H-1218.2          _______________________________________________

                                  HOUSE BILL 1685

                  _______________________________________________

State of Washington              52nd Legislature             1991 Regular Session

By Representatives Hargrove, Padden, Tate, Morris, Riley, Kremen, Dorn, Zellinsky, R. Meyers, Rayburn, Roland, Van Luven, Holland, Edmondson, Wynne, Brough, Rasmussen, Betrozoff, Broback, Fuhrman, Moyer, Miller, May, Paris, Ebersole, Mitchell, D. Sommers, Chandler, Vance, Ballard, Scott, H. Myers, Inslee, Forner, Casada, Bowman and Sheldon.

Read first time February 6, 1991.  Referred to Committee on Human Services.

Requiring inmates to pay incarceration costs.

     AN ACT Relating to inmates paying back incarceration costs of the department of corrections; adding new sections to chapter 72.02 RCW; creating a new section; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.      The legislature recognizes that the cost of supervising and housing state-supported inmates is high and increasing rapidly, and the public deserves the right to expect that the obligation to pay all or a portion of inmate costs should fall upon the inmate offender.  It is the purpose and intent of this legislation, through this act, to establish and promote the repayment of a variety of inmate financial obligations, including the costs of inmate incarceration.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.      A person confined in a department of corrections facility shall be required to pay for the cost for each day of incarceration.  The amount charged to the inmate for each day of the inmate's incarceration shall be equal to the average daily cost of services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.      The department of corrections and the office of financial management shall establish a method for calculating the incarceration costs and establishing the daily cost to be charged to all inmates.  Incarceration costs shall be calculated yearly and represent one combined average daily cost figure for all department facilities.  This average daily cost figure shall be applied to all inmates.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.      The department of corrections shall have the ability to modify the financial obligation for incarceration based on, but not limited to:  Verifiable employment handicaps; good time earned; correctional industries work productivity; damages to department property or injuries to department staff as a result of willful misconduct; successful completion of department-sponsored or approved educational opportunities while under department supervision, or participation as a student in a school, college, university, or vocational or technical training designed to prepare the offender for employment; inability to obtain employment providing sufficient income to pay fees despite diligent attempts, with a limit of ninety days of unemployment for this waiver.  The inability to find employment shall be verified with the employment security department; and if, in the best judgment of the department, the costs are needed for the maintenance and support of the inmate's family and that the costs would impose a manifest hardship on the inmate's family.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.      When modifying the financial obligation for incarceration, the department of corrections shall determine the amount of manifest hardship on the inmate's family by applying income levels needed to qualify for department of social and health services family support assistance programs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6.      Income earned by an inmate while working for correctional industries shall be applied to the inmate's incarceration debt in an amount decided by the department of corrections.  The department is allowed to convert community service hours at the rate of the minimum wage for each hour of community service for this monetary obligation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7.      The department of corrections shall be responsible for keeping an accurate record of the financial obligation of incarceration for each inmate owed to the department.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8.      If the amount an inmate owes the department of corrections for incarcerations has not been paid before the inmate's release from incarceration, the department shall determine the terms of the inmate's legal financial obligation, supervise the inmate's requirement to meet the obligation, and pursue collection of the obligation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9.      Funds collected from inmates for their costs of incarceration will be returned to the department of corrections.  The department shall proportionally share the funds collected with all other administrative entities needed to assist with the administrative process of monitoring, modifying, or collecting inmates' financial obligations resulting from sections 1 through 11 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10.     Sections 1 through 11 of this act shall not alter the order of collecting restitution or other damages specified in an offender's legal financial obligation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11.     Inmates assigned to the reception unit at the Washington corrections center are exempt from being obligated for incarceration costs until placed in an institution.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12.     Sections 2 through 10 of this act are each added to chapter 72.02 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13.     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 shall take effect immediately.