AN ACT Relating to issuing an identicard for offenders released from prison facilities; amending RCW 46.20.117; adding a new section to chapter 72.09 RCW; creating new sections; and providing an effective date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 72.09 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the department, working in conjunction with the department of licensing, shall create and implement an identicard program to provide offenders released within Washington state a state-issued identicard pursuant to RCW 46.20.117.

(2) An offender is eligible for an original, renewal, or replacement identicard pursuant to this section, provided he or she:

(a) Meets the department of licensing criteria under RCW 46.20.117;

(b) Is sentenced to the custody of the department of corrections, and is incarcerated within a department of corrections facility with an earned release date that is more than one year from his or her admission date;

(c) Is expected to be released to a location within Washington state; and

(d) Does not have a current and valid state-issued identification card.

Sec. 3.  RCW 46.20.117 and 2017 c 122 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Issuance. The department shall issue an identicard, containing a picture, if the applicant:

(a)(i) Does not hold a valid Washington driver's license;

(((b))) (ii) Proves his or her identity as required by RCW 46.20.035; and

(((c))) (iii) Pays the required fee. Except as provided in subsections (1)(b) or (5) of this section, the fee is fifty-four dollars, unless an applicant is: (((i))) (A) A recipient of continuing public assistance grants under Title 74 RCW, who is referred in writing by the secretary of social and health services; or (((ii))) (B) under the age of eighteen and does not have a permanent residence address as determined by the department by rule. For those persons, the fee must be the actual cost of production of the identicard; or

(iii) The department may charge the department of corrections a fee of eighteen dollars for an identicard issued under this subsection.

(2)(a) Design and term. The identicard must:

(i) Be distinctly designed so that it will not be confused with the official driver's license; and

(ii) Except as provided in subsections (1)(b) or (5) of this section, expire on the sixth anniversary of the applicant's birthdate after issuance.

(b) The identicard may include the person's status as a veteran, consistent with RCW 46.20.161(2).

(3) Renewal. An application for identicard renewal may be submitted by means of:

(a) Personal appearance before the department; or

(b) Mail or electronic commerce, if permitted by rule of the department and if the applicant did not renew his or her identicard by mail or by electronic commerce when it last expired.

An identicard may not be renewed by mail or by electronic commerce unless the renewal issued by the department includes a photograph of the identicard holder.

(4) Cancellation. The department may cancel an identicard if the holder of the identicard used the card or allowed others to use the card in violation of RCW 46.20.0921.

(5) Alternative issuance/renewal/extension. The department may issue or renew an identicard for a period other than six years, or may extend by mail or electronic commerce an identicard that has already been issued, in order to evenly distribute, as nearly as possible, the yearly renewal rate of identicard holders. The fee for an identicard issued or renewed for a period other than six years, or that has been extended by mail or electronic commerce, is nine dollars for each year that the identicard is issued, renewed, or extended. The department may adopt any rules as are necessary to carry out this subsection.

--- END ---