Statute law committee bill would make technical corrections and harmonize RCW language

House Bill 1281, a request bill from the Statute Law Committee and the code adviser’s office, would revise, harmonize and correct numerous technical references in the Revised Code of Washington.

Staff said the committee and the code adviser’s office periodically review the RCW to correct inaccurate cross-references, merge double amendments, remove statutes tied to completed task forces, and update entity names. As an example, staff cited changes replacing references to the Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission with the State Board of Nursing to conform to a 2023 name change.

Representative Roger Goodman, chair of the Statute Law Committee and sponsor of the bill, described it as ‘‘truly a technical bill’’ intended to address typographical errors, merge repeated amendments and update terminology across thousands of statutory sections. Kathy Buckley, the code adviser, and nonpartisan staff reviewed the draft and removed or adjusted sections following consultations to avoid substantive changes.

Committee members asked whether any changes might cross the line from technical to substantive. Goodman and Buckley said the bill reflects prior review by Office of Program Research and Senate Committee Services and that OPR/SCS advised which items were strictly technical.

Next steps: The bill had a public hearing in committee; sponsors encouraged members to review listed sections and staff materials.

Ending note: Sponsors urged members to treat the bill as a routine cleanup; members reserved the right to examine specific changes before final action.