CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
SENATE BILL 5612
Chapter 229, Laws of 2022
67TH LEGISLATURE
2022 REGULAR SESSION
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE—VICTIM STATEMENTS AT SENTENCING
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 9, 2022
Passed by the Senate March 8, 2022
  Yeas 49  Nays 0
DENNY HECK

President of the Senate
Passed by the House March 4, 2022
  Yeas 98  Nays 0
LAURIE JINKINS

Speaker of the House of Representatives
CERTIFICATE
I, Sarah Bannister, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SENATE BILL 5612 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth.
SARAH BANNISTER

Secretary
Secretary
Approved March 30, 2022 2:47 PM
FILED
March 31, 2022
JAY INSLEE

Governor of the State of Washington
Secretary of State
State of Washington

SENATE BILL 5612

AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
Passed Legislature - 2022 Regular Session
State of Washington
67th Legislature
2022 Regular Session
BySenators L. Wilson, Warnick, Braun, Brown, Dhingra, Keiser, Lovick, Mullet, Rolfes, Short, Wagoner, and J. Wilson
Prefiled 12/29/21.Read first time 01/10/22.Referred to Committee on Law & Justice.
AN ACT Relating to ensuring domestic violence victims and survivors of victims have the opportunity to make a statement during sentencing for all domestic violence convictions; and amending RCW 7.69.030.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 7.69.030 and 2009 c 138 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
There shall be a reasonable effort made to ensure that victims, survivors of victims, and witnesses of crimes have the following rights, which apply to any criminal court and/or juvenile court proceeding:
(1) With respect to victims of violent or sex crimes, to receive, at the time of reporting the crime to law enforcement officials, a written statement of the rights of crime victims as provided in this chapter. The written statement shall include the name, address, and telephone number of a county or local crime victim/witness program, if such a crime victim/witness program exists in the county;
(2) To be informed by local law enforcement agencies or the prosecuting attorney of the final disposition of the case in which the victim, survivor, or witness is involved;
(3) To be notified by the party who issued the subpoena that a court proceeding to which they have been subpoenaed will not occur as scheduled, in order to save the person an unnecessary trip to court;
(4) To receive protection from harm and threats of harm arising out of cooperation with law enforcement and prosecution efforts, and to be provided with information as to the level of protection available;
(5) To be informed of the procedure to be followed to apply for and receive any witness fees to which they are entitled;
(6) To be provided, whenever practical, a secure waiting area during court proceedings that does not require them to be in close proximity to defendants and families or friends of defendants;
(7) To have any stolen or other personal property expeditiously returned by law enforcement agencies or the superior court when no longer needed as evidence. When feasible, all such property, except weapons, currency, contraband, property subject to evidentiary analysis, and property of which ownership is disputed, shall be photographed and returned to the owner within ten days of being taken;
(8) To be provided with appropriate employer intercession services to ensure that employers of victims, survivors of victims, and witnesses of crime will cooperate with the criminal justice process in order to minimize an employee's loss of pay and other benefits resulting from court appearance;
(9) To access to immediate medical assistance and not to be detained for an unreasonable length of time by a law enforcement agency before having such assistance administered. However, an employee of the law enforcement agency may, if necessary, accompany the person to a medical facility to question the person about the criminal incident if the questioning does not hinder the administration of medical assistance. Victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, as defined in RCW 49.76.020, shall be notified of their right to reasonable leave from employment under chapter 49.76 RCW;
(10) With respect to victims of violent and sex crimes, to have a crime victim advocate from a crime victim/witness program, or any other support person of the victim's choosing, present at any prosecutorial or defense interviews with the victim, and at any judicial proceedings related to criminal acts committed against the victim. This subsection applies if practical and if the presence of the crime victim advocate or support person does not cause any unnecessary delay in the investigation or prosecution of the case. The role of the crime victim advocate is to provide emotional support to the crime victim;
(11) With respect to victims and survivors of victims, to be physically present in court during trial, or if subpoenaed to testify, to be scheduled as early as practical in the proceedings in order to be physically present during trial after testifying and not to be excluded solely because they have testified;
(12) With respect to victims and survivors of victims in any felony case or any case involving domestic violence, to be informed by the prosecuting attorney of the date, time, and place of the trial and of the sentencing hearing ((for felony convictions)) upon request by a victim or survivor;
(13) To submit a victim impact statement or report to the court, with the assistance of the prosecuting attorney if requested, which shall be included in all presentence reports and permanently included in the files and records accompanying the offender committed to the custody of a state agency or institution;
(14) With respect to victims and survivors of victims in any felony case or any case involving domestic violence, to present a statement, personally or by representation, at the sentencing hearing ((for felony convictions)); and
(15) With respect to victims and survivors of victims, to entry of an order of restitution by the court in all felony cases, even when the offender is sentenced to confinement, unless extraordinary circumstances exist which make restitution inappropriate in the court's judgment.
Passed by the Senate March 8, 2022.
Passed by the House March 4, 2022.
Approved by the Governor March 30, 2022.
Filed in Office of Secretary of State March 31, 2022.
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