Proposed Rules Archives

• Proposed Changes to IRLJ 6.2 - Monetary Penalty Schedule for Infractions (in Word Format)
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(C) Purpose:  To amend the penalty schedule in Infraction Rule of Courts of Limited Jurisdiction (IRLJ) 6.2(d) to provide varied penalties for fish and wildlife infractions. Such an amendment will not create or resolve any conflicts with statutes, case law, or other court rules. However, it will penalize fish and wildlife infractions according to the seriousness of each infraction.

Fish and wildlife infractions are currently classified as "Unscheduled infractions" under IRLJ 6.2(b). These infractions previously did not fall under this rule. When the Supreme Court amended the Criminal Rule for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction (CrRLJ) 3.2 on July 1, 2012, to repeal a monetary penalty schedule that provided "bail" amounts for several infractions, all fish and wildlife infractions were moved to IRLJ 6.2(b) and classified as unscheduled, with a base penalty of $42. When public safety and education assessments (PSEAs) are added pursuant to RCW 3.62.090, the full penalty is for each infraction is $87. This penalty ($87) is appropriate for several fish and wildlife infractions, but it is low for others. For example, the infraction associated with unlawful operation of a vessel around southern resident orca whales used to be $1,025 ($500 base penalty and $525 in PSEAs) under RCW 7.84.100. Because this population of whales is listed under state and federal laws as an endangered species, WDFW would like to set the base penalty for this infraction at the maximum level, $500, in order to provide adequate violation deterrence. To establish an appropriate penalty for each fish and wildlife infraction, WDFW proposes to amend the penalty schedule in IRLJ 6.2(d).