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ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 2376
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Passed Legislature - 1994 Regular Session
State of Washington 53rd Legislature 1994
Regular Session
By
Read first time 01/14/94. Referred to Committee
on Corrections.
Revising the powers and duties of
the sentencing guidelines commission.
AN ACT Relating to the
sentencing guidelines commission; and amending RCW 9.94A.040.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 9.94A.040 and 1986 c
257 s 18 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) A sentencing
guidelines commission is established as an agency of state government.
(2) The commission
shall, following a public hearing or hearings:
(a) Devise a series of
recommended standard sentence ranges for all felony offenses and a system for
determining which range of punishment applies to each offender based on the
extent and nature of the offender's criminal history, if any;
(b) Devise recommended
prosecuting standards in respect to charging of offenses and plea agreements;
and
(c) Devise recommended
standards to govern whether sentences are to be served consecutively or
concurrently.
(3) Each of the
commission's recommended standard sentence ranges shall include one or more of
the following: Total confinement, partial confinement, community supervision,
community service, and a fine.
(4) In devising the
standard sentence ranges of total and partial confinement under this section,
the commission is subject to the following limitations:
(a) If the maximum term
in the range is one year or less, the minimum term in the range shall be no
less than one-third of the maximum term in the range, except that if the
maximum term in the range is ninety days or less, the minimum term may be less
than one-third of the maximum;
(b) If the maximum term
in the range is greater than one year, the minimum term in the range shall be
no less than seventy-five percent of the maximum term in the range; and
(c) The maximum term of
confinement in a range may not exceed the statutory maximum for the crime as
provided in RCW 9A.20.020.
(5) In carrying out its
duties under subsection (2) of this section, the commission shall give
consideration to the existing guidelines adopted by the association of superior
court judges and the Washington association of prosecuting attorneys and the
experience gained through use of those guidelines. The commission shall
emphasize confinement for the violent offender and alternatives to total confinement
for the nonviolent offender.
(6) This commission
shall conduct a study to determine the capacity of correctional facilities and
programs which are or will be available. While the commission need not
consider such capacity in arriving at its recommendations, the commission shall
project whether the implementation of its recommendations would result in
exceeding such capacity. If the commission finds that this result would
probably occur, then the commission shall prepare an additional list of standard
sentences which shall be consistent with such capacity.
(7) The commission may
recommend to the legislature revisions or modifications to the standard
sentence ranges and other standards. If implementation of the revisions or
modifications would result in exceeding the capacity of correctional
facilities, then the commission shall accompany its recommendation with an
additional list of standard sentence ranges which are consistent with
correction capacity.
(8) The commission
shall study the existing criminal code and from time to time make
recommendations to the legislature for modification.
(9) The commission
may (a) serve as a clearinghouse and information center for the collection,
preparation, analysis, and dissemination of information on state and local
sentencing practices; (b) develop and maintain a computerized sentencing
information system by individual superior court judge consisting of offender,
offense, history, and sentence information entered from judgment and sentence
forms for all adult felons; and (c) conduct ongoing research regarding
sentencing guidelines, use of total confinement and alternatives to total
confinement, plea bargaining, and other matters relating to the improvement of
the criminal justice system.
(10) The staff and
executive officer of the commission may provide staffing and services to the
juvenile disposition standards commission, if authorized by RCW 13.40.025 and
13.40.027. The commission may conduct joint meetings with the juvenile
disposition standards commission.
(11)
The commission shall exercise its duties under this section in conformity with
chapter 34.05 RCW((, as now existing or hereafter amended)).
