SENATE BILL REPORT

HB 1064

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.

As Reported by Senate Committee On:

Law & Justice, February 28, 2014

Title: An act relating to technical changes to form year designations.

Brief Description: Making technical changes to form year designations.

Sponsors: Representative Goodman; by request of Statute Law Committee.

Brief History: Passed House: 2/07/14, 77-16.

Committee Activity: Law & Justice: 2/19/14, 2/28/14 [DPA].

SENATE COMMITTEE ON LAW & JUSTICE

Majority Report: Do pass as amended.

Signed by Senators Padden, Chair; O'Ban, Vice Chair; Kline, Ranking Member; Darneille, Pearson, Pedersen and Roach.

Staff: Tim Ford (786-7423)

Background: Throughout the Revised Code of Washington are a myriad of provisions directing that certain forms, in substantially the manner specified in the particular statute, be filed or used. A few examples of such forms include the following:

notice of sale;

writ of garnishment;

declaration of completion of garnishment; and

lien notice.

Generally, somewhere in the form there is a space where reference to a date must be inserted. In many of the statutory forms, in the space for the date the century is specified, such as "19__" and "20__."

Summary of Bill (Recommended Amendments): References in a variety of forms throughout the Revised Code of Washington are amended to remove references to any specific century. Rather than specifying the century in the space where the date must be inserted, the form language denotes the space to insert the year as follows: "(year)."

EFFECT OF CHANGES MADE BY LAW & JUSTICE COMMITTEE (Recommended Amendments): Updates some sections that were amended by other bills last year and restores the phrase “the year of our Lord” in RCW 88.32.140.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Not requested.

Committee/Commission/Task Force Created: No.

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

Staff Summary of Public Testimony on House Bill: PRO: The bill is requested by the Statute Law Committee which oversees the Code Reviser and recommends technical corrections to the law. This is a technical bill. It has many sections where in different titles the law requires the use of statutorily prescribed forms. The bill amends those statutory forms where the forms currently provide a date for the 1900s which use the number 19 followed by a blank "(19__)." The new date will be for any century in perpetuity and will use the word year in parenthesis "(year)." Where a statutorily prescribed form uses the phrase "in the year of our Lord," there will not be any change and that language will remain.

Persons Testifying: PRO: Representative Goodman, sponsor; Kyle Thiessen, Code Reviser.