Fortunato bill seeking cleanup of state laws passes Senate

Published 7:30 pm Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Under Senate Bill 5316, expired provisions in state law would no longer be required for continued publication. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, passed the Senate on a vote of 46 to 1 on Tuesday afternoon.

The measure would repeal or amend numerous statutes in order to eliminate language referencing completed reports, duplicate definitions and other provisions that are no longer necessary in publications of the Revised Code of Washington.

“This is just common sense, which explains why our government hasn’t thought of it yet,” Fortunato said. “The only impact of including these expired sections of the law in publication was to make our laws more difficult to understand and the volumes of RCWs thicker. I’m saving paper and the planet by dumping one outdated law at a time.”

The bill now goes to the House for consideration.