AN ACT Relating to essential state community justice facilities; amending RCW 72.65.220, 72.05.400, 71.09.020, 36.70A.030, and 36.70A.200; adding new sections to chapter 71.09 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 72 RCW; creating a new section; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Departments" means the department of corrections and the department of social and health services.

(2) "Essential state community justice facility" means essential public facilities that are: (a) Community facilities as defined in RCW 72.05.020 and owned or operated by, or under contract with, the department of social and health services pursuant to chapter 72.05 RCW; (b) less restrictive alternative secure housing facilities as defined in RCW 71.09.020; and (c) work release or other community-based facilities owned or operated by, or under contract with, the department of corrections.

(3) "Essential public facility" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 36.70A.030.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) The departments shall make every effort to ensure that essential state community justice facilities are distributed equitably among the counties and, within each county, among each jurisdiction within the county and among all economic segments of the county, taking into account at least the following:

(a) The locations of existing essential state community justice facilities;

(b) The locations of other projected essential state community justice facilities;

(d) The number of adult and juvenile violent offenders under community custody, community placement, community supervision, or parole in the jurisdiction; and

(e) The number of adult and juvenile offenders sentenced or adjudicated in the jurisdiction.

(2) To carry out the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, the departments shall, no later than January 1, 2002, develop a mapping system to identify the locations of existing and projected essential state community justice facilities. The departments shall also maintain a joint list of the number of adult and juvenile offenders sentenced in each jurisdiction, the number of adult and juvenile registered sex offenders residing in each jurisdiction, and the number of adult and juvenile violent offenders under community custody, community placement, community supervision, or parole in each jurisdiction.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) Beginning on the effective date of this act, the department of corrections or the department of social and health services, or a private or public entity under contract with such department, may establish or relocate an essential state community justice facility only after meeting the requirements of this section.

(2) When the department of corrections or the department of social and health services, or a private or public entity under contract with such department, has selected three or fewer sites for final consideration for the location or relocation of an essential state community justice facility, the applicable department or contracting entity shall notify the public and conduct at least two public hearings in each of the local communities where such a facility may be sited.

(3) The public hearings required under subsection (2) of this section shall be conducted not less than ninety days before a final selection is made.

(4) To provide adequate notice of, and opportunity for interested persons to comment on, a proposed location, the applicable department or contracting entity shall provide a minimum of fourteen days' advance notice of the public hearings to at least the following:

(a) The affected counties, cities, and towns;

(b) Local government planning agencies in the affected communities;

(c) All newspapers of general circulation in the community and all radio and television stations generally available to persons in the community where the potential site is located;

(d) Appropriate school districts, private schools, kindergartens, institutions of higher education, city and county libraries, and all other local government offices within a one-half mile radius of each proposed site;

(e) The local chamber of commerce, local economic development agencies, and any other local organizations that request such notification from the department; and

(f) All residents and property owners within a one-half mile radius of the proposed site or sites, with such notification to be in writing.

(5) The notice required under subsection (4) of this section must also inform the public that any interested person or entity, including a local government entity, is invited to submit written comments regarding a proposed location, including comments regarding whether the department has complied with the requirements of section 2 of this act. Such comments must be submitted to the applicable department not later than forty-five days after notice is issued pursuant to subsection (4) of this section.

(6) The applicable department must consider the testimony received at the public hearings, as well as any written comments submitted, before making a final selection for the location or relocation of an essential state community justice facility. The department must issue a written decision stating the reasons for the final selection, including a statement as to how the final selection meets the requirements of section 2 of this act.

(7) An additional public hearing, following public notification, shall also be conducted in the local community where the final selection is located.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Any complaints or grievances concerning a violation of this chapter shall be adjudicated in accordance with the procedures set forth in chapter 34.05 RCW, the administrative procedure act. Judicial review of any final decision of the department is governed by the provisions of chapter 34.05 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Nothing in this chapter precludes a local government from requiring the departments to obtain a special use permit or conditional use permit before siting an essential state community justice facility.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Sections 1 through 5 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 72 RCW.

Sec. 7. RCW 72.65.220 and 1997 c 348 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The department or a private or public entity under contract with the department may establish or relocate for the operation of a work release or other community-based facility only after ((~~public notifications and local public meetings have been completed consistent with this section.~~

(2) The department and other state agencies responsible for siting department-owned, operated, or contracted facilities shall establish a process for early and continuous public participation in establishing or relocating work release or other community-based facilities. This process shall include public meetings in the local communities affected, opportunities for written and oral comments, and wide dissemination of proposals and alternatives, including at least the following:

(a) When the department or a private or public entity under contract with the department has selected three or fewer sites for final consideration of a department-owned, operated, or contracted work release or other community-based facility, the department or contracting organization shall make public notification and conduct public hearings in the local communities of the final three or fewer proposed sites. An additional public hearing after public notification shall also be conducted in the local community selected as the final proposed site.

~~(b) Notifications required under this section shall be provided to the following:~~

~~(i) All newspapers of general circulation in the local area and all local radio stations, television stations, and cable networks;~~

~~(ii) Appropriate school districts, private schools, kindergartens, city and county libraries, and all other local government offices within a one-half mile radius of the proposed site or sites;~~

~~(iii) The local chamber of commerce, local economic development agencies, and any other local organizations that request such notification from the department; and~~

~~(iv) In writing to all residents and/or property owners within a one-half mile radius of the proposed site or sites.~~

~~(3)~~)) meeting the requirements of chapter 72.-- RCW (sections 1 through 5 of this act).

(2) When the department contracts for the operation of a work release or other community-based facility that is not owned or operated by the department, the department shall require as part of its contract that the contracting entity comply with all the public notification and public hearing requirements ((~~as provided in this section for each located and relocated work release or other community-based facility~~)) of section 3 of this act.

Sec. 8. RCW 72.05.400 and 1998 c 269 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Whenever the department operates, or the secretary enters a contract to operate, a community facility, the community facility may be operated only after ((~~the public notification and opportunities for review and comment as required by this section.~~

(2) The secretary shall establish a process for early and continuous public participation in establishing or relocating community facilities. The process shall include, at a minimum, public meetings in the local communities affected, as well as opportunities for written and oral comments, in the following manner:

(a) If there are more than three sites initially selected as potential locations and the selection process by the secretary or a service provider reduces the number of possible sites for a community facility to no fewer than three, the secretary or the chief operating officer of the service provider shall notify the public of the possible siting and hold at least two public hearings in each community where a community facility may be sited.

(b) When the secretary or service provider has determined the community facility's location, the secretary or the chief operating officer of the service provider shall hold at least one additional public hearing in the community where the community facility will be sited.

~~(c) When the secretary has entered negotiations with a service provider and only one site is under consideration, then at least two public hearings shall be held.~~

(d) To provide adequate notice of, and opportunity for interested persons to comment on, a proposed location, the secretary or the chief operating officer of the service provider shall provide at least fourteen days' advance notice of the meeting to all newspapers of general circulation in the community, all radio and television stations generally available to persons in the community, any school district in which the community facility would be sited or whose boundary is within two miles of a proposed community facility, any library district in which the community facility would be sited, local business or fraternal organizations that request notification from the secretary or agency, and any person or property owner within a one-half mile radius of the proposed community facility. Before initiating this process, the department shall contact local government planning agencies in the communities containing the proposed community facility. The department shall coordinate with local government agencies to ensure that opportunities are provided for effective citizen input and to reduce the duplication of notice and meetings.

~~(3)~~)) meeting the requirements of chapter 72.-- RCW (sections 1 through 5 of this act).

(2) The secretary shall not issue a license to any service provider until the service provider submits proof that the requirements of ((~~this section~~)) section 3 of this act have been met.

((~~(4)~~)) (3) This section shall apply only to community facilities sited or relocated on or after ((~~September 1, 1998~~)) the effective date of this act.

Sec. 9. RCW 71.09.020 and 1995 c 216 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Sexually violent predator" means any person who has been convicted of or charged with a crime of sexual violence and who suffers from a mental abnormality or personality disorder which makes the person likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if not confined in a secure facility.

(2) "Mental abnormality" means a congenital or acquired condition affecting the emotional or volitional capacity which predisposes the person to the commission of criminal sexual acts in a degree constituting such person a menace to the health and safety of others.

(3) "Likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence" means that the person more probably than not will engage in such acts. Such likelihood must be evidenced by a recent overt act if the person is not totally confined at the time the petition is filed under RCW 71.09.030.

(4) "Predatory" means acts directed towards strangers or individuals with whom a relationship has been established or promoted for the primary purpose of victimization.

(5) "Recent overt act" means any act that has either caused harm of a sexually violent nature or creates a reasonable apprehension of such harm.

(6) "Sexually violent offense" means an act committed on, before, or after July 1, 1990, that is: (a) An act defined in Title 9A RCW as rape in the first degree, rape in the second degree by forcible compulsion, rape of a child in the first or second degree, statutory rape in the first or second degree, indecent liberties by forcible compulsion, indecent liberties against a child under age fourteen, incest against a child under age fourteen, or child molestation in the first or second degree; (b) a felony offense in effect at any time prior to July 1, 1990, that is comparable to a sexually violent offense as defined in (a) of this subsection, or any federal or out-of-state conviction for a felony offense that under the laws of this state would be a sexually violent offense as defined in this subsection; (c) an act of murder in the first or second degree, assault in the first or second degree, assault of a child in the first or second degree, kidnapping in the first or second degree, burglary in the first degree, residential burglary, or unlawful imprisonment, which act, either at the time of sentencing for the offense or subsequently during civil commitment proceedings pursuant to chapter 71.09 RCW, has been determined beyond a reasonable doubt to have been sexually motivated, as that term is defined in RCW 9.94A.030; or (d) an act as described in chapter 9A.28 RCW, that is an attempt, criminal solicitation, or criminal conspiracy to commit one of the felonies designated in (a), (b), or (c) of this subsection.

(7) "Less restrictive alternative" means court-ordered treatment in a setting less restrictive than total confinement.

(8) "Less restrictive alternative secure housing facility" means a facility owned and operated by the department of social and health services, or operated under contract with the department of social and health services, for the purpose of housing one to three persons who have been ordered conditionally released to a less restrictive alternative.

(9) "Secretary" means the secretary of social and health services or his or her designee.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. A new section is added to chapter 71.09 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The department or a private or public entity under contract with the department may establish or relocate a less restrictive alternative secure housing facility only after meeting the requirements of chapter 72.-- RCW (sections 1 through 5 of this act).

(2) When the department contracts for the operation of a less restrictive alternative secure housing facility that is not owned or operated by the department, the department shall require as part of its contract that the contracting entity comply with all the public notice and public hearing requirements of section 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. A new section is added to chapter 71.09 RCW to read as follows:

A less restrictive alternative secure housing facility shall meet the following minimum siting requirements:

(1) The housing unit shall be located within thirty miles of a city or town with a population of twenty-five thousand or more that has potential employment opportunities for residents of the housing unit, taking into consideration the unemployment rate for the area and the types of opportunities that would be unavailable to residents due to their criminal histories;

(2) The housing unit shall be located in an area in which a minimum of three full-time certified sex offender treatment providers, as defined in RCW 18.155.020, are available within a thirty-mile radius;

(3) The location of the housing unit shall enable:

(a) An average response time of five minutes or less by law enforcement officers who are qualified and designated to perform security response functions relative to the housing unit; and

(b) An average response time by fire safety and emergency medical personnel that is no longer than the average of the local community; and

(4) The property where the housing unit is located may not be within line of sight of, nor closer than one-quarter mile of, any of the following:

(a) Schools, including public schools, full-time private schools serving any of the grades K-12, and public or private institutions of higher education;

(b) School bus stops;

(d) Licensed child care homes and centers;

(e) Parks and publicly dedicated trails;

(f) Sports fields, playgrounds, and recreational and community centers; and

(g) Places of worship, including churches, mosques, synagogues, and temples.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. A new section is added to chapter 71.09 RCW to read as follows:

(1) A less restrictive alternative secure housing facility shall contain at least the following security measures:

(a) An installed household security or alarm system that alerts staff to any unauthorized movements into or outside of the housing unit, and that features a main control panel with a power supply, battery backup, and tamperproof switch;

(b) An interior siren for security and fire;

(d) Alarm-activated listening devices and camera systems.

(2) The housing facility shall be located in an area where a contractor is available to install, monitor, and repair the security devices specified in subsection (1) of this section.

(3) Whenever a resident of the housing facility is present on the premises, the housing unit shall maintain a staffing ratio of one staff person for each resident during the morning, afternoon, and evening hours when residents are typically awake, and two staff persons on duty during night hours when residents are typically asleep.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. A new section is added to chapter 71.09 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Upon initial release to a less restrictive alternative secure housing facility, a resident must:

(a) Wear an electronic monitoring or global positioning system device at all times; and

(b) Be escorted by staff of the housing facility or other court-authorized persons when leaving the premises of the housing facility, such escort to remain in close proximity to the resident and maintain close supervision of the resident at all times.

(2) Recognizing that residents must have the opportunity to improve and progress through treatment, the court may, after making a specific written finding that the resident has made significant progress in treatment, relax the requirements of this section to accomplish that purpose.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. A new section is added to chapter 71.09 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Staff of a less restrictive alternative secure housing facility shall meet the qualifications of state job classes residential rehabilitation counselor I, II, or III, as defined by the department, if the housing unit is operated directly by the department or, if the housing facility is operated under contract with the department, similar qualifications as required by the contract.

(2) Each staff person shall complete a department-approved training curriculum, including new employee orientation, and training regarding program and treatment requirements, prior to beginning work in a housing facility.

(3) Each staff person shall participate in ongoing in-service training programs provided by the department for housing facility staff.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. A new section is added to chapter 71.09 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The department may establish a less restrictive alternative secure housing facility housing more than three residents at one time only after receiving legislative approval of department-proposed criteria for the siting, securing, programming, and staffing of such a facility.

(2) If a facility housing more than three residents at one time is established pursuant to this section, any resident who was conditionally released in 2001 to a less restrictive alternative secure housing facility shall be transferred to such facility.

Sec. 16. RCW 36.70A.030 and 1997 c 429 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Adopt a comprehensive land use plan" means to enact a new comprehensive land use plan or to update an existing comprehensive land use plan.

(2) "Agricultural land" means land primarily devoted to the commercial production of horticultural, viticultural, floricultural, dairy, apiary, vegetable, or animal products or of berries, grain, hay, straw, turf, seed, Christmas trees not subject to the excise tax imposed by RCW 84.33.100 through 84.33.140, finfish in upland hatcheries, or livestock, and that has long-term commercial significance for agricultural production.

(3) "City" means any city or town, including a code city.

(4) "Comprehensive land use plan," "comprehensive plan," or "plan" means a generalized coordinated land use policy statement of the governing body of a county or city that is adopted pursuant to this chapter.

(5) "Critical areas" include the following areas and ecosystems: (a) Wetlands; (b) areas with a critical recharging effect on aquifers used for potable water; (c) fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas; (d) frequently flooded areas; and (e) geologically hazardous areas.

(6) "Department" means the department of community, trade, and economic development.

(7) "Development regulations" or "regulation" means the controls placed on development or land use activities by a county or city, including, but not limited to, zoning ordinances, critical areas ordinances, shoreline master programs, official controls, planned unit development ordinances, subdivision ordinances, and binding site plan ordinances together with any amendments thereto. A development regulation does not include a decision to approve a project permit application, as defined in RCW 36.70B.020, even though the decision may be expressed in a resolution or ordinance of the legislative body of the county or city.

(8) "Essential public facilities" means those facilities that are typically difficult to site, such as airports, state education facilities, state or regional transportation facilities as defined in RCW 47.06.140, state and local correctional facilities, essential state community justice facilities as defined in section 1 of this act, solid waste handling facilities, and in‑patient facilities including substance abuse facilities, mental health facilities, and group homes.

(9) "Forest land" means land primarily devoted to growing trees for long-term commercial timber production on land that can be economically and practically managed for such production, including Christmas trees subject to the excise tax imposed under RCW 84.33.100 through 84.33.140, and that has long-term commercial significance. In determining whether forest land is primarily devoted to growing trees for long-term commercial timber production on land that can be economically and practically managed for such production, the following factors shall be considered: (a) The proximity of the land to urban, suburban, and rural settlements; (b) surrounding parcel size and the compatibility and intensity of adjacent and nearby land uses; (c) long-term local economic conditions that affect the ability to manage for timber production; and (d) the availability of public facilities and services conducive to conversion of forest land to other uses.

((~~(9)~~)) (10) "Geologically hazardous areas" means areas that because of their susceptibility to erosion, sliding, earthquake, or other geological events, are not suited to the siting of commercial, residential, or industrial development consistent with public health or safety concerns.

((~~(10)~~)) (11) "Long-term commercial significance" includes the growing capacity, productivity, and soil composition of the land for long-term commercial production, in consideration with the land's proximity to population areas, and the possibility of more intense uses of the land.

((~~(11)~~)) (12) "Minerals" include gravel, sand, and valuable metallic substances.

((~~(12)~~)) (13) "Public facilities" include streets, roads, highways, sidewalks, street and road lighting systems, traffic signals, domestic water systems, storm and sanitary sewer systems, parks and recreational facilities, and schools.

((~~(13)~~)) (14) "Public services" include fire protection and suppression, law enforcement, public health, education, recreation, environmental protection, and other governmental services.

((~~(14)~~)) (15) "Rural character" refers to the patterns of land use and development established by a county in the rural element of its comprehensive plan:

(a) In which open space, the natural landscape, and vegetation predominate over the built environment;

(b) That foster traditional rural lifestyles, rural-based economies, and opportunities to both live and work in rural areas;

(d) That are compatible with the use of the land by wildlife and for fish and wildlife habitat;

(e) That reduce the inappropriate conversion of undeveloped land into sprawling, low‑density development;

(f) That generally do not require the extension of urban governmental services; and

(g) That are consistent with the protection of natural surface water flows and ground water and surface water recharge and discharge areas.

((~~(15)~~)) (16) "Rural development" refers to development outside the urban growth area and outside agricultural, forest, and mineral resource lands designated pursuant to RCW 36.70A.170. Rural development can consist of a variety of uses and residential densities, including clustered residential development, at levels that are consistent with the preservation of rural character and the requirements of the rural element. Rural development does not refer to agriculture or forestry activities that may be conducted in rural areas.

((~~(16)~~)) (17) "Rural governmental services" or "rural services" include those public services and public facilities historically and typically delivered at an intensity usually found in rural areas, and may include domestic water systems, fire and police protection services, transportation and public transit services, and other public utilities associated with rural development and normally not associated with urban areas. Rural services do not include storm or sanitary sewers, except as otherwise authorized by RCW 36.70A.110(4).

((~~(17)~~)) (18) "Urban growth" refers to growth that makes intensive use of land for the location of buildings, structures, and impermeable surfaces to such a degree as to be incompatible with the primary use of land for the production of food, other agricultural products, or fiber, or the extraction of mineral resources, rural uses, rural development, and natural resource lands designated pursuant to RCW 36.70A.170. A pattern of more intensive rural development, as provided in RCW 36.70A.070(5)(d), is not urban growth. When allowed to spread over wide areas, urban growth typically requires urban governmental services. "Characterized by urban growth" refers to land having urban growth located on it, or to land located in relationship to an area with urban growth on it as to be appropriate for urban growth.

((~~(18)~~)) (19) "Urban growth areas" means those areas designated by a county pursuant to RCW 36.70A.110.

((~~(19)~~)) (20) "Urban governmental services" or "urban services" include those public services and public facilities at an intensity historically and typically provided in cities, specifically including storm and sanitary sewer systems, domestic water systems, street cleaning services, fire and police protection services, public transit services, and other public utilities associated with urban areas and normally not associated with rural areas.

((~~(20)~~)) (21) "Wetland" or "wetlands" means areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. Wetlands do not include those artificial wetlands intentionally created from nonwetland sites, including, but not limited to, irrigation and drainage ditches, grass-lined swales, canals, detention facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, farm ponds, and landscape amenities, or those wetlands created after July 1, 1990, that were unintentionally created as a result of the construction of a road, street, or highway. Wetlands may include those artificial wetlands intentionally created from nonwetland areas created to mitigate conversion of wetlands.

Sec. 17. RCW 36.70A.200 and 1998 c 171 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The comprehensive plan of each county and city that is planning under this chapter shall include a process for identifying and siting essential public facilities. ((Essential public facilities include those facilities that are typically difficult to site, such as airports, state education facilities and state or regional transportation facilities as defined in RCW 47.06.140, state and local correctional facilities, solid waste handling facilities, and in-patient facilities including substance abuse facilities, mental health facilities, and group homes.))

(2) The office of financial management shall maintain a list of those essential state public facilities that are required or likely to be built within the next six years. The office of financial management may at any time add facilities to the list.

(3) No local comprehensive plan or development regulation may preclude the siting of essential public facilities, including essential state community justice facilities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. 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.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 19. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 20. If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 2001, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.