S-598                 _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 5235

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Senators Pullen, Talmadge and Madsen

Read first time 1/18/89 and referred to Committee on Law & Justice.

AN ACT Relating to criminal justice; creating a new section; adding new sections to chapter 10.98 RCW; and making an appropriation.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature, in pursuit of the goal of public safety, recognizes the importance of communication between law enforcement entities and the state-wide coordination of criminal justice services.  The legislature also recognizes the necessity of accurately forecasting prison populations so as to adequately plan for current and future facilities.  In recognition of these necessities, the legislature creates a work group to be modeled and named after the interagency criminal justice work group, established by Executive Order 81-15.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 10.98 RCW to read as follows:

          (1) The interagency criminal justice work group is established.  Its duties include the following:

          (a) Identify and make recommendations on issues which are problems for state and local law enforcement;

          (b) Provide a coordinated interagency system for prison population forecasting and projection, with staff provided by the office of financial management;

          (c) Bring numerous state agency resources to bear on the management of criminal justice issues;

          (d) Provide for the sharing of information on which operational decisions can be made;

          (e) Complement the work of the sentencing guidelines commission;

          (f) Meet at least on a quarterly basis; and

          (g) By December 1 of each year, provide to the law and justice committee of the senate, the judiciary committee of the house of representatives, and the governor an annual report regarding the issues identified and policy recommendations.

          (2) The interagency criminal justice work group consists of the following individuals:

          (a) The secretary of the department of corrections;

          (b) The director of the office of financial management;

          (c) A representative from the Washington state patrol;

          (d) A representative from the sentencing guidelines commission;

          (e) A representative from the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs;

          (f) A representative from the Washington association of prosecuting attorneys;

          (g) A representative from the judicial system;

          (h) A representative from the superior court judges association;

          (i) A representative from the department of social and health services appointed by the governor;

          (j) A representative from the municipal attorneys association; and

          (k) A representative from the traffic safety commission.

          (3) The work group shall elect a chairperson and vice-chairperson to serve annual terms.  Subcommittees may be formed as needed.  The work group shall provide minutes of their meetings to the office of the governor, to the law and justice committee of the senate, and to the judiciary committee of the house of representatives.  The work group is authorized to enter executive session for discussion of policy recommendations when, by recorded vote of the majority of the work group present, public discussion of facts and opinions would inhibit the candor of the group.  No documents presented during executive session are exempt from public disclosure laws.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     The sum of one hundred fifty thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the general fund for the biennium ending June 30, 1991, to carry out the purposes of this act.  If needed, the work group may hire a staff person into an exempt position.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.  A new section is added to chapter 10.98 RCW to read as follows:

          The interagency criminal justice work group shall cease to exist July 1, 1993.