H-1319.1          _______________________________________________

                                  HOUSE BILL 1786

                  _______________________________________________

State of Washington              52nd Legislature             1991 Regular Session

By Representative Appelwick.

Read first time February 11, 1991.  Referred to Committee on Judiciary.Providing for a contingent increase in the dollar limit for mandatory arbitration cases.

     AN ACT Relating to mandatory arbitration; reenacting and amending RCW 7.06.020; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

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

     Sec. 1.  RCW 7.06.020 and 1987 c 212 s 101 and 1987 c 202 s 127 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

     (1) All civil actions, except for appeals from municipal or district courts, which are at issue in the superior court in counties which have authorized arbitration, where the sole relief sought is a money judgment, and where no party asserts a claim in excess of fifteen thousand dollars, or if approved by the superior court of a county by two-thirds or greater vote of the judges thereof, up to ((thirty-five thousand dollars)) the amount provided for in subsection (3) of this section, exclusive of interest and costs, are subject to mandatory arbitration.

     (2) If approved by majority vote of the superior court judges of a county which has authorized arbitration, all civil actions which are at issue in the superior court in which the sole relief sought is the establishment, termination or modification of maintenance or child support payments are subject to mandatory arbitration.  The arbitrability of any such action shall not be affected by the amount or number of payments involved.

(3) The optional upper limit for arbitration cases authorized under subsection (1) of this section shall be thirty-five thousand dollars unless by July 1, 1991, the jurisdictional limit for district courts as established by RCW 3.66.020 has been increased to at least twenty-five thousand dollars, in which case the limit under subsection (1) of this section shall be forty-five thousand dollars.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.      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 shall take effect July 1, 1991.