HOUSE BILL REPORT

                  HB 1372

                       As Passed House

                       March 14, 1991

Title:  An act relating to interstate parole and probation hearing procedures.

Brief Description:  Repealing the interstate parole and probation hearing procedures act.

Sponsor(s):  Representatives Hargrove, Winsley, Prentice, Morris, Tate, Riley, Leonard and H. Myers; by request of Department of Corrections.

Brief History:

  Reported by House Committee on:

Human Services, February 27, 1991, DP;

Passed House, March 14, 1991, 96-0.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON

HUMAN SERVICES

Majority Report: Do pass.  Signed by 11 members:  Representatives Leonard, Chair; Riley, Vice Chair; Winsley, Ranking Minority Member; Tate, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Anderson; Beck; Brekke; Hargrove; Hochstatter; R. King; and H. Myers.

Staff:  Antonio Sanchez (786-7383).

Background:  The state of Washington is a signatory to the Interstate Compact of the supervision for probationers and parolees.  The compact agreement allows states to mutually supervise offenders permitted to travel out of state. In addition to the Compact, Washington state law requires the Department of Corrections to conduct a reasonable cause hearing, any time it detains an offender from any other state who the Washington State Department of Corrections is supervising.  Currently, if an out of state person under the department's supervision violates a condition of their sentence, the department must conduct an administrative due process hearing to determine if there is reasonable belief that the violation has occurred.

Washington State is the only waiver state that requires, by law, a hearing process of this type.  Other states rely on the "Waiver of Extradition" document that an offender signs before he or she can travel to a neighboring state.  A signed waiver document allows the sending state to regain custody of the offender for any breach of the travel privilege.  Persons who abscond, or otherwise violate the conditions of their parole or probation, utilize current state law to interfere with the sending state's attempt to extradite and re-confine them. 

Summary of Bill:  The reasonable cause hearing and other procedural requirements used by the Department of Corrections, for detaining out of state offenders under their supervision, are eliminated.

Fiscal Note:  Available.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  This measure would eliminate unnecessary and time consuming technical, procedural, and legal requirements.  The court system and the state benefit from a more streamlined extradition process. 

Testimony Against:  None.

Witnesses:  Dave Savage and Jack Jones, Department of Corrections.