EPHRATA - A bill adding a third Grant County District Court judge passed the state senate.

Senate Bill 5170 passed the senate unanimously with two senators excused from voting at the time. The bill is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Committee on Judiciary on March 2. 

A House bill is presently in the rules committee after being approved by the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Grant County presently has two district court judges and one full-time commissioner. The county is unique because the judges travel to 11 municipal courts and have courts in Ephrata and Moses Lake, according to the public testimony of Judge Janis Whitener-Moberg and Sen. Janéa Holmquist-Newbry. 

"Grant County citizens have a constitutional right to equal access to the courts and speedy trials," Holmquist-Newbry stated. "Another judge is sorely needed to help meet the geographic and judicial needs of our county."

The Administrator for the Courts' workload analysis stated the county needs 3.3 judges.

Whitener-Moberg said in a previous interview the change will allow judges more time for administration and to make improvements. It also allows the judge to spend more time with each case. She pointed to the public defender calendar where the judges deal with an average of 200 to 250 cases a day.

If the bill is passed and signed by the governor, the new judge position could start as early as 2012. 

Commissioners Richard Stevens and Carolann Swartz said they are waiting until the bill is passed before they start planning for how to implement it. 

Unlike the superior court judge positions, the district court judge positions are funded entirely by the county. 

"We'll just wait," Stevens said. "When we know what it's going to be we'll start making plans for it."