| Passed by the House March 10, 2014 Yeas 94 FRANK CHOPP ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate March 6, 2014 Yeas 49 BRAD OWEN ________________________________________ President of the Senate | I, Barbara Baker, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2102 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth. BARBARA BAKER ________________________________________ Chief Clerk | |
| Approved March 28, 2014, 2:16 p.m. JAY INSLEE ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | March 31, 2014 Secretary of State State of Washington |
| State of Washington | 63rd Legislature | 2014 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 01/23/14.
AN ACT Relating to civil suits by prisoners against victims; 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) A person convicted and confined for any of the offenses set
forth in subsection (3) of this section must, prior to commencing any
civil action in state court against the victim of such offense, or the
victim's family, first obtain an order authorizing such action to
proceed from the sentencing judge, if available, or the presiding judge
in the county of conviction.
(2) This section does not apply to an action brought under Title 26
RCW.
(3) This section applies to persons convicted and confined for any
serious violent offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030.
(4) A court may refuse to authorize an action, or a claim contained
therein, to proceed if the court finds that the action, or claim, is
frivolous or malicious. In determining whether an action, or a claim
asserted therein, is frivolous or malicious, the court may consider,
among other things, whether:
(a) The claim's realistic chance of ultimate success is slight;
(b) The claim has no arguable basis in law or in fact;
(c) It is clear that the party cannot prove facts in support of the
claim;
(d) The claim has been brought with the intent to harass the
opposing party; or
(e) The claim is substantially similar to a previous claim filed by
the inmate because the claim arises from the same operative facts.
(5) For purposes of this section, "victim's family" includes a
victim's spouse, domestic partner, children, parents, and siblings.
(6) Failure to obtain the authorization required by this section
prior to commencing an action may result in loss of early release time
or other privileges, or some combination thereof. The department may
exercise discretion to determine whether and how the loss may be
applied, and the amount of reduction of early release time, loss of
other privileges, or some combination thereof. The department shall
adopt rules to implement the provisions of this subsection.