HOUSE BILL REPORT

                 SSB 5067

             As Reported By House Committee On:

                    Government Operations

Title:  An act relating to distribution and pricing of session laws, legislative journals, and supreme court and court of appeals reports.

Brief Description:  Simplifying distribution and pricing of state legal publications.

Sponsors:  Senate Committee on Government Operations (originally sponsored by Senators Snyder and Sellar).

Brief History:

  Committee Activity:

Government Operations:  3/17/95, 3/21/95 [DP].

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

Majority Report:  Do pass.  Signed by 14 members:  Representatives Reams, Chairman; Goldsmith, Vice Chairman; L. Thomas, Vice Chairman; Rust, Ranking Minority Member; Scott, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Chopp; R. Fisher; Hargrove; Honeyford; Hymes; Mulliken; D. Schmidt; Van Luven and Wolfe.

Staff:  Bonnie Austin (786-7135).

Background: The State Law Librarian is responsible for the receipt, distribution, sale, and exchange all permanent editions of the session laws.  The price for bound volumes of permanent session laws is set in statute at $20.  The  Statute Law Committee is responsible for the distribution and sale of temporary editions of the session laws.   The price for each set of temporary session laws is established in statute at $5.

The State Law Librarian is also responsible for the receipt, distribution, sale, and exchange of House and Senate journals.

Under current statutory provisions, many government officials and agencies receive copies of all of these documents automatically.  In some cases, the number of copies to be distributed is detailed in statute. 

Summary of Bill:  Responsibility for receiving, distributing, selling, and exchanging permanent session laws is transferred from the State Law Librarian to the Statute Law Committee.  Temporary and permanent session laws are to be sold at a price set by the Statute Law Committee.   Statutory provisions establishing prices are repealed.

The temporary and permanent editions of the session laws are to be distributed only at the request of legislators and certain other government officials and agencies.  Statutory requirements detailing the number of copies of permanent session laws to be distributed to institutions of higher education are modified.  Statutory requirements detailing the number of copies of temporary session laws to be distributed to the Legislature are repealed. 

Responsibility for receiving, distributing, selling, and exchanging House and Senate journals is transferred from the State Law Librarian to the Chief Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate.  Statutory requirements detailing the number of copies of House and Senate journals to be distributed to the Legislature and to libraries in the state are modified.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Available.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  The responsibility for these documents was historically placed with the State Law Librarian.  It is appropriate to redistribute this responsibility.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  Debra Norwood, Washington State Library.