SENATE BILL REPORT
SB
5039
As Passed Senate, March 3, 1995
Title: An act relating to luring.
Brief Description: Clarifying the elements of the crime of luring.
Sponsors: Senator Fairley.
Brief History:
Committee Activity: Law & Justice: 1/19/95, 2/1/95 [DP].
Passed Senate, 3/3/95, 48-0.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON LAW & JUSTICE
Majority Report: Do pass.
Signed by Senators Smith, Chair; C. Anderson, Vice Chair; Hargrove, Haugen, Johnson, Long, McCaslin, Quigley, Roach and Schow.
Staff: Susan Carlson (786-7418)
Background: The crime of luring is committed if a stranger orders or lures a minor or developmentally disabled person into a structure or a motor vehicle without the consent of the parent or guardian. Since enactment of this statute, incidents have occurred which involved luring a victim into an area obscured from public view but that would not constitute a structure. It has been suggested that the statute should be amended to cover these situations.
Summary of Bill: The crime of luring is redefined to include luring a minor or developmentally disabled person into any area that is obscured from or inaccessible to the public.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Not requested.
Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.
Testimony For: The crime of luring should include luring a minor into bushes, behind abandoned buildings or into other areas obscured from public view.
Testimony Against: The crime of luring includes a rebuttable presumption that the defendant intended to harm the victim. It is unfair to require the defendant to prove that he or she had good intentions.
Testified: PRO: Senator Fairly, prime sponsor (pro); Detective Tim Wear, Seattle Police Dept. (pro); Detective Craig Sayer, King County Sheriff's Office (pro); Mike Patrick, Washington Council of Police Officers (pro); Jerry Sheehan, ACLU (pro w/concerns).
House Amendment(s): The phrase "developmentally disabled person" is changed to "person with a developmental disability."