SENATE BILL REPORT

                   SB 6352

              As Reported By Senate Committee On:

          State & Local Government, January 27, 2000

Title:  An act relating to honoring the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.

Brief Description:  Honoring the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sponsors:  Senators Kline, Heavey, Patterson, Franklin, Kohl‑Welles, McAuliffe, Shin, Fairley, Prentice, Costa, Thibaudeau, Wojahn, Snyder, Bauer, Eide, B. Sheldon, Rasmussen and Gardner.

Brief History:

Committee Activity:  State & Local Government:  1/24/2000, 1/27/2000 [DPS].

SENATE COMMITTEE ON STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Majority Report:  That Substitute Senate Bill No. 6352 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.

  Signed by Senators Patterson, Chair; Gardner, Vice Chair; Hale, Haugen, Horn and Kline.

Staff:  Roger Brodniak (786-7445)

Background:  William Rufus de Vane King (1786-1853) was a prominent national elected official who served as Vice President of the United States in 1853.  The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. was a prominent civil rights leader and orator in the 1950s and 1960s.

King County was originally named in honor of William Rufus King, a prominent national elected official.

Summary of Substitute Bill:  King County is now renamed in honor of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968).

Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill:  The substitute bill recognizes that King County was originally named for William Rufus King, Vice President of the United States under Franklin Pierce in 1853.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

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

Testimony For:  The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., was a noble and influential leader in the civil rights movement, and his vision rings strongly today.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  Sara Fleming Melten, WA Assn. of Counties (pro).