This bill (H-3211.1 / HB 2700) amends RCW 7.06.020 to change which civil actions in superior court are subject to mandatory civil arbitration. As amended, civil actions in counties that have authorized arbitration where the only relief sought is money and no party claims more than $15,000 are subject to arbitration. A county's superior court may raise that monetary limit to as much as $100,000 (exclusive of interest and costs) by a two‑thirds or greater vote of its judges. If a majority of a county's superior court judges approve, actions to establish, terminate, or modify maintenance or child support payments may be made subject to mandatory arbitration regardless of the amount or number of payments. The amendment also requires that all tort claims against the state or any of its subdivisions be subject to civil arbitration for any dollar amount before being scheduled for trial. The bill adds legislative findings (new section 1), contains an emergency clause (new section 3) making the act effective immediately, and is explicitly an amendment to existing law rather than a creation of a new criminal offense or change to penalties. The change is a procedural modification of civil arbitration jurisdiction and thresholds. The extracted text does not provide statutory definitions for terms such as "state," "subdivisions," "authorized arbitration," or "tort claims," nor does it include procedural details about how counties authorize arbitration, how arbitration is to be conducted, whether there are exceptions or appeals, or how this amendment interacts with other provisions of RCW 7.06 or other statutes.

If enacted, many money-judgment cases that are already in superior court in counties that use arbitration will be required to go through arbitration instead of a trial when the claim is $15,000 or less, and counties can push that floor up to $100,000 if their superior court judges vote to do so. County judges also can make family support disputes subject to arbitration, and anyone suing the state or a state subdivision will have to take tort claims to arbitration before a trial date. Expect more cases to be resolved faster and with fewer full trials, which will change how litigants budget for legal fees and when settlements happen. The people most affected are plaintiffs and defendants in smalland mid-value civil suits and anyone suing the state, plus superior courts and county governments. Litigants may see lower immediate litigation costs and quicker dispositions but could face different discovery and appeal options (the bill does not provide procedural details or say how appeals work). Counties and courts will need to organize or pay for more arbitration services, and judges must vote to expand or change which claims are arbitrable; the bill takes effect immediately, but key implementation steps and procedures are not specified.