| Washington State House of Representatives Office of Program Research |
BILL ANALYSIS |
| Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness Committee | |
HB 2503
This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in
their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a
statement of legislative intent.
Brief Description: Concerning classification of an offender's risk level.
Sponsors: Representatives O'Brien, Morrell, Liias, Hurst, VanDeWege, Barlow, Kelley and Simpson.
Brief Summary of Bill |
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Hearing Date: 1/23/08
Staff: Jim Morishima (786-7191).
Background:
Under the Community Protection Act of 1990, a sex and kidnapping offender must register with
the county sheriff of the county in which he or she resides. This requirement also applies to
offenders convicted of sex and kidnapping offenses in other states who subsequently move to
Washington. An offender must provide a variety of information upon registration including
name, complete residential address, date and place of birth, place of employment, crime of
conviction, date and place of conviction, aliases, Social Security number, photograph, and
fingerprints.
Law enforcement agencies are authorized to release information regarding registered sex
offenders based on the offenders' risk level. For example, for a risk level I offender (evaluated
as presenting the least amount of risk to the larger community), a law enforcement agency may
only disclose the offender's information to specified persons and entities; e.g., schools, victims,
and witnesses. For a risk level III offender (evaluated as presenting the largest amount of risk to
the larger community), a law enforcement agency may disclose the offender's information to the
public at large.
Offenders who serve terms of confinement in state facilities are initially classified by the
Department of Corrections' End of Sentence Review Committee and may be re-classified by
local law enforcement agencies. Offenders who do not serve terms of confinement in state
facilities, including offenders from other states, are classified by local law enforcement agencies.
Summary of Bill:
When a local law enforcement agency is unable to classify an offender from out-of-state due to
insufficient information, the local law enforcement agency must initially classify the offender at
risk level II.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on January 16, 2008.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.