H-484                _______________________________________________

 

                                                    HOUSE BILL NO. 884

                        _______________________________________________

 

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1987 Regular Session

 

By Representatives Rasmussen, K. Wilson, Cooper, Spanel, Grant, Hargrove, Sprenkle, Brough, Winsley, May and Wineberry

 

 

Read first time 2/13/87 and referred to Committee on Judiciary.

 

 


AN ACT Relating to victims or witnesses of crimes; amending RCW 7.68.035, 9.94A.140, 9.94A.142, and 13.40.190; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

 

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

 

        Sec. 1.  Section 10, chapter 302, Laws of 1977 ex. sess. as last amended by section 13, chapter 443, Laws of 1985 and RCW 7.68.035 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1) Whenever any person is found guilty in any superior court of having committed a crime, except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, there shall be imposed by the court upon such convicted person a penalty assessment.  The assessment shall be in addition to any other penalty or fine imposed by law and shall be seventy dollars for each case or cause of action that includes one or more convictions of a felony or gross misdemeanor and forty-five dollars for any case or cause of action that includes convictions of only one or more misdemeanors.

          (2) The assessment imposed by subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to motor vehicle crimes defined in Title 46 RCW except those defined in the following sections:  RCW 46.61.520, 46.61.522, 46.61.024, 46.52.090, 46.70.140, 46.65.090, 46.61.502, 46.61.504, 46.52.100, 46.20.410, 46.52.020, 46.10.130, 46.09.130, 46.61.525, 46.61.685, 46.61.530, 46.61.500, 46.61.015, 46.52.010, 46.44.180, 46.10.090(2), and 46.09.120(2).

          (3) Whenever any person accused of having committed a crime posts bail in superior court pursuant to the provisions of chapter 10.19 RCW and such bail is forfeited, there shall be deducted from the proceeds of such forfeited bail a penalty assessment, in addition to any other penalty or fine imposed by law, equal to the assessment which would be applicable under subsection (1) of this section if the person had been convicted of the crime.

          (4) Such penalty assessments shall be paid by the clerk of the superior court to the county treasurer who shall monthly transmit the money as provided in RCW 10.82.070.  ((Until June 30, 1987,)) Each county shall deposit not less than one and seventy-five one-hundredths percent of the money it retains under RCW 10.82.070 and chapter 3.62 RCW and all money it receives under subsection (8) of this section into a fund maintained exclusively for the support of comprehensive programs to encourage and facilitate testimony by the victims of crimes and witnesses to crimes.  ((After that date, each county shall continue to provide for such comprehensive programs.))  A program shall be considered "comprehensive" only after approval of the department upon application by the county prosecuting attorney.  The department shall approve as comprehensive only programs which:

          (a) Provide comprehensive services to victims and witnesses of all types of crime with particular emphasis on serious crimes against persons and property.  It is the intent of the legislature to make funds available only to programs which do not restrict services to victims or witnesses of a particular type or types of crime and that such funds supplement, not supplant, existing local funding levels;

          (b) Are administered by the county prosecuting attorney either directly through the prosecuting attorney's office or by contract between the county and agencies providing services to victims of crime;

          (c) Make a reasonable effort to inform the known victim or his surviving dependents of the existence of this chapter and the procedure for making application for benefits;

          (d) Assist victims in the restitution and adjudication process; and

          (e) Assist victims of violent crimes in the preparation and presentation of their claims to the department of labor and industries under this chapter.

            Before a program in any county west of the Cascade mountains is submitted to the department for approval, it shall be submitted for review and comment to each city within the county with a population of more than one hundred fifty thousand.  The department will consider if the county's proposed comprehensive plan meets the needs of crime victims in cases adjudicated in municipal, district or superior courts and of crime victims located within the city and county.

          (5) Upon submission to the department of a letter of intent to adopt a comprehensive program, the prosecuting attorney shall retain the money deposited by the county under subsection (4) of this section until such time as the county prosecuting attorney has obtained approval of a program from the department.  Approval of the comprehensive plan by the department must be obtained within one year of the date of the letter of intent to adopt a comprehensive program.  The county prosecuting attorney shall not make any expenditures from the money deposited under subsection (4) of this section until approval of a comprehensive plan by the department.  If a county prosecuting attorney has failed to obtain approval of a program from the department under subsection (4) of this section or failed to obtain approval of a comprehensive program within one year after submission of a letter of intent under this section, the county treasurer shall monthly transmit one hundred percent of the money deposited by the county under subsection (4) of this section to the state treasurer for deposit in the public safety and education account established under RCW 43.08.250.

          (6) County prosecuting attorneys are responsible to make every reasonable effort to insure that the penalty assessments of this chapter are imposed and collected.

          (7) Penalty assessments under this section shall also be imposed in juvenile offense dispositions under Title 13 RCW.  Upon motion of a party and a showing of good cause, the court may modify the penalty assessment in the disposition of juvenile offenses under Title 13 RCW.

          (8) ((Until June 30, 1987,)) Every city and town shall transmit monthly one and seventy-five one-hundredths percent of all money, other than money received for parking infractions, retained under RCW 3.46.120, 3.50.100, and 35.20.220 to the county treasurer for deposit as provided in subsection (4) of this section.  ((After that date, every city and town shall transmit to the county a percentage of such money, up to one and seventy-five one-hundredths percent, which matches the percentage of court revenue the county provides under subsection (4) of this section.))

 

        Sec. 2.  Section 14, chapter 137, Laws of 1981 as amended by section 5, chapter 192, Laws of 1982 andRCW 9.94A.140 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1) If restitution is ordered, the court shall determine the amount of restitution due at the sentencing hearing or within sixty days and may set the terms and conditions under which the defendant shall make restitution.  Restitution ordered by a court pursuant to a criminal conviction shall be based on easily ascertainable damages for injury to or loss of property, actual expenses incurred for treatment for injury to persons, and lost wages resulting from injury.  Restitution shall not include reimbursement for damages for mental anguish, pain and suffering, or other intangible losses, but may include the costs of counseling reasonably related to the offense.  The amount of restitution shall not exceed double the amount of the offender's gain or the victim's loss from the commission of the crime.  For the purposes of this section, the offender shall remain under the court's jurisdiction for a maximum term of ten years subsequent to the imposition of sentence.  The portion of the sentence concerning restitution may be modified as to amount, terms and conditions during the ten-year period, regardless of the expiration of the offender's term of community supervision and regardless of the statutory maximum for the crime.  The offender's compliance with the restitution shall be supervised by the department.

          (2) Restitution may be ordered whenever the offender is convicted of an offense which results in injury to any person or damage to or loss of property.  In addition, restitution may be ordered to pay for an injury, loss, or damage if the offender pleads guilty to a lesser offense or fewer offenses and agrees with the prosecutor's recommendation that the offender be required to pay restitution to a victim of an offense or offenses which are not prosecuted pursuant to a plea agreement.

          (3) In addition to any sentence that may be imposed, a defendant who has been found guilty of an offense involving fraud or other deceptive practice or an organization which has been found guilty of any such offense may be ordered by the sentencing court to give notice of the conviction to the class of persons or to the sector of the public affected by the conviction or financially interested in the subject matter of the offense by mail, by advertising in designated areas or through designated media, or by other appropriate means.

          (4) This section does not limit civil remedies or defenses available to the victim or defendant.

 

        Sec. 3.  Section 10, chapter 443, Laws of 1985 and RCW 9.94A.142 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1) When restitution is ordered, the court shall determine the amount of restitution due at the sentencing hearing or within sixty days and shall set the terms and conditions under which the defendant shall make restitution.  Restitution ordered by a court pursuant to a criminal conviction shall be based on easily ascertainable damages for injury to or loss of property, actual expenses incurred for treatment for injury to persons, and lost wages resulting from injury.  Restitution shall not include reimbursement for damages for mental anguish, pain and suffering, or other intangible losses, but may include the costs of counseling reasonably related to the offense.  The amount of restitution shall not exceed double the amount of the offender's gain or the victim's loss from the commission of the crime.  For the purposes of this section, the offender shall remain under the court's jurisdiction for a maximum term of ten years subsequent to the imposition of sentence.  The portion of the sentence concerning restitution may be modified as to amount, terms and conditions during the ten-year period, regardless of the expiration of the offender's term of community supervision and regardless of the statutory maximum for the crime.  The offender's compliance with the restitution shall be supervised by the department.

          (2) Restitution shall be ordered whenever the offender is convicted of an offense which results in injury to any person or damage to or loss of property unless extraordinary circumstances exist which make restitution inappropriate in the court's judgment and the court sets forth such circumstances in the record.  In addition, restitution shall be ordered to pay for an injury, loss, or damage if the offender pleads guilty to a lesser offense or fewer offenses and agrees with the prosecutor's recommendation that the offender be required to pay restitution to a victim of an offense or offenses which are not prosecuted pursuant to a plea agreement.

          (3) In addition to any sentence that may be imposed, a defendant who has been found guilty of an offense involving fraud or other deceptive practice or an organization which has been found guilty of any such offense may be ordered by the sentencing court to give notice of the conviction to the class of persons or to the sector of the public affected by the conviction or financially interested in the subject matter of the offense by mail, by advertising in designated areas or through designated media, or by other appropriate means.

          (4) This section does not limit civil remedies or defenses available to the victim, survivors of the victim, or defendant.

          (5) This section shall apply to offenses committed after July 1, 1985.

 

        Sec. 4.  Section 73, chapter 291, Laws of 1977 ex. sess. as last amended by section 2, chapter 257, Laws of 1985 andRCW 13.40.190 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1) In its dispositional order, the court shall require the respondent to make restitution to any persons who have suffered loss or damage as a result of the offense committed by the respondent.  In addition, restitution may be ordered for loss or damage if the offender pleads guilty to a lesser offense or fewer offenses and agrees with the prosecutor's recommendation that the offender be required to pay restitution to a victim of an offense or offenses which, pursuant to a plea agreement, are not prosecuted.  The payment of restitution shall be in addition to any punishment which is imposed pursuant to the other provisions of this chapter.  The court may determine the amount, terms, and conditions of the restitution.  Restitution may include the costs of counseling reasonably related to the offense.  If the respondent participated in the crime with another person or other persons, all such participants shall be jointly and severally responsible for the payment of restitution.  The court may not require the respondent to pay full or partial restitution if the respondent reasonably satisfies the court that he or she does not have the means to make full or partial restitution  and could not reasonably acquire the means to pay such restitution.  In cases where an offender has been committed to the department for a period of confinement exceeding fifteen weeks, restitution may be waived.

          (2) If an order includes restitution as one of the monetary assessments, the county clerk shall make disbursements to victims named in the order.  The restitution to victims named in the order shall be paid prior to any payment for other penalties or monetary assessments.

          (3) A respondent under obligation to pay restitution may petition the court for modification of the restitution order.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5.     This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, the support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect June 30, 1987.