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SENATE BILL 6243
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AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
Passed Legislature - 1996 Regular Session
State of Washington 54th Legislature 1996
Regular Session
By
Read first time 01/09/96.
Referred to Committee on Human Services & Corrections.
Prohibiting
state funding of organ transplants for offenders sentenced to death.
AN
ACT Relating to health care services for offenders sentenced to death; adding a
new section to chapter 72.10 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 1. The
legislature finds a fundamental difference between providing certain health
care services to inmates who are under a sentence of death or whose death
sentence is under appellate review and providing such services to inmates who
have been sentenced to life or to a lesser term. The people of Washington
state should not be required to provide or pay for health care services not
otherwise constitutionally required for inmates who are under a sentence of
death or whose death sentence is under appellate review.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 2. A new
section is added to chapter 72.10 RCW to read as follows:
(l)
For an inmate who is under a sentence of death or whose
death
sentence is under appellate review, the department may provide basic, non‑emergency
health care services, including administration of medication necessary for pain
relief or to prevent infection or contagion, but shall not use any public funds
to provide a life‑saving health care procedure. The department may,
however, provide procedures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the Heimlich
maneuver, and other similar, basic emergency life-saving procedures.
(2)
For purposes of this section, the term "life‑saving health care
procedure" means a medical or surgical treatment or intervention to
sustain, restore, or replace a bodily function, where failure to perform the
treatment or intervention may result in the inmate's death. This term includes,
but is not limited to, open‑heart surgery, organ transplants, bone marrow
transplants, and chemotherapy.
(3)
The inmate shall be responsible for the costs of any health care services
obtained or provided unless the provision of the health care service is
otherwise required by law as determined to be binding upon the state of Washington
by a court of competent jurisdiction. Under the authority granted under RCW
72.01.050(2), the secretary shall direct the superintendent to collect the
amount due directly from the offender's institution account. If the balance of
the account is insufficient to meet the costs of the health care services
provided, the department may obtain a judgment and may obtain a lien on any
real property owned by the offender. The inmate shall be provided due process
to defend against the lien before the department may enforce the judgment
against any real property owned by the inmate.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 3. If any
provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held
invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other
persons or circumstances is not affected.
