Senate Bill 6105 amends existing garnishment law (RCW 6.27.150, 6.27.105, and 6.27.140) by setting specific weekly exemptions for earnings depending on the type of debt. For medical debt judgments the exempt weekly amount is the greater of 60 times the state minimum hourly wage or 80 percent of disposable earnings. For consumer debt (except medical) it is the greater of 35 times the state minimum hourly wage or 80 percent of disposable earnings. For private student loan debt it is the greater of 50 times the highest applicable state minimum hourly wage in effect when earnings are payable or 85 percent of disposable earnings. For most other garnishments when the garnishee is an employer the exempt amount is the greater of 35 times the federal minimum hourly wage or 75 percent of disposable earnings. Garnishments for spousal maintenance (with specified exclusions) have an exemption equal to 50 percent of disposable earnings. The bill uses “disposable earnings” to mean earnings remaining after the employer deducts amounts required by law to be withheld. The bill also changes procedures, forms, and enforcement. Writs of garnishment must include conspicuous captions indicating whether the garnishment is for private student loan debt, consumer debt (except medical), or medical debt. A continuing writ requires the garnishee to hold nonexempt earnings through the last payroll period ending on or before 60 days after service, with special instructions if a prior continuing writ is in effect. Garnishees must mail or deliver their original answer to the court and copies to the plaintiff (or plaintiff’s attorney) and the defendant within 20 days after service. Employers may deduct processing fees from the employee’s remainder after withholding up to $20 for the first answer and $10 for the second. Failure to answer as commanded may expose the garnishee to judgment for the full amount of the plaintiff’s claim with interest, attorney fees, and costs; a proper answer limits exposure to the nonexempt amount. The bill also specifies exempt bank account treatment for certain benefit funds (TANF, SSI, Social Security, veterans’ benefits, unemployment, federally qualified pensions such as state/federal pensions, IRAs, and 401(k) plans), allows partial exemption for mixed-deposit accounts, and references existing exemptions under RCW 6.15.010 and the community account exemption in RCW 26.16.200. The bill modifies claim form and notice procedures: claim forms must be printed or typed in at least 12-point font, include specified boxes for debt-type exemptions, and be delivered to the clerk and plaintiff no later than 28 days after the writ; if the plaintiff does not object, claimed funds must be released within 10 days after the plaintiff receives the claim form, and if the plaintiff objects a hearing must be set no later than 14 days after the plaintiff receives the claim form. If a judge denies an exemption claim the claimant must pay the plaintiff’s costs and may be required to pay attorney fees if the claim was not made in good faith. The judgment creditor must fill in dollar-amount blanks on notices or writs using amounts set in RCW 6.15.010(1)(d)(iii) as adjusted and published by the Department of Revenue, with the marital/community amount equal to double the individual amount. The provided extracts omit some notice language, specific dollar placeholders, and other possible provisions, so additional sections, definitions, effective dates, or fiscal details that may be part of the full bill are not included here. The bill was read for the first time on 01/13/26.

If enacted, more types of debt would be treated differently when wages are garnished, meaning many debtors would likely keep a larger share of their weekly pay depending on the debt: people with medical bills or private student loans would generally be able to protect a higher portion of earnings (medical uses 60 times the state minimum hourly wage or 80% of disposable pay, private student loans use 50 times the highest state minimum or 85% of disposable pay) while other consumer debts and most employer-directed garnishments have lower weekly take-home protections. Creditors pursuing garnishment must use new, clearly labeled writ forms and fill in specific exemption amounts, and debtors have a quicker administrative path to claim exemptions; if a creditor does not object, funds must be released within 10 days, and contested claims require a hearing within 14 days. Employers and banks will face more paperwork and timing duties: employers must hold nonexempt pay through the payroll period ending on or before 60 days after service for continuing writs, deliver answers within 20 days, and can only deduct limited processing fees ($20 first, $10 second), with failure to answer exposing them to potential full-claim judgments. Financial institutions must treat certain benefit-only accounts as fully exempt and handle mixed accounts partially exempt. Important implementation details are missing from the excerpt — specific dollar figures, the full definition of “disposable earnings,” and the complete notice language — so the exact amounts protected and some procedural specifics remain uncertain.