Law & Justice Committee advances several bills, including measures on worship interference, garnishment exemptions and knives

The Senate Law & Justice Committee in executive session on Feb. 13 considered and voted to advance several bills to the next legislative steps, approving substitutes and recommending due-pass actions to rulemaking or ways-and-means committees.

Most prominently, the committee advanced Senate Bill 5436, which creates crimes and civil remedies for interfering with access to places of worship. Staff counsel Joe McKittrick summarized the substitute (Substitute Alpha) as adding "Gurudwara" to the definition of religious organizations, defining "religious services," prohibiting willful or reckless interference with access immediately before, during or after services, and authorizing a civil remedy of up to $5,000 per day for an aggrieved place of worship. The committee adopted Amendment Alpha 1, which removes mandatory minimum fines, jail time and an emergency clause; after adoption, competing amendments reclassifying the offense as a civil infraction or reducing penalties were rendered out of order. The committee then moved the substitute into a due-pass recommendation to the Rules Committee; the record shows the committee granted the measure a due-pass recommendation and sent it to Rules subject to signatures.

Senate Bill 5632, which concerns the confidentiality of records and information relevant to another state's enforcement of laws related to protected health-care services, also moved forward. Staff counsel described the bill as prohibiting state or local agents from providing information to out-of-state entities for the purpose of enforcing another state's laws related to protected health-care services, and requiring Washington electronic-communication businesses to notify the Attorney General when legal process is missing an attestation. An amendment (Bravo) that would have required the Attorney General's office to notify a subpoena proponent of attestation insufficiencies and give them 30 days to cure before assessing a $10,000 penalty failed on a voice vote; the bill subsequently received a due-pass recommendation and was sent to Rules.

On Senate Bill 5651, which increases amounts exempt from garnishment in nonbankruptcy cases, the committee considered multiple amendments. Amendment Echo, which would exempt alimony and spousal-support payments from collection actions, was adopted. Other proposals — including removing the automatic escalation clause tied to a consumer price index and changes to marital-community exemptions — were withdrawn or defeated. The committee rolled the adopted amendments into a proposed substitute and recommended the bill to the Ways and Means Committee.

The committee also approved a proposed substitute (Substitute Golf) for Senate Bill 5534 that removes spring-blade knives from the general definition of "dangerous weapons" while keeping possession unlawful in certain locations such as schools and jails; the substitute received a due-pass recommendation and was sent to Rules. Senate Bill 5536, concerning distribution of real property and liabilities on dissolution of marriage or domestic partnership, had no amendments and received a due-pass recommendation.

All actions in the executive session were voice votes recorded in the transcript as "Aye" or "Nay" with no roll-call tallies in the committee record provided in the transcript. The committee adjourned after concluding votes and handling three gubernatorial appointments.