SB 5028, which goes into effect on July 23, establishes new procedures for name changes when safety may be an issue. In those cases, a person may apply for a name change to a superior court – instead of the usual procedure involving district courts – and ask for the case to be sealed from public view.
The change was proposed by Sen. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, but inspired by Maia Xiao, a UW graduate student who wrote to the senator outlining the need for greater privacy protections for transgender individuals. Pedersen wrote back expressing his interest in pursuing a bill similar to a New York model.
→ Continue reading at Crosscut
