Title 1 — Title 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS

The ninety-one titles with chapters and sections designated as the "Revised Code of Washington" and attested by the secretary of the senate and the chief clerk of the house of representatives of the legislature of the state of Washington, are hereby enacted and designated as the …

The titles, chapters, and sections designated as the "1950 Supplement to the Revised Code of Washington" attested by the secretary of the senate and the chief clerk of the house of representatives of the legislature of the state of Washington, and filed with the secretary of stat…

The system of numbering employed in the 1950 supplement is hereby adopted as the general system to be followed in designating sections of the revised code. Specific numbers, in accordance with such system, are authorized to be assigned to sections of the revised code as follows:T…

New chapters or sections added to the Revised Code of Washington (as supplemented or modified by the 1950 supplement), as the result of laws enacted at this or subsequent sessions of the legislature, shall be numbered in harmony with said general numbering system, and shall bear …

It is the intent that under said numbering system the section factor of the section number shall be treated as a decimal figure, and where new sections must hereafter in codifying be inserted between sections then already consecutively numbered, the proper number for such new sec…

The contents of the Revised Code of Washington, after striking therefrom sections repealed or superseded by laws of the state of Washington enacted since January 1, 1949, as the revised code is supplemented or modified in the 1950 supplement, shall establish the laws of this stat…

The contents of said code shall establish prima facie the laws of this state of a general and permanent nature in effect on January 1, 1949, but nothing herein shall be construed as changing the meaning of any such laws. In case of any omissions, or any inconsistency between any …

All laws of a general and permanent nature enacted after January 1, 1949, shall, from time to time, be incorporated into and become a part of said code.[ 1950 ex.s. c 16 s 3.]

The code may be cited by the abbreviation "RCW."[ 1950 ex.s. c 16 s 4.]

There is created a permanent statute law committee consisting of eleven members as follows:(1) The secretary of the senate, ex officio;(2) Two members of the senate, one from each of the two largest caucuses in the senate, appointed by the president of the senate;(3) The chief cl…

The term of the member of the committee appointed by the State Bar Association, shall be for two years.The term of any ex officio member expires upon expiration of tenure of the position by virtue of which he or she is a member of the committee. The remaining members of the commi…

For attendance at meetings of the committee or in attending to such other business of the committee as may be authorized thereby, each legislative member of the committee shall receive the per diem and travel allowances provided for such members by RCW 44.04.120, and each other m…

The committee shall from time to time elect a chair from among its members and adopt rules to govern its procedures. Four members of the committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business but no proceeding of the committee shall be valid unless carried by the…

The committee shall employ on behalf of the state and from time to time fix the compensation of a competent code reviser, with power to terminate any such employment at any time. The committee shall also employ on behalf of the state and fix the compensation of such additional le…

Code reviser shall mean any lawyer or law publisher employing competent lawyers, each deemed by the committee to be qualified to compile the statutory law of the state of Washington as enacted by the legislature into a code or compilation of laws by title, chapter and section, wi…

Subject to such general policies as may be promulgated by the committee and to the general supervision of the committee, the reviser shall:(1) Codify for consolidation into the Revised Code of Washington all laws of a general and permanent nature heretofore or hereafter enacted b…

The committee may at any time by order correct any section or portion of the code in any of the respects enumerated in RCW 1.08.015. Orders shall be numbered consecutively and signed by the committee chair and each order shall be followed by an explanatory note reciting the reaso…

(1) The reviser may omit from the code all titles to acts, enacting and repealing clauses, preambles, declarations of emergency, severability, and validity and construction sections unless, in a particular instance, it may be necessary to retain such to preserve the full intent o…

The reviser, as soon as practicable, shall compile and thereafter maintain a comprehensive index and from time to time prepare for publication supplements thereto.[ 1953 c 257 s 7.]

The reviser shall prepare and maintain full historical records showing the enactment, amendment, revision, supersession, and repeal of the various sections of the revised code.[ 1951 c 157 s 9.]

The reviser may prepare and maintain complete annotations of court decisions construing the statutes of this state.[ 1951 c 157 s 10.]

The committee may provide for inclusion in the published sets of the code the rules of court promulgated by the supreme court.[ 1953 c 257 s 8.]

The committee, or the reviser with the approval of the committee, shall from time to time make written recommendations to the legislature concerning deficiencies, conflicts, or obsolete provisions in, and need for reorganization or revision of, the statutes, and shall prepare for…

The committee also shall examine the revised code and from time to time submit to the legislature proposals for enactment of the several titles, chapters and sections thereof, to the end that, as expeditiously as possible, the revised code, and each part thereof, shall constitute…

The reviser shall be in charge of and shall at all times maintain an expert bill drafting service for the use and benefit of the legislature, its committees and its members. Prior to any session thereof, the legislature shall provide quarters convenient to both houses and shall a…

Neither the reviser nor any member of his or her staff shall be required to furnish any written opinion as to the validity or constitutionality of any proposed legislation, which he or she may be requested to draft or prepare, nor shall any member of the committee be required to …

The reviser shall, to the extent reasonably feasible through available facilities and public sources of information, provide objective and factual information in writing to and upon request of any member of the legislature relative to any matter which is or may be the subject of …

The department of public institutions shall provide suitable office and storage space and facilities for the reviser and his or her staff at Olympia, at a location convenient to the legislature and to the state law library.[ 2011 c 336 s 5; 1955 c 235 s 5; 1951 c 157 s 15.]Notes:…

The committee shall from time to time formulate specifications relative to the format, size and style of type, paper stock, number of volumes, method and quality of binding, contents, indexing, and general scope and character of footnotes, and annotations, if any, for any publica…

The statute law committee shall publish, sell and distribute, and arrange for the publication, sale and distribution of the Revised Code of Washington and of supplements thereto and of such other materials as in their discretion may be incorporated in or appended to the code. The…

The committee may enter into contracts or otherwise arrange for the publication and/or distribution, provided for in RCW 1.08.038, with or without calling for bids, by the department of enterprise services, upon specifications formulated under the authority of RCW 1.08.037, and u…

For the purposes of financing the production and sale of such of its publications as in the judgment of the statute law committee may be advantageously financed by the use of revolving fund moneys, there is hereby created, and the committee is authorized to maintain, a revolving …

The Revised Code of Washington containing the certificate of the temporary code committee and any supplement or addition thereto or reprint edition thereof, which contains the certificate of the statute law committee referred to in RCW 1.08.037, shall be deemed official, and shal…

The legislature in amending or repealing laws shall include in such act references to the code numbers of the law affected. The reviser shall assign code numbers to such permanent and general laws as are hereafter enacted at any legislative session.[ 1959 c 95 s 5; 1955 c 5 s 3; …

The committee may loan sets of the code and materials supplemental thereto(1) for the use of senate committees, a quantity as required by advice from the secretary of the senate, not to exceed twenty-five sets;(2) for use of the house committees, a quantity as required by advice …

Each member of the legislature may receive one set of the Revised Code of Washington on digital media without charge. All persons receiving codes under this section may receive supplements to the code on digital media free of charge, during their term of office as a member or off…

Current digital copies of the Revised Code of Washington, the Washington Administrative Code, the Washington State Register, and the session laws of the Washington state legislature shall be maintained and made freely available for permanent public access on the code reviser or l…

The statute law committee, in addition to the other responsibilities enumerated in this chapter, shall publish the Washington State Register as created in RCW 34.08.020. The statute law committee or the code reviser may adopt rules as are necessary for the effective operation of …

(1) The code reviser shall compile and publish on a quarterly basis a report on state agency rule-making activity. The report shall summarize the following information by agency and by type of activity for new, amended, and repealed rules adopted by state agencies pursuant to cha…

For purposes of harmonizing and clarifying the provisions of the statute sections published in the revised code of Washington, the code reviser may substitute words designating the department of transportation or the secretary of transportation, as appropriate, whenever necessary…

The provisions of this code shall be liberally construed, and shall not be limited by any rule of strict construction.[1891 c 23 s 1, part; Code 1881 ss 758, 1686; 1877 p 153 s 763; 1854 p 221 s 504; RRS s 144.]Notes:Reviser's note: (1) This section is a part of 1891 c 23 s 1. Th…

The provisions of a statute, so far as they are substantially the same as those of a statute existing at the time of their enactment, must be construed as continuations thereof.[1891 c 23 s 1, part; Code 1881 ss 761, 1292, 1681; RRS s 145.]Notes:Reviser's note: This section is a …

(1) If at any session of the legislature there are enacted two or more acts amending the same section of the session laws or of the official code, each amendment without reference to the others, each act shall be given effect to the extent that the amendments do not conflict in p…

The provisions of RCW 1.12.025 as now or hereafter amended shall apply retrospectively as well as prospectively.[ 1969 ex.s. c 240 s 2.]

If a statute refers to another statute of this state, the reference includes any amendments to the referenced statute unless a contrary intent is clearly expressed.[ 1982 c 16 s 1.]

The time within which an act is to be done, as herein provided, shall be computed by excluding the first day, and including the last, unless the last day is a holiday, Saturday, or Sunday, and then it is also excluded.[ 1997 c 125 s 1; 1887 c 20 s 1; Code 1881 s 743; 1854 p 219 s…

Words importing the singular number may also be applied to the plural of persons and things; words importing the plural may be applied to the singular; and words importing the masculine gender may be extended to females also.[1891 c 23 s 1, part; Code 1881 ss 756, 965, 1920; 1877…

(1) Whenever the use of "registered" mail is authorized by this code, "certified" mail, with return receipt requested, may be used.(2) Whenever the use of "certified mail with a return receipt requested" is authorized or required by this code, electronic return receipt delivery c…

Except as otherwise specifically provided by law hereafter:(1) Any report, claim, tax return, statement or other document required to be filed with, or any payment made to the state or to any political subdivision thereof, which is (a) transmitted through the United States mail o…

For the purposes of this code and any legislation hereafter enacted by the legislature or by the people, with the exception of chapter 26.04 RCW, the terms spouse, marriage, marital, husband, wife, widow, widower, next of kin, and family shall be interpreted as applying equally t…