---
type: "Bill"
title: "Concerning the authority of the courts to waive auditor's fees for filing and recording name change orders."
description: "Concerning the authority of the courts to waive auditor's fees for filing and recording name change orders."
jurisdiction: "us/states/wa"
legislature: "Washington Legislature"
session: "2021-2022"
identifier: "HB 1961"
citation: "Washington HB 1961 (2021-2022)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["AUDITORS AND AUDITING", "CIVIL ACTIONS AND PROCEDURE", "CRIMINAL OFFENDERS"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Peterson"]
version_count: 2
action_count: 30
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2022-01-13T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2022-03-24T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/ebd40207-2076-49e1-8008-23e6ccb577bf"
source_url: "http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1961&year=2021"
source_hash: "f541464960410d1b54328ffe57e323b428a421e300b2122f6e7f433087ab9119"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-wa"]
---

# Washington HB 1961 (2021-2022) — Concerning the authority of the courts to waive auditor's fees for filing and recording name change orders.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Bill** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/Biennium/2021-22/Htm/Bills/House%20Bills/1961.htm)
2. **Substitute Bill** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/Biennium/2021-22/Htm/Bills/House%20Bills/1961-S.htm)

## Votes

- 3rd Reading & Final Passage (#55) — **31–16** (pass) · upper
- 3rd Reading & Final Passage (#9) — **84–13** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Peterson — primary (person)
- Ramel — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2022-01-13T05:00:00+00:00** First reading, referred to Civil Rights & Judiciary. `reading-1`
- **2022-01-18T05:00:00+00:00** Public hearing in the House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary at 10:00 AM.
- **2022-01-21T05:00:00+00:00** Executive action taken in the House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary at 8:00 AM.
- **2022-01-21T05:00:00+00:00** CRJ - Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. `passage`
- **2022-01-21T05:00:00+00:00** Minority; without recommendation. `committee-passage-unfavorable`
- **2022-01-21T05:00:00+00:00** Minority; do not pass. `committee-passage-unfavorable`
- **2022-01-24T05:00:00+00:00** Referred to Rules 2 Review. `referral-committee`
- **2022-01-25T05:00:00+00:00** Rules Committee relieved of further consideration. Placed on second reading. `reading-2`
- **2022-01-26T05:00:00+00:00** 1st substitute bill substituted (CRJ 22). `substitution`
- **2022-01-26T05:00:00+00:00** Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading. `reading-3`
- **2022-01-26T05:00:00+00:00** Third reading, passed; yeas, 84; nays, 13; absent, 0; excused, 1. `reading-3`
- **2022-02-01T05:00:00+00:00** First reading, referred to Law & Justice. `reading-1`
- **2022-02-17T05:00:00+00:00** Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Law & Justice at 10:30 AM.
- **2022-02-24T05:00:00+00:00** Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Law & Justice at 10:30 AM.
- **2022-02-24T05:00:00+00:00** LAW - Majority; do pass. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2022-02-24T05:00:00+00:00** Minority; do not pass. `committee-passage-unfavorable`
- **2022-02-24T05:00:00+00:00** Passed to Rules Committee for second reading.
- **2022-03-03T05:00:00+00:00** Placed on second reading by Rules Committee. `reading-2`
- **2022-03-03T05:00:00+00:00** Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading. `reading-3`
- **2022-03-03T05:00:00+00:00** Third reading, passed; yeas, 31; nays, 16; absent, 0; excused, 2. `reading-3`
- **2022-03-07T05:00:00+00:00** Speaker signed. `passage`
- **2022-03-08T05:00:00+00:00** President signed. `passage`
- **2022-03-10T05:00:00+00:00** Delivered to Governor. `executive-receipt`
- **2022-03-24T04:00:00+00:00** Governor signed. `executive-signature`
- **2022-03-24T04:00:00+00:00** Chapter 141, 2022 Laws. `became-law`
- **2022-03-24T04:00:00+00:00** Effective date 7/1/2022. `became-law`
- **2022-01-18T15:00:00+00:00** Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary at 10:00 AM
- **2022-01-21T13:00:00+00:00** Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary at 08:00 AM
- **2022-02-17T15:30:00+00:00** Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Law & Justice at 10:30 AM
- **2022-02-24T15:30:00+00:00** Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Law & Justice at 10:30 AM

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/ebd40207-2076-49e1-8008-23e6ccb577bf`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Washington legislature records).