BILL REQ. #:  H-3417.2 

Read first time 01/20/14.   Referred to Committee on Public Safety.

     AN ACT Relating to the pilot identicard program; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature intends to create a pilot identicard program to provide incarcerated offenders with a state issued identicard to assist and prepare each offender for release from prison and reentry into the community. The legislature also finds that each step that assists individuals being released from prisons helps incarcerated offenders avoid predictable conditions that lead to future recidivism. Reduction in recidivism makes the community safer, transforms formerly incarcerated offenders into productive citizens, and strengthens the family structure that surrounds each offender.
     (2) By July 1, 2014, the department of licensing, working in conjunction with the department of corrections, shall create and implement a two-year pilot identicard program within the Monroe correctional complex to provide offenders with a state issued identicard pursuant to RCW 46.20.117.
     (3) An offender is eligible for an identicard issued under this section, provided he or she: (a) Meets the department's criteria under RCW 46.20.117; (b) is under the custody of the department of corrections; (c) is incarcerated within the Monroe correctional complex; and (d) is within two months or less of his or her release date from the state correctional institution.
     (4) The goal of the pilot identicard program is to provide proper state identification to offenders upon release to the community, which is critical for accessing services, employment, housing, and various other opportunities in the community.
     (5) The department of licensing, in consultation with the department of corrections, shall review the pilot identicard program at the Monroe correctional complex and submit its findings, evaluation, and recommendations in a report to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2016.
     (6) This section expires December 1, 2016.