HOUSE BILL REPORT

SHB 1279

BYHouse Committee on Health Care (originally sponsored by Representatives Braddock, Brooks and May; by request of Department of Corrections)

Revising provisions relating to financial and legal obligations of offenders.

House Committe on Health Care

Majority Report:  The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  (8)

      Signed by Representatives Braddock, Chair; Brooks, Cantwell, Lewis, Lux, D. Sommers, Sprenkle and Vekich.

House Staff:Bill Hagens (786-7131)

AS PASSED HOUSE JANUARY 29, 1988

BACKGROUND:

Presently courts do not routinely specify at the time of sentencing terms for the payment of legal financial obligations. As a result, there are numerous instances where the offender's term of community supervision has expired with few or no payments being made.  In addition, the Sentencing Reform Act (SRA) does not specify what legal financial obligations community corrections officers (CCOs) should monitor.  The law states "restitution and fines."  The collection of other financial obligations such as court costs and supervision fees are also monitored by CCOs.  Further, at present the SRA contains no vehicle for victims to collect restitution or other damages if an offender defaults in the payment of restitution or other monetary obligations.

In those instances when an offender is indigent and the court and department are unable to collect monetary obligations, flexibility is required to allow the offender to contribute to the community in the form of community services.  Similarly, when community service obligations are not met, flexibility is necessary to allow for total or partial confinement.

The SRA does not require the court to set a time frame in which the court-ordered community service hours must be completed either as a sentence requirement or as an alternative conversion.  In those cases where the court does not specify a compliance deadline, the court, CCO and the offender are left without a clear understanding of when the community service hours imposed must be completed.  This lack of clarity has compounded the workload of the prosecuting attorney and court and caused unnecessary conflict with the offender.

SUMMARY:

DOC is required to supervise the offender's requirement to meet monetary obligations.  DOC shall set the rate of payments if not done so by the court.  The maximum period of payment is reduced from 10 to 5 years.

The court is allowed to convert a term of partial confinement to total confinement; convert community service obligations to total or partial confinement; or convert monetary obligations, except restitution and the crime victim penalty assessment, to community service hours at the rate of minimum wage for each hour of community service.

Community service hours are specified to be completed within the period of community supervision or time frame specified by the court, not to exceed 24 months, at a schedule determined by the department.

EFFECT OF SENATE AMENDMENT(S):  The victims' compensation law is amended to state that after the five year period has elapsed only 50 percent, not all, of the money in the offender's escrow account will be returned to the defender.  The other 50 percent will be paid to the victims' compensation fund.

Fiscal Note:      Requested January 18, 1988.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Fred E. Jordan, Jr., Department of Corrections; Nancy Campbell, Department of Corrections.

House Committee - Testified Against:      None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    The process of restitution is streamlined.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None Presented.

VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE:

      Yeas 95; Excused 3

Excused:    Representatives Ballard, Taylor, Mr. Speaker