BILL REQ. #:  S-0317.1 

Read first time 01/15/09.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to statutory construction; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature believes the role of policymaking requires clarity, consistency, and precision in the preparation and interpretation of legislation. The legislature finds that over the past decades, there have been instances in which statutes have been judicially construed differently than may have been intended and that it will be helpful to the judicial and legislative branches if the rules by which statutes are judicially construed are reviewed and better understood by both branches. The legislature also finds that rules of construction should be codified to the extent possible such that both branches will have enhanced opportunities to: (1) Achieve mutually consistent understandings of legislative intent regarding matters of public policy; (2) reduce the necessity of ongoing revisions; and (3) provide parties to litigation increased predictability of outcome of contested matters.
     The legislature, therefore, intends to create a broadly representative task force to review the existing rules of statutory construction, identify those rules that are appropriate for codification, and identify those rules that may, if revised, lead to improved comity between the legislative and judicial branches in determining public policy.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1)(a) A legislative task force on statutory construction is established, with membership as provided in this subsection.
     (i) The president of the senate shall appoint one member from each of the two largest caucuses of the senate;
     (ii) The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint one member from each of the two largest caucuses of the house of representatives;
     (iii) The chief justice of the Washington state supreme court or the chief justice's designee is invited to be a member;
     (iv) A superior court judge appointed by the superior court judges association is invited to be a member;
     (v) The attorney general or the attorney general's designee;
     (vi) Two prosecutors appointed by the Washington association of prosecuting attorneys or designees of the prosecutors;
     (vii) Two attorneys, one appointed by the Washington defender association and one appointed by the Washington association of criminal defense lawyers;
     (viii) Two attorneys appointed by the Washington state bar association. One shall be an attorney whose primary practice is representing individuals in litigation involving tortious conduct. One shall be an attorney whose primary practice is representing commercial entities in litigation involving tortious conduct. The state bar association shall seek advice from groups representing such attorneys in making its selections;
     (ix) A law professor knowledgeable in statutory construction, appointed by the governor;
     (x) A representative of the association of Washington cities; and
     (xi) A representative of the Washington state association of counties.
     (b) The task force shall choose its cochairs from among its legislative membership. The joint call of the chairs of both the senate and house judiciary committees shall convene the initial meeting of the task force.
     (2) The task force shall review, at a minimum, the following issues:
     (a) Which, if any, of the rules of statutory construction should be codified;
     (b) The methods by which the rules should be codified including, but not limited to, codifying the rules on a per act basis or codifying the rules as a whole;
     (c) The benefits and drawbacks of codification including, but not limited to, constitutional implications; and
     (d) What, if any, additional measures can the legislature and the judiciary take to improve the collective understanding of what statutes mean.
     (3) Staff support for the task force must be provided by the legislature.
     (4) Legislative members of the task force must be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120. Nonlegislative members, except those representing an employer or organization, are entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.
     (5) The expenses of the task force must be paid jointly by the senate and the house of representatives. Task force expenditures are subject to approval by the senate facilities and operations committee and the house of representatives executive rules committee, or their successor committees.
     (6) The task force shall hold meetings in places throughout the state in an effort to accommodate the varied places of residence among task force members.
     (7) The task force may organize itself in a manner, and adopt rules of procedure, that it determines most conducive to the timely completion of its charge.
     (8) The task force is subject to chapter 42.30 RCW.
     (9) The task force shall submit an interim report to the Washington state supreme court and appropriate committees of the legislature by January 1, 2010, and its final findings and recommendations to the Washington state supreme court and appropriate committees of the legislature by January 1, 2011.
     (10) This section expires July 1, 2011.