BILL REQ. #:  S-3997.1 

Read first time 01/21/10.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to bail practices and procedures; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature intends to appoint a panel of experts to study bail practices and procedures. The bail system must be examined in a comprehensive and well-considered manner from all aspects including, but not limited to, judicial discretion, bail amounts and procedures, public safety, variations in county practices, constitutional restraints, and cost to local government. The variety of practices and procedures requires that a panel of experts study the issue and report its recommendation to the legislature.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1)(a) A legislative task force on bail practices is established, with members as provided in this subsection.
     (i) The president of the senate shall appoint one member from each of the two largest caucuses of the senate;
     (ii) The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint one member from each of the two largest caucuses of the house of representatives;
     (iii) The chief justice of the Washington state supreme court or the chief justice's designee;
     (iv) A superior court judge appointed by the superior court judges association;
     (v) A district court judge appointed by the district and municipal court judges association;
     (vi) The governor or the governor's designee;
     (vii) The secretary of the Washington state department of corrections or the secretary's designee;
     (viii) Two prosecutors appointed by the Washington association of prosecuting attorneys or designees of the prosecutors;
     (ix) Two attorneys selected by separate associations of attorneys whose members have practices that focus on representing criminal defendants;
     (x) One police officer and one deputy sheriff selected by a statewide association of such officers and deputies;
     (xi) A representative of a statewide association of city governments, selected by the association;
     (xii) A representative of a statewide association of counties, selected by the association;
     (xiii) A representative employed as an adult corrections officer selected by a statewide association of such officers;
     (xiv) A representative of a statewide organization concerned primarily with the protection of individual liberties, selected by the organization;
     (xv) A representative of a statewide association of advocates who work on behalf of victims and survivors of violent crimes, selected by the association;
     (xvi) A representative of the bail bond industry, chosen by a statewide association of bail companies;
     (xvii) A representative of a statewide consumer advocacy organization with at least thirty thousand members, selected by the organization.
     (b) The task force shall choose its cochairs from among its legislative membership. The legislative cochairs shall convene the initial meeting of the task force.
     (2) The task force shall review, at a minimum, the following issues:
     (a) A validated risk assessment tool that measures or predicts the likelihood that an offender will exhibit violent behavior if released and whether judges should use this tool at bail hearings;
     (b) Bail practices by county, including the processes used to seek and grant bail as well as the standards by which bail is granted;
     (c) Whether, or to what extent, uniformity of bail practices should be required by state law;
     (d) The characteristics of the federal system;
     (e) The benefits of competitive freedom of government regulation in the pricing of bail bonds;
     (f) The interests of crime victims in being notified of a person's release on bail;
     (g) The interests of counties and cities that maintain municipal courts;
     (h) Legal and constitutional constraints in granting or denying bail;
     (i) Whether the existing regulatory, judicial, or statutory constraints on bail should be revised; and
     (j) The pretrial release system.
     (3) The task force shall request that the Washington state institute for public policy conduct research to better inform the task force on issues, such as: (a) The percentage of people who are released on bail and reoffend while released on bail; (b) the likelihood that the offense for which bail was granted is statistically or causally related to additional offenses that are committed; and (c) the effect that race or economic status of a person seeking bail has on the likelihood of being granted bail.
     (4) Staff support for the task force must be provided by senate committee services and the house of representatives office of program research.
     (5) Travel and other membership expenses for legislative members must not be reimbursed. Nonlegislative members must seek reimbursement for travel and other membership expenses through their respective agencies or organizations.
     (6) The task force shall hold meetings in state or local government facilities and shall endeavor to accommodate the varied places of residence among task force members.
     (7) The task force may organize itself in a manner, and adopt rules of procedure, that it determines are most conducive to the timely completion of its charge.
     (8) The task force is subject to chapter 42.30 RCW.
     (9) The task force shall report its findings and recommendations to the Washington state supreme court, the governor, and appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2010.
     (10) This section expires July 1, 2012.