H-0562

AN ACT Relating to superior court fees; amending RCW 36.18.020, 36.18.025, and 43.08.250; adding a new section to chapter 43.08 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 36.18 RCW; and making an appropriation.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 36.18.020 and 1989 c 342 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

Clerks of superior courts shall collect the following fees for their official services:

(1) The party filing the first or initial paper in any civil action, including an action for restitution, or change of name, shall pay, at the time said paper is filed, a fee of ((~~seventy‑eight~~)) one hundred dollars except in proceedings filed under RCW 26.50.030 or 49.60.227 where the petitioner shall pay a filing fee of twenty dollars, or an unlawful detainer action under chapter 59.18 or 59.20 RCW where the plaintiff shall pay a filing fee of thirty dollars. If the defendant serves or files an answer to an unlawful detainer complaint under chapter 59.18 or 59.20 RCW, the plaintiff shall pay, prior to proceeding with the unlawful detainer action, an additional forty‑eight dollars which shall be considered part of the filing fee. The thirty dollar filing fee under this subsection for an unlawful detainer action shall not include an order to show cause or any other order or judgment except a default order or default judgment in an unlawful detainer action.

(2) Any party, except a defendant in a criminal case, filing the first or initial paper on an appeal from a court of limited jurisdiction or any party on any civil appeal, shall pay, when said paper is filed, a fee of ((~~seventy‑eight~~)) one hundred dollars.

(3) The party filing a transcript or abstract of judgment or verdict from a United States court held in this state, or from the superior court of another county or from a district court in the county of issuance, shall pay at the time of filing, a fee of fifteen dollars.

(4) For the filing of a tax warrant by the department of revenue of the state of Washington, a fee of five dollars shall be paid.

(5) For the filing of a petition for modification of a decree of dissolution, a fee of twenty dollars shall be paid.

(6) The party filing a demand for jury of six in a civil action, shall pay, at the time of filing, a fee of ((~~twenty‑five~~)) fifty dollars; if the demand is for a jury of twelve the fee shall be ((~~fifty~~)) one hundred dollars. If, after the party files a demand for a jury of six and pays the required fee, any other party to the action requests a jury of twelve, an additional ((~~twenty‑five~~)) fifty‑dollar fee will be required of the party demanding the increased number of jurors.

(7) For filing any paper, not related to or a part of any proceeding, civil or criminal, or any probate matter, required or permitted to be filed in the clerk's office for which no other charge is provided by law, or for filing a petition, written agreement, or memorandum as provided in RCW 11.96.170, the clerk shall collect two dollars.

(8) For preparing, transcribing or certifying any instrument on file or of record in the clerk's office, with or without seal, for the first page or portion thereof, a fee of two dollars, and for each additional page or portion thereof, a fee of one dollar. For authenticating or exemplifying any instrument, a fee of one dollar for each additional seal affixed.

(9) For executing a certificate, with or without a seal, a fee of two dollars shall be charged.

(10) For each garnishee defendant named in an affidavit for garnishment and for each writ of attachment, a fee of five dollars shall be charged.

(11) For approving a bond, including justification thereon, in other than civil actions and probate proceedings, a fee of two dollars shall be charged.

(12) In probate proceedings, the party instituting such proceedings, shall pay at the time of filing the first paper therein, a fee of ((~~seventy‑eight~~)) one hundred dollars: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, A fee of two dollars shall be charged for filing a will only, when no probate of the will is contemplated. Except as provided for in subsection (13) of this section a fee of two dollars shall be charged for filing a petition, written agreement, or memorandum as provided in RCW 11.96.170.

(13) For filing any petition to contest a will admitted to probate or a petition to admit a will which has been rejected, or a petition objecting to a written agreement or memorandum as provided in RCW 11.96.170, there shall be paid a fee of ((~~seventy‑eight~~)) one hundred dollars.

(14) For the issuance of each certificate of qualification and each certified copy of letters of administration, letters testamentary or letters of guardianship there shall be a fee of two dollars.

(15) For the preparation of a passport application there shall be a fee of four dollars.

(16) For searching records for which a written report is issued there shall be a fee of eight dollars per hour.

(17) Upon conviction or plea of guilty, upon failure to prosecute an appeal from a court of limited jurisdiction as provided by law, or upon affirmance of a conviction by a court of limited jurisdiction, a defendant in a criminal case shall be liable for a fee of seventy dollars.

(18) With the exception of demands for jury hereafter made and garnishments hereafter issued, civil actions and probate proceedings filed prior to midnight, July 1, 1972, shall be completed and governed by the fee schedule in effect as of January 1, 1972: PROVIDED, That no fee shall be assessed if an order of dismissal on the clerk's record be filed as provided by rule of the supreme court.

(19) No fee shall be collected when a petition for relinquishment of parental rights is filed pursuant to RCW 26.33.080 or for forms and instructional brochures provided under RCW 26.50.030.

Sec. 2. RCW 36.18.025 and 1985 c 389 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:

Thirty‑two percent of the money received from filing fees paid pursuant to RCW 36.18.020((~~, as now or hereafter amended,~~)) shall be transmitted by the county treasurer each month to the state treasurer for deposit in the public safety and education account established under RCW 43.08.250.

Sec. 3. RCW 43.08.250 and 1985 c 57 s 27 are each amended to read as follows:

The money received by the state treasurer from fees, fines, forfeitures, penalties, reimbursements or assessments by any court organized under Title 3 or 35 RCW, or chapter 2.08 RCW, shall be deposited in the public safety and education account which is hereby created in the state treasury. The legislature shall appropriate the funds in the account to promote traffic safety education, highway safety, criminal justice training, crime victims' compensation, judicial education, the judicial information system, civil representation of indigent persons, winter recreation parking, and state game programs. All earnings of investments of balances in the public safety and education account shall be credited to the general fund.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 43.08 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Any money appropriated from the public safety and education account pursuant to RCW 43.08.250 in order to promote civil representation of indigent persons shall be used solely for the purpose of contracting with qualified legal aid programs. For purposes of this section, a "qualified legal aid program" means a not-for-profit corporation incorporated and operating exclusively in Washington whose primary purpose is the provision of free, direct civil representation to low-income eligible persons as defined by legal services corporation eligibility guidelines, that is governed by a board of directors composed of attorneys and consumers of legal services, and that provides for community participation in legal services programming.

(2) Funds distributed to qualified legal aid programs under this section shall be distributed on a basis proportionate to the number of individuals with incomes below the official federal poverty income guidelines who reside within the counties in the geographic service areas of such programs. The department of community development shall use the same formula for determining this distribution as is used by the legal services corporation in allocating funds for basic field services in the state of Washington.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 36.18 RCW to read as follows:

The court may waive the filing fees provided for under RCW 36.18.020 (1) and (2) upon affidavit by a party that the party is unable to pay the fee due to financial hardship.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The sum of four million dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the public safety and education account to the department of community development for the biennium ending June 30, 1993. This appropriation is furnished solely for the department to contract with qualified legal aid programs, as defined in section 4 of this act, for the purpose of providing civil representation for indigent persons.