BILL REQ. #:  H-4173.1 

Read first time 01/21/2004.   Referred to Committee on Criminal Justice & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to selecting the locations for community corrections field offices operated by the department of corrections; and adding a new section to chapter 72.09 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 72.09 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) When selecting a location for a field office to be used by community corrections officers, the department must perform an analysis of the surrounding area. The analysis must identify the following types of facilities located within a three-mile radius of each proposed location:
     (a) Local jails;
     (b) State mental hospitals;
     (c) Secure community transition facilities; and
     (d) Any facility operated by the department or the department of social and health services that is used to house five or more adult or juvenile offenders who are in the custody of, or being supervised in the community by, the state. Such a facility includes, but is not limited to, a prison, a facility operated by the juvenile rehabilitation administration of the department of social and health services, a group home, a prerelease facility, and a work release facility.
     (2) The department shall refrain from locating a field office to be used by community corrections officers within one mile of any facility listed in subsection (1)(a) through (d) of this section unless to do so is necessary to preserve public safety.
     (3)(a) Once a final site for a field office has been selected under this section, the department shall conduct a public hearing in the community where the office will be located.
     (b) To provide adequate notice of, and opportunity for interested persons to comment on, a proposed location, the department shall provide at least fourteen days' advance notice of the meeting to:
     (i) All newspapers of general circulation in the community;
     (ii) All radio and television stations generally available to persons in the community;
     (iii) Any school district in which the proposed field office would be located or whose boundary is within two miles of the proposed field office;
     (iv) Any library district in which the proposed field office would be located;
     (v) Local business or fraternal organizations that request notification from the department; and
     (vi) Any resident or property owner within a one-half mile radius of the proposed field office.
     (4) This section does not apply to locations for field offices selected before the effective date of this act.