S-3280.1
SENATE BILL 6025
State of Washington
65th Legislature
2018 Regular Session
By Senators Dhingra, Darneille, Frockt, Liias, Keiser, Pedersen, Hunt, Chase, Padden, Palumbo, O'Ban, Saldaña, Kuderer, and Hasegawa
Prefiled 12/15/17. Read first time 01/08/18. Referred to Committee on Law & Justice.
AN ACT Relating to increasing success in therapeutic courts; amending RCW 71.24.580; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  Drug courts remove a defendant's or respondent's case from the criminal and civil court traditional trial track and allow those defendants or respondents the opportunity to obtain treatment services to address particular issues that may have contributed to the conduct that led to their arrest or other issues before the court. Such courts, by focusing on specific individuals' needs, provide treatment for the issues presented and ensure rapid and appropriate accountability for program violations, which decreases recidivism, improves the safety of the community, and improves the life of the program participant and the lives of the participant's family members by decreasing the severity and frequency of the specific behavior addressed by the therapeutic court. Therefore, the legislature finds compelling the research conducted by the Washington state institute for public policy and the research and data analysis division of the department of social and health services showing that providing recovery support services to clients in drug courts creates a benefit to the state of approximately seven dollars and sixty cents in reduced public expenditures and reduced costs of victimization for each dollar spent. Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to allow the use of a portion of the criminal justice treatment account to provide such services to foster increased success in drug courts.
Sec. 2.  RCW 71.24.580 and 2017 3rd sp.s. c 1 s 981 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The criminal justice treatment account is created in the state treasury. Moneys in the account may be expended solely for: (a) Substance use disorder treatment and treatment support services for offenders with a substance use disorder that, if not treated, would result in addiction, against whom charges are filed by a prosecuting attorney in Washington state; (b) the provision of substance use disorder treatment services and treatment support services for nonviolent offenders within a drug court program; and (c) the administrative and overhead costs associated with the operation of a drug court. During the 2015-2017 fiscal biennium, the legislature may transfer from the criminal justice treatment account to the state general fund amounts as reflect the state savings associated with the implementation of the medicaid expansion of the federal affordable care act and the excess fund balance of the account. During the 2017-2019 fiscal biennium, the legislature may direct the state treasurer to make transfers of moneys in the criminal justice treatment account to the state general fund. It is the intent of the legislature to continue, in future biennia, the policy of transferring to the state general fund such amounts as reflect the excess fund balance of the account. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation.
(2) For purposes of this section:
(a) "Treatment" means services that are critical to a participant's successful completion of his or her substance use disorder treatment program, ((but does not include the following services: Housing other than that provided as part of an inpatient substance use disorder treatment program, vocational training, and mental health counseling)) including but not limited to the recovery support and other programmatic elements outlined in RCW 2.30.030 authorizing therapeutic courts; and
(b) "Treatment support" ((means)) includes transportation to or from inpatient or outpatient treatment services when no viable alternative exists, and child care services that are necessary to ensure a participant's ability to attend outpatient treatment sessions.
(3) Revenues to the criminal justice treatment account consist of: (a) Funds transferred to the account pursuant to this section; and (b) any other revenues appropriated to or deposited in the account.
(4)(a) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006, and each subsequent fiscal year, the amount transferred shall be increased on an annual basis by the implicit price deflator as published by the federal bureau of labor statistics.
(b) In each odd-numbered year, the legislature shall appropriate the amount transferred to the criminal justice treatment account in (a) of this subsection to the department for the purposes of subsection (5) of this section.
(5) Moneys appropriated to the department from the criminal justice treatment account shall be distributed as specified in this subsection. The department may retain up to three percent of the amount appropriated under subsection (4)(b) of this section for its administrative costs.
(a) Seventy percent of amounts appropriated to the department from the account shall be distributed to counties pursuant to the distribution formula adopted under this section. The division of alcohol and substance abuse, in consultation with the department of corrections, the Washington state association of counties, the Washington state association of drug court professionals, the superior court judges' association, the Washington association of prosecuting attorneys, representatives of the criminal defense bar, representatives of substance use disorder treatment providers, and any other person deemed by the department to be necessary, shall establish a fair and reasonable methodology for distribution to counties of moneys in the criminal justice treatment account. County or regional plans submitted for the expenditure of formula funds must be approved by the panel established in (b) of this subsection.
(b) Thirty percent of the amounts appropriated to the department from the account shall be distributed as grants for purposes of treating offenders against whom charges are filed by a county prosecuting attorney. The department shall appoint a panel of representatives from the Washington association of prosecuting attorneys, the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs, the superior court judges' association, the Washington state association of counties, the Washington defender's association or the Washington association of criminal defense lawyers, the department of corrections, the Washington state association of drug court professionals, substance use disorder treatment providers, and the division. The panel shall review county or regional plans for funding under (a) of this subsection and grants approved under this subsection. The panel shall attempt to ensure that treatment as funded by the grants is available to offenders statewide.
(6) The county alcohol and drug coordinator, county prosecutor, county sheriff, county superior court, a substance abuse treatment provider appointed by the county legislative authority, a member of the criminal defense bar appointed by the county legislative authority, and, in counties with a drug court, a representative of the drug court shall jointly submit a plan, approved by the county legislative authority or authorities, to the panel established in subsection (5)(b) of this section, for disposition of all the funds provided from the criminal justice treatment account within that county. The funds shall be used solely to provide approved alcohol and substance abuse treatment pursuant to RCW 71.24.560((,)) and treatment support services((, and for the administrative and overhead costs associated with the operation of a drug court)).
(((a) No more than ten percent of the total moneys received under subsections (4) and (5) of this section by a county or group of counties participating in a regional agreement shall be spent on the administrative and overhead costs associated with the operation of a drug court.
(b))) No more than ten percent of the total moneys received under subsections (4) and (5) of this section by a county or group of counties participating in a regional agreement shall be spent for treatment support services.
(7) Counties are encouraged to consider regional agreements and submit regional plans for the efficient delivery of treatment under this section.
(8) Moneys allocated under this section shall be used to supplement, not supplant, other federal, state, and local funds used for substance abuse treatment.
(9) Counties must meet the criteria established in RCW 2.30.030(3).
(((10) The authority under this section to use funds from the criminal justice treatment account for the administrative and overhead costs associated with the operation of a drug court expires June 30, 2015.))
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