BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to curfews; creating new sections; and prescribing penalties.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature recognizes the concern in some communities over the incidence of criminal activity in public places by and against minors during nighttime hours. The legislature finds that in communities suffering such criminal activity, it may be an appropriate exercise of community police power to restrict the hours during which minors may be in public places without adult supervision or authorization. The legislature intends to provide communities with a model curfew ordinance designed to reduce criminal activity by and against minors. The legislature also intends to provide communities adopting that ordinance with legal assistance in defending the ordinance against constitutional challenges.

(2) The governing authority of a county, city, or town may adopt an ordinance substantially the same as the model curfew ordinance provided for in section 2 of this act, applicable to all or part of the geographic area of the jurisdiction. Before adopting the ordinance, the governing authority must establish the need for the ordinance in the area to be affected by making the following findings:

(a) The incidence of nighttime criminal activity by or against minors is disproportionately high within the area in question:

(i) Compared to the rest of the jurisdiction in cases involving less than all of the jurisdiction; and

(ii) Compared to the incidence of criminal activity by or against minors during nonnighttime hours;

(b) The incidence of nighttime criminal activity by or against minors represents a substantial threat to the safety of minors in particular or to the safety of the public in general within the area in question; and

(c) A curfew is a necessary element of an effective plan to reduce the incidence of criminal activity by or against minors within the area in question.

(3) A governing authority that adopts a curfew ordinance under this section shall review the ordinance not more than one hundred eighty days following its effective date, and periodically thereafter. The governing authority shall use each review to decide whether the curfew should be continued, modified, or terminated. During each review, that governing authority shall determine whether:

(a) Imposition of the curfew has reduced the incidence of criminal activity committed by or against minors; and

(b) Continuation of the curfew is a necessary element in an effective plan to reduce the incidence of such criminal activity further or to prevent it from returning to previous levels.

(4) Nothing in this act limits or alters the existing authority of counties, cities, or towns to enact curfew ordinances.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. With respect to a geographic area identified pursuant to section 1 of this act, a local governing authority that wishes to be eligible for possible assistance under section 3 of this act may adopt an ordinance to read substantially as follows:

(1) For purposes of this section:

(a) "Emergency situation" means, but is not limited to, a fire, natural disaster, automobile crash or accident, or the need to obtain immediate medical care for a minor or a member of a minor's immediate family.

(b) "Minor" means a person under the age of eighteen.

(c) "Public place" means any sidewalk, street, parking lot, alley, highway, park, or other public place, or a vehicle that is in a public place.

(2) No minor may be in a public place during nighttime curfew hours of . . . to . . ., on [all or prescribed nights of the week], unless:

(a) The minor is accompanied by a parent, a legal guardian, or a person twenty-one years of age or older who is authorized by the minor's parent or legal guardian to accompany the minor;

(b) The minor possesses and presents a written permission slip signed by the parent or guardian authorizing the minor to be in the public place during the hours of curfew and specifying the date, time, and location for which authorization is given;

(c) The minor is at or traveling by direct route to or from a religious activity, a political activity, or an event sponsored by a school;

(d) The minor is engaged in a constitutionally protected expressive activity, including but not limited to study groups, vigils, and protests;

(e) The minor is at or is traveling by direct route to or from his or her place of lawful employment; or

(f) The minor is involved in an emergency situation.

(3) A law enforcement officer may stop and detain a person the officer reasonably believes is a minor violating this section in order to obtain that person's name and age and the address of that person's parent or legal guardian.

(4) This curfew applies to any public place in [all or specified parts of the jurisdiction].

(5) A violation of subsection (2) of this section is a class 4 civil infraction under chapter 7.80 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. In the course of responding to a legal challenge to a curfew ordinance adopted by a local jurisdiction, the legislative authority of the jurisdiction may request that the state assume some or all of the obligation to defend the constitutionality of the ordinance. The attorney general shall grant the request if the attorney general finds that the ordinance was adopted in compliance with the provisions of section 1 of this act and in substantially the form provided in section 2 of this act. Nothing in this act creates state liability for actions of a local jurisdiction in adopting or enforcing an ordinance. This section applies to ordinances adopted on, before, or after the effective date of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. If by June 30, 1998, the omnibus appropriations act does not provide specific funding for this act, referencing this act by bill number, this act is null and void.