HOUSE BILL ANALYSIS
HB 1299
Title: An act relating to extraordinary medical releases
for offenders.
Brief Description: Authorizing the secretary of corrections to grant
extraordinary medical releases to offenders when specified conditions are met.
Sponsors:
Representatives Ballasiotes, O'Brien, Lambert, Kastama, Esser and Schual‑Berke;
by request of Sentencing Guidelines Commission.
HOUSE COMMITTEE
ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND CORRECTIONS
Staff:
Yvonne Walker (786-7841).
Background:
Under the Sentencing Reform Act, felony offenders
receive determinate sentences. A determinate sentence is one where the length
of confinement is determine at the time of sentencing; the sentence length
generally is not subject to alteration based on events occurring after the
sentence is imposed.
Some of the primary exceptions to this system of
determinate sentencing involves:
CEarned early release programs. These programs allow inmates to
shorten their sentence length if they display good behavior by participating in
work, education, or treatment programs and by not violating prison or jail
rules during confinement.
CCommunity Custody. The period of time when an offender=s incarceration sentence is reduced
based upon earned early release credits and he is released back out into the
community but remains under the custody of the Department of Corrections for a
specified period. Any violations during the offender=s community custody status are
handled administratively by the Department of Corrections and can result in the
offender returning to prison to complete his original prison sentence.
CFurlough or Leave of Absence. The period of time when eligible
inmates may be temporarily released to do such activities as meet an emergency
situation, such as a death or critical illness of a family member, to obtain
medical treatment not available in the facility, or to seek employment or make
residential plans for parole.
CGovernor=s Recommendation. Upon the recommendation from the Clemency and
Pardons Board, the Governor may grant an extraordinary release for reasons of
serious health problems, senility, or advanced age. The Governor may also
pardon an offender.
Offenders sentenced to mandatory minimum sentences
are prohibited from being released from total confinement before the completion
of their mandatory minimum sentence for that felony crime (ie. first degree
rape or first degree murder).
The Department of Corrections is prohibited from
releasing any inmate, prior to completion of his determinate sentence, for such
exceptions as age or medical conditions. As of December 31, 1998, there were
1,184 inmates age 50 or more. Their average age was 56.9 and the oldest was an
85-year-old male sex offender.
Summary:
The Secretary of the Department of Corrections or a
jail administrator may grant an Aextraordinary medical release@ to an offender who has been
sentenced under determinate sentencing or indeterminate sentencing, when all of
the following conditions exist:
(1) The offender has a medical
condition that is serious enough to require costly care or treatment;
(2) The offender poses a low risk to
the community because he or she is physically incapacitated due to age or the
medical condition; and
(3) Granting the extraordinary
medical release will result in a cost savings to the state.
An exception is made for an offender who receives a
mandatory minimum sentence to participate in the extraordinary medical release
as long as they have met the criteria listed above.
The Secretary may revoke an extraordinary medical
release at any time.
An offender sentenced to death or to life
imprisonment without the possibility of release or parole is not eligible for
an extraordinary medical release.
The Secretary of the Department of Corrections must
report annually to the Legislature on:
CThe number of offenders considered for an
extraordinary medical release,
CThe number of offenders who were granted such a
release,
CThe number of offenders who were denied such a
release,
CThe length of time between initial consideration
and the decision to release for each offender who was released,
CThe number of offenders granted an extraordinary
medical release who were later returned to total confinement, and
CThe cost savings realized by the state.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which
bill is passed.