ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1620
State of Washington
69th Legislature
2025 Regular Session
By House Civil Rights & Judiciary (originally sponsored by Representatives Taylor, Goodman, Reed, and Hill)
READ FIRST TIME 02/11/25.
AN ACT Relating to limitations in parenting plans; amending RCW 26.09.191 , 11.130.215 , 26.09.187 , 26.09.194 , 26.09.260 , 26.09.520 , and 26.12.177 ; reenacting and amending RCW 26.51.020 ; and adding new sections to chapter 26.09 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 26.09.191 and 2021 c 215 s 134 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) (( The permanent parenting plan shall not require mutual decision-making or designation of a dispute resolution process other than court action )) PURPOSE. Understanding the effects of domestic violence and child abuse on all members of a family is crucial to discerning the best interest of a child in cases with evidence of such abuse. The determination of a child's best interest in these cases first requires that existing best interest factors be evaluated in light of the domestic violence or child abuse and requires consideration of the additional factors in subsection (4) of this section. This section sets forth the analysis and findings a court shall undertake if domestic violence or child abuse is present or alleged at any time during a case, based on the preponderance of the evidence, in which child custody and parenting time between the parents is at issue.