---
type: "Bill"
title: "Eliminating proof of nonmarriage as an element of a sex offense."
description: "Eliminating proof of nonmarriage as an element of a sex offense."
jurisdiction: "us/states/wa"
legislature: "Washington Legislature"
session: "2021-2022"
identifier: "SB 5177"
citation: "Washington SB 5177 (2021-2022)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["CHILDREN", "MARRIAGE AND MARRIED PERSONS", "SEX OFFENSES AND OFFENDERS", "VULNERABLE ADULTS"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Cleveland"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 26
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2021-01-13T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2021-04-26T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/1b5d68c2-6d97-424d-a4b2-6d41e98718d6"
source_url: "http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=5177&year=2021"
source_hash: "b7cf9d1dc65c69a935d2f1da21e12b2372bc75088723a0b23c49f634c431f925"
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 SB 5177 (2021-2022) — Eliminating proof of nonmarriage as an element of a sex offense.

## 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/Senate%20Bills/5177.htm)

## Votes

- 3rd Reading & Final Passage (#9) — **47–0** (pass) · upper
- 3rd Reading & Final Passage (#13) — **97–1** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Cleveland — primary (person)
- C. Wilson — cosponsor (person)
- Das — cosponsor (person)
- Dhingra — cosponsor (person)
- Hunt — cosponsor (person)
- Nguyen — cosponsor (person)
- Pedersen — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-01-13T05:00:00+00:00** First reading, referred to Law & Justice. `reading-1`
- **2021-01-25T05:00:00+00:00** Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Law & Justice at 9:30 AM.
- **2021-01-28T05:00:00+00:00** Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Law & Justice at 10:30 AM.
- **2021-01-28T05:00:00+00:00** LAW - Majority; do pass. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-01-29T05:00:00+00:00** Passed to Rules Committee for second reading.
- **2021-02-12T05:00:00+00:00** Placed on second reading consent calendar. `reading-2`
- **2021-02-16T05:00:00+00:00** Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading. `reading-3`
- **2021-02-16T05:00:00+00:00** Third reading, passed; yeas, 47; nays, 0; absent, 0; excused, 2. `reading-3`
- **2021-02-18T05:00:00+00:00** First reading, referred to Public Safety. `reading-1`
- **2021-03-19T04:00:00+00:00** Public hearing in the House Committee on Public Safety at 10:00 AM.
- **2021-03-25T04:00:00+00:00** Executive action taken in the House Committee on Public Safety at 1:30 PM.
- **2021-03-25T04:00:00+00:00** PS - Majority; do pass. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** Referred to Rules 2 Review. `referral-committee`
- **2021-04-06T04:00:00+00:00** Rules Committee relieved of further consideration. Placed on second reading. `reading-2`
- **2021-04-08T04:00:00+00:00** Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading. `reading-3`
- **2021-04-08T04:00:00+00:00** Third reading, passed; yeas, 97; nays, 1; absent, 0; excused, 0. `reading-3`
- **2021-04-10T04:00:00+00:00** President signed. `passage`
- **2021-04-12T04:00:00+00:00** Speaker signed. `passage`
- **2021-04-20T04:00:00+00:00** Delivered to Governor. `executive-receipt`
- **2021-04-26T04:00:00+00:00** Governor signed. `executive-signature`
- **2021-04-26T04:00:00+00:00** Chapter 142, 2021 Laws. `became-law`
- **2021-04-26T04:00:00+00:00** Effective date 4/26/2021. `became-law`
- **2021-01-25T14:30:00+00:00** Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Law & Justice at 09:30 AM
- **2021-01-28T15:30:00+00:00** Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Law & Justice at 10:30 AM
- **2021-03-19T14:00:00+00:00** Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Public Safety at 10:00 AM
- **2021-03-25T17:30:00+00:00** Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Public Safety at 01:30 PM

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/1b5d68c2-6d97-424d-a4b2-6d41e98718d6`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Washington legislature records).