AN ACT Relating to criminal justice assistance; amending RCW 82.44.150 and 35.58.273; adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW; creating a new section; making an appropriation; providing effective dates; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Committee" means the criminal justice assistance advisory committee.

(2) "Target offenses" means serious traffic offenses and crimes of domestic violence as defined in RCW 10.99.020.

(3) "Serious traffic offenses" means driving or in physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs and driving while a driver's license has been suspended.

(4) "Prosecution and adjudication" means the process of prosecuting and adjudicating a person for a target offense, and includes costs incurred for the sentencing, probation, and incarceration of a defendant.

(5) "Account" means the criminal justice assistance account in the state treasury.

(6) "Uniquely impacted jurisdiction" means a city with a population of under one thousand that establishes in its grant application a history of arrests and expenditures for the prosecution and adjudication of serious traffic offenses at a rate that is one hundred twenty-five percent of the state-wide average for cities with a population of under one thousand.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. There is hereby created in the state treasury the criminal justice assistance account. Moneys in the account shall be spent only for the purposes specified in this chapter and pursuant to appropriation by law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The office of financial management shall distribute grants from the account to cities and counties to enhance the prosecution and adjudication of target offenses. Applications by cities and counties for such grants shall be evaluated and prioritized by the office of financial management with the advice of the criminal justice assistance advisory committee.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) The criminal justice assistance advisory committee is established. It shall consist of:

(a) Two prosecuting attorneys appointed by the Washington association of prosecuting attorneys;

(b) Two municipal attorneys and one elected municipal official appointed by the association of Washington cities;

(d) Two district court judges and one municipal court judge appointed by the Washington state magistrates association;

(e) The administrator for the courts, or the administrator's designee;

(f) Two sheriffs and two police chiefs appointed by the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs; and

(g) Two superior court judges appointed by the association of superior court judges.

(2) Members of the committee shall be appointed by June 30 of each odd-numbered year and serve during the ensuing biennium. Vacancies shall be filled by the appointing authority specified in this section.

(3) Members of the committee shall be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

(4) The committee shall:

(a) Advise the office of financial management in evaluating and prioritizing applications for grants under this chapter;

(b) Provide to the legislature by January 1 of each even-numbered year a report describing the committee's activity during the current biennium, the grants awarded and the results obtained, and recommendations for legislative priorities during the ensuing biennium, including funding levels, designation of target offenses, and the purposes for which moneys in the fund should be disbursed.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The office of financial management and the committee shall use the following criteria in establishing priorities for grant applications under this chapter:

(1) The extent to which a jurisdiction is uniquely impacted by the incidence of target offenses;

(2) The extent to which municipalities within a county have formally or informally withdrawn from the prosecution and adjudication of target offenses as of January 1, 1984;

(3) The extent to which counties and cities have increased local expenditures for the prosecution and adjudication of target offenses in the previous three years;

(4) The extent to which counties and cities have maintained their level of local expenditures for the prosecution and adjudication of target offenses in the previous three years; and

(5) The extent to which counties and cities have exceeded their overall capacity to handle target offenses.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. (1) The office of financial management shall establish guidelines for grant applications consistent with the criteria set forth in section 5 of this act and shall transmit the guidelines and grant application forms to all cities and counties by July 1 of each odd-numbered year.

(2) Grant applications shall contain:

(a) Certification as to the number of employees prosecuting and adjudicating target offenses for the previous three years, and the time commitment of those employees to that purpose;

(b) Quantification of filings, dismissals, pleas to reduced charges, jury trials demanded and conducted, and deferred prosecutions. This information shall be grouped by target offense filings and total filings and shall be based on the best available data for the previous three years, including statistics from the administrator for the courts, uniform crime reports, department of licensing reports, and locally maintained records.

(c) Information on the county's or city's overall capacity to handle court caseloads, including jury and bench trials disposed of per judge, use of pro tem judges, and other techniques for handling caseloads;

(d) The use to which the grant moneys will be put and the anticipated results;

(e) A certified statement that the grant moneys will not be used to supplant local funds; and

(f) Other information deemed relevant by the office of financial management.

(3) Grant applications shall be made to the office of financial management by August 1 of each odd-numbered year.

(4) Counties and cities may submit joint grant applications.

(5) The administrator for the courts, the department of licensing, the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs, and the office of financial management shall work with the committee to develop procedures for the collection and analysis of the information required by this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) The office of financial management may award grants in whole or in part based on priority, evaluation of need, and availability of appropriated moneys.

(2) Cities and counties receiving grants under this chapter shall ensure that local funds are not supplanted by the grant moneys and shall report by November 1 of each even-numbered year to the office of financial management the manner in which grant funds were expended and the results obtained from the grant. If the grant moneys are used to supplant local funds, the local government shall repay to the state the total amount of the grant moneys received under this chapter.

(3) The office of financial management may adopt such rules as are necessary for the implementation of this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. No city or county that received a grant under chapter 110, Laws of 1984, shall be awarded a grant under this chapter unless the city or county has complied with the requirements of section 5(2) of chapter 110, Laws of 1984, by filing with the office of financial management a report on the manner in which the grant was expended and the results obtained.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. The grants made to cities and counties under this act for the biennium ending June 30, 1987, shall be made subject to the following conditions:

(1) No more than seventy percent of the amounts awarded shall be for the prosecution and adjudication of serious traffic offenses, including awards to uniquely impacted jurisdictions;

(2) No more than ten percent of the amounts awarded shall be for the purpose of funding the use of existing structures that have not been constructed or used as jails or holding facilities for the incarceration of nonviolent serious traffic offenders who have no prior history of criminal convictions;

(3) No more than ten percent of the amounts awarded shall be for the purpose of reimbursing counties that, pursuant to an interlocal agreement with a city with a population of fewer than one thousand, prosecutes and adjudicates serious traffic offenses; and

(4) No more than ten percent of the amounts awarded shall be for the prosecution and adjudication of crimes of domestic violence.

Sec. 10. Section 1, chapter 87, Laws of 1972 ex. sess. as last amended by section 13, chapter 35, Laws of 1982 1st ex. sess. and by section 20, chapter 49, Laws of 1982 1st ex. sess. and RCW 82.44.150 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

(1) The director of licensing shall on the twenty-fifth day of February, May, August and November of each year, commencing with November, 1971, advise the state treasurer of the total amount of motor vehicle excise taxes remitted to the department of licensing during the preceding calendar quarter ending on the last day of March, June, September and December, respectively, except for those payable under RCW 82.44.020(5)((,)) and 82.44.030((~~, and 82.44.070~~)), from motor vehicle owners residing within each municipality which has levied a tax under RCW 35.58.273, which amount of excise taxes shall be determined by the director as follows:

The total amount of motor vehicle excise taxes remitted to the department, except those payable under RCW 82.44.020(5)((,)) and 82.44.030((~~, and 82.44.070~~)), from each county shall be multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the population of the municipality residing in such county, and the denominator of which is the total population of the county in which such municipality or portion thereof is located. The product of this computation shall be the amount of excise taxes from motor vehicle owners residing within such municipality or portion thereof. Where the municipality levying a tax under RCW 35.58.273 is located in more than one county, the above computation shall be made by county, and the combined products shall provide the total amount of motor vehicle excise taxes from motor vehicle owners residing in the municipality as a whole. Population figures required for these computations shall be supplied to the director by the office of financial management, who shall adjust the fraction annually.

(2) On the first day of the months of January, April, July, and October of each year, the state treasurer based upon information provided by the department of licensing shall make the following apportionment and distribution of motor vehicle excise taxes deposited in the general fund except taxes collected under RCW 82.44.020(5). A sum equal to seventeen percent thereof shall be paid to cities and towns in the proportions and for the purposes hereinafter set forth; a sum equal to two percent ((~~of all motor vehicle excise tax receipts~~)) thereof shall be allocable to the county sales and use tax equalization account under RCW 82.14.200; and a sum equal to ((seventy percent of all motor vehicle excise tax receipts, except taxes collected under RCW 82.44.020(5), shall be allocable to the state school equalization fund and credited and transferred each year in the following order of priority:

(a) The amount required and certified by the state finance committee each year as being necessary for payment of principal of and interest on bonds authorized by RCW 28A.47.760 through 28A.47.774 in the ensuing twelve months and any additional amounts required by the covenants of such bonds shall be transferred from the state school equalization fund to the 1963 public school building bond retirement fund.

(b) Any remaining amounts in the state school equalization fund from the motor vehicle excise taxes not required for debt service on the above bond issues shall be transferred and credited to the general fund)) one and one-half percent thereof shall be allocable to the criminal justice assistance account.

(3) The amount payable to cities and towns shall be apportioned among the several cities and towns within the state according to the following formula:

(a) Sixty-five percent of the sum specified in subsection (2) of this section to be paid to cities and towns shall be apportioned ratably on the basis of population as last determined by the office of financial management.

(b) Thirty-five percent of the sum specified in subsection (2) of this section to be paid to cities and towns shall be apportioned to cities and towns under RCW 82.14.210.

(4) When so apportioned, the amount payable to each such city and town shall be transmitted to the city treasurer thereof, and shall be utilized by such city or town for the purposes of police and fire protection and the preservation of the public health therein, and not otherwise. In case it be adjudged that revenue derived from the excise tax imposed by this chapter cannot lawfully be apportioned or distributed to cities or towns, all moneys directed by this section to be apportioned and distributed to cities and towns shall be credited and transferred to the state general fund.

(5) On the first day of the months of January, April, July, and October of each year, the state treasurer, based upon information provided by the department of licensing, shall remit motor vehicle excise tax revenues imposed and collected under RCW 35.58.273 as follows:

(a) The amount required to be remitted by the state treasurer to the treasurer of any municipality levying the tax shall not exceed in any calendar year the amount of locally-generated tax revenues, excluding the excise tax imposed under RCW 35.58.273 for the purposes of this section, which shall have been budgeted by the municipality to be collected in such calendar year for any public transportation purposes including but not limited to operating costs, capital costs, and debt service on general obligation or revenue bonds issued for these purposes; and

(b) In no event may the amount remitted in a single calendar quarter exceed the amount collected on behalf of the municipality under RCW 35.58.273 during the calendar quarter next preceding the immediately preceding quarter.

(6) At the close of each calendar year accounting period, but not later than April 1, each municipality that has received motor vehicle excise taxes under subsection (5) of this section shall transmit to the director of licensing and the state auditor a written report showing by source the previous year's budgeted tax revenues for public transportation purposes as compared to actual collections. Any municipality that has not submitted the report by April 1 shall cease to be eligible to receive motor vehicle excise taxes under subsection (5) of this section until the report is received by the director of licensing. If a municipality has received more or less money under subsection (5) of this section for the period covered by the report than it is entitled to receive by reason of its locally-generated collected tax revenues, the director of licensing shall, during the next ensuing quarter that the municipality is eligible to receive motor vehicle excise tax funds, increase or decrease the amount to be remitted in an amount equal to the difference between the locally-generated budgeted tax revenues and the locally-generated collected tax revenues. In no event may the amount remitted for a calendar year exceed the amount collected on behalf of the municipality under RCW 35.58.273 during that same calendar year. At the time of the next fiscal audit of each municipality, the state auditor shall verify the accuracy of the report submitted and notify the director of licensing of any discrepancies.

(7) The motor vehicle excise taxes imposed under RCW 35.58.273 and required to be remitted under this section shall be remitted without legislative appropriation.

(8) Any municipality levying and collecting a tax under RCW 35.58.273 which does not have an operating, public transit system or a contract for public transportation services in effect within one year from the initial effective date of the tax shall return to the state treasurer all motor vehicle excise taxes received under subsection (5) of this section.

Sec. 11. Section 8, chapter 255, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. as amended by section 2, chapter 175, Laws of 1979 ex. sess. and RCW 35.58.273 are each amended to read as follows:

On or after July 1, 1971, any municipality is authorized to levy and collect a special excise tax not exceeding ninety-seven one hundredths of one percent on the fair market value of every motor vehicle owned by a resident of such municipality for the privilege of using such motor vehicle provided that in no event shall the tax be less than one dollar and, subject to RCW 82.44.150(5) and (6), the amount of such tax shall be credited against the amount of the excise tax levied by the state under RCW 82.44.020: PROVIDED, That before utilization of any excise tax moneys collected under authorization of this section for acquisition of right of way or construction of a mass transit facility on a separate right of way the municipality shall adopt rules affording the public an opportunity for "corridor public hearings" and "design public hearings" as herein defined, which rule shall provide in detail the procedures necessary for public participation in the following instances: (a) prior to adoption of location and design plans having a substantial social, economic or environmental effect upon the locality upon which they are to be constructed or (b) on such mass rapid transit systems operating on a separate right of way whenever a substantial change is proposed relating to location or design in the adopted plan. In adopting rules the municipality shall adhere to the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act.

A "corridor public hearing" is a public hearing that: (a) is held before the municipality is committed to a specific mass transit route proposal, and before a route location is established; (b) is held to afford an opportunity for participation by those interested in the determination of the need for, and the location of, the mass rapid transit system; (c) provides a public forum that affords a full opportunity for presenting views on the mass rapid transit system route location, and the social, economic and environmental effects on that location and alternate locations: PROVIDED, That such hearing shall not be deemed to be necessary before adoption of an overall mass rapid transit system plan by a vote of the electorate of the municipality.

A "design public hearing" is a public hearing that: (a) is held after the location is established but before the design is adopted; and (b) is held to afford an opportunity for participation by those interested in the determination of major design features of the mass rapid transit system; and (c) provides a public forum to afford a full opportunity for presenting views on the mass rapid transit system design, and the social, economic, environmental effects of that design and alternate designs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. Sections 1 through 8 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. (1) The state treasurer shall transfer to the criminal justice assistance account in the general fund all moneys remaining unexpended on June 30, 1985, from the appropriation contained in section 8, chapter 110, Laws of 1984.

(2) There is hereby appropriated to the office of financial management from the criminal justice assistance account the sum of .......... dollars for the biennium ending June 30, 1987, to carry out the purposes of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, the support of the state government and its existing public institutions. Sections 10 and 11 of this act shall take effect July 1, 1985. The remaining sections of this act shall take effect immediately.