SENATE BILL REPORT

HB 1802

BYRepresentatives P. King and Scott

Creating a new court of appeals position for Snohomish county.

House Committe on Judiciary

Rereferred House Committee on Appropriations

Senate Committee on Rules

Majority Report:  Boosted to Second Reading.

AS OF APRIL 11, 1989

BACKGROUND:

The Court of Appeals is divided into three divisions.  The first division is headquartered in Seattle, the second division is headquartered in Tacoma, and the third division in Spokane.

Each of the divisions is further divided into districts.  The judges of the Court of Appeals are elected from these districts.

The first division has eight judges.  Six of those judges come from district one, which is King County; one of the judges comes from district two, which is Snohomish County; and one of the judges comes from district three, which is Island, San Juan, Skagit and Whatcom Counties.

The number of judges in each of the superior courts is also determined by statute.  Currently, Snohomish County has nine superior court judges and Pierce County has 15.  King County is authorized 46 judges, seven of which were authorized by legislation passed in 1987 that required those seven new positions to be filled by January 1, 1990.

One half of the salary of a superior court judge is paid by the state and the other half is paid by the county.  Most other costs associated with a judicial position, such as capital and support staff costs, are borne by the county.  Superior court judges are provided health care benefits by the state.  Counties are also authorized to provide health care benefits to all county employees.

A statute has required counties to provide a stenographic court reporter for each superior court judge.  Recently created superior court positions have been exempt from this requirement.

SUMMARY:

The number of judges in division one of the Court of Appeals is increased from eight to nine.  The additional judge is to come from Snohomish County.

The number of superior court judges in Pierce county is increased from 15 to 19, effective January 1, 1990.  The number of superior court judges in Snohomish County is increased from nine to 11 with one of the new positions effective July 1, 1990, and the other effective no later than June 30, 1991.  The newly created positions in both counties are dependent on an agreement by the respective county legislative authorities to pay for the counties' shares of the costs of the new positions.  No stenographic reporter is required for the new positions.

The deadline by which the King County legislative authority must agree to the new superior court positions created in 1987 is extended by one year to January 1, 1991.

Superior court judges who get health care benefits from the state are excluded from the definition of "employee" for purposes of the statute that authorizes counties to provide health care benefits to their employees.

The newly created position in division one of the Court of Appeals is to be filled by gubernatorial appointment on January 1, 1990.  In November of 1990, that position will be subject to election for a six-year term.

Appropriation:    none

Revenue:    none

Fiscal Note:      available