AN ACT Relating to disclosures regarding incentivized evidence and testimony; and adding new sections to chapter 10.58 RCW.

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

(1) "Benefit" means any deal, payment, promise, leniency, inducement, or other advantage offered by the state to an informant in exchange for his or her testimony, information, or statement.

(2) "Informant" means any individual, whether or not he or she is detained or incarcerated, who provides information or testimony in exchange for, or in expectation of, a benefit. An informant does not include an expert or a victim of the crime being prosecuted.

(3) "Statement" means an oral, written, or nonverbal communication related to the crime charged.

(a) The complete criminal history of the informant, including any pending criminal charges or investigations in which the informant is a suspect;

(b) Any benefit the state has provided or may provide in the future to the informant, including any written agreement related to a benefit, and information related to the informant's breach of any conditions contained within the agreement;

(c) The substance, time, and place of any statement allegedly given by the defendant to the informant, and the substance, time, and place of any statement given by the informant to law enforcement implicating the defendant in the crime charged, including the names of all persons present when any statement was allegedly given by the defendant to the informant;

(d) Any instance that the informant modified or recanted his or her testimony or statement, the time and place of the modification or recantation, the nature of the modification or recantation, and the names of the persons who were present at the modification or recantation;

(e) All other cases in which the informant offered to provide information to or testify for the state in exchange for a benefit, whether or not a benefit was offered or received;

(f) All other cases in which the informant testified for the state in exchange for a benefit, or in which the informant received any benefit as a result of that testimony;

(g) The relationship between the defendant and the informant, including the amount of time they were incarcerated in the same custodial section of the jail or prison;

(h) All evidence corroborating the informant's testimony or statement implicating the defendant in the crime charged; and

(i) Any other material or information in the possession, custody, or control of the state, or that is known or reasonably available to be discovered by the state that bears on the credibility or reliability of the informant or the informant's statement.

(2)(a) The state must disclose to the defendant the materials and information required under subsection (1) of this section as soon as practicable after discovery but no later than (i) the omnibus hearing or (ii) fourteen days before the testimony or statement is introduced in a trial or other criminal proceeding, whichever is earlier in time.

(b) The state may not introduce any testimony or statement of an informant in a trial or other criminal proceeding unless the materials and information required to be disclosed in subsection (1) of this section are disclosed in accordance with this subsection (2).

(a) Grant a continuance, unless waived by the defendant;

(b) Preclude the informant from testifying or the prior statement from being introduced;

(c) Dismiss the action; or

(d) Enter such other order as it deems just under the circumstances.

(2) An attorney who willfully violates section 2 of this act or an order issued pursuant to this section is subject to appropriate sanctions by the court.

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