Background:

The Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) issues driver's licenses, endorsements, and identicards that are valid for up to six years. An identicard is a non-driving Washington identification card (ID) issued by the DOL.

The DOL must issue an identicard, containing a picture, to any applicant provided that the applicant: (1) does not hold a valid Washington driver's license; (2) proves his or her identity; and (3) pays the required statutory $54 fee, unless the applicant receives public assistance, in which case the cost is equal to the actual cost to produce the identicard.

Identicards are distinctly designed so that they are not confused with an official driver's license and expire on the sixth anniversary of the applicant's birth date after issuance. An applicant may renew an identicard by means of personal appearance at a DOL office, by mail, or electronic commerce.

Issuance of Identicards to Released Offenders.

The DOL and the Department of Corrections (DOC) have an interagency agreement relating to issuing ID cards to offenders released and leaving correctional facilities. The two agencies work jointly together to help provide offenders with an ID in one of two ways: (1) via a DOC/DOL memorandum of understanding; or (2) via a pilot program at the Monroe Correctional Complex (MCC).

The DOC and the DOL Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Under the MOU agreement, before an offender is released, the DOC electronically notifies the DOL with the offender's identifying information including his or her name, photo, date of birth, Social Security number and any known aliases. Once the offender is released to the community, he or she must take the DOC-issued ID card to a DOL office.

A DOL employee compares the information previously received from the DOC to the DOC ID card, verifies the applicant's Social Security number via the Social Security Administration database, has the person sign an application, takes a photo, and collects the applicable $54 fee as set in statute. The DOL runs facial recognition on all applicants to prevent identity theft and then the applicant receives a temporary identicard card. The permanent identicard (which is valid for six years) is mailed to the person's address by the DOL's central issuance vendor.

Monroe Pilot Program. In 2014 the DOL began working in conjunction with the DOC to create a pilot Identicard Program (program) within the MCC. The goal was to create a program to provide offenders with a state-issued identicard directly upon release from incarceration.

Each offender is eligible for an original, renewal, or replacement identicard provided he or she:

meets the DOL's criteria of being able to prove his or her identity (a DOC ID is sufficient proof of identity);
is under the custody of the DOC;
had been sentenced to an incarceration period exceeding one year and one day; and
is incarcerated within the MCC and is within two months or less of release from the correctional institution.

The DOL works with the DOC to obtain the offender's photo and uses a facial recognition program to place the person's photo on the ID card. The ID cards are mailed directly to the DOC before the person is released and leaves the facility. The DOL may not charge an offender any fee for an identicard issued under the pilot program. Expenditures for the pilot program are funded out of the 2014 supplemental operating budget.

Monroe Correctional Complex.

The MCC (often referred to or also the Washington State Reformatory) opened in 1910 and is one of the DOC's largest correctional facilities in Washington. The facility is located in Monroe, Washington, and has an operating capacity of 2,400 with custody levels ranging from minimum to closed custody levels.

During the 2014 Fiscal Year, approximately 6,435 offenders will be released from a DOC facility (excluding deportations, deaths, transfers to other jurisdictions, and those incarcerated exactly one year and one day in prison) statewide.

Summary of Bill:

The DOL must work in conjunction with the DOC to create a program to provide offenders with a state-issued identicard upon release from incarceration.

Each offender is eligible for an original, renewal, or replacement identicard provided he or she:

meets the DOL's criteria of being able to prove his or her identity (a DOC ID is sufficient proof of identity and residency);
is under the custody of the DOC;
had been sentenced to an incarceration period exceeding one year and one day;
is incarcerated within a DOC facility and is within two months or less of release from a correctional institution; and
has not waived his or her right for an identicard and does not have a current, valid state-issued identification card.

Each identicard issued to an offender will expire one year from the first anniversary of the offender's birth date after the identicard is issued. The DOL may charge the DOC a fee of $9 for each identicard issued. There is no cost to the offender.