BILL REQ. #:  S-4376.2 

Read first time 01/18/08.   Referred to Committee on Human Services & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to the creation of a sex offender policy board; adding new sections to chapter 9.94A RCW; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS. The legislature finds that in recent years professionals have recognized the value of developing a more coordinated and integrated response to sex offender management. The legislature further finds that a comprehensive response to issues that arise, such as integrating federal and state laws, or assessing whether system flaws contributed to an offense, can enhance the state's interest in protecting the community with an emphasis on public safety. While the legislature recognizes that sex offenses cannot be eliminated entirely, the interests of the public will be best served if Washington state experts and practitioners from across the continuum of the sex offender response system coordinate sex offender management planning and create a system to assess the performance of all components of the sex offender response systems statewide. The legislature intends to foster such coordination by creating a sex offender policy board.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   ESTABLISHMENT OF BOARD. (1) The sentencing guidelines commission shall establish, staff, and maintain a sex offender policy board.
     (2) Although the board is established by the commission, it shall maintain an independent existence from the commission.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   BOARD MEMBERSHIP. (1) The sex offender policy board shall consist of thirteen voting members. Unless the member is specifically named in this section, the following organizations shall designate a person to sit on the board.
     (a) The Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs;
     (b) The Washington association of prosecuting attorneys;
     (c) The Washington association of criminal defense lawyers;
     (d) The chair of the indeterminate sentence review board or his or her designee;
     (e) The Washington association for the treatment of sex abusers;
     (f) The secretary of the department of corrections or his or her designee;
     (g) The Washington state superior court judge's association;
     (h) The assistant secretary of the juvenile rehabilitation administration or his or her designee;
     (i) The office of crime victims advocacy in the department of community, trade, and economic development;
     (j) The Washington state association of counties;
     (k) The association of Washington cities;
     (l) The Washington association of sexual assault programs; and
     (m) The director of the special commitment center or his or her designee.
     (2) The person so named in subsection (1) of this section has the authority to make decisions on behalf of the organization he or she represents.
     (3) The nonvoting membership shall consist of the following:
     (a) Two members of the sentencing guidelines commission chosen by the chair of the commission; and
     (b) A representative of the criminal justice division in the attorney general's office.
     (4) The board shall choose its chair by majority vote from among its voting membership. The chair's term shall be two years.
     (5) The chair of the sentencing guidelines commission shall convene the first meeting.
     (6) The Washington institute for public policy shall act as an advisor to the board.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   LENGTH OF MEMBERSHIP TERMS. (1) The following members of the sex offender policy board shall be appointed for a term of three years and shall serve until their successor is selected by the agency they represent:
     (a) The member selected by the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs;
     (b) The member selected by the Washington association of prosecuting attorneys;
     (c) The member selected by the Washington association of criminal defense lawyers;
     (d) The member selected by the Washington association for the treatment of sex abusers;
     (e) The member selected by the Washington state superior court judge's association;
     (f) The member selected by the Washington state association of counties;
     (g) The member selected by the association of Washington cities; and
     (h) The member selected by the Washington association of sexual assault providers.
     (2) Any vacancy before the expiration of a term shall be filled by the appointing agency for the unexpired portion of the term in which the vacancy occurs. The terms of the initial members listed in subsection (1) of this section shall be staggered so that their terms expire after one, two, and three years.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   BOARD AUTHORITY. (1) The sex offender policy board may create subcommittees as needed.
     (2) Within available funding, the board may contract with outside entities which have specific expertise necessary to assist the board in performing its duties.
     (3) The board shall develop bylaws to govern its operation, using the bylaws created by the sentencing guidelines commission as a guide.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   DUTIES OF THE BOARD. The sex offender policy board's duties are as follows:
     (1)(a) To stay apprised of (i) research and best practices related to risk assessment, treatment, and supervision of sex offenders; (ii) community education regarding sex offenses and offenders; (iii) prevention of sex offenses; and (iv) sex offender management, in general;
     (b) To conduct case reviews on sex offenders who recidivate which are requested by the governor, the legislature, or local criminal justice agencies in a manner that protects the right to a fair trial;
     (c) To develop and report on benchmarks that measure performance across the state's sex offender response system;
     (d) To assess and communicate best practices or upcoming trends in other jurisdictions to determine their applicability and viability in Washington state;
     (e) To provide a forum for discussion of issues that requires interagency communication, coordination, and collaboration, including:
     (i) Community education and the distribution of information about all parts of the sex offender management system to interested parties;
     (ii) Existing community-based prevention programs; and
     (iii) Sex offender registration and monitoring in the community.
     (2) The board shall develop an initial work plan detailing the method for achieving its duties and submit it to the governor and the legislature no later than December 1, 2008. The board shall annually update the work plan and include reasonable performance measures to indicate whether its duties are being met.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   REIMBURSEMENT. The members of the sex offender policy board shall be reimbursed for travel expenses as provided in RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   MEMBER REPLACEMENT. Any member of the sex offender policy board who misses three consecutive meetings shall have that fact called to that member's attention by the chair of the board with the request that the member reconsider his or her ability to continue as a member. After discussion, if the chair believes the member is not able to continue as a board member, the chair shall request that the appointing agency replace the member for the remainder of the unexpired term.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   NULL AND VOID CLAUSE. If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 2008, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10   CAPTIONS NOT LAW. Captions used in this act are not any part of the law.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 11   Sections 1 through 8 of this act are each added to chapter 9.94A RCW.