HOUSE BILL REPORT

                      HB 1371

                           As Passed Legislature

Title:  An act relating to probationer assessments.

Brief Description:  Modifying probation assessment provisions.

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

Brief History:

   Reported by House Committee on:

Human Services, February 27, 1991, DP;

Passed House, March 14, 1991, 95-0;

Passed Legislature, 95-0.

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 Department of Community Corrections, within the Department of Corrections, is responsible for managing felony offenders within local communities.  Community correction officers monitor offender behavior and direct offenders towards acceptable lifestyles through involvement in community-based rehabilitative programs.  The programs provided include: community supervision, work training release, and victim and witness notification.

The Department of Corrections charges offenders the cost, or part of the cost, of providing community supervision services.  Currently, the court is responsible for establishing or changing the amount of supervision fees that an offender is required to pay.  If the offender's ability to pay the supervision fee changes, the state is required to take the offender back to court to modify the payment amount.  The court is the only entity that can change the order to pay supervision fees.

Summary of Bill:  The Department of Corrections can exempt, increase, decrease, or defer offender supervision fees.  Clarification is provided so that offenders serving a period of community supervision, community placement or parole, will pay community supervision fees assessments. 

Fiscal Note:  Available.

Appropriation:  Yes.

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

Testimony For:  This measure streamlines the current process required for changing offenders' supervision fees.  With this change the state saves time, paperwork, and resources. 

Testimony Against:  None.

Witnesses:  Dave Savage, Department of Corrections; and Mike Redman, Washington State Prosecuting Attorneys Association.