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Advocates press for clarity as bill would delay electronic protection-order filing
Summary
House Bill 2178 would align court rules and statutes, raise an aggregated damage threshold, and extend the deadline for courts of limited jurisdiction to implement electronic protection-order filing from Jan. 1, 2026, to 2028; the Administrative Office of the Courts said the extension aligns with a phased case‑management system rollout, while survivors' advocates called for transparency on funding and impacts.
The Washington House Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee heard House Bill 2178 on Jan. 13, 2026, a multi-part bill that aligns statutory timelines with court rules, adjusts criminal aggregation thresholds, revises administrative distribution of certain funds, and — at Section 6 — delays full implementation of electronic protection-order filing for courts of limited jurisdiction from Jan. 1, 2026, to 2028.
Staff outlined several substantive changes: it modifies statutory filing windows for civil infractions to match court rules (changing a 48-hour statutory filing requirement to the five-day rule used in courts), aligns defendant response…
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