CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1830
Chapter 169, Laws of 1991
52nd Legislature
1991 Regular Session
TESTIMONY OF CHILD REGARDING ACTS OF SEXUAL CONTACT‑-ADMISSIBILITY
EFFECTIVE DATE: 5/15/91
Passed by the House March 18, 1991
Yeas 98 Nays 0
JOE KING
Speaker of the
House of Representatives
Passed by the Senate April 12, 1991
Yeas 40 Nays 0
JOEL PRITCHARD
President of the Senate
Approved May 15, 1991
BOOTH GARDNER
Governor of the State of Washington
CERTIFICATE
I, Alan Thompson, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1830 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth.
ALAN THOMPSON Chief Clerk
FILED
May 15, 1991 - 11:15 a.m.
Secretary of State
State of Washington
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SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1830
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AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
Passed Legislature - 1991 Regular Session
State of Washington 52nd Legislature 1991 Regular Session
By House Committee on Judiciary (originally sponsored by Representatives H. Myers, Riley, Padden, Appelwick, Cooper, Winsley, D. Sommers, Bowman, Paris, Miller, R. Johnson, Brough, Silver, Forner, Ebersole, Fuhrman, Rasmussen, Brumsickle and Moyer).
Read first time March 5, 1991.
AN ACT Relating to admissibility of children's statements; amending RCW 9A.44.120; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 9A.44.120 and 1985 c 404 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
A statement made by a child when under the age of ten describing any act of sexual contact performed with or on the child by another or describing any attempted act of sexual contact with or on the child by another, not otherwise admissible by statute or court rule, is admissible in evidence in dependency proceedings under Title 13 RCW and criminal proceedings, including juvenile offense adjudications, in the courts of the state of Washington if:
(1) The court finds, in a hearing conducted outside the presence of the jury, that the time, content, and circumstances of the statement provide sufficient indicia of reliability; and
(2) The child either:
(a) Testifies at the proceedings; or
(b) Is unavailable as a witness: PROVIDED, That when the child is unavailable as a witness, such statement may be admitted only if there is corroborative evidence of the act.
A statement may not be admitted under this section unless the proponent of the statement makes known to the adverse party his intention to offer the statement and the particulars of the statement sufficiently in advance of the proceedings to provide the adverse party with a fair opportunity to prepare to meet the statement.
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 immediately.