Which laws passed during the 2024 Washington State Legislative session impact the Courts of Limited Jurisdiction, and what are those impacts? 


A number of bills passed during the 2024 legislative session impacting the Courts of Limited Jurisdiction (CLJ) 

 

This Answer contains: 

  • The Bill Number and a link to the complete text of the bill from the Washington State Legislature’s Web site. 
  • A brief summary of the changes or additions created by the fill 
  • Court Awareness/Court Impact/Court Action section address the specific system, code, law table, or form changes due to the bill.  Also provided are the related links to updated documentation in the online manuals and links to eService Answers with additional information or instructions related to the bill, if applicable. 
  • Effective date of the law. 
  • Updated items will be documented with *** and the updated item will be highlighted. 
  • Select the bill name in the table of contents below to advance directly to the details for the bill. 


TABLE OF CONTENTS



SHB 1493 – Impaired Driving

  • Bill # 1493
  • Summary – This bill authorizes a person who was charged with a gross misdemeanor Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or Physical Control of a Vehicle Under the Influence (Physical Control) and granted a deferred prosecution to participate in a second deferred prosecution on the person's subsequent DUI or Physical Control charge if the person has no other prior convictions for prior offenses, or while under the court's jurisdiction for the first deferred prosecution, if the first deferred prosecution is revoked.  It modifies the requirements for participation in a deferred prosecution depending on the nature of the petitioner's underlying disorder.  It also changes the period for reviewing prior convictions of impaired driving from a 10-year to a 15-year period for determining whether the current offense of impaired driving is a felony. 
  • Court Awareness –The DUI Sentencing Grid will be updated to reflect any new language needed due to this bill.
  • Court Impact – No additional Finding/Judgment or Case Condition Codes will be added to document a second deferred prosecution was granted. 
  • Court Action – If a probation violation of Driving While License Suspended 1st has been cured within 30 days of the violation, the court is not required to notify DOL of the Probation Violation on the original DUI charge.

 

  • Effective – January 1, 2026

 

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SHB 1903 – Reporting Lost or Stolen Firearms

  • Bill # 1903
  • Summary – An owner or person lawfully in possession of a firearm who suffers the loss or theft of the firearm must report the loss or theft to the local law enforcement agency where the loss or theft occurred within 24 hours after the loss or theft is discovered. Any person who fails to report the occurrence of a lost or stolen firearm commits a civil infraction and is subject to a monetary penalty of up to $1,000. 
  • Court Awareness – A new infraction non-traffic violation will be added to the JIS and Enterprise Justice law tables.

 

  • Effective – June 6, 2024

 

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HB 1958 – Nonconsensual Removal or Tampering with a Sexually Protective Device

  • Bill # 1958
  • Summary – This bill affords victims of nonconsensual removal of or tampering with sexually protective devices a civil cause of action against perpetrators, and permits victims to proceed using pseudonym.  It also provides a non-exhaustive list of remedies for the victims and identifies factors courts may consider in determining whether to impose punitive damages.  This bill precludes offsetting awards in the civil case against child support obligations and mandates that prior consent, alone, is insufficient to establish current consent. 
  • Court Awareness – For these filings the petitioner may file using a pseudonym instead of their true name.
  • Court Impact – No new civil cause of action codes will be added for these filings.

        

  • Effective – July 1, 2024

 

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HB 1963 – Prohibiting License Plate Covers

  • Bill # 1963
  • Summary – Mandates that license plates must be uncovered and unobstructed when a driver uses license plate frames and adds additional unlawful acts as they relate to displaying a license plate. Requires law enforcement to provide a written notice to violators with information about the new law and applicable penalties upon the effective date.
  • Court Awareness – There are no law table changes for the new violation as RCW 46.16A.200.7C already exists in the JIS and Enterprise Justice law tables.  Officers will be issuing written warnings to violators prior to the effective date of the new language of the statute 1/1/2025; warnings are not to be filed with the courts.

 

  • Effective – Various dates; January 1, 2025 for issuing tickets for the violations.

 

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HB 1999 – Fabricated Intimate or Sexually Explicit Images and Depictions

  • Bill # 1999
  • Summary –This bill expands existing criminal offenses related to depictions of minors in sexually explicit conduct to include fabricated depictions of an identifiable minor.  The offense of disclosing a fabricated intimate image is established. Fabricated intimate image of another person is when that person knows or should know that the person being depicted has not consented to a disclosure and it would cause harm for the depiction to be disclosed. Consent to disclose a fabricated intimate image with respect to a civil cause of action is valid only if it is within a written agreement.
  • Court Awareness – A new gross misdemeanor will be added to JIS and Enterprise Justice for this bill.
  • Court Impact – No new civil cause of action codes will be added for these filings.

 

  • Effective – June 6, 2024

 

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HB 2022 – Construction Crane Safety

  • Bill # 2022
  • Summary – This bill creates a new misdemeanor for an employer that allows a person to engage in tower crane assembly, disassembly, or reconfiguration without supervision by a qualified director, or allows a tower crane to be assembled, disassembled, or reconfigured not in accordance with manufacturer instructions. Requires the Department of Labor and Industries to establish rules and requirements related to construction tower cranes.
  • Court Awareness – These violations may be cited to a business not an individual.
    • The new misdemeanor is not being added to the JIS and Enterprise Justice law tables until requested.  If a court receives a citation for a Tower Crane Violation, please submit a Law Table Request Form
    • The list of law table changes can be found at the bottom of this answer. 

 

  • Effective – 01/01/2025

 

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HB 2034 – Requiring Counties and Cities to Provide AOC Notice of Court Reorganizations

  • Bill # 2034
  • Summary – This bill requires cities to provide at least six months’ advance notice to the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) of intent to create a new municipal court and removes the restriction that any new municipal court ordinance take effect on January 1st.  It also requires cities to provide at least six months’ advance notice to the AOC of their intent to terminate an existing municipal court.  Additionally, it requires any city or county wanting to terminate a current agreement for court services to provide written notice to the AOC no less than one year prior to the expiration of the agreement.
  • Court Awareness – If a court is advised of changes in interlocal agreements or of a planned termination of a municipal court, please submit an eService Incident to advise AOC as soon as possible.  Changes must abide by the new timeline provided in statute.  

 

  • Effective – June 6, 2024 

 

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HB 2153 – Theft of Catalytic Converters

  • Bill # 2153
  • Summary – This bill creates new felony and gross misdemeanor crimes for trafficking in, possessing, selling, or offering to sell catalytic converters, or intentionally altering or obliterating the vehicle identification number of a detached catalytic converter.
  • Court Awareness – The new gross misdemeanors are not being added to the JIS and Enterprise Justice law tables until requested.  If a court receives a citation for a violation of either Intent to Remove VIN from a Catalytic Converter or Knowingly Possess, Sell, or Offer for Sale six or fewer detached Catalytic Converters that do not comply with Marking Requirements, please submit a Law Table Request Form.

 

  • Effective – April 1, 2025

 

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ESHB 2207 – Providing Tools Designed to Reduce the Impacts of Unlawful Solid Waste Dumping

  • Bill # 2207
  • Summary – This bill establishes a new Department of Natural Resources infraction, misdemeanor, and gross misdemeanor for littering in various amounts by cubic yard.  The violations all require a new litter clean-up restitution payment equal to four times the actual cost of cleanup for natural resource infractions and misdemeanors, and two times the actual cost of cleanup for gross misdemeanors. Requires the court to distribute a portion of the restitution payment that equals the actual cost of cleanup to the landowner where the littering incident occurred.
  • Court Awareness – The new infraction, misdemeanor, and gross misdemeanor will be added to the JIS and Enterprise Justice law tables.
  • Court Impact– Litter clean-up restitution ordered will need to be set up the same as any other restitution on the case.  No new Cost Fee Codes will be added for the restitution on these violations.

 

  • Effective – June 6, 2024

 

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HB 2260 – Establishing Civil Penalties for the Unlawful Sale or Supply of Alcohol to Minors

  • Bill # 2260
  • Summary – This bill authorizes the Liquor and Cannabis Board to impose civil penalties on store clerks who sell, gift, or otherwise provide liquor to those under age 21 from Board-licensed businesses, while performing acts of employment [in lieu of issuing them criminal citations]; and permits the Board to pursue court action to enjoin violations and collect penalties.  
  • Court Impact– No new civil cause of action codes will be added for these filings.

 

  • Effective – June 6, 2024

 

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ESHB 2384 – Automated Traffic Safety Cameras

  • Bill # 2384
  • Summary – This bill authorizes jurisdictions to use automated traffic safety cameras (traffic cameras/photo enforcement ticket cameras) to detect speed violations on city streets within city limits and work zones.  It makes the pilot program permanent for counties with populations above 500,000 for various infractions able to be captured by traffic cameras, authorizes public transit authority to use traffic cameras in rapid transit lanes or corridors and to mount cameras within transport vehicles to detect stopping, standing, and parking infractions within the bus zone in cities with a population of more than 1.5 million residents, and moves all other photo enforceable violations to new statutes. Additionally, it authorizes civilian employees who work for either a law enforcement agency or local public works or transportation department to review and issue infractions detected by traffic cameras so long as the employee meets certain training and certification requirements, adds a requirement that traffic camera infractions be reduced by 50 percent for a person’s first offense when they are recipients of state public assistance, and for subsequent violations issued within 21 days of the first violation, and limits the total penalty of photo enforced infractions to $145, which can be doubled in school zones. It also requires that 25 percent of these revenues be deposited to the Cooper Jones Active Transportation Safety Account, subject to exceptions.
  • Court Awareness – Each city or county must determine the amount to remit to the Cooper Jones Active Transportation Safety Account as total revenue is not the total amount of each ticket, rather it would be the total after all costs for enforcing the violations and maintaining the equipment, which may be different at each jurisdiction.  No changes are being made to JIS or Enterprise Justice to create the split of funds to this account.
  • Court Impact – Additional types of photo enforced infractions may be able to be enforced in additional cities and counties.  
    • To have them automatically sent to the courts using the Vehicle Related Violation (VRV) upload, courts must submit an eService Center request to start the VRV onboarding process.   
    • See the updated JIS Online Manual page Photo Enforcement and Parking Ticket Setup Tasks.
    • Please communicate with your local jurisdictions that this is not an instant process and all steps must be completed to configure and test the connection with the photo enforcement vendor, including court approval of the testing, prior to infractions being able to be issued.  
  • If a local jurisdiction decides to authorize civilian employees to approve photo enforcement violations, they must still have an “Officer Number” from the law enforcement agency that approved them in order for the photo enforcement tickets to process into JIS and Enterprise Justice, as Officer Number is a required field.   Courts will be required to add/remove these authorized civilian employees as an “Officer” record for the local law enforcement agency that authorized and trained the individual.
    • Please communicate with your local jurisdiction that the person must have an “Officer Number” or Personnel Number, assigned by the law enforcement agency, in order for the person’s electronic signature to be valid per RCW 5.50.010.  
      • The number should be 5 characters or less if your court is using JIS, due to the field length constraint on Officer Number.  
      • Courts can choose to truncate the number upon entry of the “Officer” record in JIS, so long as the number remains a unique number within that law enforcement agency.  
      • The number entered into the court’s case management system must be provided to the photo enforcement vendor to use on all future infractions authorized by this approved civilian.
    • The authorized civilian employee must also have a unique logon and password to the program issuing the infractions, in order to comply with GR 30.
    • Any changes in authorized persons or new officers assigned to authorize infractions must be provided to the court, prior to the effective date of them approving the infractions, or the tickets submitted will result in an error and not reach the court.
  • Court Action – There are a number of actions that may need to be taken if your court is currently processing photo enforced violations:
    • Courts that have current photo enforced violations will be required to have changes made to the language on the photo infractions for each type of violation being cited. 
    • Courts that have current photo enforcement violations where the total penalty is over $145 should communicate with your local government about the maximum penalty allowed as of the effective date of this bill.
    • Courts that have current photo enforcement violations where the old photo enforcement statute RCW 46.63.170 is used for your local law table entries, may want to communicate with your local government about whether any changes need to be made due to this bill.  
    • If any changes need to be made to your local law table entries for this bill, please submit an eService Centerrequest 
      • These requests should have a subject line of “VRV Photo Enforcement Update”
      • Please do not complete the Law Table Request Form
      • Testing may need to be coordinated with the photo vendor for the changes being requested.  AOC will review the request to determine if testing is needed and will coordinate any testing needed.
    • A communication from AOC was sent out to outline all changes and is attached to the bottom of this answer.

 

  • Effective – June 6, 2024

 

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SSB 5652 – Compensation for Tow Truck Operators for Keeping the Public Roadways Clear

  • Bill # 5652
  • Summary – This bill creates a new civil cause of action for operating a vehicle on a public highway in an illegal or negligent manner resulting in damages to the highway, and makes the person liable for vehicle recovery, impound, and storage charges for the registered tow truck operator dispatched by law enforcement or other agency.
  • Court Impact – No new civil cause of action codes will be added for these filings.

 

  • Effective – June 6, 2024

 

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ESSB 5788 – Service Animal Training

  • Bill # 5788
  • Summary – This bill expands legal protections for dogs and miniature horses trained as service animals to include service animal trainees ensuring a service animal trainer and trainee may access areas of places of public accommodation which are open to the public or to business invitees.  It also allows a place of public accommodation to charge a service animal trainer for damages the service animal trainee may cause if the place of public accommodation customarily charges persons for damages a person causes to the premises. It establishes instances under which a place of public accommodation may require a service animal trainer to remove a service animal trainee and requires places of public accommodation to make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures to permit the use of a miniature horse by a person with a disability if the miniature horse has been trained as a service animal.  Additionally, this bill expands the civil infraction for misrepresenting an animal as a service animal to include service animal trainees (RCW 49.60.214) and allows a place of public accommodation to post signage that indicates misrepresentation of an animal as a service animal may result in a civil infraction of up to $500.
  • Court Awareness – The current JIS and Enterprise Justice law table entries for Misrepresent Service Animal will be updated to include the word Trainee by the effective date of the bill.

 

  • Effective – June 6, 2024

 

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SB 5799 – Sale of Halal Foods

  • Bill # 5799
  • Summary – This bill creates the halal food consumer protection act making it unlawful to knowingly sell or offer for sale any food product represented as halal when a seller knows the food product is not halal. Violation of this act results in a gross misdemeanor. Amends the Food Safety and Security Act to not include halal food to the extent that it is necessary to produce halal food.
  • Court Awareness – The new gross misdemeanor is not being added to the JIS law table until requested.  If a court receives a citation for Knowingly Sell Food Product Marked, Stamped, Tagged, Branded, Labeled, or Represented as Halal that is not Halal, please submit a Law Table Request Form

 

  • Effective – June 6, 2024

 

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ESSB 5891 – Designating Trespassing on a Public-School Bus as a Criminal Offense

  • Bill # 5891
  • Summary – This bill creates the Richard Lenhart act, creating a new gross misdemeanor of school bus trespass when a person knowingly and maliciously enters or remains unlawfully in a school bus, does any other act that creates a substantial risk of harm to passengers or the driver, and causes a substantial interruption or impairment to services rendered by the school bus.
  • Court Awareness – The new gross misdemeanor is not being added to the JIS law table until requested.  If a court receives a citation for School Bus Trespass, please submit a Law Table Request Form
    • The list of law table changes can be found at the bottom of this answer.

 

  • Effective – June 6, 2024

 

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SSB 5998 – Timing of Eligibility for Vacation of Non-felony Convictions

  • Bill # 5998
  • Summary – This bill reduces the waiting period before a court may vacate a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor conviction to three years after a person is released from DOC supervision or probation and removes the legal financial obligation payment completion requirement to begin the waiting period. Additionally, the waiting period for a domestic violence offense is now five years after a person is released from DOC supervision or probation. 
  • Court Awareness – The brochure for Sealing and Destroying Court Records, Vacating Convictions, and Deleting Criminal History Records in Washington State will be updated for this bill.

 

  • Effective – June 6, 2024


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2SSB 6006 – Supporting Victims of Human Trafficking and Sexual Abuse

  • Bill # 6006
  • Summary – This bill redefines crimes of trafficking in the first degree and the second degree. Makes defense of consent unavailable if victim is a minor and defines terms including coercion, commercial sex act, kidnapping, maintain, sexual motivation, and sexually explicit act. Part two defines commercial sexual exploitation related to civil protection orders and gives Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) and law enforcement ability to file a petition for sexual assault protection order on behalf of a minor, if DCYF believes a minor lacks capacity to consent.
  • Court Awareness – District Courts may see sexual assault protection order petitions filed by DCYF or law enforcement on behalf of a minor.
  • Court Impact– The civil protection orders forms will be updated due to this bill, by the effective date of the bill.

 

  • Effective – July 1, 2025

 

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SSB 6192 – Work and Change Orders on Public and Private Construction Projects

  • Bill # 6192
  • Summary – This bill extends RCW 39.04.360 [payment of undisputed claim] protections afforded public works contractors on public works projects to subcontractors and suppliers on such projects and to all such entities in most private construction projects, requiring timely issuance of requested change orders upon satisfactory completion of additional work, provides for accrual of interest for non or untimely issuance, and allows aggrieved parties to sue for relief in a “court of competent jurisdiction.”
  • Court Impact – No new civil or small claims cause of action codes will be added for these filings.
  • Effective – June 6, 2024


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SSB 6227 – Allowing Entry of a Civil Protection Order to Protect Victims when a Person is Found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity

  • Bill # 6227
  • Summary – This bill allows a civil protection order to be issued to protect victims from an individual who has been found not guilty by reason of insanity. Upon commitment to an inpatient treatment, conditional release, or upon application by a prosecuting attorney during which the court retains supervision over the individual, a separate [civil] no contact order may be issued to protect the victim. The maximum length of the order is the maximum term of commitment or when the court releases the individual from supervision whichever comes first. Clerk of the court is to provide a written certified copy of the order to the victim.
  • Court Awareness – If the original charge found not guilty by reason of insanity is in a municipal court, the separate civil no contact order must be filed with the county district or superior court.   

 

  • Effective – June 6, 2024

 

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ESB 6246 – Transmission of information relating to firearms prohibitions for persons committed for mental health treatment

  • Bill # 6246
  • Summary – This bill modifies the language regarding persons with inability to possess firearms findings.  It also modifies who must receive notification of the notice based on the findings.  For offenses making the person ineligible to possess a firearm, if the person is convicted or found not guilty by reason of insanity, the notification must be forwarded within three judicial days following the conviction or finding, to the Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) Firearms Division and to the Washington State Patrol (WSP) Firearms Background Check Program.  For offenses making the person ineligible to possess a firearm, if the charges are dismissed based on incompetency to stand trial when the court makes a finding that the person has a history of one or more violent acts, the notification must be forwarded within three judicial days following the finding  to the National Instant Criminal background check System (NICS) index denied persons file, DOL’s Firearms division, WSP’s Firearms background check program, and to the criminal division of the county prosecutor in the county of the commitment order or in which the charges are dismissed.
  • Court Impact – The Washington State Pattern Forms are being reviewed for possible updates.  A list of all updated forms will be attached to the bottom of this answer as soon as it becomes available.
  • Court Action – The bill changed where different findings are sent.   Please share the following with all staff that process competency evaluation matters:
    • When persons are convicted or found not guilty by reason of insanity of non-felony charges, the findings only get sent to DOL’s Firearms division and WSP’s Firearms background check program.
    • When non-felony charges are dismissed based on incompetency to stand trial, the courts must now send the information about the person and charges to the criminal division of the county prosecutor in addition to NICS, DOL, and WSP.  
    • The same details must be submitted to all locations:
      • A copy of the person’s license or identicard, or
      • Comparable information such as the person’s name, address, and date of birth
      • The date of conviction, date of finding of not guilty by reason of insanity, or date of dismissal of charges due to incompetency to stand trial, whichever applies.

 

  • Effective – June 6, 2024


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Attachments:


June 2024 Photo-Enforcement Memo

2024 Legislative Impact AOC Law Tables

Forms