BP BHEAD INT H

AN ACT Relating to release to the public of information regarding sex offenders; and amending RCW 4.24.550, 13.40.215, and 13.40.217.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 4.24.550 and 1994 c 129 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Public agencies are authorized to release relevant and necessary information regarding sex offenders to the public when the release of the information is necessary for public protection. This authority exists whether or not the public agency received notification about the sex offender from the department of corrections or the department of social and health services or any other public agency.

(2) Local law enforcement agencies and officials who decide to release information pursuant to this section shall make a good faith effort to notify the public and residents at least fourteen days before the sex offender is released or if the offender receives a special sex offender disposition alternative under RCW 13.40.160(5) or special sex offender sentencing alternative under RCW 9.94A.120(7) at least thirty days after the sex offender is sentenced. If a change occurs in the release plan, this notification provision will not require an extension of the release date. The department of corrections, juvenile court, and the department of social and health services shall provide local law enforcement officials with all relevant information on sex offenders about to be released or placed into, or allowed to remain in the community in a timely manner.

(3) An elected public official, public employee, or public agency as defined in RCW 4.24.470 is immune from civil liability for damages for any discretionary decision to release relevant and necessary information, unless it is shown that the official, employee, or agency acted with gross negligence or in bad faith. The authorization and immunity in this section applies to information regarding: (a) A person convicted of, or juvenile found to have committed, a sex offense as defined by RCW 9.94A.030; (b) a person found not guilty of a sex offense by reason of insanity under chapter 10.77 RCW; (c) a person found incompetent to stand trial for a sex offense and subsequently committed under chapter 71.05 or 71.34 RCW; (d) a person committed as a sexual psychopath under chapter 71.06 RCW; or (e) a person committed as a sexually violent predator under chapter 71.09 RCW. The immunity provided under this section applies to the release of relevant information to other employees or officials or to the general public.

(4) Except as otherwise provided by statute, nothing in this section shall impose any liability upon a public official, public employee, or public agency for failing to release information as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section.

(5) Nothing in this section implies that information regarding persons designated in subsections (2) and (3) of this section is confidential except as otherwise provided by statute.

Sec. 2. RCW 13.40.215 and 1995 c 324 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1)(a) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, at the earliest possible date, and in no event later than thirty days before discharge, parole, or any other authorized leave or release, or before transfer to a community residential facility, the secretary shall send written notice of the discharge, parole, authorized leave or release, or transfer of a juvenile found to have committed a violent offense, a sex offense, or stalking, to the following:

(i) The chief of police of the city, if any, in which the juvenile will reside;

(ii) The sheriff of the county in which the juvenile will reside; and

(iii) The approved private schools and the common school district board of directors of the district in which the juvenile intends to reside or the approved private school or public school district in which the juvenile last attended school, whichever is appropriate, except when it has been determined by the department that the juvenile is twenty-one years old; is not required to return to school under chapter 28A.225 RCW; or will be in the community for less than seven consecutive days on approved leave and will not be attending school during that time.

(b) The same notice as required by (a) of this subsection shall be sent to the following, if such notice has been requested in writing about a specific juvenile:

(i) The victim of the offense for which the juvenile was found to have committed or the victim's next of kin if the crime was a homicide;

(ii) Any witnesses who testified against the juvenile in any court proceedings involving the offense; and

(iii) Any person specified in writing by the prosecuting attorney.

Information regarding victims, next of kin, or witnesses requesting the notice, information regarding any other person specified in writing by the prosecuting attorney to receive the notice, and the notice are confidential and shall not be available to the juvenile. The notice to the chief of police or the sheriff shall include the identity of the juvenile, the residence where the juvenile will reside, the identity of the person, if any, responsible for supervising the juvenile, and the time period of any authorized leave.

(d) The existence of the notice requirements in this subsection will not require any extension of the release date in the event the release plan changes after notification.

(2)(a) If a juvenile found to have committed a violent offense, a sex offense, or stalking escapes from a facility of the department, the secretary shall immediately notify, by the most reasonable and expedient means available, the chief of police of the city and the sheriff of the county in which the juvenile resided immediately before the juvenile's arrest. If previously requested, the secretary shall also notify the witnesses and the victim of the offense which the juvenile was found to have committed or the victim's next of kin if the crime was a homicide. If the juvenile is recaptured, the secretary shall send notice to the persons designated in this subsection as soon as possible but in no event later than two working days after the department learns of such recapture.

(b) The secretary may authorize a leave, for a juvenile found to have committed a violent offense, a sex offense, or stalking, which shall not exceed forty-eight hours plus travel time, to meet an emergency situation such as a death or critical illness of a member of the juvenile's family. The secretary may authorize a leave, which shall not exceed the time medically necessary, to obtain medical care not available in a juvenile facility maintained by the department. Prior to the commencement of an emergency or medical leave, the secretary shall give notice of the leave to the appropriate law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction in which the juvenile will be during the leave period. The notice shall include the identity of the juvenile, the time period of the leave, the residence of the juvenile during the leave, and the identity of the person responsible for supervising the juvenile during the leave. If previously requested, the department shall also notify the witnesses and victim of the offense which the juvenile was found to have committed or the victim's next of kin if the offense was a homicide.

In case of an emergency or medical leave the secretary may waive all or any portion of the requirements for leaves pursuant to RCW 13.40.205 (2)(a), (3), (4), and (5).

(3) If the victim, the victim's next of kin, or any witness is under the age of sixteen, the notice required by this section shall be sent to the parents or legal guardian of the child.

(4) The secretary shall send the notices required by this chapter to the last address provided to the department by the requesting party. The requesting party shall furnish the department with a current address.

(5)(a) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, at the earliest possible date, and in no event later than thirty days before discharge, parole, or any other authorized leave or release, or before transfer to a community residential facility, the secretary shall send written notice of the discharge, parole, authorized leave or release, or transfer of a juvenile found to have committed a violent offense, a sex offense, or stalking, to the following:

(i) The chief of police of the city, if any, in which the juvenile will reside;

(ii) The sheriff of the county in which the juvenile will reside; and

(b) The same notice as required by (a) of this subsection shall be sent to the following, if such notice has been requested in writing about a specific juvenile:

(i) The victim of the offense for which the juvenile was found to have committed or the victim's next of kin if the crime was a homicide;

(ii) Any witnesses who testified against the juvenile in any court proceedings involving the offense; and

(iii) Any person specified in writing by the prosecuting attorney.

(6) Upon discharge, parole, or other authorized leave or release, a convicted juvenile sex offender shall not attend a public elementary, middle, or high school that is attended by a victim of the sex offender. The parents or legal guardians of the convicted juvenile sex offender shall be responsible for transportation or other costs associated with or required by the sex offender's change in school that otherwise would be paid by a school district. Upon discharge, parole, or other authorized leave or release of a convicted juvenile sex offender, the secretary shall send written notice of the discharge, parole, or other authorized leave or release and the requirements of this subsection to the common school district board of directors of the district in which the sex offender intends to reside or the district in which the sex offender last attended school, whichever is appropriate.

((~~(6)~~)) (7) For purposes of this section the following terms have the following meanings:

(a) "Violent offense" means a violent offense under RCW 9.94A.030;

(b) "Sex offense" means a sex offense under RCW 9.94A.030;

(d) "Next of kin" means a person's spouse, parents, siblings, and children.

Sec. 3. RCW 13.40.217 and 1990 c 3 s 102 are each amended to read as follows:

In addition to any other information required to be released under this chapter, the department ((is)) and juvenile court are authorized, pursuant to RCW 4.24.550, to release relevant information that is necessary to protect the public concerning juveniles adjudicated of sex offenses.