BILL REQ. #:  H-2397.1 

READ FIRST TIME 03/04/05.   

     AN ACT Relating to requiring the projected costs of certain criminal justice legislation to be appropriated into accounts to be used for capital costs; adding a new section to chapter 43.88A RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.132 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.330 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 43.79 RCW; and adding a new section to chapter 43.135 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 43.88A RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The office of financial management shall prepare a fiscal note under this chapter for any bill introduced before the legislature that would result in a net increase in periods of incarceration in state adult or juvenile correctional facilities.
     (2) The office of financial management shall forward a copy of each required fiscal note under subsection (1) of this section to the sponsor of the bill that has been introduced before the legislature. The sponsor shall, on a form devised or adopted by the office of financial management, state a revenue source or budget reduction declaring how the proposed bill will be funded. The sponsor must return the form back to the office of financial management. The office of financial management shall transmit copies of the response form to the chairperson of the committee to which the bill was referred upon introduction in the house of origin and the appropriate legislative fiscal committees.
     (3) The fiscal note requirement in subsection (1) of this section applies, at a minimum, to bills that:
     (a) Add new crimes for which incarceration is authorized;
     (b) Increase the periods of incarceration authorized for existing crimes;
     (c) Impose or increase mandatory minimum terms of incarceration; or
     (d) Modify the law governing the release of adult or juvenile offenders in such a way that the time of incarceration is increased.
     (4)(a) For each law enacted for which a fiscal note is required under this section, the legislature shall make a one-time transfer from the general fund to the state corrections special reserve account. Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, the transfer required under this subsection shall be in an amount equal to the estimated increase in state operating costs associated with the law for the year containing the highest increase in such costs on the fiscal note.
     (b) The transfer may be in an amount determined by the legislature if:
     (i) The fiscal note estimates the increased operating costs as indeterminate; or
     (ii) The legislature's best estimate of the increased operating costs differs from the amount estimated in the fiscal note.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 43.132 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The office of financial management shall prepare a fiscal note under this chapter for any bill introduced before the legislature that would result in a net increase in periods of incarceration in local adult or juvenile correctional facilities.
     (2) The fiscal note requirement in subsection (1) of this section applies, at a minimum, to bills that:
     (a) Add new crimes for which incarceration is authorized;
     (b) Increase the periods of incarceration authorized for existing crimes;
     (c) Impose or increase mandatory minimum terms of incarceration; or
     (d) Modify the law governing the release of adult or juvenile offenders in such a way that the time of incarceration is increased.
     (3)(a) For each law enacted for which a fiscal note is required under this section, the legislature shall make a one-time transfer from the general fund to the local corrections special reserve account. Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, the transfer required under this subsection shall be in an amount equal to the estimated increase in local operating costs associated with the law for the year containing the highest increase in such costs on the fiscal note.
     (b) The transfer may be in an amount determined by the legislature if:
     (i) The fiscal note estimates the increased operating costs as indeterminate; or
     (ii) The legislature's best estimate of the increased operating costs differs from the amount estimated in the fiscal note.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 43.330 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Counties, cities, towns, and other units of local government may submit petitions to the department for reimbursement of increased capital costs associated with increased offender populations in locally operated adult or juvenile correctional facilities, including the cost of planning or preplanning studies that may be required to initiate capital projects.
     (2) The department, in consultation with the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs, shall develop procedures for processing the petitions, for auditing the validity of the petitions, and for prioritizing the petitions. Prioritization of the petitions shall be based on, but not limited to, factors such as disproportionate fiscal impact relative to the county budget, efficient use of resources, and whether the costs were mainly incurred because of changes in state criminal law.
     (3) Before January 1st of each year, the department, in consultation with the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs, shall develop and submit to the appropriate fiscal committees of the legislature a prioritized list of submitted petitions that are recommended for funding by the legislature.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 43.79 RCW to read as follows:
     The local corrections special reserve account is created in the state treasury. Revenues to the account shall consist of moneys transferred into the account under section 2 of this act and any interest thereon. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the account may be used only for reimbursement of local government capital expenses pursuant to the prioritized list developed in section 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 43.79 RCW to read as follows:
     The state corrections special reserve account is created in the state treasury. Revenues to the account shall consist of moneys transferred into the account under section 1 of this act and any interest thereon. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the account may be used only for capital expenses relating to state correctional institutions, including the cost of planning or preplanning studies that may be required to initiate capital projects.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   A new section is added to chapter 43.135 RCW to read as follows:
     RCW 43.135.035(4) does not apply to the transfers established in sections 1 and 2 of this act.