[atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to failure to appear and failure to pay financial obligations in courts of limited jurisdiction; amending RCW 7.80.070, 7.80.080, and 7.84.060; adding a new section to chapter 3.02 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. Having considered the effect of current state law that authorizes the filing of separate charges for failure to appear for a court hearing and the difficulty courts have in obtaining court-imposed financial obligations from probationers, the legislature finds:

(1) A significant number of persons booked into jail have failed to pay court-imposed financial obligations;

(2) Persons arrested on warrant for failure to pay financial obligations are often ordered to serve jail time in lieu of paying those obligations, but that result serves less as a deterrent than it does as a convenient way for violators to satisfy financial obligations at the expense of the system, which not only goes unpaid for the moneys owed, but also must pay additionally to house those who are ordered to serve out financial obligations;

(3) Under RCW 7.84.060, failure to respond to a notice of infraction as promised to appear and failure to appear at a requested hearing on an infraction may be charged as a misdemeanor, but that scheme often results in persons' accruing a series of failure to appear charges without any resolution that benefits the court;

(4) Failure to appear charges tend to tax the limited resources of courts of limited jurisdiction, prosecutors, police, and corrections departments;

(5) Under RCW 3.02.045, courts of limited jurisdiction may use collection agencies to collect unpaid court-imposed financial obligations on infractions and criminal cases;

(6) Significant savings of resources may be achieved when persons fail to appear for hearings on infractions, or when probationers fail to pay fines in cases not involving violence or driving under the influence, if courts merely impose maximum fines and forward the obligations to collection agencies.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 3.02 RCW to read as follows:

The power of courts of limited jurisdiction, under RCW 2.28.010(4), to compel obedience to judgments, decrees, orders, and process, are limited as follows:

(1) A court of limited jurisdiction shall not allow a probationer to serve jail time in lieu of a financial obligation.

(2) A court of limited jurisdiction dealing with a probationer who has failed to pay financial obligations, in a case not involving violence or driving under the influence, shall impose the maximum fine and turn the matter over to a collection agency as provided under RCW 3.02.045.

Sec. 3. RCW 7.80.070 and 1987 c 456 s 15 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) A notice of civil infraction represents a determination that a civil infraction has been committed. The determination is final unless contested as provided in this chapter.

(2) The form for the notice of civil infraction shall be prescribed by rule of the supreme court and shall include the following:

(a) A statement that the notice represents a determination that a civil infraction has been committed by the person named in the notice and that the determination is final unless contested as provided in this chapter;

(b) A statement that a civil infraction is a noncriminal offense for which imprisonment may not be imposed as a sanction;

(d) A statement of the monetary penalty established for the civil infraction;

(e) A statement of the options provided in this chapter for responding to the notice and the procedures necessary to exercise these options;

(f) A statement that at any hearing to contest the determination the state has the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the civil infraction was committed and that the person may subpoena witnesses including the enforcement officer who issued the notice of civil infraction;

(g) A statement that at any hearing requested for the purpose of explaining mitigating circumstances surrounding the commission of the civil infraction, the person will be deemed to have committed the civil infraction and may not subpoena witnesses;

(h) A statement that the person must respond to the notice as provided in this chapter within fifteen days;

(i) A statement that failure to respond to the notice or a failure to appear at a hearing requested for the purpose of contesting the determination or for the purpose of explaining mitigating circumstances will result in a default judgment against the person in the amount of the penalty and that this failure may be referred to the prosecuting attorney for criminal prosecution for failure to respond or appear;

(j) A statement, which the person shall sign, that the person promises to respond to the notice of civil infraction in one of the ways provided in this chapter((;

~~(k) A statement that failure to respond to a notice of civil infraction as promised or to appear at a requested hearing is a misdemeanor and may be punished by a fine or imprisonment in jail~~)).

Sec. 4. RCW 7.80.080 and 1987 c 456 s 16 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Any person who receives a notice of civil infraction shall respond to such notice as provided in this section within fifteen days of the date of the notice.

(2) If the person determined to have committed the civil infraction does not contest the determination, the person shall respond by completing the appropriate portion of the notice of civil infraction and submitting it, either by mail or in person, to the court specified on the notice. A check or money order in the amount of the penalty prescribed for the civil infraction must be submitted with the response. The clerk of a court may accept cash in payment for an infraction. When a response which does not contest the determination is received, an appropriate order shall be entered in the court's records.

(3) If the person determined to have committed the civil infraction wishes to contest the determination, the person shall respond by completing the portion of the notice of civil infraction requesting a hearing and submitting it, either by mail or in person, to the court specified on the notice. The court shall notify the person in writing of the time, place, and date of the hearing, and that date shall not be earlier than seven days nor more than ninety days from the date of the notice of hearing, except by agreement.

(4) If the person determined to have committed the civil infraction does not contest the determination but wishes to explain mitigating circumstances surrounding the infraction, the person shall respond by completing the portion of the notice of civil infraction requesting a hearing for that purpose and submitting it, either by mail or in person, to the court specified on the notice. The court shall notify the person in writing of the time, place, and date of the hearing, and that date shall not be earlier than seven days nor more than ninety days from the date of the notice of hearing, except by agreement.

(5) The court shall enter a default judgment assessing the monetary penalty prescribed for the civil infraction ((~~and may notify the prosecuting attorney of the failure to respond to the notice of civil infraction or to appear at a requested hearing if any person issued a notice of civil infraction:~~

~~(a) Fails to respond to the notice of civil infraction as provided in subsection (2) of this section; or~~

~~(b) Fails to appear at a hearing requested pursuant to subsection (3) or (4) of this section~~)).

Sec. 5. RCW 7.84.060 and 1987 c 380 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Any person who receives a notice of infraction shall respond to such notice as provided in this section within fifteen days of the date of the notice.

(2) If the person determined to have committed the infraction does not contest the determination, the person shall respond by completing the appropriate portion of the notice of infraction and submitting it, either by mail or in person, to the court specified on the notice. A check or money order in the amount of the penalty prescribed for the infraction shall be submitted with the response. When a response which does not contest the determination is received, an appropriate order shall be entered in the court's records.

(3) If the person determined to have committed the infraction wishes to contest the determination, the person shall respond by completing the portion of the notice of infraction requesting a hearing and submitting it, either by mail or in person, to the court specified on the notice. The court shall notify the person in writing of the time, place, and date of the hearing, and that date shall not be sooner than seven days from the date of the notice, except by agreement.

(4) If the person determined to have committed the infraction does not contest the determination but wishes to explain mitigating circumstances surrounding the infraction, the person shall respond by completing the portion of the notice of infraction requesting a hearing for that purpose and submitting it, either by mail or in person, to the court specified on the notice. The court shall notify the person in writing of the time, place, and date of the hearing.

(5) If any person issued a notice of infraction: (a) Fails to respond to the notice of infraction as provided in subsection (2) of this section, or (b) fails to appear at a hearing requested pursuant to subsection (3) or (4) of this section, the court shall enter an appropriate order assessing the monetary penalty prescribed for the infraction and any other penalty authorized by this chapter. ((In addition, failure to respond to a notice of infraction, as required by this chapter, and failure to appear at a hearing requested pursuant to subsection (3) or (4) of this section are each punishable as a misdemeanor under chapter 9A.20 RCW.))