FINAL BILL REPORT

2SHB 1938

C 169 L 02

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description:  Making sabotage an aggravating circumstance.

Sponsors:  By House Committee on Criminal Justice & Corrections (originally sponsored by Representatives Pearson, Sump, Doumit, Jackley, Pennington, Mulliken, Boldt, Schoesler and Buck).

House Committee on Criminal Justice & Corrections

Senate Committee on Judiciary

Background:

Criminal sabotage is any act that takes, damages, destroys, or attempts to damage, or destroy, any piece of property with the intent to disrupt the management, operation, or control of any agricultural, stockraising, lumbering, mining, quarrying, fishing, manufacturing, transportation, mercantile, or building enterprise, or any other public or private business or commercial enterprise employing people for wages.

Criminal sabotage is an unranked felony.  The maximum sentence for unranked felonies is one year of confinement, along with possible community service, legal financial obligations, community supervision, and a fine.

The Sentencing Reform Act (SRA) governs the sentencing of adult felons who commit a crime after July 1, 1984.  Generally, these felons receive a sentence within the standard range for the offense which, under the SRA, is calculated using the seriousness level of the current offense and the extent of the offender's criminal history.

Although the standard range is presumed appropriate for the typical felony case, a court may depart from the standard range and may impose an exceptional sentence below the standard range (with a mitigating circumstance) or above the range (with an aggravating circumstance).  To impose an exceptional sentence, generally, the court must find that there are substantial and compelling reasons.  Further, the court is required to set forth the reasons in writing.

The SRA provides a list of illustrative factors that a court may consider in deciding whether to impose an exceptional sentence outside of the standard range.  Some of the illustrative aggravating factors provided by the SRA include:  behavior that manifested into deliberate cruelty to a victim; vulnerability of a victim; sexual motivation on the part of the defendant; or an ongoing pattern of multiple incidents of abuse to a victim.

Summary:

The illustrative list of aggravating factors that a court may consider when imposing an exceptional sentence is expanded to include certain acts of sabotage.  Specifically, a court may consider imposing a sentence above the standard range when the court finds that the defendant committed an act with intent to obstruct or impair human health care, animal health care, agricultural research, forestry research, or commercial production.

Votes on Final Passage:

House960

Senate481(Senate amended)

House940(House concurred)

Effective:  June 13, 2002