IN THE MATTER OF THE SUGGESTED AMENDMENT TO GR 7—LOCAL RULES—FILING AND EFFECTIVE DATE

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ORDER

NO. 25700-A-1282

The Washington State Association of County Clerks, having recommended the suggested amendment to GR 7—Local Rules—Filing and Effective Date, and the Court having approved the suggested amendment for publication;

(a) That pursuant to the provisions of GR 9(g), the suggested amendment as shown below is to be published for comment in the Washington Reports, Washington Register, Washington State Bar Association and Administrative Office of the Court's websites in January 2020.

(b) The purpose statement as required by GR 9(e), is published solely for the information of the Bench, Bar and other interested parties.

(c) Comments are to be submitted to the Clerk of the Supreme Court by either U.S. Mail or Internet E-Mail by no later than April 30, 2020. Comments may be sent to the following addresses: P.O. Box 40929, Olympia, Washington 98504-0929, or supreme@courts.wa.gov. Comments submitted by e-mail message must be limited to 1500 words.

Spokesperson: Tim Fitzgerald, Spokane County Clerk, 1116 W Broadway Ave, Room 300, Spokane, WA 99260, (509) 477-3901, tfitzgerald@spokanecounty.org;Barbara Miner, King County Clerk, 516 Third Avenue, RM E609, Seattle, WA 98104, 206-477-0777 barbara.miner@kingcounty.gov

B. Purpose: These suggested edits to GR 7, the rule on local rules, are modeled after GR 9, the rule on state court rule making. This suggested language is intended to improve communication and transparency and help avoid situations that happen from time to time where an involved local court stakeholder is caught off guard by a new or changed local rule.

(a) Generally. One copy of rules of court authorized by law to be adopted or amended by courts other than the Supreme Court must be filed with the state Administrative Office of the Courts. New proposed rules and amendments must be filed on or before July 1, to be effective September 1 of the same year. Promulgation or amendment of rules that describe only the structure, internal management and organization of the court but do not affect courtroom procedures are not governed by the time limitations above.

(1) A proposed new or amended local rule shall be submitted for comment to the local bar, the county prosecutor, the county clerk, the county public defender representative and published for at least a 30 day period on the court's Internet site and other sites as the court may determine. The court shall ask the local bar to publish the proposal to its members.

(2) The court shall direct that all comments on a proposed rule be submitted in writing to the court by the deadline set by the court. Comments received shall be publicly accessible and posted on the court's website.

(3) After considering a suggested rule, or after considering any comments received regarding a proposed rule, the Court may adopt, amend, or reject the rule change or take such other action as the Court deems appropriate.

(bc) Form. All local rules shall be consistent with rules adopted by the Supreme Court, and shall conform in numbering system and in format to these rules to facilitate their use. Each rule and amendment filed shall state its effective date in brackets following the rule. Prior to adopting a local rule, the court may informally submit a copy of its local rule to the Administrative Office of the Courts for comments as to its conformity in number and format to the Official Rules of Court, and suggestions with reference thereto.

(cd) Distribution. On or before September 1 of each year, the Administrator for the Courts shall distribute all local rules, and amendments thereto, to the state law library, the libraries of the three divisions of the Court of Appeals, all county law libraries, Washington law school libraries, and to such other places as are deemed appropriate by the Administrative Office of the Courts.

(de) Availability of Local Rules. The clerk of the court adopting the rules shall maintain a complete set of current local rules, which shall be available for inspection and copying.

(1) In the event a court other than the Supreme Court deems that an emergency exists which requires a change in its rules, such court shall, in addition to filing the rules or amendments as provided in section (a), distribute them to all county law libraries.

(2) A rule or amendment adopted on an emergency basis shall become effective immediately on filing with the Administrative Office of the Courts. The rule or amendment shall remain effective for a period of 90 days after filing, unless readopted in accordance with section (e)(1) or submitted as a permanent rule or amendment under section (a) within the 90-day period.

(fg) Filing Local Rules Electronically. The Administrative Office of the Courts shall establish the specifications necessary for a court to file its local court rules electronically.

	For the Court

	Fairhurst, C.J.
	chief justice