SENATE BILL REPORT

SSB 6239

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.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Labor, Commerce & Consumer Protection (originally sponsored by Senators Kohl-Welles, Gordon and Fraser; by request of Statute Law Committee).

Majority Report: That Substitute Senate Bill No. 6239 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.

Signed by Senators Kohl-Welles, Chair; Keiser, Vice Chair; Holmquist, Ranking Minority Member; Franklin, Honeyford, King and Kline.

Background: Since 1983 state law requires that all statutes be written in gender-neutral terms, unless a specification of gender is intended. In 2007 the Legislature passed ESB 5063, an act relating to removing gender references. The act changed gender-specific terms to gender-neutral terms in several chapters of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW), including those chapters dealing with firefighters, police officers, bondspersons, and material suppliers. ESB 5063 also directed the Code Reviser, in consultation with the Statute Law Committee, to develop and implement a plan to correct gender-specific references in the entire RCW.

The Code Reviser must make annual legislative recommendations to make the RCW completely gender-neutral by June 30, 2015. The first such bill was passed by the Legislature during the 2009 Legislative Session.

Summary of Substitute Bill: Gender-specific terms and references are made gender-neutral in several titles of the RCW. Titles relating to criminal procedure, probate and trust, district and juvenile courts, aeronautics, agriculture, state government, motor vehicles, public highways and transportation, insurance, labor, unemployment compensation, industrial insurance, fire protection districts, port districts, public utility districts, boundaries and plats, and landlord and tenant are included and are made gender-neutral throughout.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony on Original Bill: PRO: This project may be completed before the 2015 deadline. This bill is similar to the bill passed by the Legislature last year. In producing this bill, outside agencies and interested parties were consulted. References to warehousemen/warehouse worker can be pulled from the bill this year and addressed during the 2010 interim.