BILL REQ. #:  S-3577.1 

Read first time 01/15/14.   Referred to Committee on Human Services & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to community custody conditions for sex offenders; and amending RCW 9.94A.704 and 72.09.340.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 9.94A.704 and 2012 1st sp.s. c 6 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Every person who is sentenced to a period of community custody shall report to and be placed under the supervision of the department, subject to RCW 9.94A.501.
     (2)(a) The department shall assess the offender's risk of reoffense and may establish and modify additional conditions of community custody based upon the risk to community safety.
     (b) Within the funds available for community custody, the department shall determine conditions on the basis of risk to community safety, and shall supervise offenders during community custody on the basis of risk to community safety and conditions imposed by the court. The secretary shall adopt rules to implement the provisions of this subsection (2)(b).
     (3) If the offender is supervised by the department, the department shall at a minimum instruct the offender to:
     (a) Report as directed to a community corrections officer;
     (b) Remain within prescribed geographical boundaries;
     (c) Notify the community corrections officer of any change in the offender's address or employment;
     (d) Pay the supervision fee assessment; and
     (e) Disclose the fact of supervision to any mental health or chemical dependency treatment provider, as required by RCW 9.94A.722.
     (4) The department may require the offender to participate in rehabilitative programs, or otherwise perform affirmative conduct, and to obey all laws.
     (5) If the offender was sentenced pursuant to a conviction for a sex offense, the department may:
     (a) Require the offender to refrain from direct or indirect contact with the victim of the crime or a specified class of individuals. If a victim or an immediate family member of a victim has requested that the offender not contact him or her after notice as provided in RCW 72.09.340, the department shall require the offender to refrain from contact with the requestor. Where the victim is a minor, the parent or guardian of the victim may make a request on the victim's behalf.
     (b) Impose electronic monitoring. Within the resources made available by the department for this purpose, the department shall carry out any electronic monitoring using the most appropriate technology given the individual circumstances of the offender. As used in this section, "electronic monitoring" means the monitoring of an offender using an electronic offender tracking system including, but not limited to, a system using radio frequency or active or passive global positioning system technology.
     (6) The department may not impose conditions that are contrary to those ordered by the court and may not contravene or decrease court-imposed conditions.
     (7)(a) The department shall notify the offender in writing of any additional conditions or modifications.
     (b) By the close of the next business day after receiving notice of a condition imposed or modified by the department, an offender may request an administrative review under rules adopted by the department. The condition shall remain in effect unless the reviewing officer finds that it is not reasonably related to the crime of conviction, the offender's risk of reoffending, or the safety of the community.
     (8) The department shall notify the offender in writing upon community custody intake of the department's violation process.
     (9) The department may require offenders to pay for special services rendered including electronic monitoring, day reporting, and telephone reporting, dependent on the offender's ability to pay. The department may pay for these services for offenders who are not able to pay.
     (10)(a) When a sex offender has been sentenced pursuant to RCW 9.94A.507, the department shall assess the offender's risk of recidivism and shall recommend to the board any additional or modified conditions based upon the offender's risk to community safety and may recommend affirmative conduct or electronic monitoring consistent with subsections (4) through (6) of this section.
     (b) The board may impose conditions in addition to court-ordered conditions. The board must consider and may impose department-recommended conditions. The board must impose a condition requiring the offender to refrain from contact with the victim or immediate family member of the victim as provided in subsection (5)(a) of this section.
     (c) By the close of the next business day, after receiving notice of a condition imposed by the board or the department, an offender may request an administrative hearing under rules adopted by the board. The condition shall remain in effect unless the hearing examiner finds that it is not reasonably related to any of the following:
     (i) The crime of conviction;
     (ii) The offender's risk of reoffending;
     (iii) The safety of the community.
     (d) If the department finds that an emergency exists requiring the immediate imposition of additional conditions in order to prevent the offender from committing a crime, the department may impose such conditions. The department may not impose conditions that are contrary to those set by the board or the court and may not contravene or decrease court-imposed or board-imposed conditions. Conditions imposed under this subsection shall take effect immediately after notice to the offender by personal service, but shall not remain in effect longer than seven working days unless approved by the board.
     (11) In setting, modifying, and enforcing conditions of community custody, the department shall be deemed to be performing a quasi-judicial function.

Sec. 2   RCW 72.09.340 and 2009 c 28 s 35 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) In making all discretionary decisions regarding release plans for and supervision of sex offenders, the department shall set priorities and make decisions based on an assessment of public safety risks.
     (2) The department shall((, no later than September 1, 1996, implement)) have a policy governing the department's evaluation and approval of release plans for sex offenders. The policy shall include, at a minimum, a formal process by which victims, witnesses, and other interested people may provide information and comments to the department on potential safety risks to specific individuals or classes of individuals posed by a specific sex offender. The department shall make all reasonable efforts to publicize the availability of this process through currently existing mechanisms and shall seek the assistance of courts, prosecutors, law enforcement, and victims' advocacy groups in doing so. Notice of an offender's proposed residence shall be provided to all people registered to receive notice of an offender's release under RCW 72.09.712(2), except that in no case may this notification requirement be construed to require an extension of an offender's release date.
     (3)(a) For any offender convicted of a felony sex offense against a minor victim after June 6, 1996, the department shall not approve a residence location if the proposed residence: (i) Includes a minor victim or child of similar age or circumstance as a previous victim who the department determines may be put at substantial risk of harm by the offender's residence in the household; or (ii) is within close proximity of the current residence of a minor victim, unless the whereabouts of the minor victim cannot be determined or unless such a restriction would impede family reunification efforts ordered by the court or directed by the department of social and health services. The department is further authorized to reject a residence location if the proposed residence is within close proximity to schools, child care centers, playgrounds, or other grounds or facilities where children of similar age or circumstance as a previous victim are present who the department determines may be put at substantial risk of harm by the sex offender's residence at that location.
     (b) In addition, for any offender prohibited from living in a community protection zone under RCW 9.94A.703(1)(c), the department may not approve a residence location if the proposed residence is in a community protection zone.
     (4) At the time of providing notice of a sex offender's proposed residence as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the department shall include notice that a victim or immediate family member of a victim may request that the offender refrain from contacting him or her as a condition of the offender's community custody if that condition is not already provided by court order.
     (5) When the department requires supervised visitation as a term or condition of a sex offender's community placement under RCW 9.94B.050(6), the department shall, prior to approving a supervisor, consider the following:
     (a) The relationships between the proposed supervisor, the offender, and the minor;
     (b) The proposed supervisor's acknowledgment and understanding of the offender's prior criminal conduct, general knowledge of the dynamics of child sexual abuse, and willingness and ability to protect the minor from the potential risks posed by contact with the offender; and
     (c) Recommendations made by the department of social and health services about the best interests of the child.