Rule GR 7 - Local Rules-Filing and Effective Date(a) Generally. One copy of rules of court authorized by law to be adopted or amended by courts other than the Supreme Court must be filed with the state Administrative Office of the Courts. New proposed rules and amendments must be filed on or before July 1, to be effective September 1 of the same year. Promulgation or amendment of rules that describe only the structure, internal management and organization of the court but do not affect courtroom procedures are not governed by the time limitations above.(b) Review and Comment(1) No court may adopt an amended or new local rule without first distributing the proposal and allowing at least 30 days for comment. The court shall distribute the proposal by posting it on the court's website and sending the proposal to the county prosecutor, the county clerk, a representative of the county public defender, and the local bar association (with a request that the association notify its members). The court may also take other actions to distribute the proposal.(2) The court shall direct that all comments on the proposal be submitted in writing to the court by a deadline the court sets. The court shall post on its website all comments it receives.(3) After the comment period closes and the court considers any comments, the court may adopt, amend, or reject the proposal or take such other action as the court deems appropriate.(c) Form. All local rules shall be consistent with rules adopted by the Supreme Court, and shall conform in numbering system and in format to these rules to facilitate their use. Each rule and amendment filed shall state its effective date in brackets following the rule. Prior to adopting a local rule, the court may informally submit a copy of its local rule to the Administrative Office of the Courts for comments as to its conformity in number and format to the Official Rules of Court, and suggestions with reference thereto.(d) Distribution. On or before September 1 of each year, the Administrator for the Courts shall distribute all local rules, and amendments thereto, to the state law library, the libraries of the three divisions of the Court of Appeals, all county law libraries, Washington law school libraries, and to such other places as are deemed appropriate by the Administrative Office of the Courts.(e) Availability of Local Rules. The clerk of the court adopting the rules shall maintain a complete set of current local rules, which shall be available for inspection and copying.(f) Emergency Rules.(1) In the event a court other than the Supreme Court deems that an emergency exists which requires a change in its rules, such court shall, in addition to filing the rules or amendments as provided in section (a), distribute them to all county law libraries.(2) A rule or amendment adopted on an emergency basis shall become effective immediately on filing with the Administrative Office of the Courts. The rule or amendment shall remain effective for a period of 90 days after filing, unless readopted in accordance with section (f)(1) or submitted as a permanent rule or amendment under section (a) within the 90-day period.(g) Filing Local Rules Electronically. The Administrative Office of the Courts shall establish the specifications necessary for a court to file its local court rules electronically.Adopted effective 1/1/1981; Amended effective 9/1/1991;3/19/1993; 11/25/2003; 7/30/2019; amended effective 2/1/2021.