HOUSE BILL REPORT

                 HJM 4009

                      As Passed House:

                        March 8, 1995

Brief Description:  Asking Congress to consider various options regarding alien offenders.

Sponsors:  Representatives Mastin, Ballasiotes, Patterson, Backlund, Campbell, Sherstad, Elliot, Robertson and Costa.

Brief History:

  Committee Activity:

Corrections:  2/3/95, 2/15/95, 2/22/95 [DP].

  Floor Activity:

     Passed House:  3/8/95, 98-0.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON CORRECTIONS

Majority Report:  Do pass.  Signed by 11 members:  Representatives Ballasiotes, Chairman; Blanton, Vice Chairman; Sherstad, Vice Chairman; Quall, Ranking Minority Member; Tokuda, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Cole; Dickerson; Koster; Radcliff; K. Schmidt and Schoesler.

Staff:  Antonio Sanchez (786-7383).

Background:  The Department of Corrections currently has approximately 915 illegal alien offenders incarcerated under their supervision. 

Because the federal government has not yet accepted its responsibility under provisions outlined in Title V of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, Washington State is required to bear the burden of funding all costs associated with arrests, prosecution, incarceration, and supervision of this undocumented immigrant felon population. 

The prison cost for the state to house illegal alien felons is very significant.  It is estimated that these costs will total approximately $23 million for fiscal year 1995 alone.  

Summary of Bill:   The president of the United States, president of the Senate, and the speaker of the house are asked to recognize the economic burden the Immigration and Naturalization Services has placed our state under as a result of their inability to adequately stem the flow of illegal aliens. 

The federal government is asked to consider two options to solve this problem:

1)Fully compensate the state of Washington for the cost of incarcerating alien offenders; or

2)Establish a mechanism by treaty for deporting alien offenders to prisons in their respective countries and paying their countries for keeping these offenders.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not Requested.

Testimony For:  None.

Testimony Against:  None.