible for payment of taxes on any property may petition the county board of equalization for a change in the assessed valuation placed upon such property by the county assessor or for any other reason specifically authorized by statute. Such petition must be made on forms prescribed or approved by the department of revenue and any petition not conforming to those requirements or not properly completed shall not be considered by the board. The petition must be filed with the board on or before July 1st of the year of the assessment or determination, within thirty days after the date an assessment ((or)), value change notice, or other notice has been mailed, or within a time limit of up to sixty days adopted by the county legislative authority, whichever is later. If a county legislative authority sets a time limit, the authority may not change the limit for three years from the adoption of the limit.
(2) The board of equalization may waive the filing deadline if the petition is filed within a reasonable time after the filing deadline and the petitioner shows good cause for the late filing. The decision of the board of equalization regarding a waiver of the filing deadline is final and not appealable under RCW 84.08.130. Good cause may be shown by one or more of the following events or circumstances:
(a) Death or serious illness of the taxpayer or his or her immediate family;
(b) The taxpayer was absent from the address where the taxpayer normally receives the assessment or value change notice, was absent for more than fifteen days of the days allowed in subsection (1) of this section before the filing deadline, and the filing deadline is after July 1;
(c) Incorrect written advice regarding filing requirements received from board of equalization staff, county assessor's staff, or staff of the property tax advisor designated under RCW 84.48.140;
(d) Natural disaster such as flood or earthquake;
(e) Delay or loss related to the delivery of the petition by the postal service, and documented by the postal service; or
(f) Other circumstances as the department may provide by rule.
(3) The owner or person responsible for payment of taxes on any property may request that the appeal be heard by the state board of tax appeals without a hearing by the county board of equalization when the assessor, the owner or person responsible for payment of taxes on the property, and a majority of the county board of equalization agree that a direct appeal to the state board of tax appeals is appropriate. The state board of tax appeals may reject the appeal, in which case the county board of equalization shall consider the appeal under RCW 84.48.010. Notice of such a rejection, together with the reason therefor, shall be provided to the affected parties and the county board of equalization within thirty days of receipt of the direct appeal by the state board.
Sec. 12. RCW 84.48.080 and 1997 c 3 s 112 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Annually during the months of September and October, the department of revenue shall examine and compare the returns of the assessment of the property in the several counties of the state, and the assessment of the property of railroad and other companies assessed by the department, and proceed to equalize the same, so that each county in the state shall pay its due and just proportion of the taxes for state purposes for such assessment year, according to the ratio the ((assessed)) valuation of the property in each county bears to the ((correct)) total ((assessed)) valuation of all property in the state.
((First.)) (a) The department shall classify all property, real and personal, and shall raise and lower the ((assessed)) valuation of any class of property in any county to a value that shall be equal, so far as possible, to the ((correct assessed)) true and fair value of such class as of January 1st of the current year((, after determining the correct appraised value, and any adjustment applicable under RCW 84.40.0305 for the property,)) for the purpose of ascertaining the just amount of tax due from each county for state purposes. ((In equalizing personal property as of January 1st of the current year, the department shall use the assessment level of the preceding year.)) In equalizing personal property as of January 1st of the current year, the department shall use valuation data with respect to personal property from the three years immediately preceding the current assessment year in a manner it deems appropriate. Such classification may be on the basis of types of property, geographical areas, or both. For purposes of this section, for each county that has not provided the department with an assessment return by December 1st, the department shall proceed, using facts and information and in a manner it deems appropriate, to estimate the value of each class of property in the county.
((Second.)) (b) The department shall keep a full record of its proceedings and the same shall be published annually by the department.
(2) The department shall levy the state taxes authorized by law. The amount levied in any one year for general state purposes shall not exceed the lawful dollar rate on the dollar of the assessed value of the property of the entire state ((as equalized under this section)), which assessed value shall be one hundred percent of the true and fair value of the property in money. The department shall apportion the amount of tax for state purposes levied by the department, among the several counties, in proportion to the ((assessed)) valuation of the taxable property of the county for the year as equalized by the department: PROVIDED, That for purposes of this apportionment, the department shall recompute the previous year's levy and the apportionment thereof to correct for changes and errors in taxable values reported to the department after October 1 of the preceding year and shall adjust the apportioned amount of the current year's state levy for each county by the difference between the apportioned amounts established by the original and revised levy computations for the previous year. For purposes of this section, changes in taxable values mean a final adjustment made by a county board of equalization, the state board of tax appeals, or a court of competent jurisdiction and shall include additions of omitted property, other additions or deletions from the assessment or tax rolls, any assessment return provided by a county to the department subsequent to December 1st, or a change in the indicated ratio of a county. Errors in taxable values mean errors corrected by a final reviewing body.
In addition to computing a levy under this subsection that is reduced under RCW 84.55.012, the department shall compute a hypothetical levy without regard to the reduction under RCW 84.55.012. This hypothetical levy shall also be apportioned among the several counties in proportion to the valuation of the taxable property of the county for the year, as equalized by the department, in the same manner as the actual levy and shall be used by the county assessors for the purpose of recomputing and establishing a consolidated levy under RCW 84.52.010.
(3) The department shall have authority to adopt rules and regulations to enforce obedience to its orders in all matters in relation to the returns of county assessments, the equalization of values, and the apportionment of the state levy by the department.
(4) After the completion of the duties prescribed in this section, the director of the department shall certify the record of the proceedings of the department under this section, the tax levies made for state purposes and the apportionment thereof among the counties, and the certification shall be available for public inspection.
Sec. 13. RCW 84.40.190 and 1993 c 33 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
Every person required by this title to list property shall make out and deliver to the assessor, or to the department as required by RCW 84.40.065, either in person ((or)), by mail, or by electronic transmittal, a statement, verified under penalty of perjury, of all the personal property in his or her possession or under his or her control, and which, by the provisions of this title, he or she is required to list for taxation, either as owner or holder thereof. Each list, schedule or statement required by this chapter shall be signed by the individual if the person required to make the same is an individual; by the president, vice-president, treasurer, assistant treasurer, chief accounting officer or any other officer duly authorized to so act if the person required to make the same is a corporation; by a responsible and duly authorized member or officer having knowledge of its affairs, if the person required to make the same is a partnership or other unincorporated organization; or by the fiduciary, if the person required to make the same is a trust or estate. The list, schedule, or statement may be made and signed for the person required to make the same by an agent who is duly authorized to do so by a power of attorney filed with and approved by the assessor. When any list, schedule, or statement is made and signed by such agent, the principal required to make out and deliver the same shall be responsible for the contents and the filing thereof and shall be liable for the penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 84.40.130. No person shall be required to list for taxation in his statement to the assessor any share or portion of the capital stock, or of any of the property of any company, association or corporation, which such person may hold in whole or in part, where such company, being required so to do, has listed for assessment and taxation its capital stock and property with the department of revenue, or as otherwise required by law.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. A new section is added to chapter 84.52 RCW to read as follows:
(1) If an error has occurred in the levy of property taxes that has caused all taxpayers within a taxing district, other than the state, to pay an incorrect amount of property tax, the assessor shall correct the error by making an appropriate adjustment to the levy for that taxing district in the succeeding year. The adjustment shall be made without including any interest. If the governing authority of the taxing district determines that the amount of the adjustment in the succeeding year is so large as to cause a hardship for the taxing district or the taxpayers within the district, the adjustment may be made on a proportional basis over a period of not more than three consecutive years.
(a) A correction of an error in the levying of property taxes shall not be made for any period more than three years preceding the year in which the error is discovered.
(b) When calculating the levy limitation under chapter 84.55 RCW for levies made following the discovery of an error, the assessor shall determine and use the correct levy amount for the year or years being corrected as though the error had not occurred. The amount of the adjustment determined under this subsection (1) shall not be considered when calculating the levy limitation.
(c) If the taxing district in which a levy error has occurred does not levy property taxes in the year the error is discovered, or for a period of more than three years subsequent to the year the error was discovered, an adjustment shall not be made.
(2) If an error has occurred in the distribution of property taxes so that property tax collected has been incorrectly distributed to a taxing district or taxing districts wholly or partially within a county, the treasurer of the county in which the error occurred shall correct the error by making an appropriate adjustment to the amount distributed to that taxing district or districts in the succeeding year. The adjustment shall be made without including any interest. If the treasurer, in consultation with the governing authority of the taxing district or districts affected, determines that the amount of the adjustment in the succeeding year is so large as to cause a hardship for the taxing district or districts, the adjustment may be made on a proportional basis over a period of not more than three consecutive years. A correction of an error in the distribution of property taxes shall not be made for any period more than three years preceding the year in which the error is discovered.
Sec. 15. RCW 84.48.080 and 1997 c 3 s 112 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Annually during the months of September and October, the department of revenue shall examine and compare the returns of the assessment of the property in the several counties of the state, and the assessment of the property of railroad and other companies assessed by the department, and proceed to equalize the same, so that each county in the state shall pay its due and just proportion of the taxes for state purposes for such assessment year, according to the ratio the assessed valuation of the property in each county bears to the correct total assessed valuation of all property in the state.
((First.)) (a) The department shall classify all property, real and personal, and shall raise and lower the assessed valuation of any class of property in any county to a value that shall be equal, so far as possible, to the correct assessed value of such class as of January 1st of the current year, after determining the correct appraised value, and any adjustment applicable under RCW 84.40.0305 for the property, for the purpose of ascertaining the just amount of tax due from each county for state purposes. In equalizing personal property as of January 1st of the current year, the department shall use ((the assessment level of the preceding year)) valuation data with respect to personal property from the three years immediately preceding the current assessment year in a manner it deems appropriate. Such classification may be on the basis of types of property, geographical areas, or both. For purposes of this section, for each county that has not provided the department with an assessment return by December 1st, the department shall proceed, using facts and information and in a manner it deems appropriate, to estimate the value of each class of property in the county.
((Second.)) (b) The department shall keep a full record of its proceedings and the same shall be published annually by the department.
(2) The department shall levy the state taxes authorized by law. The amount levied in any one year for general state purposes shall not exceed the lawful dollar rate on the dollar of the assessed value of the property of the entire state as equalized under this section. The department shall apportion the amount of tax for state purposes levied by the department, among the several counties, in proportion to the assessed valuation of the taxable property of the county for the year as equalized by the department: PROVIDED, That for purposes of this apportionment, the department shall recompute the previous year's levy and the apportionment thereof to correct for changes and errors in taxable values reported to the department after October 1 of the preceding year and shall adjust the apportioned amount of the current year's state levy for each county by the difference between the apportioned amounts established by the original and revised levy computations for the previous year. For purposes of this section, changes in taxable values mean a final adjustment made by a county board of equalization, the state board of tax appeals, or a court of competent jurisdiction and shall include additions of omitted property, other additions or deletions from the assessment or tax rolls, any assessment return provided by a county to the department subsequent to December 1st, or a change in the indicated ratio of a county. Errors in taxable values mean errors corrected by a final reviewing body.
In addition to computing a levy under this subsection that is reduced under RCW 84.55.012, the department shall compute a hypothetical levy without regard to the reduction under RCW 84.55.012. This hypothetical levy shall also be apportioned among the several counties in proportion to the valuation of the taxable property of the county for the year, as equalized by the department, in the same manner as the actual levy and shall be used by the county assessors for the purpose of recomputing and establishing a consolidated levy under RCW 84.52.010.
(3) The department shall have authority to adopt rules and regulations to enforce obedience to its orders in all matters in relation to the returns of county assessments, the equalization of values, and the apportionment of the state levy by the department.
(4) After the completion of the duties prescribed in this section, the director of the department shall certify the record of the proceedings of the department under this section, the tax levies made for state purposes and the apportionment thereof among the counties, and the certification shall be available for public inspection.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. Section 15 of this act takes effect for taxes levied in 2001 for collection in 2002 and thereafter if the proposed amendment to Article VII, section 1 of the state Constitution providing for valuation increases to be phased-in over a period of four years is validly submitted to and is approved and ratified by voters at the next general election. If the proposed amendment is not approved and ratified, section 15 of this act is null and void. If such proposed amendment is approved and ratified, section 12 of this act is null and void.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. Section 14 of this act takes effect January 1, 2002, and applies to errors that occur on and after January 1, 2002.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. Sections 1 through 12 of this act apply for taxes levied in 2001 for collection in 2002 and thereafter."
MOTIONS
On motion of Senator Brown, the following title amendment was adopted:
On page 1, line 6 of the title, after "errors;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "amending RCW 84.14.110, 84.26.130, 84.33.120, 84.33.130, 84.33.140, 84.34.035, 84.36.385, 84.36.812, 84.38.040, 84.40.038, 84.48.080, 84.40.190, and 84.48.080; reenacting and amending RCW 84.34.108; adding a new section to chapter 84.52 RCW; creating a new section; providing an effective date; and providing a contingent effective date."
On motion of Senator Brown, the rules were suspended, Substitute House Bill No. 1202, as amended by the Senate, was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1202, as amended by the Senate.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1202, as amended by the Senate, and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 47; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 2.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 47.
Excused: Senators Hale and Kline - 2.
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1202, as amended by the Senate, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Constantine, Senator Thibaudeau was excused.
SECOND READING
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1650, by House Committee on Health Care (originally sponsored by Representatives Cody, Alexander, Tokuda, Mulliken, Doumit, Schual-Berke, Edwards and Kagi)
Requiring monitoring of the performance of the community mental health service delivery system.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
Senator Hargrove moved that the following Committee on Human Services and Corrections striking amendment be adopted:
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature affirms its support for those recommendations of the performance audit of the public mental health system conducted by the joint legislative audit and review committee relating to: Improving the coordination of services for clients with multiple needs; improving the consistency of client, service, and fiscal data collected by the mental health division; replacing process-oriented accountability activities with a uniform statewideoutcome measurement system; and using outcome information to identify and provide incentives for best practices in the provision of public mental health services.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The legislature supports recommendations 1 through 10 and 12 through 14 of the mental health system performance audit conducted by the joint legislative audit and review committee. The legislature expects the department of social and health services to work diligently within available funds to implement these recommendations.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. In addition to any follow-up requirements prescribed by the joint legislative audit and review committee, the department of social and health services shall submit reports to the legislature on the status of the implementation of recommendations 1 through 10 and 12 through 14 of the performance audit report. The implementation status reports must be submitted to appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the legislature by June 1, 2001, and each year thereafter through 2004.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The initial implementation status reports must discuss the status of implementing recommendations 1 through 8, which are due to be implemented by June 2001, and must also include a plan for implementing recommendations 9, 10, and 12 through 14, which are due to be implemented subsequent to June 2001. The initial implementation status report must also discuss what actions the department of social and health services has taken and will take in the future in response to recommendation 11 of the performance audit report.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The department of social and health services shall conduct a longitudinal study of long-term client outcomes to assess any changes in client status at two, five, and ten years. The measures tracked shall include client change as a result of services, employment and/or education, housing stability, criminal justice involvement, and level of services needed. The department shall report these long-term outcomes to the appropriate policy and fiscal committee of the legislature annually beginning not later than December 31, 2004.
Sec. 6. RCW 71.24.015 and 1999 c 214 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
It is the intent of the legislature to establish a community mental health program which shall help people experiencing mental illness to retain a respected and productive position in the community. This will be accomplished through programs which provide for:
(1) Access to mental health services for adults of the state who are acutely mentally ill, chronically mentally ill, or seriously disturbed and children of the state who are acutely mentally ill, severely emotionally disturbed, or seriously disturbed, which services recognize the special needs of underserved populations, including minorities, children, the elderly, disabled, and low-income persons. Access to mental health services shall not be limited by a person's history of confinement in a state, federal, or local correctional facility. It is also the purpose of this chapter to promote the early identification of mentally ill children and to ensure that they receive the mental health care and treatment which is appropriate to their developmental level. This care should improve home, school, and community functioning, maintain children in a safe and nurturing home environment, and should enable treatment decisions to be made in response to clinical needs in accordance with sound professional judgment while also recognizing parents' rights to participate in treatment decisions for their children;
(2) Accountability of efficient and effective services through statewide standards for monitoring and reporting of client and system outcome information;
(3) Minimum service delivery standards;
(4) Priorities for the use of available resources for the care of the mentally ill;
(5) Coordination of services within the department, including those divisions within the department that provide services to children, between the department and the office of the superintendent of public instruction, and among state mental hospitals, county authorities, community mental health services, and other support services, which shall to the maximum extent feasible also include the families of the mentally ill, and other service providers; and
(6) Coordination of services aimed at reducing duplication in service delivery and promoting complementary services among all entities that provide mental health services to adults and children.
It is the policy of the state to encourage the provision of a full range of treatment and rehabilitation services in the state for mental disorders. The legislature intends to encourage the development of county-based and county-managed mental health services with adequate local flexibility to assure eligible people in need of care access to the least-restrictive treatment alternative appropriate to their needs, and the availability of treatment components to assure continuity of care. To this end, counties are encouraged to enter into joint operating agreements with other counties to form regional systems of care which integrate planning, administration, and service delivery duties assigned to counties under chapters 71.05 and 71.24 RCW to consolidate administration, reduce administrative layering, and reduce administrative costs.
It is further the intent of the legislature to integrate the provision of services to provide continuity of care through all phases of treatment. To this end the legislature intends to promote active engagement with mentally ill persons and collaboration between families and service providers.
Sec. 7. RCW 71.24.035 and 1999 c 10 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The department is designated as the state mental health authority.
(2) The secretary may provide for public, client, and licensed service provider participation in developing the state mental health program.
(3) The secretary shall provide for participation in developing the state mental health program for children and other underserved populations, by including representatives on any committee established to provide oversight to the state mental health program.
(4) The secretary shall be designated as the county authority if a county fails to meet state minimum standards or refuses to exercise responsibilities under RCW 71.24.045.
(5) The secretary shall:
(a) Develop a biennial state mental health program that incorporates county biennial needs assessments and county mental health service plans and state services for mentally ill adults and children. The secretary may also develop a six-year state mental health plan;
(b) Assure that any county community mental health program provides access to treatment for the county's residents in the following order of priority: (i) The acutely mentally ill; (ii) chronically mentally ill adults and severely emotionally disturbed children; and (iii) the seriously disturbed. Such programs shall provide:
(A) Outpatient services;
(B) Emergency care services for twenty-four hours per day;
(C) Day treatment for mentally ill persons which includes training in basic living and social skills, supported work, vocational rehabilitation, and day activities. Such services may include therapeutic treatment. In the case of a child, day treatment includes age-appropriate basic living and social skills, educational and prevocational services, day activities, and therapeutic treatment;
(D) Screening for patients being considered for admission to state mental health facilities to determine the appropriateness of admission;
(E) Employment services, which may include supported employment, transitional work, placement in competitive employment, and other work-related services, that result in mentally ill persons becoming engaged in meaningful and gainful full or part-time work. Other sources of funding such as the division of vocational rehabilitation may be utilized by the secretary to maximize federal funding and provide for integration of services;
(F) Consultation and education services; and
(G) Community support services;
(c) Develop and adopt rules establishing state minimum standards for the delivery of mental health services pursuant to RCW 71.24.037 including, but not limited to:
(i) Licensed service providers;
(ii) Regional support networks; and
(iii) Residential and inpatient services, evaluation and treatment services and facilities under chapter 71.05 RCW, resource management services, and community support services;
(d) Assure that the special needs of minorities, the elderly, disabled, children, and low-income persons are met within the priorities established in this section;
(e) Establish a standard contract or contracts, consistent with state minimum standards, which shall be used by the counties;
(f) Establish, to the extent possible, a standardized auditing procedure which minimizes paperwork requirements of county authorities and licensed service providers;
(g) Develop and maintain an information system to be used by the state, counties, and regional support networks that includes a tracking method which allows the department and regional support networks to identify mental health clients' participation in any mental health service or public program on an immediate basis. The information system shall not include individual patient's case history files. Confidentiality of client information and records shall be maintained as provided in this chapter and in RCW 71.05.390, 71.05.400, 71.05.410, 71.05.420, 71.05.430, and 71.05.440;
(h) License service providers who meet state minimum standards;
(i) Certify regional support networks that meet state minimum standards;
(j) Periodically inspect certified regional support networks and licensed service providers at reasonable times and in a reasonable manner;
(k) Fix fees to be paid by evaluation and treatment centers to the secretary for the required inspections;
(l) Monitor and audit counties, regional support networks, and licensed service providers as needed to assure compliance with contractual agreements authorized by this chapter; and
(m) Adopt such rules as are necessary to implement the department's responsibilities under this chapter.
(6) The secretary shall use available resources only for regional support networks.
(7) Each certified regional support network and licensed service provider shall file with the secretary, on request, such data, statistics, schedules, and information as the secretary reasonably requires. A certified regional support network or licensed service provider which, without good cause, fails to furnish any data, statistics, schedules, or information as requested, or files fraudulent reports thereof, may have its certification or license revoked or suspended.
(8) The secretary may suspend, revoke, limit, or restrict a certification or license, or refuse to grant a certification or license for failure to conform to: (a) The law; (b) applicable rules and regulations; (c) applicable standards; or (d) state minimum standards.
(9) The superior court may restrain any regional support network or service provider from operating without certification or a license or any other violation of this section. The court may also review, pursuant to procedures contained in chapter 34.05 RCW, any denial, suspension, limitation, restriction, or revocation of certification or license, and grant other relief required to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
(10) Upon petition by the secretary, and after hearing held upon reasonable notice to the facility, the superior court may issue a warrant to an officer or employee of the secretary authorizing him or her to enter at reasonable times, and examine the records, books, and accounts of any regional support network or service provider refusing to consent to inspection or examination by the authority.
(11) Notwithstanding the existence or pursuit of any other remedy, the secretary may file an action for an injunction or other process against any person or governmental unit to restrain or prevent the establishment, conduct, or operation of a regional support network or service provider without certification or a license under this chapter.
(12) The standards for certification of evaluation and treatment facilities shall include standards relating to maintenance of good physical and mental health and other services to be afforded persons pursuant to this chapter and chapters 71.05 and 71.34 RCW, and shall otherwise assure the effectuation of the purposes of these chapters.
(13)(a) The department, in consultation with affected parties, shall establish a distribution formula that reflects county needs assessments based on the number of persons who are acutely mentally ill, chronically mentally ill, severely emotionally disturbed children, and seriously disturbed. The formula shall take into consideration the impact on counties of demographic factors in counties which result in concentrations of priority populations as set forth in subsection (5)(b) of this section. These factors shall include the population concentrations resulting from commitments under chapters 71.05 and 71.34 RCW to state psychiatric hospitals, as well as concentration in urban areas, at border crossings at state boundaries, and other significant demographic and workload factors.
(b) The formula shall also include a projection of the funding allocations that will result for each county, which specifies allocations according to priority populations, including the allocation for services to children and other underserved populations.
(c) The department may allocate up to two percent of total funds to be distributed to the regional support networks for incentive payments to reward the achievement of superior outcomes, or significantly improved outcomes, as measured by a statewide performance measurement system consistent with the framework recommended in the joint legislative audit and review committee's performance audit of the mental health system. The department shall annually report to the legislature on its criteria and allocation of the incentives provided under this subsection.
(14) The secretary shall assume all duties assigned to the nonparticipating counties under chapters 71.05, 71.34, and 71.24 RCW. Such responsibilities shall include those which would have been assigned to the nonparticipating counties under regional support networks.
The regional support networks, or the secretary's assumption of all responsibilities under chapters 71.05, 71.34, and 71.24 RCW, shall be included in all state and federal plans affecting the state mental health program including at least those required by this chapter, the medicaid program, and P.L. 99-660. Nothing in these plans shall be inconsistent with the intent and requirements of this chapter.
(15) The secretary shall:
(a) Disburse funds for the regional support networks within sixty days of approval of the biennial contract. The department must either approve or reject the biennial contract within sixty days of receipt.
(b) Enter into biennial contracts with regional support networks. The contracts shall be consistent with available resources. No contract shall be approved that does not include progress toward meeting the goals of this chapter by taking responsibility for: (i) Short-term commitments; (ii) residential care; and (iii) emergency response systems.
(c) Allocate one hundred percent of available resources to the regional support networks in accordance with subsection (13) of this section. Incentive payments authorized under subsection (13) of this section may be allocated separately from other available resources.
(d) Notify regional support networks of their allocation of available resources at least sixty days prior to the start of a new biennial contract period.
(e) Deny funding allocations to regional support networks based solely upon formal findings of noncompliance with the terms of the regional support network's contract with the department. Written notice and at least thirty days for corrective action must precede any such action. In such cases, regional support networks shall have full rights to appeal under chapter 34.05 RCW.
(f) Identify in its departmental biennial operating and capital budget requests the funds requested by regional support networks to implement their responsibilities under this chapter.
(g) Establish a maximum percentage for the reasonable administrative costs, not including direct service support, of licensed service providers.
(16) The department, in cooperation with the state congressional delegation, shall actively seek waivers of federal requirements and such modifications of federal regulations as are necessary to allow federal medicaid reimbursement for services provided by free-standing evaluation and treatment facilities certified under chapter 71.05 RCW. The department shall periodically report its efforts to the health care and corrections committee of the senate and the human services committee of the house of representatives.
(17) The secretary shall establish a task force to examine the recruitment, training, and compensation of qualified mental health professionals in the community, which shall include the advantages and disadvantages of establishing a training academy, loan forgiveness program, or educational stipends offered in exchange for commitments of employment in mental health.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately."
MOTION
Senator Kastama moved that the following amendment to the Committee on Human Services and Corrections striking amendment be adopted:
On page 9, beginning on line 1 of the amendment, strike all of section 8 and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The legislature finds that in order to comply with the community mental health services act, chapter 71.24 RCW, and the medicaid managed care mental health waiver, and to effectively assist persons with mental illness and consumers of mental health services in the assertion of their civil and human rights, and to improve the quality of services available and promote the rehabilitation, recovery, and reintegration of these persons, an independent mental health ombudsman program should be instituted.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. As used in this chapter, "mental health provider or facility" means any of the following:
(1) An agency, individual, or facility that is part of the community mental health service delivery system, as defined in RCW 71.24.025;
(2) A long-term care facility, as defined in RCW 43.190.020, in which adults or children with mental illness reside;
(3) A state hospital, as defined in RCW 72.23.010;
(4) A facility or agency that receives funds from the state of Washington to provide residential or treatment services to adults or children with mental illness; and
(5) A facility or service licensed under chapter 71.12 RCW to provide care or treatment to adults or children with mental illness.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. (1) The department of community, trade, and economic development shall contract with a private nonprofit organization to be the office of mental health ombudsman and to provide mental health ombudsman services as specified under, and consistent with, the medicaid managed care mental health waiver, state law, the goals of the state, and the needs of its citizens. The department of community, trade, and economic development shall ensure that all program and staff support necessary to enable the ombudsman to effectively protect the interests of persons with mental illness is provided by the nonprofit organization that contracts to be the office of mental health ombudsman and to provide independent mental health ombudsman services. The department shall designate the organization to be the office of mental health ombudsman and to provide mental health ombudsman services by a competitive bidding process which shall include direct stakeholder participation in the development of the request for proposal, evaluation of bids, and final selection. The department shall ensure that the designated agency has demonstrated financial stability and meets the qualifications for ombudsman identified in section 11 of this act. The department shall undertake an annual review of the designated agency to ensure compliance with the provisions of the contract. The department shall not redesignate the agency serving as the office of mental health ombudsman except upon a showing of good cause for redesignation, and after notice and opportunity for agency and public comment have been made and there has been an opportunity to appeal the redesignation to the director.
(2) The department of community, trade, and economic development shall adopt rules to carry out this chapter.
(3) The office of mental health ombudsman shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) Provide services for coordinating the activities of mental health ombudsmen throughout the state;
(b) Carry out such other activities as the department of community, trade, and economic development deems appropriate;
(c) Establish procedures consistent with section 17 of this act for appropriate access by mental health ombudsmen to mental health providers and facilities and the records of patients, residents, and clients, including procedures to protect the confidentiality of the records and ensure that the identity of any complainant or resident will not be disclosed without the written consent of the complainant or resident, or upon court order;
(d) Establish a statewide uniform reporting system to collect and analyze data relating to complaints, conditions, and service quality provided by mental health providers and facilities for the purpose of identifying and resolving significant individual problems and analyzing, developing, and advocating remedies in policy, practice, or legislation for systemic problems, with provision for submission of such data to the department of social and health services, the state block grant mental health advisory committee, and to the federal department of health and human services, or its successor agency, on a regular basis. This reporting system must be compatible with uniform child and adult consumer service outcomes, where such outcome measures are established;
(e) Establish procedures to assure that any files maintained by ombudsman programs shall be disclosed only at the discretion of the ombudsman having authority over the disposition of such files, except that the identity of a complainant or patient, resident, or client of a mental health provider or facility may not be disclosed by the ombudsman unless:
(i) The complainant or resident, or the complainant or resident's legal representative, consents in writing to such disclosure; or
(ii) Such disclosure is required by court order;
(f) Establish ombudsman services that are available statewide, and at eastern state and western state hospitals; and
(g) Establish the jurisdiction of the mental health ombudsman so that it does not overlap with other state ombudsman offices and allows contact and coordination among the various state ombudsman offices.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. (1) The agency designated by the department of community, trade, and economic development as the office of mental health ombudsman and any mental health ombudsman authorized by this chapter or a local governmental authority must have training or experience in all of the following areas:
(a) Mental health and other related social services programs;
(b) The legal system;
(c) Advocacy and supporting self-advocacy; and
(d) Dispute or problem resolution techniques, including investigation, mediation, and negotiation.
(2) A mental health ombudsman or quality review team member must not have been employed by a regional support network or any mental health provider or facility within the past three years, except where prior to the adoption of this chapter he or she has been employed by or volunteered for a regional support network or subcontractor thereof or a state hospital to provide mental health ombudsman services pursuant to the requirements of the federal medicaid managed care mental health waiver. The office of mental health ombudsman shall actively recruit persons who provided ombudsman services through a regional support network or subcontractor thereof or a state hospital.
(3) No mental health ombudsman or any member of his or her immediate family may have, or have had within the past three years, any pecuniary interest in the provision of mental health services.
(4) The office of mental health ombudsman shall maintain a toll-free telephone number.
(5) Mental health ombudsmen shall assist and advocate on behalf of patients, residents, and clients of mental health providers and facilities and shall attempt to resolve complaints informally, using complaint and grievance processes and, if applicable, the fair hearing process. Mental health ombudsmen shall attempt to resolve all disputes at the lowest possible level.
(6) The office of mental health ombudsman shall ensure that there are quality review teams established to evaluate quality and consumer satisfaction and provide recommendations for service improvements, as required by the medicaid managed care waiver. Quality review teams shall define, establish, and measure systemic consumer outcomes and report on systemic causes of consumer access barrier service problems.
(7) Where consented to by the patient, resident, or client, ombudsmen shall involve family members and friends in the process of resolving complaints.
(8) The office of mental health ombudsman shall support mental health service recipient participation in treatment planning and delivery, both on an individual basis and systemwide, and shall actively recruit and support the participation of consumers, parents, and guardians of minor children recipients, and family members of adult service recipients as mental health ombudsmen and quality review team members.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. (1) The office of mental health ombudsman shall provide information relevant to the quality of mental health services, and recommendations for improvements in the quality of mental health services, to regional support networks and the mental health division.
(2) The mental health division and the regional support networks shall work in cooperation with the office of mental health ombudsman to develop agreements regarding how this quality information will be incorporated into their quality management system. These agreements must ensure that information related to complaints and grievances conforms to a standardized form.
(3) The office of mental health ombudsman shall ensure that its reports and recommendations are broadly distributed and shall report annually regarding its activities, findings, and recommendations to at least the following: The mental health division, the mental health advisory board, the state long-term care ombudsman, the state family and children's ombudsman, the state designated protection and advocacy system, the department of community, trade, and economic development, regional support networks, and mental health advocacy groups.
(4) Regional support networks and the mental health division shall promptly provide the office of mental health ombudsman with demographic information they possess regarding the diversity of individuals applying for, receiving, and denied services in each region, service utilization information, contract and subcontract requirements, the results of all audits and reviews conducted by the regional support networks or the mental health division, and such other information collected or produced by the regional support networks or the mental health division as may be necessary for mental health ombudsman and quality review team members in the performance of their duties.
(5) Regional support networks and the mental health division shall assist mental health ombudsman and quality review team members in obtaining entry and meaningful access to mental health providers and facilities, cooperation from their staff, and access to patients and clients.
(6) Each regional support network and state hospital shall designate at least one liaison to the office of mental health ombudsman who shall be responsible for ensuring that mental health ombudsman and quality review team members are actively included in quality management planning and assessment, for providing assistance in resolving issues regarding access to information and patients or clients, and for resolving individual and systemic issues where requested by the mental health ombudsman or quality review team.
(7) Regional support networks, state hospitals, and their subcontractors shall respond in writing to all recommendations regarding quality improvement made by mental health ombudsmen and quality review teams within thirty days of issuance, and shall identify what action will be taken in response, and if no action or action other than that which is recommended by the mental health ombudsman or quality review team is taken, the reasons for the variance must be explained in writing.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. The office of mental health ombudsman shall provide the legislature with an annual report that includes:
(1) An identification of the demographic status of those served by the mental health ombudsman;
(2) A description of the issues addressed, and a brief description of case scenarios in a form that does not compromise confidentiality;
(3) An accounting of the monitoring activities of the ombudsman;
(4) An identification of the results of measurements of consumer satisfaction and other outcome measures;
(5) An identification of the numbers of volunteers used and in what capacity;
(6) An identification of deficiencies in the service system and recommendations for remedial action;
(7) Recommendations for regulatory action by agencies that would improve the quality of service to individuals with mental illness; and
(8) Recommendations for legislative action that would result in improved services to individuals with mental illness.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. Every mental health provider and facility shall post in a conspicuous location a notice providing the office of mental health ombudsman's toll-free number, and the name, address, and phone number of the office of the appropriate local mental health ombudsman and quality review team and a brief description of the services provided. The form of the notice must be approved by the office of mental health ombudsman. This information must also be distributed to the patients, residents, and clients, and their family members and legal guardians, upon application for mental health provider services, and upon admission to a mental health facility.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. The office of mental health ombudsman shall:
(1) Identify, investigate, and resolve complaints made by or on behalf of patients, residents, clients of mental health providers and facilities, and individuals denied services relating to administrative action, inaction, or decisions, that may adversely affect the rehabilitation, recovery, reintegration, health, safety, welfare, and rights of these individuals;
(2) Monitor the development and implementation of federal, state, and local laws, rules, regulations, and policies with respect to mental health service provision in this state;
(3) Provide information as appropriate to patients, residents, clients, individuals denied services, family members, guardians, resident representatives, employees of mental health providers and facilities, and others regarding the rights of residents, and to public agencies regarding the quality of service, complaints, and problems of individuals receiving or denied services from mental health providers and facilities; and
(4) Provide for the training and certification of paid and volunteer mental health ombudsmen. Paid mental health ombudsmen shall recruit, supervise, and provide ongoing training of certified volunteer mental health ombudsmen. Volunteers may be recruited to otherwise assist with mental health ombudsman and quality review team services.
(5) A trained and certified mental health ombudsman, in accordance with the policies and procedures established by the office of mental health ombudsman, shall inform residents, their representatives, and others about the rights of residents, and may identify, investigate, and resolve complaints and monitor the quality of services provided to patients, residents, and clients of mental health providers and facilities.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. (1) The office of mental health ombudsman shall develop referral procedures for all mental health ombudsmen to refer any complaint to an appropriate state or local government agency. The department of social and health services shall act as quickly as possible on any complaint referred to them by a mental health ombudsman.
(2) The department of social and health services shall respond to any complaint against a mental health provider or facility that was referred to it by a mental health ombudsman and shall forward to that ombudsman a summary of the results of the investigation and action proposed or taken.
(3) The office of mental health ombudsman, and all local mental health ombudsmen and related volunteers, shall work in cooperation with the state designated protection and advocacy agency, the long-term care ombudsman, and the children and family ombudsman. The office of mental health ombudsman shall develop and implement a working agreement with the protection and advocacy agency, the long-term care ombudsman, and the children and family ombudsman, to ensure efficient, coordinated service.
(4) The office of mental health ombudsman shall develop working agreements with each regional support network, the state psychiatric hospitals, the mental health division, and such other entities as necessary to accomplish the goals of the program.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. (1) The office of mental health ombudsman shall develop procedures governing the right of entry of all mental health ombudsmen to mental health providers and facilities, jails, and correctional facilities.
(2) Mental health ombudsmen and quality review team members shall have access to patients, residents, and clients of mental health providers and facilities, other entities providing inpatient or outpatient social services, and jails, with provisions made for privacy, for the purpose of hearing, investigating, and resolving complaints and monitoring the quality of services, at any time deemed necessary and reasonable by the office of mental health ombudsman to effectively carry out the provisions of this chapter. Ombudsmen and quality review team members who have passed criminal background checks must have access to inmates at correctional facilities with reasonable notice to the department of corrections, with provisions made for privacy, for the purpose of hearing, investigating, and resolving complaints and monitoring the quality of services, at any time deemed necessary and reasonable by the office of mental health ombudsman to effectively carry out the provisions of this chapter.
(3) Nothing in this chapter restricts, limits, or increases any existing right of an organization or individual not described in subsections (1) and (2) of this section to enter or provide assistance to patients, residents, or clients of mental health providers or facilities.
(4) Nothing in this chapter restricts any right or privilege of a patient, resident, or client of a mental health provider or facility to receive visitors of his or her choice.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. (1) No mental health ombudsman, volunteer, or quality review team member is liable for good faith performance of responsibilities under this chapter.
(2) No discriminatory, disciplinary, or retaliatory action may be taken against an employee of a mental health provider or facility, or a patient, resident, or client of a mental health provider or facility, or a volunteer, for any communication made, or information given or disclosed, to aid the mental health ombudsman or quality review team in carrying out duties and responsibilities under this chapter, unless the same was done maliciously or without good faith. This subsection is not intended to infringe on the rights of the employer to supervise, discipline, or terminate an employee for other reasons.
(3) All communications by a mental health ombudsman or quality review team member, if reasonably related to the requirements of that individual's responsibilities under this chapter and done in good faith, are privileged, and that privilege shall serve as a defense to any action in libel or slander.
(4) A representative of the office of mental health ombudsman is exempt from being required to testify in court as to any confidential matters except as the court may deem necessary to enforce this chapter.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 19. All records and files of mental health ombudsmen relating to any complaint or investigation made pursuant to carrying out their duties and the identities of complainants, witnesses, patients, or residents shall remain confidential unless disclosure is authorized by the client or his or her guardian or legal representative. No disclosures may be made outside the office without the consent of any named witnesses, resident, patient, client, or complainant unless the disclosure is made without the identity of any of these individuals being disclosed.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 20. (1) It is the intent of the legislature that the state mental health ombudsman program make reasonable efforts to maintain and improve the current level and quality of care, taking into account the transition period from the current system of ombudsman programs and quality review teams within the regional support networks and state hospitals.
(2) The legislature intends that federal medicaid requirements be met.
(3) The legislature intends that the implementation and operation of the state mental health ombudsman program shall have no additional fiscal impact for the first two years of the program, and that:
(a) The department of community, trade, and economic development shall expend no more general fund-state dollars than the general fund-state amount annually expended by the department of social and health services, and its contractors and subcontractors, for mental health ombudsman and quality review team services, and related administrative costs, such as training, staff support, monitoring, and oversight.
(b) Costs and expenses, as referenced in this section, must include any and all general fund-state amounts associated with the implementation and operation of the state mental health ombudsman program by the department of community, trade, and economic development, the office of mental health ombudsman, and its contractors or subcontractors. Any general fund-state costs incurred in the planning and implementation of the state mental health ombudsman program while services are still being provided within the regional support networks and state hospitals must be made up out of the next fiscal year's total amount of the interagency agreement between the department of community, trade, and economic development and the department of social and health services, for contracted services and related administrative costs.
(c) Nothing in this section may be construed to prevent the solicitation and use of private funds by the department of community, trade, and economic development or the office of mental health ombudsman. Any funds received from private sources may be expended in excess of the limitations imposed in this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 21. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 22. Sections 8 through 21 and 23 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 71 RCW.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 23. Sections 8 through 21 of this act take effect July 1, 2002.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 24. Sections 1 through 7 of this act are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and take effect immediately."
Debate ensued.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the adoption of the amendment by Senator Kastama on page 9, beginning on line 1, to the Committee on Human Services and Corrections striking amendment to Substitute House Bill No. 1650.
The motion by Senator Kastama carried and the amendment to the committee striking amendment was adopted.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the adoption of the Committee on Human Services and Corrections striking amendment, as amended, to Substitute House Bill No. 1650.
The motion by Senator Hargrove carried and the committee striking amendment, as amended, was adopted.
MOTIONS
On motion of Senator Hargrove, the following title amendments were considered simultaneously and adopted:
On page 1, line 1 of the title, after "services;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "amending RCW 71.24.015 and 71.24.035; creating new sections; and declaring an emergency."
On page 9, line 9 of the title amendment, after "insert" strike the remainder of the title amendment and insert "amending RCW 71.24.015 and 71.24.035; adding a new chapter to Title 71 RCW; creating new sections; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency."
On motion of Senator Hargrove, the rules were suspended, Substitute House Bill No. 1650, as amended by the Senate, was advanced to
third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1650, as amended by the Senate.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1650, as amended by the Senate, and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 47; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 2.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 47.
Excused: Senators Hale and Thibaudeau - 2.
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1650, as amended by the Senate, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1214, by House Committee on Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives H. Sommers, Lambert, Doumit and Delvin) (by request of Joint Committee on Pension Policy)
Clarifying certain administrative and investment duties of the department of retirement systems and the state investment board.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Brown, the rules were suspended, Substitute House Bill No. 1214 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1214.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1214 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 48; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 1.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 48.
Excused: Senator Hale - 1.
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1214, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
HOUSE BILL NO. 1952, by Representatives Ballasiotes and O'Brien
Revising registration requirements for transient sex offenders and kidnapping offenders.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
Senator Costa moved that the following Committee on Human Services and Corrections striking amendment be adopted:
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"Sec. 1. RCW 9A.44.130 and 2000 c 91 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Any adult or juvenile residing whether or not the person has a fixed residence, or who is a student, is employed, or carries on a vocation in this state who has been found to have committed or has been convicted of any sex offense or kidnapping offense, or who has been found not guilty by reason of insanity under chapter 10.77 RCW of committing any sex offense or kidnapping offense, shall register with the county sheriff for the county of the person's residence, or if the person is not a resident of Washington, the county of the person's school, or place of employment or vocation, or as otherwise specified in this section. Where a person required to register under this section is in custody of the state department of corrections, the state department of social and health services, a local division of youth services, or a local jail or juvenile detention facility as a result of a sex offense or kidnapping offense, the person shall also register at the time of release from custody with an official designated by the agency that has jurisdiction over the person. In addition, any such adult or juvenile who is admitted to a public or private institution of higher education shall, within ten days of enrolling or by the first business day after arriving at the institution, whichever is earlier, notify the sheriff for the county of the person's residence of the person's intent to attend the institution. Persons required to register under this section who are enrolled in a public or private institution of higher education on June 11, 1998, must notify the county sheriff immediately. The sheriff shall notify the institution's department of public safety and shall provide that department with the same information provided to a county sheriff under subsection (3) of this section.
(2) This section may not be construed to confer any powers pursuant to RCW 4.24.500 upon the public safety department of any public or private institution of higher education.
(3)(a) The person shall provide the following information when registering: (i) Name; (ii) address; (iii) date and place of birth; (iv) place of employment; (v) crime for which convicted; (vi) date and place of conviction; (vii) aliases used; (viii) social security number; (ix) photograph; and (x) fingerprints.
(b) Any person who lacks a fixed residence shall provide the following information when registering: (i) Name; (ii) date and place of birth; (iii) place of employment; (iv) crime for which convicted; (v) date and place of conviction; (vi) aliases used; (vii) social security number; (viii) photograph; (ix) fingerprints; and (x) where he or she plans to stay.
(4)(a) Offenders shall register with the county sheriff within the following deadlines. For purposes of this section the term "conviction" refers to adult convictions and juvenile adjudications for sex offenses or kidnapping offenses:
(i) OFFENDERS IN CUSTODY. (A) Sex offenders who committed a sex offense on, before, or after February 28, 1990, and who, on or after July 28, 1991, are in custody, as a result of that offense, of the state department of corrections, the state department of social and health services, a local division of youth services, or a local jail or juvenile detention facility, and (B) kidnapping offenders who on or after July 27, 1997, are in custody of the state department of corrections, the state department of social and health services, a local division of youth services, or a local jail or juvenile detention facility, must register at the time of release from custody with an official designated by the agency that has jurisdiction over the offender. The agency shall within three days forward the registration information to the county sheriff for the county of the offender's anticipated residence. The offender must also register within twenty-four hours from the time of release with the county sheriff for the county of the person's residence, or if the person is not a resident of Washington, the county of the person's school, or place of employment or vocation. The agency that has jurisdiction over the offender shall provide notice to the offender of the duty to register. Failure to register at the time of release and within twenty-four hours of release constitutes a violation of this section and is punishable as provided in subsection (10) of this section.
When the agency with jurisdiction intends to release an offender with a duty to register under this section, and the agency has knowledge that the offender is eligible for developmental disability services from the department of social and health services, the agency shall notify the division of developmental disabilities of the release. Notice shall occur not more than thirty days before the offender is to be released. The agency and the division shall assist the offender in meeting the initial registration requirement under this section. Failure to provide such assistance shall not constitute a defense for any violation of this section.
(ii) OFFENDERS NOT IN CUSTODY BUT UNDER STATE OR LOCAL JURISDICTION. Sex offenders who, on July 28, 1991, are not in custody but are under the jurisdiction of the indeterminate sentence review board or under the department of correction's active supervision, as defined by the department of corrections, the state department of social and health services, or a local division of youth services, for sex offenses committed before, on, or after February 28, 1990, must register within ten days of July 28, 1991. Kidnapping offenders who, on July 27, 1997, are not in custody but are under the jurisdiction of the indeterminate sentence review board or under the department of correction's active supervision, as defined by the department of corrections, the state department of social and health services, or a local division of youth services, for kidnapping offenses committed before, on, or after July 27, 1997, must register within ten days of July 27, 1997. A change in supervision status of a sex offender who was required to register under this subsection (4)(a)(ii) as of July 28, 1991, or a kidnapping offender required to register as of July 27, 1997, shall not relieve the offender of the duty to register or to reregister following a change in residence. The obligation to register shall only cease pursuant to RCW 9A.44.140.
(iii) OFFENDERS UNDER FEDERAL JURISDICTION. Sex offenders who, on or after July 23, 1995, and kidnapping offenders who, on or after July 27, 1997, as a result of that offense are in the custody of the United States bureau of prisons or other federal or military correctional agency for sex offenses committed before, on, or after February 28, 1990, or kidnapping offenses committed on, before, or after July 27, 1997, must register within twenty-four hours from the time of release with the county sheriff for the county of the person's residence, or if the person is not a resident of Washington, the county of the person's school, or place of employment or vocation. Sex offenders who, on July 23, 1995, are not in custody but are under the jurisdiction of the United States bureau of prisons, United States courts, United States parole commission, or military parole board for sex offenses committed before, on, or after February 28, 1990, must register within ten days of July 23, 1995. Kidnapping offenders who, on July 27, 1997, are not in custody but are under the jurisdiction of the United States bureau of prisons, United States courts, United States parole commission, or military parole board for kidnapping offenses committed before, on, or after July 27, 1997, must register within ten days of July 27, 1997. A change in supervision status of a sex offender who was required to register under this subsection (4)(a)(iii) as of July 23, 1995, or a kidnapping offender required to register as of July 27, 1997 shall not relieve the offender of the duty to register or to reregister following a change in residence, or if the person is not a resident of Washington, the county of the person's school, or place of employment or vocation. The obligation to register shall only cease pursuant to RCW 9A.44.140.
(iv) OFFENDERS WHO ARE CONVICTED BUT NOT CONFINED. Sex offenders who are convicted of a sex offense on or after July 28, 1991, for a sex offense that was committed on or after February 28, 1990, and kidnapping offenders who are convicted on or after July 27, 1997, for a kidnapping offense that was committed on or after July 27, 1997, but who are not sentenced to serve a term of confinement immediately upon sentencing, shall report to the county sheriff to register immediately upon completion of being sentenced.
(v) OFFENDERS WHO ARE NEW RESIDENTS OR RETURNING WASHINGTON RESIDENTS. Sex offenders and kidnapping offenders who move to Washington state from another state or a foreign country that are not under the jurisdiction of the state department of corrections, the indeterminate sentence review board, or the state department of social and health services at the time of moving to Washington, must register within thirty days of establishing residence or reestablishing residence if the person is a former Washington resident. The duty to register under this subsection applies to sex offenders convicted under the laws of another state or a foreign country, federal or military statutes, or Washington state for offenses committed on or after February 28, 1990, and to kidnapping offenders convicted under the laws of another state or a foreign country, federal or military statutes, or Washington state for offenses committed on or after July 27, 1997. Sex offenders and kidnapping offenders from other states or a foreign country who, when they move to Washington, are under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections, the indeterminate sentence review board, or the department of social and health services must register within twenty-four hours of moving to Washington. The agency that has jurisdiction over the offender shall notify the offender of the registration requirements before the offender moves to Washington.
(vi) OFFENDERS FOUND NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY. Any adult or juvenile who has been found not guilty by reason of insanity under chapter 10.77 RCW of (A) committing a sex offense on, before, or after February 28, 1990, and who, on or after July 23, 1995, is in custody, as a result of that finding, of the state department of social and health services, or (B) committing a kidnapping offense on, before, or after July 27, 1997, and who on or after July 27, 1997, is in custody, as a result of that finding, of the state department of social and health services, must register within twenty-four hours from the time of release with the county sheriff for the county of the person's residence. The state department of social and health services shall provide notice to the adult or juvenile in its custody of the duty to register. Any adult or juvenile who has been found not guilty by reason of insanity of committing a sex offense on, before, or after February 28, 1990, but who was released before July 23, 1995, or any adult or juvenile who has been found not guilty by reason of insanity of committing a kidnapping offense but who was released before July 27, 1997, shall be required to register within twenty-four hours of receiving notice of this registration requirement. The state department of social and health services shall make reasonable attempts within available resources to notify sex offenders who were released before July 23, 1995, and kidnapping offenders who were released before July 27, 1997. Failure to register within twenty-four hours of release, or of receiving notice, constitutes a violation of this section and is punishable as provided in subsection (10) of this section.
(vii) OFFENDERS WHO LACK A FIXED RESIDENCE. Any person who lacks a fixed residence and leaves the county in which he or she is registered and enters and remains within a new county for twenty-four hours is required to register with the county sheriff not more than twenty-four hours after entering the county and provide the information required in subsection (3)(b) of this section.
(viii) OFFENDERS WHO LACK A FIXED RESIDENCE AND WHO ARE UNDER SUPERVISION. Offenders who lack a fixed residence and who are under the supervision of the department shall register in the county of their supervision.
(ix) OFFENDERS WHO MOVE TO, WORK, CARRY ON A VOCATION, OR ATTEND SCHOOL IN ANOTHER STATE. Offenders required to register in Washington, who move to another state, or who work, carry on a vocation, or attend school in another state shall register a new address, fingerprints, and photograph with the new state within ten days after establishing residence, or after beginning to work, carry on a vocation, or attend school in the new state. The person must also send written notice within ten days of moving to the new state or to a foreign country to the county sheriff with whom the person last registered in Washington state. The county sheriff shall promptly forward this information to the Washington state patrol.
(b) Failure to register within the time required under this section constitutes a per se violation of this section and is punishable as provided in subsection (10) of this section. The county sheriff shall not be required to determine whether the person is living within the county.
(c) An arrest on charges of failure to register, service of an information, or a complaint for a violation of this section, or arraignment on charges for a violation of this section, constitutes actual notice of the duty to register. Any person charged with the crime of failure to register under this section who asserts as a defense the lack of notice of the duty to register shall register immediately following actual notice of the duty through arrest, service, or arraignment. Failure to register as required under this subsection (4)(c) constitutes grounds for filing another charge of failing to register. Registering following arrest, service, or arraignment on charges shall not relieve the offender from criminal liability for failure to register prior to the filing of the original charge.
(d) The deadlines for the duty to register under this section do not relieve any sex offender of the duty to register under this section as it existed prior to July 28, 1991.
(5)(a) If any person required to register pursuant to this section changes his or her residence address within the same county, the person must send written notice of the change of address to the county sheriff within seventy-two hours of moving. If any person required to register pursuant to this section moves to a new county, the person must send written notice of the change of address at least fourteen days before moving to the county sheriff in the new county of residence and must register with that county sheriff within twenty-four hours of moving. The person must also send written notice within ten days of the change of address in the new county to the county sheriff with whom the person last registered. The county sheriff with whom the person last registered shall promptly forward the information concerning the change of address to the county sheriff for the county of the person's new residence. Upon receipt of notice of change of address to a new state, the county sheriff shall promptly forward the information regarding the change of address to the agency designated by the new state as the state's offender registration agency.
(b) It is an affirmative defense to a charge that the person failed to send a notice at least fourteen days in advance of moving as required under (a) of this subsection that the person did not know the location of his or her new residence at least fourteen days before moving. The defendant must establish the defense by a preponderance of the evidence and, to prevail on the defense, must also prove by a preponderance that the defendant sent the required notice within twenty-four hours of determining the new address.
(6)(a) Any person required to register under this section who lacks a fixed residence shall provide written notice to the sheriff of the county where he or she last registered within ((fourteen days)) forty-eight hours excluding weekends and holidays after ceasing to have a fixed residence. The notice shall include the information required by subsection (3)(b) of this section, except the photograph and fingerprints. The county sheriff may, for reasonable cause, require the offender to provide a photograph and fingerprints. The sheriff shall forward this information to the sheriff of the county in which the person intends to reside, if the person intends to reside in another county.
(b) A person who lacks a fixed residence must report weekly, in person, to the sheriff of the county where he or she is registered. ((If he or she has been classified as a risk level I sex or kidnapping offender, he or she must report monthly. If he or she has been classified as a risk level II or III sex or kidnapping offender, he or she must report weekly.)) The weekly report shall be on a day specified by the county sheriff's office, and shall occur during normal business hours. The county sheriff's office may require the person to list the locations where the person has stayed during the last seven days. The lack of a fixed residence is a factor that may be considered in determining ((a sex)) an offender's risk level and shall make the offender subject to disclosure of information to the public at large pursuant to RCW 4.24.550.
(c) If any person required to register pursuant to this section does not have a fixed residence, it is an affirmative defense to the charge of failure to register, that he or she provided written notice to the sheriff of the county where he or she last registered within ((fourteen days)) forty-eight hours excluding weekends and holidays after ceasing to have a fixed residence and has subsequently complied with the requirements of subsections (4)(a)(vii) or (viii) and (6) of this section. To prevail, the person must prove the defense by a preponderance of the evidence.
(7) A sex offender subject to registration requirements under this section who applies to change his or her name under RCW 4.24.130 or any other law shall submit a copy of the application to the county sheriff of the county of the person's residence and to the state patrol not fewer than five days before the entry of an order granting the name change. No sex offender under the requirement to register under this section at the time of application shall be granted an order changing his or her name if the court finds that doing so will interfere with legitimate law enforcement interests, except that no order shall be denied when the name change is requested for religious or legitimate cultural reasons or in recognition of marriage or dissolution of marriage. A sex offender under the requirement to register under this section who receives an order changing his or her name shall submit a copy of the order to the county sheriff of the county of the person's residence and to the state patrol within five days of the entry of the order.
(8) The county sheriff shall obtain a photograph of the individual and shall obtain a copy of the individual's fingerprints.
(9) For the purpose of RCW 9A.44.130, 10.01.200, 43.43.540, 70.48.470, and 72.09.330:
(a) "Sex offense" means any offense defined as a sex offense by RCW 9.94A.030 and any violation of RCW 9.68A.040 (sexual exploitation of a minor), 9.68A.050 (dealing in depictions of minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct), 9.68A.060 (sending, bringing into state depictions of minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct), 9.68A.090 (communication with minor for immoral purposes), 9.68A.100 (patronizing juvenile prostitute), or 9A.44.096 (sexual misconduct with a minor in the second degree), as well as any gross misdemeanor that is, under chapter 9A.28 RCW, a criminal attempt, criminal solicitation, or criminal conspiracy to commit an offense that is classified as a sex offense under RCW 9.94A.030.
(b) "Kidnapping offense" means the crimes of kidnapping in the first degree, kidnapping in the second degree, and unlawful imprisonment as defined in chapter 9A.40 RCW, where the victim is a minor and the offender is not the minor's parent.
(c) "Employed" or "carries on a vocation" means employment that is full-time or part-time for a period of time exceeding fourteen days, or for an aggregate period of time exceeding thirty days during any calendar year. A person is employed or carries on a vocation whether the person's employment is financially compensated, volunteered, or for the purpose of government or educational benefit.
(d) "Student" means a person who is enrolled, on a full-time or part-time basis, in any public or private educational institution. An educational institution includes any secondary school, trade or professional institution, or institution of higher education.
(10) A person who knowingly fails to register with the county sheriff or notify the county sheriff, or who changes his or her name without notifying the county sheriff and the state patrol, as required by this section is guilty of a class C felony if the crime for which the individual was convicted was a felony sex offense as defined in subsection (9)(a) of this section or a federal or out-of-state conviction for an offense that under the laws of this state would be a felony sex offense as defined in subsection (9)(a) of this section. If the crime was other than a felony or a federal or out-of-state conviction for an offense that under the laws of this state would be other than a felony, violation of this section is a gross misdemeanor.
(11) A person who knowingly fails to register or who moves within the state without notifying the county sheriff as required by this section is guilty of a class C felony if the crime for which the individual was convicted was a felony kidnapping offense as defined in subsection (9)(b) of this section or a federal or out-of-state conviction for an offense that under the laws of this state would be a felony kidnapping offense as defined in subsection (9)(b) of this section. If the crime was other than a felony or a federal or out-of-state conviction for an offense that under the laws of this state would be other than a felony, violation of this section is a gross misdemeanor.
Sec. 2. RCW 4.24.550 and 1998 c 220 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Public agencies are authorized to release information to the public regarding sex offenders and kidnapping offenders when the agency determines that disclosure of the information is relevant and necessary to protect the public and counteract the danger created by the particular offender. This authorization applies to information regarding: (a) Any person adjudicated or convicted of a sex offense as defined in RCW 9A.44.130 or a kidnapping offense as defined by RCW 9A.44.130; (b) any person under the jurisdiction of the indeterminate sentence review board as the result of a sex offense or kidnapping offense; (c) any person committed as a sexually violent predator under chapter 71.09 RCW or as a sexual psychopath under chapter 71.06 RCW; (d) any person found not guilty of a sex offense or kidnapping offense by reason of insanity under chapter 10.77 RCW; and (e) any person found incompetent to stand trial for a sex offense or kidnapping offense and subsequently committed under chapter 71.05 or 71.34 RCW.
(2) The extent of the public disclosure of relevant and necessary information shall be rationally related to: (a) The level of risk posed by the offender to the community; (b) the locations where the offender resides, expects to reside, or is regularly found; and (c) the needs of the affected community members for information to enhance their individual and collective safety.
(3) Local law enforcement agencies shall consider the following guidelines in determining the extent of a public disclosure made under this section: (a) For offenders classified as risk level I, the agency shall share information with other appropriate law enforcement agencies and may disclose, upon request, relevant, necessary, and accurate information to any victim or witness to the offense and to any individual community member who lives near the residence where the offender resides, expects to reside, or is regularly found; (b) for offenders classified as risk level II, the agency may also disclose relevant, necessary, and accurate information to public and private schools, child day care centers, family day care providers, businesses and organizations that serve primarily children, women, or vulnerable adults, and neighbors and community groups near the residence where the offender resides, expects to reside, or is regularly found; ((and)) (c) for offenders classified as risk level III, the agency may also disclose relevant, necessary, and accurate information to the public at large; and (d) because more localized notification is not feasible and homeless and transient offenders may present unique risks to the community, the agency may also disclose relevant, necessary, and accurate information to the public at large for offenders registered as homeless or transient.
(4) Local law enforcement agencies that disseminate information pursuant to this section shall: (a) Review available risk level classifications made by the department of corrections, the department of social and health services, and the indeterminate sentence review board; (b) assign risk level classifications to all offenders about whom information will be disseminated; and (c) make a good faith effort to notify the public and residents at least fourteen days before the offender is released from confinement or, where an offender moves from another jurisdiction, as soon as possible after the agency learns of the offender's move, except that in no case may this notification provision be construed to require an extension of an offender's release date. The juvenile court shall provide local law enforcement officials with all relevant information on offenders allowed to remain in the community in a timely manner.
(5) An appointed or elected public official, public employee, or public agency as defined in RCW 4.24.470 is immune from civil liability for damages for any discretionary risk level classification decisions or release of relevant and necessary information, unless it is shown that the official, employee, or agency acted with gross negligence or in bad faith. The immunity in this section applies to risk level classification decisions and the release of relevant and necessary information regarding any individual for whom disclosure is authorized. The decision of a local law enforcement agency or official to classify an offender to a risk level other than the one assigned by the department of corrections, the department of social and health services, or the indeterminate sentence review board, or the release of any relevant and necessary information based on that different classification shall not, by itself, be considered gross negligence or bad faith. The immunity provided under this section applies to the release of relevant and necessary information to other public officials, public employees, or public agencies, and to the general public.
(6) Except as may otherwise be provided by law, nothing in this section shall impose any liability upon a public official, public employee, or public agency for failing to release information authorized under this section.
(7) Nothing in this section implies that information regarding persons designated in subsection (1) of this section is confidential except as may otherwise be provided by law.
(8) When a local law enforcement agency or official classifies an offender differently than the offender is classified by the department of corrections, the department of social and health services, or the indeterminate sentence review board, the law enforcement agency or official shall notify the appropriate department or the board and submit its reasons supporting the change in classification."
MOTION
On motion of Senator Costa, the following amendment to the Committee on Human Services and Corrections striking amendment was adopted:On page 12, after line 20 of the amendment, insert the following:
"Sec. 3. RCW 36.28A.040 and 2000 c 3 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) No later than ((December 31, 2001)) July 1, 2002, the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs shall implement and operate an electronic state-wide city and county jail booking and reporting system. The system shall serve as a central repository and instant information source for offender information and jail statistical data. The system shall be placed on the Washington state justice information network and be capable of communicating electronically with every Washington state city and county jail and with all other Washington state criminal justice agencies as defined in RCW 10.97.030.
(2) After the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs has implemented an electronic jail booking system as described in subsection (1) of this section, if a city or county jail or law enforcement agency receives state or federal funding to cover the entire cost of implementing or reconfiguring an electronic jail booking system, the city or county jail or law enforcement agency shall implement or reconfigure an electronic jail booking system that is in compliance with the jail booking system standards developed pursuant to subsection (4) of this section.
(3) After the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs has implemented an electronic jail booking system as described in subsection (1) of this section, city or county jails, or law enforcement agencies that operate electronic jail booking systems, but choose not to accept state or federal money to implement or reconfigure electronic jail booking systems, shall electronically forward jail booking information to the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs. At a minimum the information forwarded shall include the name of the offender, vital statistics, the date the offender was arrested, the offenses arrested for, the date and time an offender is released or transferred from a city or county jail, and if available, the mug shot. The electronic format in which the information is sent shall be at the discretion of the city or county jail, or law enforcement agency forwarding the information. City and county jails or law enforcement agencies that forward jail booking information under this subsection are not required to comply with the standards developed under subsection (4)(b) of this section.
(4) The Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs shall appoint, convene, and manage a state-wide jail booking and reporting system standards committee. The committee shall include representatives from the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs correction committee, the information service board's justice information committee, the judicial information system, at least two individuals who serve as jailers in a city or county jail, and other individuals that the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs places on the committee. The committee shall have the authority to:
(a) Develop and amend as needed standards for the state-wide jail booking and reporting system and for the information that must be contained within the system. At a minimum, the system shall contain:
(i) The offenses the individual has been charged with;
(ii) Descriptive and personal information about each offender booked into a city or county jail. At a minimum, this information shall contain the offender's name, vital statistics, address, and mugshot;
(iii) Information about the offender while in jail, which could be used to protect criminal justice officials that have future contact with the offender, such as medical conditions, acts of violence, and other behavior problems;
(iv) Statistical data indicating the current capacity of each jail and the quantity and category of offenses charged; ((and))
(v) The ability to communicate directly and immediately with the city and county jails and other criminal justice entities; and
(vi) The date and time that an offender was released or transferred from a local jail;
(b) Develop and amend as needed operational standards for city and county jail booking systems, which at a minimum shall include the type of information collected and transmitted, and the technical requirements needed for the city and county jail booking system to communicate with the state-wide jail booking and reporting system;
(c) Develop and amend as needed standards for allocating grants to city and county jails or law enforcement agencies that will be implementing or reconfiguring electronic jail booking systems.
(5) By January 1, 2001, the standards committee shall complete the initial standards described in subsection (4) of this section, and the standards shall be placed into a report and provided to all Washington state city and county jails, all other criminal justice agencies as defined in RCW 10.97.030, the chair of the Washington state senate human services and corrections committee, and the chair of the Washington state house of representatives criminal justice and corrections committee."
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the adoption of the Committee on Human Services and Corrections striking amendment, as amended.
The motion by Senator Costa carried and the committee striking amendment, as amended, was adopted.
MOTIONS
On motion of Senator Costa, the following title amendments were considered simultaneously and adopted:
On page 1, line 2 of the title, after "offenders;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "and amending RCW 9A.44.130 and 4.24.550."
On page 12, beginning on line 25 of the title amendment, after "9A.44.130" strike "and 4.24.550" and insert ", 4.24.550, and 36.28A.040"
On motion of Senator Costa, the rules were suspended, House Bill No. 1952, as amended by the Senate, was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of House Bill No. 1952, as amended by the Senate.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 1952, as amended by the Senate, and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 49; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 0.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 49.
HOUSE BILL NO. 1952, as amended by the Senate, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
HOUSE BILL NO. 2086, by Representatives O'Brien, Ballasiotes, Lovick, Kenney and Conway (by request of Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development)
Bringing state law into compliance with federal standards for lifetime registration for certain sex offenders.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTIONS
On motion of Senator Hargrove, the following Committee on Human Services and Corrections striking amendment was adopted:
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature intends to amend the lifetime sex offender registration requirement so that it is narrowly tailored to meet the requirements of the Jacob Wetterling act.
Sec. 2. RCW 9A.44.140 and 2000 c 91 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The duty to register under RCW 9A.44.130 shall end:
(a) For a person convicted of a class A felony or an offense listed in subsection (5) of this section, or a person convicted of any sex offense or kidnapping offense who has one or more prior convictions for a sex offense or kidnapping offense: Such person may only be relieved of the duty to register under subsection (3) or (4) of this section.
(b) For a person convicted of a class B felony, and the person does not have one or more prior convictions for a sex offense or kidnapping offense and the person's current offense is not listed in subsection (5) of this section: Fifteen years after the last date of release from confinement, if any, (including full-time residential treatment) pursuant to the conviction, or entry of the judgment and sentence, if the person has spent fifteen consecutive years in the community without being convicted of any new offenses.
(c) For a person convicted of a class C felony, a violation of RCW 9.68A.090 or 9A.44.096, or an attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit a class C felony, and the person does not have one or more prior convictions for a sex offense or kidnapping offense and the person's current offense is not listed in subsection (5) of this section: Ten years after the last date of release from confinement, if any, (including full-time residential treatment) pursuant to the conviction, or entry of the judgment and sentence, if the person has spent ten consecutive years in the community without being convicted of any new offenses.
(2) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall apply equally to a person who has been found not guilty by reason of insanity under chapter 10.77 RCW of a sex offense or kidnapping offense.
(3)(a) Any person having a duty to register under RCW 9A.44.130 may petition the superior court to be relieved of that duty, if the person has spent ten consecutive years in the community without being convicted of any new offenses. The petition shall be made to the court in which the petitioner was convicted of the offense that subjects him or her to the duty to register, or, in the case of convictions in other states, a foreign country, or a federal or military court, to the court in Thurston county. The prosecuting attorney of the county shall be named and served as the respondent in any such petition. The court shall consider the nature of the registrable offense committed, and the criminal and relevant noncriminal behavior of the petitioner both before and after conviction, and may consider other factors. Except as provided
in subsection (4) of this section, the court may relieve the petitioner of the duty to register only if the petitioner shows, with clear and convincing evidence, that future registration of the petitioner will not serve the purposes of RCW 9A.44.130, 10.01.200, 43.43.540, 46.20.187, 70.48.470, and 72.09.330.
(b)(i) The court may not relieve a person of the duty to register if the person has been determined to be a sexually violent predator as defined in RCW 71.09.020, or has been convicted of a sex offense or kidnapping offense that is a class A felony and that was committed with forcible compulsion on or after June 8, 2000.
(ii) Any person subject to (b)(i) of this subsection or subsection (5) of this section may petition the court to be exempted from any community notification requirements that the person may be subject to fifteen years after the later of the entry of the judgment and sentence or the last date of release from confinement, including full-time residential treatment, pursuant to the conviction, if the person has spent the time in the community without being convicted of any new offense.
(4) An offender having a duty to register under RCW 9A.44.130 for a sex offense or kidnapping offense committed when the offender was a juvenile may petition the superior court to be relieved of that duty. The court shall consider the nature of the registrable offense committed, and the criminal and relevant noncriminal behavior of the petitioner both before and after adjudication, and may consider other factors.
(a) The court may relieve the petitioner of the duty to register for a sex offense or kidnapping offense that was committed while the petitioner was fifteen years of age or older only if the petitioner shows, with clear and convincing evidence, that future registration of the petitioner will not serve the purposes of RCW 9A.44.130, 10.01.200, 43.43.540, 46.20.187, 70.48.470, and 72.09.330.
(b) The court may relieve the petitioner of the duty to register for a sex offense or kidnapping offense that was committed while the petitioner was under the age of fifteen if the petitioner (i) has not been adjudicated of any additional sex offenses or kidnapping offenses during the twenty-four months following the adjudication for the offense giving rise to the duty to register, and (ii) proves by a preponderance of the evidence that future registration of the petitioner will not serve the purposes of RCW 9A.44.130, 10.01.200, 43.43.540, 46.20.187, 70.48.470, and 72.09.330.
This subsection shall not apply to juveniles prosecuted as adults.
(5)(a) A person who has been convicted of an aggravated offense, or has been convicted of one or more prior sexually violent offenses or criminal offenses against a victim who is a minor, as defined in (b) of this subsection may only be relieved of the duty to register under subsection (3) or (4) of this section. This provision shall apply to convictions for crimes committed on or after the effective date of this act.
(b) Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the following definitions apply only to the federal lifetime registration requirements under this subsection:
(i) "Aggravated offense" means an adult conviction that meets the definition of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2241, which is limited to the following:
(A) Any sex offense involving sexual intercourse or sexual contact where the victim is under twelve years of age;
(B) RCW 9A.44.040 (rape in the first degree), RCW 9A.44.073 (rape of a child in the first degree), or RCW 9A.44.083 (child molestation in the first degree);
(C) Any of the following offenses when committed by forcible compulsion or by the offender administering, by threat or force or without the knowledge or permission of that person, a drug, intoxicant, or other similar substance that substantially impairs the ability of that person to appraise or control conduct: RCW 9A.44.050 (rape in the second degree), RCW 9A.44.100 (indecent liberties), RCW 9A.44.160 (custodial sexual misconduct in the first degree), RCW 9A.64.020 (incest), or RCW 9.68A.040 (sexual exploitation of a minor);
(D) Any of the following offenses when committed by forcible compulsion or by the offender administering, by threat or force or without the knowledge or permission of that person, a drug, intoxicant, or other similar substance that substantially impairs the ability of that person to appraise or control conduct, if the victim is twelve years of age or over but under sixteen years of age and the offender is eighteen years of age or over and is more than forty-eight months older than the victim: RCW 9A.44.076 (rape of a child in the second degree), RCW 9A.44.079 (rape of a child in the third degree), RCW 9A.44.086 (child molestation in the second degree), or RCW 9A.44.089 (child molestation in the third degree);
(E) A felony with a finding of sexual motivation under RCW 9.94A.127 where the victim is under twelve years of age or that is committed by forcible compulsion or by the offender administering, by threat or force or without the knowledge or permission of that person, a drug, intoxicant, or other similar substance that substantially impairs the ability of that person to appraise or control conduct;
(F) An offense that is, under chapter 9A.28 RCW, an attempt or solicitation to commit such an offense; or
(G) An offense defined by federal law or the laws of another state that is equivalent to the offenses listed in (b)(i)(A) through (F) of this subsection.
(ii) "Sexually violent offense" means an adult conviction that meets the definition of 42 U.S.C. Sec. 14071(a)(1)(A), which is limited to the following:
(A) An aggravated offense;
(B) An offense that is not an aggravated offense but meets the definition of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2242, which is limited to RCW 9A.44.050(1) (b) through (f) (rape in the second degree) and RCW 9A.44.100(1) (b) through (f) (indecent liberties);
(C) A felony with a finding of sexual motivation under RCW 9.94A.127 where the victim is incapable of appraising the nature of the conduct or physically incapable of declining participation in, or communicating unwillingness to engage in, the conduct;
(D) An offense that is, under chapter 9A.28 RCW, an attempt or solicitation to commit such an offense; or
(E) An offense defined by federal law or the laws of another state that is equivalent to the offenses listed in (b)(ii)(A) through (D) of this subsection.
(iii) "Criminal offense against a victim who is a minor" means, in addition to any aggravated offense or sexually violent offense where the victim was under eighteen years of age, an adult conviction for the following offenses where the victim is under eighteen years of age:
(A) RCW 9A.44.060 (rape in the third degree), RCW 9A.44.076 (rape of a child in the second degree), RCW 9A.44.079 (rape of a child in the third degree), RCW 9A.44.086 (child molestation in the second degree), RCW 9A.44.089 (child molestation in the third degree), RCW 9A.44.093 (sexual misconduct with a minor in the first degree), RCW 9A.44.096 (sexual misconduct with a minor in the second degree), RCW 9A.44.160 (custodial sexual misconduct in the first degree), RCW 9A.64.020 (incest), RCW 9.68A.040 (sexual exploitation of a minor), RCW 9.68A.090 (communication with a minor for immoral purposes), or RCW 9.68A.100 (patronizing a juvenile prostitute);
(B) RCW 9A.40.020 (kidnapping in the first degree), RCW 9A.40.030 (kidnapping in the second degree), or RCW 9A.40.040 (unlawful imprisonment), where the victim is a minor and the offender is not the minor's parent;
(C) A felony with a finding of sexual motivation under RCW 9.94A.127 where the victim is a minor;
(D) An offense that is, under chapter 9A.28 RCW, an attempt or solicitation to commit such an offense; or
(E) An offense defined by federal law or the laws of another state that is equivalent to the offenses listed in (b)(iii)(A) through (D) of this subsection.
(6) Unless relieved of the duty to register pursuant to this section, a violation of RCW 9A.44.130 is an ongoing offense for purposes of the statute of limitations under RCW 9A.04.080.
(((6))) (7) Nothing in RCW 9.94A.220 relating to discharge of an offender shall be construed as operating to relieve the offender of his or her duty to register pursuant to RCW 9A.44.130.
(8) For purposes of determining whether a person has been convicted of more than one sex offense, failure to register as a sex offender or kidnapping offender is not a sex or kidnapping offense."
MOTIONS
On motion of Senator Hargrove, the following title amendment was adopted:
On page 1, line 2 of the title, after "offenders;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "amending RCW 9A.44.140; and creating a new section."
On motion of Senator Hargrove, the rules were suspended, House Bill No. 2086, as amended by the Senate, was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of House Bill No. 2086, as amended by the Senate.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 2086, as amended by the Senate, and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 48; Nays, 1; Absent, 0; Excused, 0.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 48.
Voting nay: Senator Roach - 1.
HOUSE BILL NO. 2086, as amended by the Senate, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1661, by House Committee on Financial Institutions & Insurance (originally sponsored by Representatives Keiser, Bush, Santos and Miloscia)
Regulating juvenile life insurance.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Prentice, the rules were suspended, Substitute House Bill No. 1661 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1661.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1661 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 49; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 0.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 49.
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1661, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1920, by House Committee on Judiciary (originally sponsored by Representatives Carrell, Lantz, Cody and Campbell)
Allowing medical reports in guardianship proceedings by advanced registered nurse practitioners.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Thibaudeau, the rules were suspended, Substitute House Bill No. 1920 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1920.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1920 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 49; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 0.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 49.
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1920, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Eide, Senator Brown was excused.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Betti Sheldon, the Senate returned to the fourth order of business.
MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE
April 10, 2001
MR. PRESIDENT:
The House insists on its position regarding the Senate amendments(s) to ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL NO. 1012, and asks the Senate to recede therefrom, and the same are herewith transmitted.
CYNTHIA ZEHNDER, Co-Chief Clerk
TIMOTHY A. MARTIN, Co-Chief Clerk
MOTION
Senator Gardner moved that the Senate refuse to recede from its amendment(s) to Engrossed House Bill No. 1012, adheres to its position and asks the House to concur therein.
Debate ensued.
MOTION
On motion Senator Snyder, further consideration of the Message from the House concerning Engrossed House Bill No. 1012 was deferred.
There being no objection, the President returned the Senate to the first order of business.
REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES
April 10, 2001
SB 5419 Prime Sponsor, Senator Patterson: Providing chemical dependency treatment for certain offenders. Reported by Committee on Ways and Means
MAJORITY Recommendation: That Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5419 be substituted therefor, and the second substitute bill do pass. Signed by Senators Brown, Chair; Constantine, Vice Chair; Fairley, Vice-Chair; Fraser, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, Rasmussen, Regala, B. Sheldon, Snyder, Spanel and Thibaudeau.
MINORITY Recommendation: Do not pass. Signed by Senators Roach and Zarelli.
Passed to Committee on Rules for second reading.
April 10, 2001
SB 5613 Prime Sponsor, Senator Rasmussen: Creating the small farm direct marketing assistance program. Reported by Committee on Ways and Means
MAJORITY Recommendation: That the bill be referred to the Rules Committee without recommendation. Signed by Senators Brown, Chair; Fraser, Kohl-Welles, Long, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, B. Sheldon, Snyder, Spanel, Thibaudeau and Zarelli.
Passed to Committee on Rules for second reading.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Betti Sheldon, the Senate advanced to the eighth order of business.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Franklin, the following resolution was adopted:
SENATE RESOLUTION 2001-8638
By Senators Franklin, Spanel, Sheldon, B., Rasmussen, Kohl-Welles and Johnson
WHEREAS, Alzheimer’s disease is a serious medical condition that afflicts nearly four million Americans; and
WHEREAS, In the United States, an estimated ten percent of the population has Alzheimer’s disease by the age of 65, and nearly half of the elderly population suffer from it by the age of 85; and
WHEREAS, Since it was first diagnosed by German doctor Alois Alzheimer in 1906, Alzheimer’s disease has shown to be more prominent in females than males; and
WHEREAS, There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, which affects the parts of the brain that control thought, memory and language; and
WHEREAS, Vascular diseases such as high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, and strokes are key suspects of Alzheimer’s disease and are able to prime the brain to develop the clinical symptoms for developing Alzheimer’s disease; and
WHEREAS, Alzheimer’s disease patients require varying degrees of extensive care depending on the stages of their disease, which can range from simple forgetfulness, to wandering and disillusions; and
WHEREAS, It is estimated that as many as fifty percent of individuals in United States nursing homes suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, and that the financial hardships to families caring for Alzheimer’s patients is approximately $50,000 annually; and
WHEREAS, This disease affects persons of all social and economic backgrounds including former United States President Ronald Reagan, statesman Winston Churchill, actress Rita Hayworth, novelist E.B. White, entertainer Frank Sinatra, and automotive pioneer Henry Ford.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate does hereby recognize the suffering of the victims of Alzheimer’s disease, a devastating condition also known as the “long good-bye,” and the hardships on the families of those with Alzheimer’s disease, which will only become more prominent as the baby boomer population continues to age; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the Alzheimer’s Association of America.
Senators Franklin and Eide spoke to Senate Resolution 2001-8638.
There being no objection, the President returned the Senate to the sixth order of business.
SECOND READING
ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1571, by House Committee on Commerce and Labor (originally sponsored by Representatives Wood, Clements and Conway)
Changing provisions on simulcast horse racing.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Prentice. the following Committee on Labor, Commerce and Financial Institutions striking amendment was adopted:
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"Sec. 1. RCW 67.16.200 and 2000 c 223 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) A racing association licensed by the commission to conduct a race meet may seek approval from the commission to conduct parimutuel wagering on its program at a satellite location or locations within the state of Washington. The sale of parimutuel pools at satellite locations shall be conducted only during the licensee's race meet and simultaneous to all parimutuel wagering activity conducted at the licensee's live racing facility in the state of Washington. The commission's authority to approve satellite wagering at a particular location is subject to the following limitations:
(a) The commission may approve only one satellite location in each county in the state; however, the commission may grant approval for more than one licensee to conduct wagering at each satellite location. A satellite location shall not be operated within twenty driving miles of any class 1 racing facility. For the purposes of this section, "driving miles" means miles measured by the most direct route as determined by the commission; and
(b) A licensee shall not conduct satellite wagering at any satellite location within sixty driving miles of any other racing facility conducting a live race meet.
(2) Subject to local zoning and other land use ordinances, the commission shall be the sole judge of whether approval to conduct wagering at a satellite location shall be granted.
(3) The licensee shall combine the parimutuel pools of the satellite location with those of the racing facility for the purpose of determining odds and computing payoffs. The amount wagered at the satellite location shall be combined with the amount wagered at the racing facility for the application of take out formulas and distribution as provided in RCW 67.16.102, 67.16.105, 67.16.170, and 67.16.175. A satellite extension of the licensee's racing facility shall be subject to the same application of the rules of racing as the licensee's racing facility.
(4) Upon written application to the commission, a class 1 racing association may be authorized to transmit simulcasts of live horse races conducted at its racetrack to locations outside of the state of Washington approved by the commission and in accordance with the interstate horse racing act of 1978 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 3001 to 3007) or any other applicable laws. The commission may permit parimutuel pools on the simulcast races to be combined in a common pool. A racing association that transmits simulcasts of its races to locations outside this state shall pay at least fifty percent of the fee that it receives for sale of the simulcast signal to the horsemen's purse account for its live races after first deducting the actual cost of sending the signal out of state.
(5) Upon written application to the commission, a class 1 racing association may be authorized to transmit simulcasts of live horse races conducted at its racetrack to licensed racing associations located within the state of Washington and approved by the commission for the receipt of the simulcasts. The commission shall permit parimutuel pools on the simulcast races to be combined in a common pool. The fee for in-state, track-to-track simulcasts shall be five and one-half percent of the gross parimutuel receipts generated at the receiving location and payable to the sending racing association. A racing association that transmits simulcasts of its races to other licensed racing associations shall pay at least fifty percent of the fee that it receives for the simulcast signal to the horsemen's purse account for its live race meet after first deducting the actual cost of sending the simulcast signal. A racing association that receives races simulcast from class 1 racing associations within the state shall pay at least fifty percent of its share of the parimutuel receipts to the horsemen's purse account for its live race meet after first deducting the purchase price and the actual direct costs of importing the race.
(6) A class 1 racing association may be allowed to import simulcasts of horse races from out-of-state racing facilities. With the prior approval of the commission, the class 1 racing association may participate in an interstate common pool and may change its commission and breakage rates to achieve a common rate with other participants in the common pool.
(a) The class 1 racing association shall make written application with the commission for permission to import simulcast horse races for the purpose of parimutuel wagering. Subject to the terms of this section, the commission is the sole authority in determining whether to grant approval for an imported simulcast race.
(b) ((During the conduct of its race meeting, a class 1 racing association may be allowed to import no more than one simulcast race card program during each live race day.)) A licensed racing association may also be approved to import one simulcast race of regional or national interest on each live race day. ((A class 1 racing association may be permitted to import two simulcast programs on two nonlive race days per each week during its live meet. A licensee shall not operate parimutuel wagering on more than five days per week. Parimutuel wagering on imported simulcast programs shall only be conducted at the live racing facility of a class 1 racing association.))
(c) The commission may allow simulcast races of regional or national interest to be sent to satellite locations. The simulcasts shall be limited to one per day except for Breeder's Cup special events day.
(d) When open for parimutuel wagering, a class 1 racing association which imports simulcast races shall also conduct simulcast parimutuel wagering within its licensed racing enclosure on all races simulcast from other class 1 racing associations within the state of Washington.
(e) ((When not conducting a live race meeting, a class 1 racing association may be approved to conduct simulcast parimutuel wagering on imported simulcast races.)) The conduct of ((simulcast)) parimutuel wagering on ((the)) imported simulcast races shall be for not more than fourteen hours during any twenty-four hour period, for not more than five days per week and only at ((its)) the live racing facility of a class 1 racing association.
(f) On any imported simulcast race, the class 1 racing association shall pay fifty percent of its share of the parimutuel receipts to the horsemen's purse account for its live race meet after first deducting the purchase price of the imported race and the actual costs of importing the race.
(7) For purposes of this section, a class 1 racing association is defined as a licensee approved by the commission to conduct during each twelve-month period at least forty days of live racing. If a live race day is canceled due to reasons directly attributable to acts of God, labor disruptions affecting live race days but not directly involving the licensee or its employees, or other circumstances that the commission decides are beyond the control of the class 1 racing association, then the canceled day counts toward the forty-day requirement. The commission may by rule increase the number of live racing days required to maintain class 1 racing association status or make other rules necessary to implement this section.
(8) This section does not establish a new form of gaming in Washington or allow expanded gaming within the state beyond what has been previously authorized. Simulcast wagering has been allowed in Washington before April 19, 1997. Therefore, this section does not allow gaming of any nature or scope that was prohibited before April 19, 1997. This section is necessary to protect the Washington equine breeding and racing industries, and in particular those sectors of these industries that are dependent upon live horse racing. The purpose of this section is to protect these industries from adverse economic impacts and to promote fan attendance at class 1 racing facilities. Therefore, imported simulcast race card programs shall not be disseminated to any location outside the live racing facility of the class 1 racing association and a class 1 racing association is strictly prohibited from simulcasting imported race card programs to any location outside its live racing facility."
MOTIONS
On motion of Senator Prentice, the following title amendment was adopted:
On line 3 of the title, after "facilities;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "and amending RCW 67.16.200."
On motion of Senator Prentice, the rules were suspended, Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 1571, as amended by the Senate, was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY
Senator Hochstatter: “A point of parliamentary inquiry, Mr President. Because this bill removes the provisions that say how often Class 1 Racing may be imported and simulcasting, does this bill increase gambling in the state of Washington and require a sixty percent majority vote on final passage?”
Debate ensued.
RULING BY THE PRESIDENT
President Owen: “In ruling upon the parliamentary inquiry of Senator Hochstatter concerning the number of votes necessary to pass Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 1571, as amended by the Senate, the President finds that the measure would remove restrictions on the number of simulcast races that may be imported by horse racing associations on live race days. Because the measure would permit increased occurrences of gambling, the President rules that a sixty percent vote is required on final passage in accordance with Article II, Section 24 of the State Constitution.
“Senator West is correct that tracks already have the prior authority under the law to adjust their live and dark day race schedules to increase the number of simulcast races they may import. However, for purposes of this inquiry, the President’s analysis must start with the fact that tracks do not have prior authority to offer unlimited simulcasts on a given live race day.”
The President ruled that Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 1571, as amended by the Senate, would require a sixty percent majority vote on final passage.
Further debate ensued.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 1571, as amended by the Senate.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 1571, as amended by the Senate, and the bill having received the constitutional majority, passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 36; Nays, 12; Absent, 1; Excused, 0.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hewitt, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, McAuliffe, McCaslin, Morton, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Swecker, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 36.
Voting nay: Senators Carlson, Fairley, Hargrove, Haugen, Hochstatter, Long, McDonald, Oke, Parlette, Regala, Stevens and Thibaudeau - 12.
Absent: Senator Brown - 1.
ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1571, as amended y the Senate, having received the constitutional sixty percent majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 2172, by House Committee on Commerce and Labor (originally sponsored by Representatives Grant and Mastin)
Modifying provisions on the repair and maintenance of backflow prevention assemblies.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTIONS
Senator Prentice, the following Committee on Labor, Commerce and Financial Institutions striking amendment was not adopted:
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"Sec. 1. RCW 18.106.010 and 1997 c 326 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
Unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context, the following words and phrases as hereinafter used in this chapter shall have the following meaning:
(1) "Advisory board" means the state advisory board of plumbers;
(2) "Department" means the department of labor and industries;
(3) "Director" means the director of department of labor and industries;
(4) "Journeyman plumber" means any person who has been issued a certificate of competency by the department of labor and industries as provided in this chapter;
(5) "Medical gas piping" means oxygen, nitrous oxide, high pressure nitrogen, medical compressed air, and medical vacuum systems;
(6) "Medical gas piping installer" means a journeyman plumber who has been issued a medical gas piping installer endorsement;
(7) "Plumbing" means that craft involved in installing, altering, repairing and renovating potable water systems, liquid waste systems, and medical gas piping systems within a building. Installation in a water system of water softening or water treatment equipment is not within the meaning of plumbing as used in this chapter;
(8) "Specialty plumber" means anyone who has been issued a specialty certificate of competency limited to:
(a) Installation, maintenance, and repair of the plumbing of single-family dwellings, duplexes, and apartment buildings that do not exceed three stories; or
(b) Maintenance and repair of backflow prevention assemblies.
Sec. 2. RCW 18.106.040 and 1977 ex.s. c 149 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Upon receipt of the application and evidence set forth in RCW 18.106.030, the director shall review the same and make a determination as to whether the applicant is eligible to take an examination for the certificate of competency. To be eligible to take the examination:
(a) Each applicant for a journeyman plumber's certificate of competency shall furnish written evidence that he or she has ((either)) completed a course of study in the plumbing trade in the armed services of the United States or at a school accredited by the coordinating council on occupational education((;)), or ((that he)) has had four or more years of experience under the direct supervision of a licensed journeyman plumber.
(b) Each applicant for a specialty plumber's certificate of competency under RCW 18.106.010(8)(a) shall furnish written evidence that he or she has ((either)) completed a course of study in the plumbing trade in the armed services of the United States or at a school accredited by the ((commission for vocational education or its designee)) work force training and education coordinating board under chapter 28C.10 RCW, or that he or she has had at least three years practical experience in ((his)) the specialty. ((No other requirement for eligibility may be imposed.))
(c) Each applicant for a specialty plumber's certificate of competency under RCW 18.106.010(8)(b) shall furnish written evidence that he or she is eligible to take the examination. These eligibility requirements shall be adopted by rule by the director pursuant to subsection (2)(b) of this section.
(2)(a) The director shall establish reasonable rules ((and regulations)) for the examinations to be given applicants for certificates of competency. In establishing ((said)) the rules, ((regulations, and criteria,)) the director shall consult with the state advisory board of plumbers as established in RCW 18.106.110.
(b) The director shall establish reasonable criteria by rule for determining an applicant's eligibility to take an examination for the certificate of competency for specialty plumbers under subsection (1)(c) of this section. In establishing the criteria, the director shall consult with the state advisory board of plumbers as established in RCW 18.106.110. These rules must take effect by July 1, 2002.
(3) Upon determination that the applicant is eligible to take the examination, the director shall so notify ((him)) the applicant, indicating the time and place for taking the same.
(4) No other requirement for eligibility may be imposed.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 19.27 RCW to read as follows:
(1) Those actively registered with the department of health on or before July 1, 2001, as backflow assembly testers may perform maintenance and repair of backflow prevention assemblies, without being a certified plumber under chapter 18.106 RCW, until January 1, 2003. For the purposes of this section, "maintenance and repair" include cleaning and replacing internal parts of an assembly, but do not include installing or replacing backflow prevention assemblies.
(2) After January 1, 2003, backflow assembly testers exempted under subsection (1) of this section are required to meet the eligibility requirements for a specialty plumber's certificate of competency under RCW 18.106.040(1)(c).
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 19.27 RCW to read as follows:
The owner of a building classified as a group R, division 3 occupancy, as defined in the state building code adopted under this chapter, shall have the backflow prevention assembly tested by a department of health certified backflow assembly tester:
(1) At the time of installation, repair, or relocation, if required by the local official, board, department, or agency authorized to administer and enforce the provisions of the uniform plumbing code as adopted under this chapter; or
(2) When such official, board, department, or agency finds that cross-connection control within the property lines of the premises may fail to prevent pollution or contamination of the domestic water supply."
MOTION
Senator Prentice moved that the following striking amendment be adopted:
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"Sec. 1. RCW 18.106.010 and 1997 c 326 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
Unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context, the following words and phrases as hereinafter used in this chapter shall have the following meaning:
(1) "Advisory board" means the state advisory board of plumbers;
(2) "Department" means the department of labor and industries;
(3) "Director" means the director of department of labor and industries;
(4) "Journeyman plumber" means any person who has been issued a certificate of competency by the department of labor and industries as provided in this chapter;
(5) "Medical gas piping" means oxygen, nitrous oxide, high pressure nitrogen, medical compressed air, and medical vacuum systems;
(6) "Medical gas piping installer" means a journeyman plumber who has been issued a medical gas piping installer endorsement;
(7) "Plumbing" means that craft involved in installing, altering, repairing and renovating potable water systems, liquid waste systems, and medical gas piping systems within a building. Installation in a water system of water softening or water treatment equipment is not within the meaning of plumbing as used in this chapter;
(8) "Specialty plumber" means anyone who has been issued a specialty certificate of competency limited to:
(a) Installation, maintenance, and repair of the plumbing of single-family dwellings, duplexes, and apartment buildings that do not exceed three stories; or
(b) Maintenance and repair of backflow prevention assemblies.
Sec. 2. RCW 18.106.040 and 1977 ex.s. c 149 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Upon receipt of the application and evidence set forth in RCW 18.106.030, the director shall review the same and make a determination as to whether the applicant is eligible to take an examination for the certificate of competency. To be eligible to take the examination:
(a) Each applicant for a journeyman plumber's certificate of competency shall furnish written evidence that he or she has ((either)) completed a course of study in the plumbing trade in the armed services of the United States or at a school accredited by the coordinating council on occupational education((;)), or ((that he)) has had four or more years of experience under the direct supervision of a licensed journeyman plumber.
(b) Each applicant for a specialty plumber's certificate of competency under RCW 18.106.010(8)(a) shall furnish written evidence that he or she has ((either)) completed a course of study in the plumbing trade in the armed services of the United States or at a school accredited by the ((commission for vocational education or its designee)) work force training and education coordinating board under chapter 28C.10 RCW, or that he or she has had at least three years practical experience in ((his)) the specialty. ((No other requirement for eligibility may be imposed.))
(c) Each applicant for a specialty plumber's certificate of competency under RCW 18.106.010(8)(b) shall furnish written evidence that he or she is eligible to take the examination. These eligibility requirements shall be adopted by rule by the director pursuant to subsection (2)(b) of this section.
(2)(a) The director shall establish reasonable rules ((and regulations)) for the examinations to be given applicants for certificates of competency. In establishing ((said)) the rules, ((regulations, and criteria,)) the director shall consult with the state advisory board of plumbers as established in RCW 18.106.110.
(b) The director shall establish reasonable criteria by rule for determining an applicant's eligibility to take an examination for the certificate of competency for specialty plumbers under subsection (1)(c) of this section. In establishing the criteria, the director shall consult with the state advisory board of plumbers as established in RCW 18.106.110. These rules must take effect by July 1, 2002.
(3) Upon determination that the applicant is eligible to take the examination, the director shall so notify ((him)) the applicant, indicating the time and place for taking the same.
(4) No other requirement for eligibility may be imposed.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 18.106 RCW to read as follows:
(1) Those actively certified by the department of health on or before July 1, 2001, as backflow assembly testers and registered as a contractor under chapter 18.27 RCW or employed by a registered contractor, may perform maintenance and repair of backflow prevention assemblies, without being a certified plumber under this chapter, until January 1, 2003. For the purposes of this section, "maintenance and repair" include cleaning and replacing internal parts of an assembly, but do not include installing or replacing backflow prevention assemblies.
(2) After January 1, 2003, backflow assembly testers exempted under subsection (1) of this section are required to meet the eligibility requirements for a specialty plumber's certificate of competency under RCW 18.106.040(1)(c).
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 19.27 RCW to read as follows:
The owner of a building classified as a group R, division 3 occupancy, as defined in the state building code adopted under this chapter, shall have the backflow prevention assembly tested by a department of health certified backflow assembly tester:
(1) At the time of installation, repair, or relocation, if required by the local official, board, department, or agency authorized to administer and enforce the provisions of the uniform plumbing code as adopted under this chapter; or
(2) When such official, board, department, or agency finds that cross-connection control within the property lines of the premises may fail to prevent pollution or contamination of the domestic water supply."
MOTION
On motion of Senator Prentice, the following amendments to the striking amendment were considered simultaneously and were adopted:
On page 2, line 8 of the amendment, after "school" strike "accredited" and insert "((accredited)) licensed"
On page 2, beginning on line 8 of the amendment, after "by the" strike "coordinating council on occupational education((;))" and insert "((coordinating council on occupational education;)) work force training and education coordinating board"
On page 2, line 16 of the amendment, after "school" strike "accredited" and insert "((accredited)) licensed"
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the adoption of the striking amendment by Senator Prentice, as amended, to Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 2172.
The motion by Senator Prentice carried and the striking amendment, as amended, was adopted.
MOTIONS
On motion of Senator Prentice, the following title amendment was adopted:
On page 1, line 2 of the title, after "assemblies;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "amending RCW 18.106.010 and 18.106.040; adding a new section to chapter 18.106 RCW; and adding a new section to chapter 19.27 RCW."
On motion of Senator Prentice, the rules were suspended, Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 2172, as amended by the Senate, was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 2172, as amended by the Senate.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 2172, as amended by the Senate, and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 45; Nays, 3; Absent, 1; Excused, 0.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau and Zarelli - 45.
Voting nay: Senators McDonald, Roach and Winsley - 3.
Absent: Senator West - 1.
ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 2172, as amended by the Senate, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
HOUSE BILL NO. 1257, by Representatives Cox, Haigh, Fromhold, Schoesler and Hunt
Modifying educational service districts' borrowing authority.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator McAuliffe, the rules were suspended, House Bill No. 1257 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
Debate ensued.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of House Bill No. 1257.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 1257 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 47; Nays, 0; Absent, 2; Excused, 0.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, Winsley and Zarelli - 47.
Absent: Senators Costa and West - 2.
HOUSE BILL NO. 1257, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Hewitt, Senator West was excused.
SECOND READING
HOUSE BILL NO. 1255, by Representatives Cox, Fromhold, Haigh, Schoesler and Hunt
Including educational service districts in school district provisions.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator McAuliffe, the rules were suspended, House Bill No. 1255 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of House Bill No. 1255.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 1255 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: (vote totals) Yeas, 47; Nays, 1; Absent, 0; Excused, 1.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, Winsley and Zarelli - 47.
Voting nay: Senator Deccio - 1.
Excused: Senator West - 1.
HOUSE BILL NO. 1255, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1117, by House Committee on Judiciary (originally sponsored by Representatives Carrell, Lantz, Lambert, O'Brien, Lovick, Hunt and Haigh)
Providing procedures for enforcement of court-ordered restitution obligations in courts of limited jurisdiction.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Kline, the rules were suspended, Substitute House Bill No. 1117 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1117.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 1117 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: (vote totals) Yeas, 47; Nays, 1; Absent, 0; Excused, 1.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, Winsley and Zarelli - 47.
Voting nay: Senator Finkbeiner - 1.
Excused: Senator West - 1.
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1117, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1644, by House Committee on State Government (originally sponsored by Representatives McMorris, Romero, Linville and Kenney) (by request of Secretary of State Reed)
Clarifying recount procedures.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Patterson, the rules were suspended, Substitute House Bill No. 1644 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1644.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1644 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 47; Nays, 0; Absent, 1; Excused, 1.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Swecker, Thibaudeau, Winsley and Zarelli - 47.
Absent: Senator Stevens - 1.
Excused: Senator West - 1.
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1644, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1000, by House Committee on Capital Budget (originally sponsored by Representatives Murray, Alexander, Ogden, Schoesler, Armstrong, Linville and McIntire) (by request of Public Works Board)
Managing capital facility projects by the public works board.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Fairley, the rules were suspended, Substitute House Bill No. 1000 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
Debate ensued.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1000.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1000 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 48; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 1.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, Winsley and Zarelli - 48.
Excused: Senator West - 1.
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1000, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
HOUSE BILL NO. 1385, by Representatives Reardon and Pennington (by request of Department of Revenue)
Clarifying the taxable situs and nature of linen and uniform supply services.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Brown, the rules were suspended, House Bill No. 1385 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of House Bill No. 1385.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 1385 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 43; Nays, 4; Absent, 1; Excused, 1.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Swecker, Thibaudeau and Winsley - 43.
Voting nay: Senators Finkbeiner, McDonald, Stevens and Zarelli - 4.
Absent: Senator Horn - 1.
Excused: Senator West - 1.
HOUSE BILL NO. 1385, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
HOUSE BILL NO. 1243, by Representatives Hurst, Esser, Carrell, Lovick, Lantz and Lambert
Changing provisions relating to the admissibility into evidence of a refusal to submit to a test of alcohol or drug concentration.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Kline, the rules were suspended, House Bill No. 1243 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of House Bill No. 1243.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 1243 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 47; Nays, 0; Absent, 1; Excused, 1.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, Winsley and Zarelli - 47.
Absent: Senator Gardner - 1.
Excused: Senator West - 1.
HOUSE BILL NO. 1243, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Eide, Senator Gardner was excused.
President Pro Tempore Franklin assumed the Chair.
SECOND READING
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1133, by House Committee on Commerce and Labor (originally sponsored by Representatives Carrell, Lantz, Lambert, Hurst, Casada, Morell, Kagi, Marine, Cox, Talcott, Tokuda, Fisher, Bush, Edwards, O'Brien, Darneille, Edmonds, Esser and Haigh)
Determining liability for donated labor on community projects.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Prentice, the rules were suspended, Substitute House Bill No. 1133 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President Pro Tempore declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1133.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1133 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 48; Nays, 1; Absent, 0; Excused, 0.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West and Winsley - 48.
Voting nay: Senator Zarelli - 1.
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1133, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
HOUSE BILL NO. 1018, by Representatives Pennington, Mielke, Pearson and Alexander
Providing tax relief for disasters.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Constantine, the rules were suspended, House Bill No. 1018 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President Pro Tempore declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of House Bill No. 1018.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 1018 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 47; Nays, 0; Absent, 2; Excused, 0.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Honeyford, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 47.
Absent: Senators Hochstatter and Horn - 2.
HOUSE BILL NO. 1018, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
HOUSE BILL NO. 1213, by Representatives Delvin, Conway, H. Sommers, Lambert, Doumit and Hurst (by request of Joint Committee on Pension Policy)
Correcting statutes pertaining to the public employees' and school employees' retirement systems.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Constantine, the rules were suspended, House Bill No. 1213 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President Pro Tempore declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of House Bill No. 1213.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 1213 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 48; Nays, 0; Absent, 1; Excused, 0.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 48.
Absent: Senator Brown - 1.
HOUSE BILL NO. 1213, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1203, by House Committee on Finance (originally sponsored by Representatives Cairnes and Morris) (by request of Department of Revenue)
Authorizing the department of revenue to modify sales tax exemption documentation and retention requirements for simplification purposes.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Constantine, the rules were suspended, Substitute House Bill No. 1203 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President Pro Tempore declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1203.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1203 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 48; Nays, 0; Absent, 1; Excused, 0.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 48.
Absent: Senator Deccio - 1.
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1203, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1282, by House Committee on State Government (originally sponsored by Representatives D. Schmidt and Romero) (by request of Washington Uniform Legislation Commission)
Adding the code reviser to the uniform legislation commission.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Patterson, the rules were suspended, Substitute House Bill No. 1282 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President Pro Tempore declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1282.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1282 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 48; Nays, 0; Absent, 1; Excused, 0.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 48.
Absent: Senator Brown - 1.
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1282, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Tim Sheldon, Senator Haugen was excused.
SECOND READING
HOUSE BILL NO. 1048, by Representatives Lambert, Doumit, Cox, Mulliken, H. Sommers, Clements, Talcott, Pearson, Alexander, Conway, Kagi, Ruderman, Hunt, McIntire, Hurst, Haigh, Kenney, Edmonds, Keiser and Simpson (by request of Joint Committee on Pension Policy)
Increasing the number of hours that teachers' retirement system plan retirees may work in an eligible position to eight hundred forty 38
without a reduction in their retirement benefits.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Constantine, the rules were suspended, House Bill No. 1048 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
Debate ensued.
POINT OF INQUIRY
Senator Deccio: “Senator Carlson, do they begin to accrue additional credit on retirement once they get back into the system?”
Senator Carlson: “Senator Deccio, the process of retiring requires that they be out of the system for one month. That means that they no longer acquire the retirement system. They have terminated the system, so they substitute only and there is no additional either penalty or benefit in the retirement.”
Senator Deccio: “Thank you.”
The President Pro Tempore declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of House Bill No. 1048.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 1048 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 48; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 1.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 48.
Excused: Senator Haugen - 1.
HOUSE BILL NO. 1048, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Honeyford, Senator Johnson was excused.
SECOND READING
HOUSE BILL NO. 1865, by Representatives G. Chandler and Grant
Changing watershed planning provisions.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Fraser, the following Committee on Environment, Energy and Water striking amendment was adopted:
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"Sec. 1. RCW 90.82.060 and 1998 c 247 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Planning conducted under this chapter must provide for a process to allow the local citizens within a WRIA or multi-WRIA area to join together in an effort to: (a) Assess the status of the water resources of their WRIA or multi-WRIA area; and (b) determine how best to manage the water resources of the WRIA or multi-WRIA area to balance the competing resource demands for that area within the parameters under RCW 90.82.120.
(2) Watershed planning under this chapter may be initiated for a WRIA only with the concurrence of: (a) All counties within the WRIA; (b) the largest city or town within the WRIA unless the WRIA does not contain a city or town; and (c) the water supply utility obtaining the largest quantity of water from the WRIA or, for a WRIA with lands within the Columbia Basin project, the water supply utility obtaining from the Columbia Basin project the largest quantity of water for the WRIA. To apply for a grant for organizing the planning unit as provided for under RCW 90.82.040(2)(a), these entities shall designate the entity that will serve as the lead agency for the planning effort and indicate how the planning unit will be staffed.
(3) Watershed planning under this chapter may be initiated for a multi-WRIA area only with the concurrence of: (a) All counties within the multi-WRIA area; (b) the largest city or town in each WRIA unless the WRIA does not contain a city or town; and (c) the water supply utility obtaining the largest quantity of water in each WRIA.
(4) If entities in subsection (2) or (3) of this section decide jointly and unanimously to proceed, they shall invite all tribes with reservation lands within the management area.
(5) The entities in subsection (2) or (3) of this section, including the tribes if they affirmatively accept the invitation, constitute the initiating governments for the purposes of this section.
(6) The organizing grant shall be used to organize the planning unit and to determine the scope of the planning to be conducted. In determining the scope of the planning activities, consideration shall be given to all existing plans and related planning activities. The scope of planning must include water quantity elements as provided in RCW 90.82.070, and may include water quality elements as contained in RCW 90.82.090, habitat elements as contained in RCW 90.82.100, and instream flow elements as contained in RCW 90.82.080. The initiating governments shall work with state government, other local governments within the management area, and affected tribal governments, in developing a planning process. The initiating governments may hold public meetings as deemed necessary to develop a proposed scope of work and a proposed composition of the planning unit. In developing a proposed composition of the planning unit, the initiating governments shall provide for representation of a wide range of water resource interests.
(7) Each state agency with regulatory or other interests in the WRIA or multi-WRIA area to be planned shall assist the local citizens in the planning effort to the greatest extent practicable, recognizing any fiscal limitations. In providing such technical assistance and to facilitate representation on the planning unit, state agencies may organize and agree upon their representation on the planning unit. Such technical assistance must only be at the request of and to the extent desired by the planning unit conducting such planning. The number of state agency representatives on the planning unit shall be determined by the initiating governments in consultation with the governor's office.
(8) As used in this section, "lead agency" means the entity that coordinates staff support of its own or of other local governments and receives grants for developing a watershed plan."
MOTIONS
On motion of Senator Fraser, the following title amendment was adopted:
On page 1, line 2 of the title, after "planning;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "and amending RCW 90.82.060."
On motion of Senator Fraser, the rules were suspended, House Bill No. 1865, as amended by the Senate, was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
Debate ensued.
The President Pro Tempore declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of House Bill No. 1865, as amended by the Senate.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 1865, as amended by the Senate, and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 47; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 2.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 47.
Excused: Senators Haugen and Johnson - 2.
HOUSE BILL NO. 1865, as amended by the Senate, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
HOUSE BILL NO. 1611, by Representatives Schindler and Romero (by request of Washington State Patrol)
Modifying missing persons record retention policies.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Costa, the rules were suspended, House Bill No. 1611 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President Pro Tempore declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of House Bill No. 1611.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 1611 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 45; Nays, 2; Absent, 0; Excused, 2.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 45.
Voting nay: Senators Fairley and McDonald - 2.
Excused: Senators Haugen and Johnson - 2.
HOUSE BILL NO. 1611, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1234, by House Committee on Commerce and Labor (originally sponsored by Representatives Clements, Conway, Lisk, Wood, B. Chandler, Kessler, Kenney, Hurst, Keiser, Simpson, Ogden, Lovick, Morris, McIntire, D. Schmidt, Ruderman, O'Brien, Schual-Berke, Edwards, Kagi, Cody and Edmonds) (by request of Washington State Apprenticeship and Training Council, State Board for Community and Technical Colleges and Department of Labor and Industries)
Revising apprenticeship law to respond to a 1999 United States department of labor audit.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Prentice, the rules were suspended, Substitute House Bill No. 1234 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President Pro Tempore declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1234.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1234 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 48; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 1.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 48.
Excused: Senator Haugen - 1.
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1234, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
HOUSE BILL NO. 2095, by Representatives Dunshee and Mulliken
Changing reporting requirements for architectural and engineering firms.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Prentice, the rules were suspended, House Bill No. 2095 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President Pro Tempore declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of House Bill No. 2095.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of House Bill No. 2095 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 47; Nays, 0; Absent, 1; Excused, 1.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 47.
Absent: Senator Horn - 1.
Excused: Senator Haugen - 1.
HOUSE BILL NO. 2095, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
President Owen assumed the Chair.
SECOND READING
ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL NO. 1745, by Representatives Lambert and Dickerson (by request of Department of Social and Health Services)
Making child support technical amendments regarding medical support.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Kline, the rules were suspended, Engrossed House Bill No. 1745 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Engrossed House Bill No. 1745.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Engrossed House Bill No. 1745 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 48; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 1.
Voting yea: Senators Benton, Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley and Zarelli - 48.
Excused: Senator Haugen - 1.
ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL NO. 1745, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Hewitt, Senators Benton and Zarelli were excused.
SECOND READING
ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1996, by House Committee on State Government (originally sponsored by Representatives Lambert and Haigh) (by request of Department of Fish and Wildlife)
Protecting certain data obtained by the department of fish and wildlife.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Jacobsen, the following Committee on Natural Resources, Parks and Shorelines striking amendment was adopted:
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"Sec. 1. RCW 42.17.310 and 2000 c 134 s 3, 2000 c 56 s 1, and 2000 c 6 s 5 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(1) The following are exempt from public inspection and copying:
(a) Personal information in any files maintained for students in public schools, patients or clients of public institutions or public health agencies, or welfare recipients.
(b) Personal information in files maintained for employees, appointees, or elected officials of any public agency to the extent that disclosure would violate their right to privacy.
(c) Information required of any taxpayer in connection with the assessment or collection of any tax if the disclosure of the information to other persons would (i) be prohibited to such persons by RCW 84.08.210, 82.32.330, 84.40.020, or 84.40.340 or (ii) violate the taxpayer's right to privacy or result in unfair competitive disadvantage to the taxpayer.
(d) Specific intelligence information and specific investigative records compiled by investigative, law enforcement, and penology agencies, and state agencies vested with the responsibility to discipline members of any profession, the nondisclosure of which is essential to effective law enforcement or for the protection of any person's right to privacy.
(e) Information revealing the identity of persons who are witnesses to or victims of crime or who file complaints with investigative, law enforcement, or penology agencies, other than the public disclosure commission, if disclosure would endanger any person's life, physical safety, or property. If at the time a complaint is filed the complainant, victim or witness indicates a desire for disclosure or nondisclosure, such desire shall govern. However, all complaints filed with the public disclosure commission about any elected official or candidate for public office must be made in writing and signed by the complainant under oath.
(f) Test questions, scoring keys, and other examination data used to administer a license, employment, or academic examination.
(g) Except as provided by chapter 8.26 RCW, the contents of real estate appraisals, made for or by any agency relative to the acquisition or sale of property, until the project or prospective sale is abandoned or until such time as all of the property has been acquired or the property to which the sale appraisal relates is sold, but in no event shall disclosure be denied for more than three years after the appraisal.
(h) Valuable formulae, designs, drawings, computer source code or object code, and research data obtained by any agency within five years of the request for disclosure when disclosure would produce private gain and public loss.
(i) Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, and intra-agency memorandums in which opinions are expressed or policies formulated or recommended except that a specific record shall not be exempt when publicly cited by an agency in connection with any agency action.
(j) Records which are relevant to a controversy to which an agency is a party but which records would not be available to another party under the rules of pretrial discovery for causes pending in the superior courts.
(k) Records, maps, or other information identifying the location of archaeological sites in order to avoid the looting or depredation of such sites.
(l) Any library record, the primary purpose of which is to maintain control of library materials, or to gain access to information, which discloses or could be used to disclose the identity of a library user.
(m) Financial information supplied by or on behalf of a person, firm, or corporation for the purpose of qualifying to submit a bid or proposal for (i) a ferry system construction or repair contract as required by RCW 47.60.680 through 47.60.750 or (ii) highway construction or improvement as required by RCW 47.28.070.
(n) Railroad company contracts filed prior to July 28, 1991, with the utilities and transportation commission under RCW 81.34.070, except that the summaries of the contracts are open to public inspection and copying as otherwise provided by this chapter.
(o) Financial and commercial information and records supplied by private persons pertaining to export services provided pursuant to chapter 43.163 RCW and chapter 53.31 RCW, and by persons pertaining to export projects pursuant to RCW 43.23.035.
(p) Financial disclosures filed by private vocational schools under chapters 28B.85 and 28C.10 RCW.
(q) Records filed with the utilities and transportation commission or attorney general under RCW 80.04.095 that a court has determined are confidential under RCW 80.04.095.
(r) Financial and commercial information and records supplied by businesses or individuals during application for loans or program services provided by chapters 43.163, 43.160, 43.330, and 43.168 RCW, or during application for economic development loans or program services provided by any local agency.
(s) Membership lists or lists of members or owners of interests of units in timeshare projects, subdivisions, camping resorts, condominiums, land developments, or common-interest communities affiliated with such projects, regulated by the department of licensing, in the files or possession of the department.
(t) All applications for public employment, including the names of applicants, resumes, and other related materials submitted with respect to an applicant.
(u) The residential addresses and residential telephone numbers of employees or volunteers of a public agency which are held by the agency in personnel records, employment or volunteer rosters, or mailing lists of employees or volunteers.
(v) The residential addresses and residential telephone numbers of the customers of a public utility contained in the records or lists held by the public utility of which they are customers, except that this information may be released to the division of child support or the agency or firm providing child support enforcement for another state under Title IV-D of the federal social security act, for the establishment, enforcement, or modification of a support order.
(w)(i) The federal social security number of individuals governed under chapter 18.130 RCW maintained in the files of the department of health, except this exemption does not apply to requests made directly to the department from federal, state, and local agencies of government, and national and state licensing, credentialing, investigatory, disciplinary, and examination organizations; (ii) the current residential address and current residential telephone number of a health care provider governed under chapter 18.130 RCW maintained in the files of the department, if the provider requests that this information be withheld from public inspection and copying, and provides to the department an accurate alternate or business address and business telephone number. On or after January 1, 1995, the current residential address and residential telephone number of a health care provider governed under RCW 18.130.040 maintained in the files of the department shall automatically be withheld from public inspection and copying unless the provider specifically requests the information be released, and except as provided for under RCW 42.17.260(9).
(x) Information obtained by the board of pharmacy as provided in RCW 69.45.090.
(y) Information obtained by the board of pharmacy or the department of health and its representatives as provided in RCW 69.41.044, 69.41.280, and 18.64.420.
(z) Financial information, business plans, examination reports, and any information produced or obtained in evaluating or examining a business and industrial development corporation organized or seeking certification under chapter 31.24 RCW.
(aa) Financial and commercial information supplied to the state investment board by any person when the information relates to the investment of public trust or retirement funds and when disclosure would result in loss to such funds or in private loss to the providers of this information.
(bb) Financial and valuable trade information under RCW 51.36.120.
(cc) Client records maintained by an agency that is a domestic violence program as defined in RCW 70.123.020 or 70.123.075 or a rape crisis center as defined in RCW 70.125.030.
(dd) Information that identifies a person who, while an agency employee: (i) Seeks advice, under an informal process established by the employing agency, in order to ascertain his or her rights in connection with a possible unfair practice under chapter 49.60 RCW against the person; and (ii) requests his or her identity or any identifying information not be disclosed.
(ee) Investigative records compiled by an employing agency conducting a current investigation of a possible unfair practice under chapter 49.60 RCW or of a possible violation of other federal, state, or local laws prohibiting discrimination in employment.
(ff) Business related information protected from public inspection and copying under RCW 15.86.110.
(gg) Financial, commercial, operations, and technical and research information and data submitted to or obtained by the clean Washington center in applications for, or delivery of, program services under chapter 70.95H RCW.
(hh) Information and documents created specifically for, and collected and maintained by a quality improvement committee pursuant to RCW 43.70.510 or 70.41.200, or by a peer review committee under RCW 4.24.250, regardless of which agency is in possession of the information and documents.
(ii) Personal information in files maintained in a data base created under RCW 43.07.360.
(jj) Financial and commercial information requested by the public stadium authority from any person or organization that leases or uses the stadium and exhibition center as defined in RCW 36.102.010.
(kk) Names of individuals residing in emergency or transitional housing that are furnished to the department of revenue or a county assessor in order to substantiate a claim for property tax exemption under RCW 84.36.043.
(ll) The names, residential addresses, residential telephone numbers, and other individually identifiable records held by an agency in relation to a vanpool, carpool, or other ride-sharing program or service. However, these records may be disclosed to other persons who apply for ride-matching services and who need that information in order to identify potential riders or drivers with whom to share rides.
(mm) The personally identifying information of current or former participants or applicants in a paratransit or other transit service operated for the benefit of persons with disabilities or elderly persons.
(nn) The personally identifying information of persons who acquire and use transit passes and other fare payment media including, but not limited to, stored value smart cards and magnetic strip cards, except that an agency may disclose this information to a person, employer, educational institution, or other entity that is responsible, in whole or in part, for payment of the cost of acquiring or using a transit pass or other fare payment media, or to the news media when reporting on public transportation or public safety. This information may also be disclosed at the agency's discretion to governmental agencies or groups concerned with public transportation or public safety.
(oo) Proprietary financial and commercial information that the submitting entity, with review by the department of health, specifically identifies at the time it is submitted and that is provided to or obtained by the department of health in connection with an application for, or the supervision of, an antitrust exemption sought by the submitting entity under RCW 43.72.310. If a request for such information is received, the submitting entity must be notified of the request. Within ten business days of receipt of the notice, the submitting entity shall provide a written statement of the continuing need for confidentiality, which shall be provided to the requester.
Upon receipt of such notice, the department of health shall continue to treat information designated under this section as exempt from disclosure. If the requester initiates an action to compel disclosure under this chapter, the submitting entity must be joined as a party to demonstrate the continuing need for confidentiality.
(pp) Records maintained by the board of industrial insurance appeals that are related to appeals of crime victims' compensation claims filed with the board under RCW 7.68.110.
(qq) Financial and commercial information supplied by or on behalf of a person, firm, corporation, or entity under chapter 28B.95 RCW relating to the purchase or sale of tuition units and contracts for the purchase of multiple tuition units.
(rr) Any records of investigative reports prepared by any state, county, municipal, or other law enforcement agency pertaining to sex offenses contained in chapter 9A.44 RCW or sexually violent offenses as defined in RCW 71.09.020, which have been transferred to the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs for permanent electronic retention and retrieval pursuant to RCW 40.14.070(2)(b).
(ss) Credit card numbers, debit card numbers, electronic check numbers, card expiration dates, or bank or other financial account numbers supplied to an agency for the purpose of electronic transfer of funds, except when disclosure is expressly required by law.
(tt) Financial information, including but not limited to account numbers and values, and other identification numbers supplied by or on behalf of a person, firm, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, or other entity related to an application for a liquor license, gambling license, or lottery retail license.
(uu) Records maintained by the employment security department and subject to chapter 50.13 RCW if provided to another individual or organization for operational, research, or evaluation purposes.
(vv) Individually identifiable information received by the work force training and education coordinating board for research or evaluation purposes.
(ww) Commercial fishing catch data from logbooks required to be provided to the department of fish and wildlife under RCW 77.12.047, when the data identifies specific catch location, timing, or methodology and the release of which would result in unfair competitive disadvantage to the commercial fisher providing the catch data. However, this information may be released to government agencies concerned with the management of fish and wildlife resources.
(xx) Sensitive wildlife data obtained by the department of fish and wildlife. However, sensitive wildlife data may be released to government agencies concerned with the management of fish and wildlife resources. Sensitive wildlife data includes:
(i) The nesting sites or specific locations of endangered species designated under RCW 77.12.020, or threatened or sensitive species classified by rule of the department of fish and wildlife;
(ii) Radio frequencies used in, or locational data generated by, telemetry studies; or
(iii) Other location data that could compromise the viability of a specific fish or wildlife population, and where at least one of the following criteria are met:
(A) The species has a known commercial or black market value;
(B) There is a history of malicious take of that species; or
(C) There is a known demand to visit, take, or disturb, and the species behavior or ecology renders it especially vulnerable or the species has an extremely limited distribution and concentration.
(yy) The personally identifying information of persons who acquire recreational licenses under RCW 77.32.010 or commercial licenses under chapter 77.65 or 77.70 RCW, except name, address of contact used by the department, and type of license, endorsement, or tag. However, the department of fish and wildlife may disclose personally identifying information to:
(i) Government agencies concerned with the management of fish and wildlife resources;
(ii) The department of social and health services, child support division, and to the department of licensing in order to implement RCW 77.32.014 and 46.20.291; and
(iii) Law enforcement agencies for the purpose of firearm possession enforcement under RCW 9.41.040.
(2) Except for information described in subsection (1)(c)(i) of this section and confidential income data exempted from public inspection pursuant to RCW 84.40.020, the exemptions of this section are inapplicable to the extent that information, the disclosure of which would violate personal privacy or vital governmental interests, can be deleted from the specific records sought. No exemption may be construed to permit the nondisclosure of statistical information not descriptive of any readily identifiable person or persons.
(3) Inspection or copying of any specific records exempt under the provisions of this section may be permitted if the superior court in the county in which the record is maintained finds, after a hearing with notice thereof to every person in interest and the agency, that the exemption of such records is clearly unnecessary to protect any individual's right of privacy or any vital governmental function.
(4) Agency responses refusing, in whole or in part, inspection of any public record shall include a statement of the specific exemption authorizing the withholding of the record (or part) and a brief explanation of how the exemption applies to the record withheld."
MOTIONS
On motion of Senator Jacobsen, the following title amendment was adopted:
On page 1, line 2 of the title, after "wildlife;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "and reenacting and amending RCW 42.17.310."
On motion of Senator Jacobsen, the rules were suspended, Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 1996, as amended by the Senate, was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 1996, as amended by the Senate.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 1996, as amended by the Senate, and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 46; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 3.
Voting yea: Senators Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West and Winsley - 46.
Excused: Senators Benton, Haugen and Zarelli - 3.
ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1996, as amended by the Senate, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL NO. 1347, by Representatives Benson and Hatfield
Creating the structured settlement protection act.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTIONS
On motion of Senator Prentice, the following Committee on Labor, Commerce and Financial Institutions striking amendment was adopted:
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. This chapter may be known and cited as the structured settlement protection act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Annuity issuer" means an insurer that has issued a contract to fund periodic payments under a structured settlement.
(2) "Dependents" means a payee's spouse and minor children and all other persons for whom the payee is legally obligated to provide support, including alimony.
(3) "Discounted present value" means the present value of future payments determined by discounting such payments to the present using the most recently published applicable federal rate for determining the present value of an annuity, as issued by the United States internal revenue service.
(4) "Gross advance amount" means the sum payable to the payee or for the payee's account as consideration for a transfer of structured settlement payment rights before any reductions for transfer expenses or other deductions to be made from such consideration.
(5) "Independent professional advice" means advice of an attorney, certified public accountant, actuary, or other licensed professional adviser.
(6) "Interested parties" means, with respect to any structured settlement, the payee, any beneficiary irrevocably designated under the annuity contract to receive payments following the payee's death, the annuity issuer, the structured settlement obligor, and any other party that has continuing rights or obligations under such structured settlement.
(7) "Net advance amount" means the gross advance amount less the aggregate amount of the actual and estimated transfer expenses required to be disclosed under section 3(5) of this act.
(8) "Payee" means an individual who is receiving tax-free payments under a structured settlement and proposes to make a transfer of payment rights thereunder.
(9) "Periodic payments" means (a) recurring payments and (b) scheduled future lump sum payments.
(10) "Qualified assignment agreement" means an agreement providing for a qualified assignment within the meaning of section 130 of the United States Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. Sec. 130), as amended.
(11) "Responsible administrative authority" means, with respect to a structured settlement, any government authority vested by law with exclusive jurisdiction over the settled claim resolved by such structured settlement.
(12) "Settled claim" means the original tort claim or workers' compensation claim resolved by a structured settlement.
(13) "Structured settlement" means an arrangement for periodic payment of compensation for injuries or sickness as described in 26 U.S.C. Sec. 104(a)(1) or (2), as amended, or an arrangement for periodic payment of benefits under a special needs trust as described in 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1396p(d)(4), as amended.
(14) "Structured settlement agreement" means the agreement, judgment, stipulation, or release embodying the terms of a structured settlement.
(15) "Structured settlement obligor" means, with respect to any structured settlement, the party that has the continuing obligation to make periodic payments to the payee under a structured settlement agreement or a qualified assignment agreement.
(16) "Structured settlement payment rights" means rights to receive periodic payments under a structured settlement, whether from the structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer, if:
(a) The payee is domiciled in, or the domicile or principal place of business of the structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer is located in, this state;
(b) The structured settlement agreement was approved by a court or responsible administrative authority in this state; or
(c) The structured settlement agreement is expressly governed by the laws of this state.
(17) "Terms of the structured settlement" means, with respect to any structured settlement, the terms of the structured settlement agreement, the annuity contract, any qualified assignment agreement and any order or other approval of any court or responsible administrative authority or other government authority that authorized or approved such structured settlement.
(18) "Transfer" means any sale, assignment, pledge, hypothecation or other alienation or encumbrance of structured settlement payment rights made by a payee for consideration. However, "transfer" does not mean the creation or perfection of a security interest in structured settlement payment rights under a blanket security agreement entered into with an insured depository institution, in the absence of any action to redirect the structured settlement payments to such insured depository institution, or an agent or successor in interest thereof, or otherwise to enforce such blanket security interest against the structured settlement payment rights.
(19) "Transfer agreement" means the agreement providing for a transfer of structured settlement payment rights.
(20) "Transfer expenses" means all expenses of a transfer that are required under the transfer agreement to be paid by the payee or deducted from the gross advance amount, including, without limitation, court filing fees, attorneys' fees, escrow fees, lien recordation fees, judgment and lien search fees, finders' fees, commissions, and other payments to a broker or other intermediary. "Transfer expenses" does not mean preexisting obligations of the payee payable for the payee's account from the proceeds of a transfer.
(21) "Transferee" means a party acquiring or proposing to acquire structured settlement payment rights through a transfer.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. Not less than three days prior to the date on which a payee signs a transfer agreement, the transferee shall provide to the payee a separate disclosure statement, in bold type no smaller than 14 points, setting forth:
(1) The amounts and due dates of the structured settlement payments to be transferred;
(2) The aggregate amount of such payments;
(3) The discounted present value of the payments to be transferred, which shall be identified as the "calculation of current value of the transferred structured settlement payments under federal standards for valuing annuities", and the amount of the applicable federal rate used in calculating such discounted present value;
(4) The gross advance amount;
(5) An itemized listing of all applicable transfer expenses, other than attorneys' fees and related disbursements payable in connection with the transferee's application for approval of the transfer, and the transferee's best estimate of the amount of any such fees and disbursements;
(6) The net advance amount;
(7) The amount of any penalties or liquidated damages payable by the payee in the event of any breach of the transfer agreement by the payee; and
(8) A statement that the payee has the right to cancel the transfer agreement, without penalty or further obligation, not later than the third business day after the date the agreement is signed by the payee.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A direct or indirect transfer of structured settlement payment rights is not effective and a structured settlement obligor or annuity issuer is not required to make any payment directly or indirectly to any transferee of structured settlement payment rights unless the transfer has been approved in advance in a final court order or order of a responsible administrative authority based on express findings by such court or responsible administrative authority that:
(1) The transfer is in the best interest of the payee, taking into account the welfare and support of the payee's dependents;
(2) The payee has been advised in writing by the transferee to seek independent professional advice regarding the transfer and has either received such advice or knowingly waived such advice in writing; and
(3) The transfer does not contravene any applicable statute or the order of any court or other government authority.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Following a transfer of structured settlement payment rights under this chapter:
(1) The structured settlement obligor and the annuity issuer shall, as to all parties except the transferee, be discharged and released from any and all liability for the transferred payments;
(2) The transferee shall be liable to the structured settlement obligor and the annuity issuer:
(a) If the transfer contravenes the terms of the structured settlement, for any taxes incurred by such parties as a consequence of the transfer; and
(b) For any other liabilities or costs, including reasonable costs and attorneys' fees, arising from compliance by such parties with the order of the court or responsible administrative authority or arising as a consequence of the transferee's failure to comply with this chapter;
(3) Neither the annuity issuer nor the structured settlement obligor may be required to divide any periodic payment between the payee and any transferee or assignee or between two, or more, transferees or assignees; and
(4) Any further transfer of structured settlement payment rights by the payee may be made only after compliance with all of the requirements of this chapter.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. (1) An application under this chapter for approval of a transfer of structured settlement payment rights shall be made by the transferee and may be brought in the county in which the payee resides, in the county in which the structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer maintains its principal place of business, or in any court or before any responsible administrative authority which approved the structured settlement agreement.
(2) Not less than twenty days prior to the scheduled hearing on any application for approval of a transfer of structured settlement payment rights under section 4 of this act, the transferee shall file with the court or responsible administrative authority and serve on all interested parties a notice of the proposed transfer and the application for its authorization, including with such notice:
(a) A copy of the transferee's application;
(b) A copy of the transfer agreement;
(c) A copy of the disclosure statement required under section 3 of this act;
(d) A listing of each of the payee's dependents, together with each dependent's age;
(e) Notification that any interested party is entitled to support, oppose, or otherwise respond to the transferee's application, either in person or by counsel, by submitting written comments to the court or responsible administrative authority or by participating in the hearing; and
(f) Notification of the time and place of the hearing and notification of the manner in which and the time by which written responses to the application must be filed, which may not be less than fifteen days after service of the transferee's notice, in order to be considered by the court or responsible administrative authority.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) The provisions of this chapter may not be waived by any payee.
(2) Any transfer agreement entered into on or after the effective date of this act by a payee who resides in this state shall provide that disputes under such transfer agreement, including any claim that the payee has breached the agreement, shall be determined in and under the laws of this state. Such a transfer agreement may not authorize the transferee or any other party to confess judgment or consent to entry of judgment against the payee.
(3) Transfer of structured settlement payment rights do not extend to any payments that are life contingent unless, prior to the date on which the payee signs the transfer agreement, the transferee has established and has agreed to maintain procedures reasonably satisfactory to the annuity issuer and the structured settlement obligor for (a) periodically confirming the payee's survival, and (b) giving the annuity issuer and the structured settlement obligor prompt written notice in the event of the payee's death.
(4) No payee who proposes to make a transfer of structured settlement payment rights may incur any penalty, forfeit any application fee or other payment, or otherwise incur any liability to the proposed transferee or any assignee based on any failure of such a transfer to satisfy the conditions of this chapter.
(5) This chapter does not authorize any transfer of structured settlement payment rights in contravention of any law, nor does it imply that any transfer under a transfer agreement entered into prior to the effective date of this act is valid or invalid.
(6) Compliance with the requirements set forth in section 3 of this act and fulfillment of the conditions set forth in section 4 of this act is the sole responsibility of the transferee in any transfer of structured settlement payment rights, and neither the structured settlement obligor nor the annuity issuer bear any responsibility for, or any liability arising from, noncompliance with the requirements or failure to fulfill the conditions.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. Sections 1 through 7 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 19 RCW."
MOTIONS
On motion of Senator Prentice, the following title amendment was adopted:
On page 1, line 2 of the title, after "act;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "and adding a new chapter to Title 19 RCW."
On motion of Senator Prentice, the rules were suspended, Engrossed House Bill No. 1347, as amended by the Senate, was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Engrossed House Bill No. 1347, as amended by the Senate.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Engrossed House Bill No. 1347, as amended by the Senate, and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 46; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 3.
Voting yea: Senators Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West and Winsley - 46.
Excused: Senators Benton, Haugen and Zarelli - 3.
ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL NO. 1347, as amended by the Senate, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
SECOND READING
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1643, by House Committee on Judiciary (originally sponsored by Representatives Lantz, Skinner, Fromhold, Ogden, Esser, Jarrett, McIntire, Rockefeller, Doumit, Keiser and Dunn)
Limiting liability of volunteers.
The bill was read the second time.
MOTION
On motion of Senator Kline, the rules were suspended, Substitute House Bill No. 1643 was advanced to third reading, the second reading considered the third and the bill was placed on final passage.
The President declared the question before the Senate to be the roll call on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1643.
ROLL CALL
The Secretary called the roll on the final passage of Substitute House Bill No. 1643 and the bill passed the Senate by the following vote: Yeas, 46; Nays, 0; Absent, 0; Excused, 3.
Voting yea: Senators Brown, Carlson, Constantine, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Oke, Parlette, Patterson, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West and Winsley - 46.
Excused: Senators Benton, Haugen and Zarelli - 3.
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1643, having received the constitutional majority, was declared passed. There being no objection, the title of the bill will stand as the title of the act.
There being no objection, the President returned the Senate to the fourth order of business.
MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE
April 10, 2001
MR. PRESIDENT:
The Co-Speakers have signed:
HOUSE BILL NO. 1002,
HOUSE BILL NO. 1028,
HOUSE BILL NO. 1084,
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1136,
HOUSE BILL NO. 1160
HOUSE BILL NO. 1173,
ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1180,
HOUSE BILL NO. 1205,
HOUSE BILL NO. 1366,
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1426,
SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1499,
HOUSE BILL NO. 1542,
SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1590,
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1596,
HOUSE BILL NO. 1716,
HOUSE BILL NO. 1727,
HOUSE BILL NO. 1729,
HOUSE BILL NO. 1780,
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1792, and the same are herewith transmitted.
CYNTHIA ZEHNDER, Co-Chief Clerk
TIMOTHY A. MARTIN, Co-Chief Clerk
SIGNED BY THE PRESIDENT
The President signed:
HOUSE BILL NO. 1002,
HOUSE BILL NO. 1028,
HOUSE BILL NO. 1084,
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1136,
HOUSE BILL NO. 1160
HOUSE BILL NO. 1173,
ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1180,
HOUSE BILL NO. 1205,
HOUSE BILL NO. 1366,
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1426,
SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1499,
HOUSE BILL NO. 1542,
SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1590,
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1596,
HOUSE BILL NO. 1716,
HOUSE BILL NO. 1727,
HOUSE BILL NO. 1729,
HOUSE BILL NO. 1780,
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1792.
MOTION
At 4:40 p.m., on motion of Senator Betti Sheldon, the Senate adjourned until 9:00 a.m., Wednesday, April 11, 2001.
BRAD OWEN, President of the Senate
TONY M. COOK, Secretary of the Senate