SENATE BILL REPORT

SHB 2205

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Title: An act relating to making technical corrections and removing obsolete language from the Revised Code of Washington pursuant to RCW 1.08.025.

Brief Description: Making technical corrections and removing obsolete language from the Revised Code of Washington pursuant to RCW 1.08.025.

Sponsors: House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary (originally sponsored by Representatives Goodman, Dufault and Appleton).

Brief Summary of First Substitute Bill

Corrects technical deficiencies in the Revised Code of Washington.

Majority Report: Do pass.

Signed by Senators Pedersen, Chair; Dhingra, Vice Chair; Padden, Ranking Member; Holy, Kuderer, Salomon and Wilson, L..

Background: The Statute Law Committee employs the Code Reviser and oversees the functions and performance of the Code Reviser's Office. The committee or reviser shall from time to time make written recommendations to the Legislature for the correction or removal of deficiencies, conflicts or obsolete provisions of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW). They are technical non-substantive amendments to the code to fix internal references, cross references, obsolete terminology, double amendments, or otherwise improve the form of the code. All such proposed legislation shall be annotated to show the purposes, reasons, and history.

Summary of First Substitute Bill: Certain obsolete provisions are removed from the RCW. Other corrections are made to:

correct certain accounts and funds in the Treasurer's Trust Fund and the Treasury Income Account;
amend sections to reflect changes in subsection numbering of cross-referenced materials;
update the reference to a chapter that was renamed as a result of 2019 legislation; and
merge multiple amendments to RCW sections that originated from two separate 2019 bills, each enacted without reference to the other.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony: PRO: The Statute Law Committee is the wonkiest group of people in the capital. It is a committee that represents all three branches of government. The bill makes technical fixes for errors, omissions, and double amendments. It is important to make sure that the Revised Code of Washington is clean and well tended. We have an excellent Code Reviser and Code Reviser's Office, really taken for granted. We would not be able to do our work if the Code Reviser was not right there with us, up all hours of the night. It has become a Christmas tree—technical only.