| Washington State House of Representatives Office of Program Research |
BILL ANALYSIS |
| Judiciary Committee | |
HB 1859
This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in
their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a
statement of legislative intent.
Title: An act relating to publications of the statute law committee.
Brief Description: Revising the statute law committee's publication authority.
Sponsors: Representatives Goodman and Priest; by request of Statute Law Committee.
Brief Summary of Bill |
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Hearing Date: 2/9/07
Staff: Edie Adams (786-7180).
Background:
The Statute Law Committee (SLC) is responsible for compiling and printing a number of
publications, including the session laws and the Washington State Register.
The session laws consist of all the bills that were enacted into law during the legislative session
and initiatives adopted by the people in the preceding year. The SLC is required to have
published and bound, within 75 days after adjournment of session, as many copies of the session
laws as may be necessary.
The SLC distributes free copies of the session laws to designated persons and entities. In
addition, the SLC may exchange session laws for similar laws of other states. Surplus copies of
the session laws may be sold by the SLC for a price that covers costs. Moneys received from the
sale of the session laws is deposited into the General Fund.
The Washington State Register (Register) is a biweekly publication distributed on the first and
third Wednesdays of each month. It includes a variety of information relating to the activities of
state government, including notices of proposed rules, emergency and permanently adopted
rules, public meetings of state agencies, notices of rules review, executive orders and emergency
declarations of the governor, court rules adopted but not yet published, summary of attorney
general opinions, juvenile disposition standards, and the state maximum interest rate.
The Register must be made available in written form and free of charge to certain governmental
officials, the Legislature, county boards of law libraries, and to the Olympia representatives of
the Associated Press and United Press International. Other persons may purchase the Register
for a price fixed by the Code Reviser.
County law libraries are required to maintain complete sets of the Register for public use and
inspection.
Summary of Bill:
Moneys received from the sale of surplus copies of the session laws are paid into the Statute Law
Committee Publication Account, rather than the General Fund.
The SLC may publish the Washington State Register exclusively by electronic means on the
Code Reviser web site if the SLC determines that public access will not be substantially
diminished, and the electronic copy shall be considered the official copy of the Washington State
Register.
If the SLC decides to publish the Register exclusively by electronic means, county law libraries
may satisfy their requirement of maintaining the Register for inspection by providing on-site
access to the Register, and written copies of the Register will not be required to be provided to
those entities currently entitled to them.
A few changes are made to the language in the laws relating to requirements of the Register to
accommodate the potential change to exclusive electronic publication of the Register. In
addition, the reference to the Olympia representatives of the Associated Press and United Press
International is changed to the Olympia press corps.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Not requested.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.