BILL REQ. #:  H-0267.2 

Read first time 01/26/2007.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to creation of a statewide family court; amending RCW 26.12.010, 26.12.190, 26.12.230, 13.04.021, and 13.40.010; reenacting and amending RCW 13.04.030; adding new sections to chapter 2.08 RCW; creating new sections; repealing RCW 26.12.020, 26.12.060, 26.12.800, 26.12.802, and 26.12.804; and providing an effective date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   It is the intent of the legislature to consolidate the areas in the legal system that involve children and families to better serve the legal and social needs of the families. The goal is to enable families to address issues that may arise in the future with minimal legal intervention. Family court has long been recognized as a potential means of serving the legal and social needs of families. It is the intent of the legislature to support the use and success of family court through means such as judicial training, longer judicial rotations, and provision of needed services to the families.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 2.08 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) A state of Washington family court is established in each county or judicial district of the state as a division of the superior court system for the state, unless otherwise provided for by law.
     (2) Family court judges are superior court judges.
     (3) All family court judicial officers must obtain training as required in section 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 2.08 RCW to read as follows:
     The supreme court is requested to provide by rule for the following:
     (1) The administration of the family court;
     (2) The term of rotation and required training for judicial officers who will serve as family court judges. The term of rotation for a family court judicial officer shall not be less than three years. It is recommended that the training include, but not be limited to, the following areas:
     (a) All orders prohibiting or restricting contact between parties;
     (b) Dissolution of marriage;
     (c) Custody of children;
     (d) Child support;
     (e) Spousal support;
     (f) Modification of support;
     (g) Psychological and counseling aspects of dissolution of marriage;
     (h) Adoption;
     (i) Paternity litigation;
     (j) Proceedings to free a minor from the custody and control of a parent or parents, including dependency and termination of parental rights;
     (k) Domestic violence;
     (l) Guardianships;
     (m) Child abuse and neglect;
     (n) Childhood development;
     (o) Cultural awareness;
     (p) Mental illness;
     (q) Substance abuse;
     (r) Contempt proceedings, enforcement, mediation, and/or negotiation involving any of the areas listed in this subsection; and
     (3) The minimum hours of continuing education relating to family court or family law issues required of judicial officers in family court.

Sec. 4   RCW 26.12.010 and 1999 c 397 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
     Unless otherwise provided by law, each superior court shall have a division referred to as the family court to exercise the jurisdiction conferred by this chapter ((and while sitting in the exercise of such jurisdiction shall be known and referred to as the "family court.")). A family court proceeding under this chapter is((: (1))) any proceeding under this title or any proceeding in which the family court is requested to adjudicate or enforce the rights of the parties or their children regarding ((the determination or modification of parenting plans, child custody, visitation, or support, or the distribution of property or obligations, or (2) concurrent with the juvenile court, any proceeding under Title 13 or chapter 28A.225 RCW)) proceedings in RCW 26.12.190.

Sec. 5   RCW 26.12.190 and 1991 c 367 s 14 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The family court shall have jurisdiction ((and full power in all pending cases to make, alter, modify, and enforce all temporary and permanent orders regarding the following: Parenting plans, child support, custody of children, visitation, possession of property, maintenance, contempt, custodial interference, and orders for attorneys' fees, suit money or costs as may appear just and equitable. Court commissioners or judges)) to hear and dispose of the following proceedings:
     (a) Dissolution of marriage;
     (b) Child custody;
     (c) Visitation;
     (d) Maintenance and support;
     (e) Equitable distribution of property in dissolution cases;
     (f) Adoption;
     (g) Termination of parental rights;
     (h) Domestic violence and abuse proceedings under chapter 26.50 RCW;
     (i) Proceedings under the uniform act on paternity and the uniform interstate family support act;
     (j) Dependency, neglect, and abuse proceedings;
     (k) Emancipation of minors;
     (l) Truancy, at-risk youth, and child in need of services proceedings; and
     (m) Juvenile offenders proceedings.
     (2) Judicial officers shall not have authority to require the parties to mediate disputes concerning child support.
     (((2))) (3) Family court investigation, evaluation, mediation, treatment, and reconciliation services, and any other services may be used to assist the court to develop an order as the court deems necessary to preserve the marriage, implement an amicable settlement, and resolve the issues in controversy.

Sec. 6   RCW 26.12.230 and 1986 c 95 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Any county may contract under chapter 39.34 RCW with any other county or counties to provide joint family court and family court services. Any county contracting with any other county to provide family court under this section is not required to establish a separate family court within its county as otherwise required in section 2 of this act.
     (2) Any agreement between two or more counties for the operation of a joint family court service may provide that the treasurer of one participating county shall be the custodian of moneys made available for the purposes of the joint services, and that the treasurer may make payments from the moneys upon proper authorization.
     (3) Any agreement between two or more counties for the operation of a joint family court service may also provide:
     (a) For the joint provision or operation of services and facilities or for the provision or operation of services and facilities by one participating county under contract for the other participating counties;
     (b) For appointments of members of the staff of the family court including the supervising counselor;
     (c) That, for specified purposes, the members of the staff of the family court including the supervising counselor, but excluding the ((judges)) judicial officers of the family court and other court personnel, shall be considered to be employees of one participating county;
     (d) For other matters as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
     (4) The provisions of this chapter relating to family court services provided by a single county are equally applicable to counties which contract, under this section, to provide joint family court services.

Sec. 7   RCW 13.04.021 and 1999 c 397 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     (((1) The juvenile court shall be a division of the superior court. In judicial districts having more than one judge of the superior court, the judges of such court shall annually assign one or more of their number to the juvenile court division. In any judicial district having a court commissioner, the court commissioner shall have the power, authority, and jurisdiction, concurrent with a juvenile court judge, to hear all cases under this chapter and to enter judgment and make orders with the same power, force, and effect as any judge of the juvenile court, subject to motion or demand by any party within ten days from the entry of the order or judgment by the court commissioner as provided in RCW 2.24.050. In any judicial district having a family law commissioner appointed pursuant to chapter 26.12 RCW, the family law commissioner shall have the power, authority, and jurisdiction, concurrent with a juvenile court judge, to hear cases under Title 13 RCW and chapter 28A.225 RCW as provided in RCW 26.12.010, and to enter judgment and make orders with the same power, force, and effect as any judge of the juvenile court, subject to motion or demand by any party within ten days from the entry of the order or judgment by the court commissioner as provided in RCW 2.24.050.
     (2))) Cases in the ((juvenile)) family court shall be tried without a jury.

Sec. 8   RCW 13.04.030 and 2005 c 290 s 1 and 2005 c 238 s 1 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in this section, the ((juvenile)) family courts in this state shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over all proceedings:
     (a) Under the interstate compact on placement of children as provided in chapter 26.34 RCW;
     (b) Relating to children alleged or found to be dependent as provided in chapter 26.44 RCW and in RCW 13.34.030 through ((13.34.170)) 13.34.161;
     (c) Relating to the termination of a parent and child relationship as provided in RCW 13.34.180 through 13.34.210;
     (d) To approve or disapprove out-of-home placement as provided in RCW 13.32A.170;
     (e) Relating to juveniles alleged or found to have committed offenses, traffic or civil infractions, or violations as provided in RCW 13.40.020 through 13.40.230, unless:
     (i) The ((juvenile)) family court transfers jurisdiction of a particular juvenile to adult criminal court pursuant to RCW 13.40.110;
     (ii) The statute of limitations applicable to adult prosecution for the offense, traffic or civil infraction, or violation has expired;
     (iii) The alleged offense or infraction is a traffic, fish, boating, or game offense, or traffic or civil infraction committed by a juvenile sixteen years of age or older and would, if committed by an adult, be tried or heard in a court of limited jurisdiction, in which instance the appropriate court of limited jurisdiction shall have jurisdiction over the alleged offense or infraction, and no guardian ad litem is required in any such proceeding due to the juvenile's age: PROVIDED, That if such an alleged offense or infraction and an alleged offense or infraction subject to ((juvenile)) family court jurisdiction arise out of the same event or incident, the ((juvenile)) family court may have jurisdiction of both matters: PROVIDED FURTHER, That the jurisdiction under this subsection does not constitute "transfer" or a "decline" for purposes of RCW 13.40.110(1) or (e)(i) of this subsection: PROVIDED FURTHER, That courts of limited jurisdiction which confine juveniles for an alleged offense or infraction may place juveniles in juvenile detention facilities under an agreement with the officials responsible for the administration of the juvenile detention facility in RCW 13.04.035 and 13.20.060;
     (iv) The alleged offense is a traffic or civil infraction, a violation of compulsory school attendance provisions under chapter 28A.225 RCW, or a misdemeanor, and a court of limited jurisdiction has assumed concurrent jurisdiction over those offenses as provided in RCW 13.04.0301; or
     (v) The juvenile is sixteen or seventeen years old on the date the alleged offense is committed and the alleged offense is:
     (A) A serious violent offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030;
     (B) A violent offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030 and the juvenile has a criminal history consisting of: (I) One or more prior serious violent offenses; (II) two or more prior violent offenses; or (III) three or more of any combination of the following offenses: Any class A felony, any class B felony, vehicular assault, or manslaughter in the second degree, all of which must have been committed after the juvenile's thirteenth birthday and prosecuted separately;
     (C) Robbery in the first degree, rape of a child in the first degree, or drive-by shooting, committed on or after July 1, 1997;
     (D) Burglary in the first degree committed on or after July 1, 1997, and the juvenile has a criminal history consisting of one or more prior felony or misdemeanor offenses; or
     (E) Any violent offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030 committed on or after July 1, 1997, and the juvenile is alleged to have been armed with a firearm.
     (I) In such a case the adult criminal court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction, except as provided in (e)(v)(E)(II) of this subsection.
     (II) The ((juvenile)) family court shall have exclusive jurisdiction over the disposition of any remaining charges in any case in which the juvenile is found not guilty in the adult criminal court of the charge or charges for which he or she was transferred, or is convicted in the adult criminal court of a lesser included offense that is not also an offense listed in (e)(v) of this subsection. The ((juvenile)) family court shall enter an order extending ((juvenile)) family court jurisdiction if the juvenile has turned eighteen years of age during the adult criminal court proceedings pursuant to RCW 13.40.300. However, once the case is returned to ((juvenile)) family court, the court may hold a decline hearing pursuant to RCW 13.40.110 to determine whether to retain the case in ((juvenile)) family court for the purpose of disposition or return the case to adult criminal court for sentencing.
     If the juvenile challenges the state's determination of the juvenile's criminal history under (e)(v) of this subsection, the state may establish the offender's criminal history by a preponderance of the evidence. If the criminal history consists of adjudications entered upon a plea of guilty, the state shall not bear a burden of establishing the knowing and voluntariness of the plea;
     (f) Under the interstate compact on juveniles as provided in chapter 13.24 RCW;
     (g) Relating to termination of a diversion agreement under RCW 13.40.080, including a proceeding in which the divertee has attained eighteen years of age;
     (h) Relating to court validation of a voluntary consent to an out-of-home placement under chapter 13.34 RCW, by the parent or Indian custodian of an Indian child, except if the parent or Indian custodian and child are residents of or domiciled within the boundaries of a federally recognized Indian reservation over which the tribe exercises exclusive jurisdiction;
     (i) Relating to petitions to compel disclosure of information filed by the department of social and health services pursuant to RCW 74.13.042; and
     (j) Relating to judicial determinations and permanency planning hearings involving ((developmentally disabled)) children with developmental disabilities who have been placed in out-of-home care pursuant to a voluntary placement agreement between the child's parent, guardian, or legal custodian and the department of social and health services.
     (2) ((The family court shall have concurrent original jurisdiction with the juvenile court over all proceedings under this section if the superior court judges of a county authorize concurrent jurisdiction as provided in RCW 26.12.010.
     (3) The juvenile court shall have concurrent original jurisdiction with the family court over child custody proceedings under chapter 26.10 RCW as provided for in RCW 13.34.155.
     (4))) A juvenile subject to adult superior court jurisdiction under subsection (1)(e)(i) through (v) of this section, who is detained pending trial, may be detained in a detention facility as defined in RCW 13.40.020 pending sentencing or a dismissal.

Sec. 9   RCW 13.40.010 and 2004 c 120 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) This chapter shall be known and cited as the Juvenile Justice Act of 1977.
     (2) It is the intent of the legislature that ((a)) family court be the system ((capable of)) having primary responsibility for, being accountable for, and responding to the needs of youthful offenders and their victims, as defined by this chapter((, be established)). It is the further intent of the legislature that youth, in turn, be held accountable for their offenses and that communities, families, and the ((juvenile)) family courts carry out their functions consistent with this intent. To effectuate these policies, the legislature declares the following to be equally important purposes of this chapter:
     (a) Protect the citizenry from criminal behavior;
     (b) Provide for determining whether accused juveniles have committed offenses as defined by this chapter;
     (c) Make the juvenile offender accountable for his or her criminal behavior;
     (d) Provide for punishment commensurate with the age, crime, and criminal history of the juvenile offender;
     (e) Provide due process for juveniles alleged to have committed an offense;
     (f) Provide necessary treatment, supervision, and custody for juvenile offenders;
     (g) Provide for the handling of juvenile offenders by communities whenever consistent with public safety;
     (h) Provide for restitution to victims of crime;
     (i) Develop effective standards and goals for the operation, funding, and evaluation of all components of the juvenile justice system and related services at the state and local levels;
     (j) Provide for a clear policy to determine what types of offenders shall receive punishment, treatment, or both, and to determine the jurisdictional limitations of the courts, institutions, and community services;
     (k) Provide opportunities for victim participation in juvenile justice process, including court hearings on juvenile offender matters, and ensure that Article I, section 35 of the Washington state Constitution, the victim bill of rights, is fully observed; and
     (l) Encourage the parents, guardian, or custodian of the juvenile to actively participate in the juvenile justice process.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10   In calendar year 2007, for use beginning in fiscal year 2008, the Washington state institute for public policy shall conduct a study on court-ordered services for families in the state. The institute shall review services ordered by the court in dependency, termination of parental rights, juvenile offender, and juvenile status offense proceedings. The institute shall then compare those services ordered by the court to the availability of the services within the state, the ability of families to access the services due to resources, transportation, or other issues, and the gaps in services that exist between what is ordered by the court and what is available to the families. The institute shall provide a report on its findings to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2007.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 11   The code reviser shall prepare a bill for introduction in the 2008 legislative session that incorporates any section enacted or affected by the 2007 legislative session that does not take cognizance of the reorganization adopted by this act, and that corrects any cross-references changed by this act. The bill shall also change references to "juvenile court" in the Revised Code of Washington to "family court" as necessary and appropriate to give full effect to this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 12   Sections 2 and 4 through 9 of this act take effect July 1, 2009.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 13   The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:
     (1) RCW 26.12.020 (Designation of judge -- Number of sessions) and 1949 c 50 s 2;
     (2) RCW 26.12.060 (Court commissioners -- Duties) and 1999 c 397 s 7, 1993 c 289 s 3, 1991 c 367 s 12, 1988 c 232 s 4, & 1949 c 50 s 6;
     (3) RCW 26.12.800 (Family court pilot program -- Legislative recognition) and 1999 c 397 s 1;
     (4) RCW 26.12.802 (Family court pilot program -- Created) and 2005 c 282 s 31 & 1999 c 397 s 2; and
     (5) RCW 26.12.804 (Family court pilot program -- Rules) and 2005 c 282 s 32 & 1999 c 397 s 3.