BILL REQ. #: H-0364.1
State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2011 Regular Session |
Prefiled 12/10/10. Read first time 01/10/11. Referred to Committee on Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness.
AN ACT Relating to prospectively and retroactively increasing earned release time for certain offenders; amending RCW 9.94A.729; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 9.94A.729 and 2010 c 224 s 7 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1)(a) The term of the sentence of an offender committed to a
correctional facility operated by the department may be reduced by
earned release time in accordance with procedures that shall be
developed and adopted by the correctional agency having jurisdiction in
which the offender is confined. The earned release time shall be for
good behavior and good performance, as determined by the correctional
agency having jurisdiction. The correctional agency shall not credit
the offender with earned release credits in advance of the offender
actually earning the credits.
(b) Any program established pursuant to this section shall allow an
offender to earn early release credits for presentence incarceration.
If an offender is transferred from a county jail to the department, the
administrator of a county jail facility shall certify to the department
the amount of time spent in custody at the facility and the amount of
earned release time. The department may approve a jail certification
from a correctional agency that calculates earned release time based on
the actual amount of confinement time served by the offender before
sentencing when an erroneous calculation of confinement time served by
the offender before sentencing appears on the judgment and sentence.
(2) An offender who has been convicted of a felony committed after
July 23, 1995, that involves any applicable deadly weapon enhancements
under RCW 9.94A.533 (3) or (4), or both, shall not receive any good
time credits or earned release time for that portion of his or her
sentence that results from any deadly weapon enhancements.
(3) An offender may earn early release time as follows:
(a) In the case of an offender convicted of a serious violent
offense, or a sex offense that is a class A felony, committed on or
after July 1, 1990, and before July 1, 2003, the aggregate earned
release time may not exceed fifteen percent of the sentence.
(b) In the case of an offender convicted of a serious violent
offense, or a sex offense that is a class A felony, committed on or
after July 1, 2003, the aggregate earned release time may not exceed
ten percent of the sentence.
(c) An offender is qualified to earn up to fifty percent of
aggregate earned release time if he or she:
(i) Is not classified as an offender who is at a high risk to
reoffend as provided in subsection (4) of this section;
(ii) Is not confined pursuant to a sentence for:
(A) A sex offense;
(B) A violent offense;
(C) A crime against persons as defined in RCW 9.94A.411;
(D) A felony that is domestic violence as defined in RCW 10.99.020;
(E) A violation of RCW 9A.52.025 (residential burglary);
(F) A violation of, or an attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to
violate, RCW 69.50.401 by manufacture or delivery or possession with
intent to deliver methamphetamine; or
(G) A violation of, or an attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to
violate, RCW 69.50.406 (delivery of a controlled substance to a minor);
(iii) Has no prior conviction for the offenses listed in (c)(ii) of
this subsection;
(iv) Participates in programming or activities as directed by the
offender's individual reentry plan as provided under RCW 72.09.270 to
the extent that such programming or activities are made available by
the department; and
(v) Has not committed a new felony after July 22, 2007, while under
community custody.
(d) In no other case shall the aggregate earned release time exceed
one-third of the total sentence.
(4) The department shall perform a risk assessment of each offender
who may qualify for earned early release under subsection (3)(c) of
this section utilizing the risk assessment tool recommended by the
Washington state institute for public policy. ((Subsection (3)(c) of
this section does not apply to offenders convicted after July 1,
2010.))
(5)(a) A person who is eligible for earned early release as
provided in this section and who is convicted of a sex offense, a
violent offense, any crime against persons under RCW 9.94A.411(2), or
a felony offense under chapter 69.50 or 69.52 RCW, shall be transferred
to community custody in lieu of earned release time;
(b) The department shall, as a part of its program for release to
the community in lieu of earned release, require the offender to
propose a release plan that includes an approved residence and living
arrangement. All offenders with community custody terms eligible for
release to community custody in lieu of earned release shall provide an
approved residence and living arrangement prior to release to the
community;
(c) The department may deny transfer to community custody in lieu
of earned release time if the department determines an offender's
release plan, including proposed residence location and living
arrangements, may violate the conditions of the sentence or conditions
of supervision, place the offender at risk to violate the conditions of
the sentence, place the offender at risk to reoffend, or present a risk
to victim safety or community safety. The department's authority under
this section is independent of any court-ordered condition of sentence
or statutory provision regarding conditions for community custody;
(d) If the department is unable to approve the offender's release
plan, the department may do one or more of the following:
(i) Transfer an offender to partial confinement in lieu of earned
early release for a period not to exceed three months. The three
months in partial confinement is in addition to that portion of the
offender's term of confinement that may be served in partial
confinement as provided in RCW 9.94A.728(5);
(ii) Provide rental vouchers to the offender for a period not to
exceed three months if rental assistance will result in an approved
release plan. The voucher must be provided in conjunction with
additional transition support programming or services that enable an
offender to participate in services including, but not limited to,
substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, sex offender
treatment, educational programming, or employment programming;
(e) For each offender who is the recipient of a rental voucher, the
department shall include, concurrent with the data that the department
otherwise obtains and records, the housing status of the offender for
the duration of the offender's supervision.
(6) An offender serving a term of confinement imposed under RCW
9.94A.670(5)(a) is not eligible for earned release credits under this
section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 This act applies to all causes of action
commenced on or after the effective date of this section, regardless of
when the cause of action arose. To this extent, this act applies
retroactively, but in all other respects it applies prospectively.