Rebecca Griego bill passes House, one step closer to Gregoire’s signature

OLYMPIA – On a unanimous vote today, the House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 6357, now known as the Rebecca Jane Griego Act, sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle. The bill was written following the tragic murder of Rebecca Griego, a University of Washington employee that was killed by an ex-boyfriend whom she had previously attempted to serve with a protection order.

Before today’s vote, Rebecca Griego’s mother and sister, Diane Perry and Rachel Griego, testified in the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 20, and spoke of the difficulties Rebecca had in serving the protection order that could have helped save her life. Currently, protection orders must be served on the abuser in person, and there are no clearly defined limits to how many times a victim must return to court if the authorities are not able to locate and serve the abuser. Under Kohl-Welles’ bill, courts may not require a domestic violence victim to make more than two attempts at serving a protection order in person.

“With this unanimous vote in the House, the Rebecca Griego act is one step closer to becoming law,” said Kohl-Welles. “This legislation will provide uniformity across the state in making it easier for victims to serve process by mail or by publication when an abuser has successfully avoided being served in person.”

SB 6357 passed the Senate unanimously on Feb. 12, and now the Senate must approve the amendment made to the bill in the House, before it can move to Governor Gregoire’s desk for her signature. The 2008 Session is scheduled to adjourn March 13.

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