BILL REQ. #:  H-2528.1 

Read first time 04/09/11.   Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

     AN ACT Relating to reducing sentences in order to generate correctional cost savings; amending RCW 9.94A.171 and 9.94A.728; adding a new section to chapter 9.94A RCW; creating new sections; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 9.94A.171 and 2008 c 231 s 28 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) A term of confinement ordered in a sentence pursuant to this chapter shall be tolled by any period of time during which the offender has absented himself or herself from confinement without the prior approval of the entity in whose custody the offender has been placed. A term of partial confinement shall be tolled during any period of time spent in total confinement pursuant to a new conviction ((or pursuant to sanctions for violation of sentence conditions on a separate felony conviction)).
     (2) Any term of community custody shall be tolled by any period of time during which the offender has absented himself or herself from supervision without prior approval of the entity under whose supervision the offender has been placed.
     (3)(a) For offenders other than sex offenders serving a sentence for a sex offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030, any period of community custody shall be tolled during any period of time the offender is in confinement for any reason((. However, if an)) unless the offender is detained pursuant to RCW 9.94A.740 or 9.94A.631 ((and is later found not to have violated a condition or requirement of community custody, time spent in confinement due to such detention shall not toll the period of community custody)) for the period of time prior to the hearing or for confinement pursuant to sanctions imposed for violation of sentence conditions, in which case, the period of community custody shall not toll. However, sanctions that result in the imposition of the remaining sentence or the original sentence will continue to toll the period of community custody. In addition, inpatient treatment ordered by the court in lieu of jail time shall not toll the period of community custody.
     (b) For sex offenders serving a sentence for a sex offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030, any period of community custody shall be tolled during any period of time the sex offender is in confinement for any reason.
     (4) For terms of confinement or community custody, the date for the tolling of the sentence shall be established by the entity responsible for the confinement or supervision.
     (5) For the purposes of this section, "tolling" means the period of time in which community custody or confinement time is paused and for which the offender does not receive credit towards the term ordered.

Sec. 2   RCW 9.94A.728 and 2010 c 224 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
     No person serving a sentence imposed pursuant to this chapter and committed to the custody of the department shall leave the confines of the correctional facility or be released prior to the expiration of the sentence except as follows:
     (1) An offender may earn early release time as authorized by RCW 9.94A.729;
     (2) An offender may leave a correctional facility pursuant to an authorized furlough or leave of absence. In addition, offenders may leave a correctional facility when in the custody of a corrections officer or officers;
     (3)(a) The secretary may authorize an extraordinary medical placement for an offender when all of the following conditions exist:
     (i) The offender has a medical condition that is serious and is expected to require costly care or treatment;
     (ii) The offender poses a low risk to the community because he or she is currently physically incapacitated due to age or the medical condition or is expected to be so at the time of release; and
     (iii) It is expected that granting the extraordinary medical placement will result in a cost savings to the state.
     (b) An offender sentenced to death or to life imprisonment without the possibility of release or parole is not eligible for an extraordinary medical placement.
     (c) The secretary shall require electronic monitoring for all offenders in extraordinary medical placement unless the electronic monitoring equipment interferes with the function of the offender's medical equipment or results in the loss of funding for the offender's medical care, in which case, an alternative type of monitoring shall be utilized. The secretary shall specify who shall provide the monitoring services and the terms under which the monitoring shall be performed.
     (d) The secretary may revoke an extraordinary medical placement under this subsection at any time.
     (e) Persistent offenders are not eligible for extraordinary medical placement;
     (4) The governor, upon recommendation from the clemency and pardons board, may grant an extraordinary release for reasons of serious health problems, senility, advanced age, extraordinary meritorious acts, or other extraordinary circumstances;
     (5) No more than the final six months of the offender's term of confinement may be served in partial confinement designed to aid the offender in finding work and reestablishing himself or herself in the community or no more than the final twelve months of the offender's term of confinement may be served in partial confinement as part of the parenting program in RCW 9.94A.6551. This is in addition to that period of earned early release time that may be exchanged for partial confinement pursuant to RCW 9.94A.729(5)(d);
     (6) The governor may pardon any offender;
     (7) The department may release an offender from confinement any time within ten days before a release date calculated under this section and section 3 of this act;
     (8) An offender may leave a correctional facility prior to completion of his or her sentence if the sentence has been reduced as provided in RCW 9.94A.870 or section 3 of this act; and
     (9) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, an offender sentenced for a felony crime listed in RCW 9.94A.540 as subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of total confinement shall not be released from total confinement before the completion of the listed mandatory minimum sentence for that felony crime of conviction unless allowed under RCW 9.94A.540.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 9.94A RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this section, the department shall credit any offender serving a sentence of total confinement imposed pursuant to this chapter and committed to a correctional facility operated by the department with a reduction of one hundred twenty days in his or her release date in accordance with procedures adopted by the department.
     (2) The reduction applies to an offender's term of confinement after the application of any earned early release time pursuant to RCW 9.94A.729.
     (3) This section does not apply to offenders sentenced to life without parole or offenders serving a sentence for a sex offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030, a violent offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030, or a crime against a person as defined in RCW 9.94A.411.
     (4) Under no circumstance may an offender be released before the expiration of his or her mandatory minimum sentence as provided in RCW 9.94A.540.
     (5) The failure of the department to promptly release an offender on the new release date as calculated under this section does not create a liberty interest and in no circumstance gives rise to a cause of action on the part of the offender.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   The provisions of this act apply to persons convicted before, on, or after the effective date of this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   On or before July 1, 2011, the department of corrections shall recalculate the amount of time an offender has spent on community custody pursuant to the provisions of section 1 of this act. The department shall reset the date that community custody will end for those offenders. The recalculation shall not extend a term of community custody beyond that to which an offender is currently subject.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.