HOUSE BILL REPORT

HB 1791

As Reported by House Committee On:

Human Services

Title: An act relating to clarifying certain community custody and drug offender sentencing alternative sentencing provisions.

Brief Description: Clarifying certain community custody and drug offender sentencing alternative sentencing provisions.

Sponsors: Representatives Dickerson, O'Brien, Hurst, Green, Dammeier, Morrell, Orwall, Walsh and Wood; by request of Department of Corrections.

Brief History:

Committee Activity:

Human Services: 2/9/09, 2/16/09 [DPS].

Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass. Signed by 8 members: Representatives Dickerson, Chair; Orwall, Vice Chair; Dammeier, Ranking Minority Member; Green, Klippert, Morrell, O'Brien and Walsh.

Staff: Linda Merelle (786-7092)

Background:

Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative.

If a defendant is charged with an offense under the Violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act (VUCSA) or any other felony and the court finds that the offender has a chemical dependency that contributed to the crime, the offender may be eligible for and move the court for a Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative (DOSA), if the following criteria are met:

• the standard sentence range for the offense is more than one year;

• the offender has not previously received a DOSA more than once in the last ten years;

• no prior sex offenses and the current offense is not a sex offense;

• the current offense is not violent and no prior violent offenses in the past ten years;

• the current offense is not a felony offense of driving under the influence (DUI) or physical control (a DUI or physical control becomes a felony if the offender has four or more prior offenses within the past 10 years or if the defendant has a prior conviction of vehicular homicide or vehicular assault as a result of driving under the influence of alcohol);

• no deadly weapon or firearms enhancement applies to the current offense;

• the defendant is not subject to a federal immigration detainer or deportation order; and

• the offense involved a small amount of drugs as determined by the court.

The Court must consider four factors in its determination of whether a DOSA is appropriate for the offender:

• whether the offender suffers from a drug addiction;

• whether that addiction makes it probable that criminal behavior will occur in the future;

• whether effective treatment for that addiction is available; and

• whether the offender and the community will benefit from the sentencing alternative.

If the court imposes a DOSA instead of the sentence range, the sentence shall consist of either a prison-based alternative or a residential chemical dependency treatment-based alternative. If the offender is sentenced to a prison-based alternative, he or she must spend a period of total confinement in a state facility equal to one-half the midpoint of the standard range, or 12 months, whichever is greater. For example, if the standard sentence range is 13 - 17 months, the midpoint of the standard range would be 15 months. One-half of the midpoint would be 7.5 months. Under a prison-based DOSA, the offender would be required to serve 12 months in total confinement. The offender would be placed on community custody for the "remainder of the midpoint."

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Summary of Substitute Bill:

Community Custody for Prison-Based DOSA.

Upon completion of a term of one-half of the midpoint or 12 months (whichever is greater) in total confinement, the offender must serve one-half of the midpoint of the standard range as a term of community custody. This clarifies how much time the offender must actually serve under community custody.

Community Custody for Exceptional Sentence for Unranked Offenses.

A term of community custody is established for an unranked felony offense for which there has not been an established standard sentence range, and for which the court has imposed a sentence that exceeds 12 months based upon a finding that such an exceptional sentence is justified pursuant to special allegations that have been pled and proven.

Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill:

The substitute bill clarifies that the judges do not need to order assessments for offenders who will receive the prison-based Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative. Because fewer offenders will take part in residential-based treatment, fewer assessments will be necessary. For offenders who will participate in residential-based programs, the treatment facility where the offender is housed must provide the court with a treatment plan within 30 days of the offender's arrival. The substitute bill also contains provisions that allow the Department of Corrections to impose sanctions under the community custody statutes.

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Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Effective Date of Substitute Bill: The bill takes effect on August 1, 2009.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(In support) The current language regarding the length of the period of community custody when an offender was sentenced to a DOSA was causing difficulty in the court, so the language was changed to clarify the provision. Currently, the court orders an examination for all offenders who are considered for a DOSA irrespective of whether their participation in treatment will be prison-based or in a residential facility. Most offenders are serving their DOSA in prison-based treatment. The only time that an assessment is necessary is when the court is considering residential-based treatment.

(Opposed) None.

Persons Testifying: Patty Noble-Desy and Armando Mendoz, Department of Corrections.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.