Z-709                 _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 3889

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1985 Regular Session

By Senators McDermott and McDonald; by Department of Revenue request

Read first time 2/8/85 and referred to Committee on Ways and Means.

AN ACT Relating to revenue and taxation; and amending RCW 11.28.120 and 43.10.067.

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

        Sec. 1.  Section 11.28.120, chapter 145, Laws of 1965 and RCW 11.28.120 are each amended to read as follows:

          Administration of the estate of the person dying intestate shall be granted to some one or more of the persons hereinafter mentioned, and they shall be respectively entitled in the following order:

          (1) The surviving husband or wife, or such person as he or she may request to have appointed.

          (2) The next of kin in the following order:  (a) child or children; (b) father or mother; (c) brothers or sisters; (d) grandchildren; (e) nephews or nieces.

          (3) The director of revenue, or the director's designee, for those estates having property subject to the provisions of chapter 11.08 RCW; however, the director may waive this right.

(4) One or more of the principal creditors.

          (((4))) (5) If the persons so entitled shall fail for more than forty days after the death of the intestate to present a petition for letters of administration, or if it appear to the satisfaction of the court that there are no relatives or next of kin, as above specified eligible to appointment, or they waive their right, and there are no principal creditor or creditors, or such creditor or creditors waive their right, then the court may appoint any suitable person to administer such estate.

        Sec. 2.  Section 43.10.067, chapter 8, Laws of 1965 as amended by section 1, chapter 268, Laws of 1981 and RCW 43.10.067 are each amended to read as follows:

          No officer, director, administrative agency, board, or commission of the state, other than the attorney general, shall employ, appoint or retain in employment any attorney for any administrative body, department, commission, agency, or tribunal or any other person to act as attorney in any legal or quasi legal capacity in the exercise of any of the powers or performance of any of the duties specified by law to be performed by the attorney general, except where it is provided by law to be the duty of the judge of any court or the prosecuting attorney of any county to employ or appoint such persons:  PROVIDED, That RCW 43.10.040, and RCW 43.10.065 through 43.10.080 shall not apply to the administration of the judicial council, the judicial qualifications commission, the state law library, the law school of the state university, ((or)) the administration of the state bar act by the Washington State Bar Association, or the representation of an estate administered by the director of the department of revenue or the director's designee pursuant to chapter 11.28 RCW.

          The authority granted by chapter 1.08 RCW((, RCW 44.24.050,)) and RCW 44.28.140 shall not be affected hereby.