BILL REQ. #:  H-4730.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/05/04.   

     AN ACT Relating to altering the amount of earned release time available for certain jail inmates; amending RCW 9.92.151; and adding a new section to chapter 9.94A RCW.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 9.92.151 and 1990 c 3 s 201 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The sentence of a prisoner confined in a county jail facility for a felony, gross misdemeanor, or misdemeanor conviction may be reduced by earned release credits in accordance with procedures that shall be developed and promulgated by the correctional agency having jurisdiction. The earned early release time shall be for good behavior and good performance as determined by the correctional agency having jurisdiction. Any program established pursuant to this section shall allow an offender to earn early release credits for presentence incarceration. The correctional agency shall not credit the offender with earned early release credits in advance of the offender actually earning the credits.
     (2) In the case of an offender convicted of a serious violent offense or a sex offense that is a class A felony committed on or after July 1, 1990, and before July 1, 2004, the aggregate earned early release time may not exceed fifteen percent of the sentence. In the case of an offender convicted of a serious violent offense or a sex offense that is a class A felony committed on or after July 1, 2004, the aggregate earned release time may not exceed ten percent of the sentence.
     (3)(a) In the case of an offender who qualifies under (b) of this subsection, the aggregate earned release time may not exceed fifty percent.
     (b) An offender may be granted up to fifty percent of aggregate earned release time under this subsection (3) if he or she:
     (i) Is not confined pursuant to a sentence for:
     (A) A sex offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030;
     (B) A violent offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030;
     (C) A crime against persons as defined in RCW 9.94A.411;
     (D) An offense that is domestic violence as defined in RCW 10.99.020;
     (E) A violation of RCW 9A.52.025 (residential burglary);
     (F) A violation of, or an attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to violate, RCW 69.50.401 by manufacture or delivery or possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine; or
     (G) A violation of, or an attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to violate, RCW 69.50.406 (delivery of a controlled substance to a minor); and
     (ii) Has no prior conviction for:
     (A) A sex offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030;
     (B) A violent offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030;
     (C) A crime against persons as defined in RCW 9.94A.411;
     (D) An offense that is domestic violence as defined in RCW 10.99.020;
     (E) A violation of RCW 9A.52.025 (residential burglary);
     (F) A violation of, or an attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to violate, RCW 69.50.401 by manufacture or delivery or possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine; or
     (G) A violation of, or an attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to violate, RCW 69.50.406 (delivery of a controlled substance to a minor).
     (c) The correctional agency having jurisdiction may recalculate the earned release time and reschedule the expected release date for each qualified offender under this subsection (3).
     (d) This subsection (3) applies retroactively to eligible offenders serving terms of total confinement in a county jail facility as of July 1, 2004.
     (4) In no other case may the aggregate earned early release time exceed one-third of the total sentence.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 9.94A RCW to read as follows:
     The legislature declares that the changes to the maximum percentages of earned release time in this act do not create any expectation that the percentage of earned release time cannot be revised and offenders have no reason to conclude that the maximum percentage of earned release time is an entitlement or creates any liberty interest. The legislature retains full control over the right to revise the percentages of earned release time available to offenders at any time. This section applies to persons convicted on or after the effective date of this section.