RCW 1.20.130: Preferred terminology in government documents.

(1)(a) All state and local government statutes, codes, rules, regulations, and other official documents enacted after July 1, 2002, are required to use the term "Asian" when referring to persons of Asian descent. The use of the term "Oriental" is prohibited.

(b) The legislature urges all state and local entities to review their statutes, codes, rules, regulations, and other official documents and revise them to omit the use of the term "Oriental" when referring to persons of Asian descent.

(2) Except where required by federal law or necessary to comply with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition to the allocation of federal funds to the state, all state and local government statutes, codes, rules, regulations, and other official documents enacted after July 1, 2026, shall use the term "noncitizen" or other context-appropriate term, instead of the term "alien," when referring to an individual who is not a citizen or national of the United States. The legislature urges all state and local entities to review their statutes, codes, rules, regulations, and other official documents and revise them to omit the use of the term "alien" when referring to an individual who is not a citizen or national of the Unites States.