2952

AN ACT Relating to increasing penalties for crimes against family or household members; amending RCW 9A.36.050, 9A.36.070, 9A.46.110, 9A.52.070, 9A.48.090, 26.09.300, and 26.50.110; and prescribing penalties.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 9A.36.050 and 1989 c 271 s 110 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) A person is guilty of reckless endangerment in the second degree when he recklessly engages in conduct not amounting to reckless endangerment in the first degree but which creates a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury to another person.

(2) Reckless endangerment in the second degree is a gross misdemeanor unless the person commits the crime against a family or household member as defined in RCW 10.99.020, in which case it is a class C felony.

Sec. 2. RCW 9A.36.070 and 1975 1st ex.s. c 260 s 9A.36.070 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) A person is guilty of coercion if by use of a threat he compels or induces a person to engage in conduct which the latter has a legal right to abstain from, or to abstain from conduct which he has a legal right to engage in.

(2) "Threat" as used in this section means:

(a) To communicate, directly or indirectly, the intent immediately to use force against any person who is present at the time; or

(b) Threats as defined in RCW 9A.04.110(25)(a), (b), or (c).

(3) Coercion is a gross misdemeanor unless the person commits the crime against a family or household member as defined in RCW 10.99.020, in which case it is a class C felony.

Sec. 3. RCW 9A.46.110 and 1994 c 271 s 801 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) A person commits the crime of stalking if, without lawful authority and under circumstances not amounting to a felony attempt of another crime:

(a) He or she intentionally and repeatedly harasses or repeatedly follows another person; and

(b) The person being harassed or followed is placed in fear that the stalker intends to injure the person, another person, or property of the person or of another person. The feeling of fear must be one that a reasonable person in the same situation would experience under all the circumstances; and

(i) Intends to frighten, intimidate, or harass the person; or

(ii) Knows or reasonably should know that the person is afraid, intimidated, or harassed even if the stalker did not intend to place the person in fear or intimidate or harass the person.

(2)(a) It is not a defense to the crime of stalking under subsection (1)(c)(i) of this section that the stalker was not given actual notice that the person did not want the stalker to contact or follow the person; and

(b) It is not a defense to the crime of stalking under subsection (1)(c)(ii) of this section that the stalker did not intend to frighten, intimidate, or harass the person.

(3) It shall be a defense to the crime of stalking that the defendant is a licensed private ((~~detective~~)) investigator acting within the capacity of his or her license as provided by chapter 18.165 RCW.

(4) Attempts to contact or follow the person after being given actual notice that the person does not want to be contacted or followed constitutes prima facie evidence that the stalker intends to intimidate or harass the person.

(5) A person who stalks another person is guilty of a gross misdemeanor except that the person is guilty of a class C felony if any of the following applies: (a) The stalker has previously been convicted in this state or any other state of any crime of harassment, as defined in RCW 9A.46.060, of the same victim or members of the victim's family or household or any person specifically named in a protective order; (b) the stalking violates any protective order protecting the person being stalked; (c) the stalker has previously been convicted of a gross misdemeanor or felony stalking offense under this section for stalking another person; (d) the stalker was armed with a deadly weapon, as defined in RCW 9.94A.125, while stalking the person; (e) the stalker's victim is or was a law enforcement officer, judge, juror, attorney, victim advocate, legislator, or community correction's officer, and the stalker stalked the victim to retaliate against the victim for an act the victim performed during the course of official duties or to influence the victim's performance of official duties; ((or)) (f) the stalker's victim is a current, former, or prospective witness in an adjudicative proceeding, and the stalker stalked the victim to retaliate against the victim as a result of the victim's testimony or potential testimony; or (g) the stalker's victim is a family or household member as defined in RCW 10.99.020.

(6) As used in this section:

(a) "Follows" means deliberately maintaining visual or physical proximity to a specific person over a period of time. A finding that the alleged stalker repeatedly and deliberately appears at the person's home, school, place of employment, business, or any other location to maintain visual or physical proximity to the person is sufficient to find that the alleged stalker follows the person. It is not necessary to establish that the alleged stalker follows the person while in transit from one location to another.

(b) "Harasses" means unlawful harassment as defined in RCW 10.14.020.

(c) "Protective order" means any temporary or permanent court order prohibiting or limiting violence against, harassment of, contact or communication with, or physical proximity to another person.

(d) "Repeatedly" means on two or more separate occasions.

Sec. 4. RCW 9A.52.070 and 1979 ex.s. c 244 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) A person is guilty of criminal trespass in the first degree if he knowingly enters or remains unlawfully in a building.

(2) Criminal trespass in the first degree is a gross misdemeanor unless the person commits the crime against a family or household member as defined in RCW 10.99.020, in which case it is a class C felony.

Sec. 5. RCW 9A.48.090 and 1975 1st ex.s. c 260 s 9A.48.090 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) A person is guilty of malicious mischief in the third degree if he knowingly and maliciously causes physical damage to the property of another, under circumstances not amounting to malicious mischief in the first or second degree.

(2) Malicious mischief in the third degree is a class C felony if the person commits the crime against a family or household member as defined in RCW 10.99.020 regardless of the cost of the damage to the property. If the crime is not committed against a family or household member malicious mischief in the third degree is a gross misdemeanor if the damage to the property is in an amount exceeding fifty dollars; otherwise, it is a misdemeanor.

Sec. 6. RCW 26.09.300 and 1995 c 246 s 27 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Whenever a restraining order is issued under this chapter, and the person to be restrained knows of the order, a violation of the provisions restricting the person from acts or threats of violence or of a provision excluding the person from the residence, workplace, school, or day care of another is a ((~~misdemeanor~~)) class C felony punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW.

(2) A person is deemed to have notice of a restraining order if:

(a) The person to be restrained or the person's attorney signed the order;

(b) The order recites that the person to be restrained or the person's attorney appeared in person before the court;

(d) The peace officer gives the person oral or written evidence of the order by reading from it or handing to the person a certified copy of the original order, certified to be an accurate copy of the original by a notary public or by the clerk of the court.

(3) A peace officer shall verify the existence of a restraining order by:

(a) Obtaining information confirming the existence and terms of the order from a law enforcement agency; or

(b) Obtaining a certified copy of the order, certified to be an accurate copy of the original by a notary public or by the clerk of the court.

(4) A peace officer shall arrest and take into custody, pending release on bail, personal recognizance, or court order, a person without a warrant when the officer has probable cause to believe that:

(a) A restraining order has been issued under this chapter;

(b) The respondent or person to be restrained knows of the order; and

(c) The person to be arrested has violated the terms of the order restraining the person from acts or threats of violence or excluding the person from the residence.

(5) It is a defense to prosecution under subsection (1) of this section that the court order was issued contrary to law or court rule.

(6) No peace officer may be held criminally or civilly liable for making an arrest under subsection (4) of this section if the officer acts in good faith and without malice.

Sec. 7. RCW 26.50.110 and 1995 c 246 s 14 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Whenever an order for protection is granted under this chapter and the respondent or person to be restrained knows of the order, a violation of the restraint provisions or of a provision excluding the person from a residence, workplace, school, or day care is a ((~~gross misdemeanor~~)) class C felony. Upon conviction, and in addition to any other penalties provided by law, the court may require that the respondent submit to electronic monitoring. The court shall specify who shall provide the electronic monitoring services, and the terms under which the monitoring shall be performed. The order also may include a requirement that the respondent pay the costs of the monitoring. The court shall consider the ability of the convicted person to pay for electronic monitoring.

(2) A peace officer shall arrest without a warrant and take into custody a person whom the peace officer has probable cause to believe has violated an order issued under this chapter that restrains the person or excludes the person from a residence, workplace, school, or day care, if the person restrained knows of the order. Presence of the order in the law enforcement computer-based criminal intelligence information system is not the only means of establishing knowledge of the order.

(3) A violation of an order for protection shall also constitute contempt of court, and is subject to the penalties prescribed by law.

(4) ((Any assault that is a violation of an order issued under this chapter and that does not amount to assault in the first or second degree under RCW 9A.36.011 or 9A.36.021 is a class C felony, and any conduct in violation of a protective order issued under this chapter that is reckless and creates a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury to another person is a class C felony.

~~(5)~~)) Upon the filing of an affidavit by the petitioner or any peace officer alleging that the respondent has violated an order for protection granted under this chapter, the court may issue an order to the respondent, requiring the respondent to appear and show cause within fourteen days why the respondent should not be found in contempt of court and punished accordingly. The hearing may be held in the court of any county or municipality in which the petitioner or respondent temporarily or permanently resides at the time of the alleged violation.