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                     ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 2015

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State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

By Representatives Radcliff, Wolfe, Lambert, Romero, DeBolt, Morris, Constantine, Ruderman, D. Schmidt, Crouse, Carrell, Poulsen, Miloscia and Rockefeller; by request of Department of General Administration and Department of Information Services

Read first time 02/12/1999.  Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

Restricting liability for year 2000 date-change damages.

    AN ACT Relating to restricting liability for harm caused by incorrectly calculated or interpreted dates associated with year 2000 date-changes processed by electronic computing devices; adding a new section to chapter 4.22 RCW; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 4.22 RCW to read as follows:

    (1) As used in this section:

    (a) "Agency" means any state or local government board, commission, bureau, committee, department, institution, division, or tribunal in the legislative, executive, or judicial branch, including elective and legislative offices, institutions of higher education created and supported by state government, counties, cities, towns, special purpose districts, local service districts, municipal corporations, quasi-municipal corporations, including electric cooperatives and mutual utilities, and political subdivisions of such agencies and corporations, and any officer, employee, or agent of these entities acting within the scope of the officer, employee, or agent's employment or duties.

    (b) "Electronic computing device" means any computer hardware or software, computer chip, embedded chip, process control equipment, or other information system used to capture, store, manipulate, or process data, or that controls, monitors, or assists in the operation of physical apparatus that is not primarily used as a computer, but that relies on automation or digital technology to function, including but not limited to vehicles, vessels, buildings, structures, facilities, elevators, medical equipment, traffic signals, factory machinery, and the like.

    (2) In any action against an agency, whether based in tort, contract, or otherwise, for damages caused in whole or in part by computational or interpretive errors generated by an electronic computing device in connection with the year 2000 date-change:

    (a) Any liability of the agency shall be several, not joint, and the liability of the agency shall be determined as a percentage of fault in a manner consistent with RCW 4.22.070; and

    (b) The agency shall have no liability for the first one hundred dollars of damages per claimant that would otherwise be owed by the agency.

    (3) This section shall not apply to any action for damages arising from bodily personal injury, or to wrongful death and survival actions under chapter 4.20 RCW or RCW 4.24.010.

    (4) This section does not apply to any act or omission occurring after December 31, 2003.

    (5) This section expires December 31, 2009.

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