---
type: "Bill"
title: "Amending the necessary elements of proof of injury during the state of emergency declared due to the COVID-19 pandemic."
description: "Amending the necessary elements of proof of injury during the state of emergency declared due to the COVID-19 pandemic."
jurisdiction: "us/states/wa"
legislature: "Washington Legislature"
session: "2021-2022"
identifier: "SB 5271"
citation: "Washington SB 5271 (2021-2022)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["CIVIL ACTIONS AND PROCEDURE", "COVID-19 AND CORONAVIRUS", "EMERGENCY", "STATE OF", "HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONS AND PROVIDERS"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Wagoner"]
version_count: 2
action_count: 27
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2021-01-19T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2021-05-10T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/d8c2d296-7d9b-4a95-bdd1-1379f443e0c6"
source_url: "http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=5271&year=2021"
source_hash: "267efbb2bfc52d0771870acce661149b7c80c97b24e07c27159cafd3669b23db"
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 5271 (2021-2022) — Amending the necessary elements of proof of injury during the state of emergency declared due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## 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/5271.htm)
2. **Substitute Bill** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/Biennium/2021-22/Htm/Bills/Senate%20Bills/5271-S.htm)

## Votes

- 3rd Reading & Final Passage (#4) — **49–0** (pass) · upper
- 3rd Reading & Final Passage (#5) — **93–4** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Wagoner — primary (person)
- Dhingra — cosponsor (person)
- Pedersen — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-01-19T05:00:00+00:00** First reading, referred to Law & Justice. `reading-1`
- **2021-02-09T05:00:00+00:00** Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Law & Justice at 10:30 AM.
- **2021-02-11T05:00:00+00:00** Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Law & Justice at 10:30 AM.
- **2021-02-11T05:00:00+00:00** LAW - Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. `passage`
- **2021-02-12T05:00:00+00:00** Passed to Rules Committee for second reading.
- **2021-02-17T05:00:00+00:00** Placed on second reading consent calendar. `reading-2`
- **2021-02-23T05:00:00+00:00** 1st substitute bill substituted (LAW 21). `substitution`
- **2021-02-23T05:00:00+00:00** Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading. `reading-3`
- **2021-02-23T05:00:00+00:00** Third reading, passed; yeas, 49; nays, 0; absent, 0; excused, 0. `reading-3`
- **2021-02-25T05:00:00+00:00** First reading, referred to Civil Rights & Judiciary. `reading-1`
- **2021-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** Public hearing in the House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary at 10:00 AM.
- **2021-03-19T04:00:00+00:00** Executive action taken in the House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary at 8:00 AM.
- **2021-03-19T04:00:00+00:00** CRJ - Majority; do pass. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-03-22T04:00:00+00:00** Referred to Rules 2 Review. `referral-committee`
- **2021-04-08T04:00:00+00:00** Rules Committee relieved of further consideration. Placed on second reading. `reading-2`
- **2021-04-09T04:00:00+00:00** Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading. `reading-3`
- **2021-04-09T04:00:00+00:00** Third reading, passed; yeas, 93; nays, 4; absent, 0; excused, 1. `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`
- **2021-05-10T04:00:00+00:00** Governor signed. `executive-signature`
- **2021-05-10T04:00:00+00:00** Chapter 241, 2021 Laws. `became-law`
- **2021-05-10T04:00:00+00:00** Effective date 5/10/2021. `became-law`
- **2021-02-09T15:30:00+00:00** Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Law & Justice at 10:30 AM
- **2021-02-11T15:30:00+00:00** Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Law & Justice at 10:30 AM
- **2021-03-16T14:00:00+00:00** Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary at 10:00 AM
- **2021-03-19T12:00:00+00:00** Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary at 08:00 AM

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/d8c2d296-7d9b-4a95-bdd1-1379f443e0c6`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Washington legislature records).