BILL REQ. #:  H-1460.1 

Read first time 02/03/09.   Referred to Committee on Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness.

     AN ACT Relating to county supervised community options for offenders with a standard sentence range under one year; amending RCW 9.94A.500; and adding a new section to chapter 9.94A RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 9.94A RCW to read as follows:
     (1) An offender is eligible for a county supervised community option if:
     (a) The offender is convicted of a felony that is not a violent offense or sex offense and the violation does not involve a sentence enhancement under RCW 9.94A.533 (3) or (4);
     (b) The offender is convicted of a felony that is not a felony driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug under RCW 46.61.502(6) or felony physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug under RCW 46.61.504(6);
     (c) The offender has no current or prior convictions for a sex offense at any time or violent offense within ten years before conviction of the current offense in this state, another state, or the United States;
     (d) For a violation of the uniform controlled substances act under chapter 69.50 RCW or a criminal solicitation to commit such a violation under chapter 9A.28 RCW, the offense involved only a small quantity of a particular controlled substance as determined by the judge upon consideration of such factors as the weight, purity, packaging, sale price, and street value of the controlled substance;
     (e) The offender has not been found by the United States attorney general to be subject to a deportation detainer or order and does not become subject to a deportation order during the period in which the court has jurisdiction for the current offense;
     (f) The standard sentence range for the current offense is one year or less and the offender would otherwise serve his or her sentence in a county jail; and
     (g) The offender has not received either a drug offender sentencing alternative under RCW 9.94A.660 or a county supervised community option under this act more than once in the prior ten years before the current offense.
     (2) A motion for a sentence under this section may be made by the court, the offender, or the prosecutor. An offender may elect to participate in a county supervised community option under terms set by the court. If the sentencing court determines that the offender is eligible for the option, the court may order an examination of the offender. The examination shall, at a minimum, address the following issues:
     (a) Whether the offender suffers from drug addiction;
     (b) Whether the addiction is such that there is a probability that criminal behavior will occur in the future;
     (c) Whether effective treatment for the offender's addiction is available from a provider that has been licensed or certified by the division of alcohol and substance abuse of the department of social and health services; and
     (d) Whether the offender and the community will benefit from the use of the option.
     (3) The examination report must contain:
     (a) Information on the issues required to be addressed in subsection (2) of this section; and
     (b) A proposed treatment plan that must, at a minimum, contain:
     (i) A proposed treatment provider that has been licensed or certified by the division of alcohol and substance abuse of the department of social and health services;
     (ii) The recommended frequency and length of treatment, including both residential chemical dependency treatment and treatment in the community;
     (iii) A proposed monitoring plan, including any requirements regarding living conditions, lifestyle requirements, and monitoring by family members and others; and
     (iv) Recommended crime-related prohibitions and affirmative conditions.
     (4) After receipt of the examination report, if the court determines that a sentence under this section is appropriate, the court shall continue the sentencing hearing for a period set by the court up to one hundred eighty days and order the offender into treatment pending sentencing.
     (5) The county supervised community option shall include:
     (a) A period of appropriate in-patient or out-patient substance abuse treatment in a program that has been approved by the division of alcohol and substance abuse of the department of social and health services;
     (b) Crime-related prohibitions, including a condition not to use illegal controlled substances;
     (c) A requirement to submit to urinalysis or other testing to monitor that status; and
     (d) A term of total confinement within the standard sentence range for the current offense to be imposed upon failure to complete the county supervised community option.
     (6) If the court enters a disposition under this section, the court may prohibit the offender from using alcohol or controlled substances and may require that the monitoring for controlled substances be conducted by the court's probation department or a court-referred treatment program. The offender may be required to pay thirty dollars per month during the postconviction period pending sentencing to offset the cost of monitoring. In addition, the court may impose any of the following conditions:
     (a) Devoting time to a specific employment or training;
     (b) Remaining within prescribed geographical boundaries and notifying the court or the probation officer before any change in the offender's address or employment;
     (c) Reporting as directed to an officer of the court's probation department;
     (d) Paying all court-ordered legal financial obligations;
     (e) Performing community restitution work;
     (f) Staying out of areas designated by the court;
     (g) Other conditions as the court may require, such as affirmative conditions.
     (7)(a) The court may bring any offender subject to this section back into court at any time during the postconviction period pending sentencing on its own initiative to evaluate the offender's progress in treatment or to determine if any violations of the conditions of the option have occurred.
     (b) If the offender is brought back to court, the court may modify the terms of the disposition or impose sanctions under (c) of this subsection.
     (c) The court may revoke the county supervised community option and sentence the offender to a term of total confinement within the standard range for the offender's current offense at any time during the period of postconviction treatment if the offender violates the conditions of the disposition or if the offender is failing to make satisfactory progress in treatment.
     (d) An offender ordered to serve a term of total confinement under (c) of this subsection shall receive credit for any time previously served under this section.
     (8) If an offender subject to this section is found by the United States attorney general to be subject to a deportation order, a hearing shall be held by the court unless waived by the offender, and if the court finds that the offender is subject to a valid deportation order, it may terminate the offender from the county supervised community option and immediately sentence the offender to a term of total confinement within the standard range for the offender's current offense.
     (9) An offender sentenced under this section shall be subject to all rules relating to earned release time with respect to any period served in postconviction treatment pursuant to this section.
     (10) Costs of examinations and preparing treatment plans under subsections (2) and (3) of this section may be paid, at the option of the county, from funds provided to the county from the criminal justice treatment account under RCW 70.96A.350.

Sec. 2   RCW 9.94A.500 and 2008 c 231 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Before imposing a sentence upon a defendant, the court shall conduct a sentencing hearing. Except as provided in section 1 of this act, the sentencing hearing shall be held within forty court days following conviction. Upon the motion of either party for good cause shown, or on its own motion, the court may extend the time period for conducting the sentencing hearing.
     Except in cases where the defendant shall be sentenced to a term of total confinement for life without the possibility of release or, when authorized by RCW 10.95.030 for the crime of aggravated murder in the first degree, sentenced to death, the court may order the department to complete a risk assessment report. If available before sentencing, the report shall be provided to the court.
     Unless specifically waived by the court, the court shall order the department to complete a chemical dependency screening report before imposing a sentence upon a defendant who has been convicted of a violation of the uniform controlled substances act under chapter 69.50 RCW, a criminal solicitation to commit such a violation under chapter 9A.28 RCW, or any felony where the court finds that the offender has a chemical dependency that has contributed to his or her offense. In addition, the court shall, at the time of plea or conviction, order the department to complete a presentence report before imposing a sentence upon a defendant who has been convicted of a felony sexual offense. The department of corrections shall give priority to presentence investigations for sexual offenders. If the court determines that the defendant may be a mentally ill person as defined in RCW 71.24.025, although the defendant has not established that at the time of the crime he or she lacked the capacity to commit the crime, was incompetent to commit the crime, or was insane at the time of the crime, the court shall order the department to complete a presentence report before imposing a sentence.
     The court shall consider the risk assessment report and presentence reports, if any, including any victim impact statement and criminal history, and allow arguments from the prosecutor, the defense counsel, the offender, the victim, the survivor of the victim, or a representative of the victim or survivor, and an investigative law enforcement officer as to the sentence to be imposed.
     A criminal history summary relating to the defendant from the prosecuting authority or from a state, federal, or foreign governmental agency shall be prima facie evidence of the existence and validity of the convictions listed therein. If the court is satisfied by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant has a criminal history, the court shall specify the convictions it has found to exist. All of this information shall be part of the record. Copies of all risk assessment reports and presentence reports presented to the sentencing court and all written findings of facts and conclusions of law as to sentencing entered by the court shall be sent to the department by the clerk of the court at the conclusion of the sentencing and shall accompany the offender if the offender is committed to the custody of the department. Court clerks shall provide, without charge, certified copies of documents relating to criminal convictions requested by prosecuting attorneys.
     (2) To prevent wrongful disclosure of information related to mental health services, as defined in RCW 71.05.445 and 71.34.345, a court may take only those steps necessary during a sentencing hearing or any hearing in which the department presents information related to mental health services to the court. The steps may be taken on motion of the defendant, the prosecuting attorney, or on the court's own motion. The court may seal the portion of the record relating to information relating to mental health services, exclude the public from the hearing during presentation or discussion of information relating to mental health services, or grant other relief to achieve the result intended by this subsection, but nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent the subsequent release of information related to mental health services as authorized by RCW 71.05.445, 71.34.345, or 72.09.585. Any person who otherwise is permitted to attend any hearing pursuant to chapter 7.69 or 7.69A RCW shall not be excluded from the hearing solely because the department intends to disclose or discloses information related to mental health services.