H-1262.1  _______________________________________________

                          HOUSE BILL 1825

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      57th Legislature     2001 Regular Session

By Representatives Lambert, Hurst, Carrell and Esser

Read first time 02/06/2001.  Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

Requiring elections for certain nonelected judicial officers.

    AN ACT Relating to nonelected judicial officers and commissioners; adding a new section to chapter 2.28 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  The legislature recognizes the need for, and the benefits that accrue from, using appointed and nonelected judicial officers and commissioners to help facilitate the judicial process and expedite the resolution of disputes.  The legislature also recognizes that elected judicial officers are chosen by the voters and are directly accountable to the citizens who put them in office.  Judicial officers and commissioners who serve the public should ultimately give the people at large the opportunity to judge their abilities and competence by running for judicial office.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 2.28 RCW to read as follows:

    (1) Appointed and nonelected judicial officers and commissioners serving in the municipal courts, district courts, and superior courts of this state must run for election in order to continue to serve as a judicial officer in the courts of this state.

    (2) A judicial officer or commissioner of the municipal, district, or superior courts who is serving under appointment, rather than by election, must run for election in order to continue to serve if the judicial officer or commissioner has worked:

    (a) More than twenty-four hours per week for any consecutive twelve-week period;

    (b) More than twenty-four hours per week for eight weeks during any twenty-four week period;

    (c) More than two hundred forty hours during any one-year period.

    (3) For purposes of this section, hours worked during any period of time shall be equal to the hours the appointed and nonelected judicial officer or commissioner claimed for purposes of being paid and for which the judicial officer or commissioner was paid.

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