H-0538.1

HOUSE BILL 1396

ByRepresentatives Goodman and Bateman

AN ACT Relating to persons sentenced for aggravated first degree murder committed prior to reaching 21 years of age; amending RCW 9.94A.510, 9.94A.540, 9.94A.6332, 9.94A.729, and 10.95.030; adding new sections to chapter 10.95 RCW; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 9.94A.510 and 2014 c 130 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

TABLE 1

Sentencing Grid

Numbers in the first horizontal row of each seriousness category represent sentencing midpoints in years(y) and months(m). Numbers in the second and third rows represent standard sentence ranges in months, or in days if so designated. 12+ equals one year and one day.

Sec. 2. RCW 9.94A.540 and 2014 c 130 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Except to the extent provided in subsection (3) of this section, the following minimum terms of total confinement are mandatory and shall not be varied or modified under RCW 9.94A.535:

(a) An offender convicted of the crime of murder in the first degree shall be sentenced to a term of total confinement not less than twenty years.

(b) An offender convicted of the crime of assault in the first degree or assault of a child in the first degree where the offender used force or means likely to result in death or intended to kill the victim shall be sentenced to a term of total confinement not less than five years.

(c) An offender convicted of the crime of rape in the first degree shall be sentenced to a term of total confinement not less than five years.

(d) An offender convicted of the crime of sexually violent predator escape shall be sentenced to a minimum term of total confinement not less than sixty months.

(e) An offender convicted of the crime of aggravated first degree murder for a murder that was committed prior to the offender's ((eighteenth))21st birthday shall be sentenced to a term of total confinement not less than twenty-five years.

(2) During such minimum terms of total confinement, no offender subject to the provisions of this section is eligible for community custody, earned release time, furlough, home detention, partial confinement, work crew, work release, or any other form of early release authorized under RCW 9.94A.728, or any other form of authorized leave of absence from the correctional facility while not in the direct custody of a corrections officer. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply: (a) In the case of an offender in need of emergency medical treatment; (b) for the purpose of commitment to an inpatient treatment facility in the case of an offender convicted of the crime of rape in the first degree; or (c) for an extraordinary medical placement when authorized under RCW 9.94A.728(((3)))(1)(c).

(3)(a) Subsection (1)(a) through (d) of this section shall not be applied in sentencing of juveniles tried as adults pursuant to RCW 13.04.030(1)(e)(i).

(b) This subsection (3) applies only to crimes committed on or after July 24, 2005.

Sec. 3. RCW 9.94A.6332 and 2021 c 242 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

The procedure for imposing sanctions for violations of sentence conditions or requirements is as follows:

(1) If the offender was sentenced under the drug offender sentencing alternative, any sanctions shall be imposed by the department or the court pursuant to RCW 9.94A.660.

(2) If the offender was sentenced under the special sex offender sentencing alternative, any sanctions shall be imposed by the department or the court pursuant to RCW 9.94A.670.

(3) If the offender was sentenced under the parenting sentencing alternative, any sanctions shall be imposed by the department or by the court pursuant to RCW 9.94A.655.

(4) If the offender was sentenced under the mental health sentencing alternative, any sanctions shall be imposed by the department or the court pursuant to RCW 9.94A.695.

(5) If a sex offender was sentenced pursuant to RCW 9.94A.507, any sanctions shall be imposed by the board pursuant to RCW 9.95.435.

(6) If the offender was released pursuant to RCW 9.94A.730, any sanctions shall be imposed by the board pursuant to RCW 9.95.435.

(7) If the offender was sentenced pursuant to RCW 10.95.030(3), section 6 of this act, or 10.95.035, any sanctions shall be imposed by the board pursuant to RCW 9.95.435.

(8) In any other case, if the offender is being supervised by the department, any sanctions shall be imposed by the department pursuant to RCW 9.94A.737. If a probationer is being supervised by the department pursuant to RCW 9.92.060, 9.95.204, or 9.95.210, upon receipt of a violation hearing report from the department, the court retains any authority that those statutes provide to respond to a probationer's violation of conditions.

(9) If the offender is not being supervised by the department, any sanctions shall be imposed by the court pursuant to RCW 9.94A.6333.

Sec. 4. RCW 9.94A.729 and 2022 c 29 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1)(a) The term of the sentence of an offender committed to a correctional facility operated by the department may be reduced by earned release time in accordance with procedures that shall be developed and adopted by the correctional agency having jurisdiction in which the offender is confined. The earned release time shall be for good behavior and good performance, as determined by the correctional agency having jurisdiction. The correctional agency shall not credit the offender with earned release credits in advance of the offender actually earning the credits.

(b) Any program established pursuant to this section shall allow an offender to earn early release credits for presentence incarceration. If an offender is transferred from a county jail to the department, the administrator of a county jail facility shall certify to the department the amount of time spent in custody at the facility and the number of days of early release credits lost or not earned. The department may approve a jail certification from a correctional agency that calculates early release time based on the actual amount of confinement time served by the offender before sentencing when an erroneous calculation of confinement time served by the offender before sentencing appears on the judgment and sentence. The department must adjust an offender's rate of early release listed on the jail certification to be consistent with the rate applicable to offenders in the department's facilities. However, the department is not authorized to adjust the number of presentence early release days that the jail has certified as lost or not earned.

(2)(a) An offender who has been convicted of a felony committed after July 23, 1995, that involves any applicable deadly weapon enhancements under RCW 9.94A.533 (3) or (4), or both, shall not receive any good time credits or earned release time for that portion of his or her sentence that results from any deadly weapon enhancements.

(b) An offender whose sentence includes any impaired driving enhancements under RCW 9.94A.533(7), minor child enhancements under RCW 9.94A.533(13), or both, shall not receive any good time credits or earned release time for any portion of his or her sentence that results from those enhancements.

(3) An offender may earn early release time as follows:

(a) In the case of an offender sentenced pursuant to RCW 10.95.030(3), section 6 of this act, or 10.95.035, the offender may not receive any earned early release time during the minimum term of confinement imposed by the court; for any remaining portion of the sentence served by the offender, the aggregate earned release time may not exceed 10 percent of the sentence.

(b) In the case of an offender convicted of a serious violent offense, or a sex offense that is a class A felony, committed on or after July 1, 1990, and before July 1, 2003, the aggregate earned release time may not exceed 15 percent of the sentence.

(c) In the case of an offender convicted of a serious violent offense, or a sex offense that is a class A felony, committed on or after July 1, 2003, the aggregate earned release time may not exceed 10 percent of the sentence.

(d) An offender is qualified to earn up to 50 percent of aggregate earned release time if he or she:

(i) Is not classified as an offender who is at a high risk to reoffend as provided in subsection (4) of this section;

(ii) Is not confined pursuant to a sentence for:

(A) A sex offense;

(B) A violent offense;

(C) A crime against persons as defined in RCW 9.94A.411;

(D) A felony that is domestic violence as defined in RCW 10.99.020;

(E) A violation of RCW 9A.52.025 (residential burglary);

(F) A violation of, or an attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to violate, RCW 69.50.401 by manufacture or delivery or possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine; or

(G) A violation of, or an attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to violate, RCW 69.50.406 (delivery of a controlled substance to a minor);

(iii) Has no prior conviction for the offenses listed in (d)(ii) of this subsection;

(iv) Participates in programming or activities as directed by the offender's individual reentry plan as provided under RCW 72.09.270 to the extent that such programming or activities are made available by the department; and

(v) Has not committed a new felony after July 22, 2007, while under community custody.

(e) In no other case shall the aggregate earned release time exceed one-third of the total sentence.

(4) The department shall perform a risk assessment of each offender who may qualify for earned early release under subsection (3)(d) of this section utilizing the risk assessment tool recommended by the Washington state institute for public policy. Subsection (3)(d) of this section does not apply to offenders convicted after July 1, 2010.

(5)(a) A person who is eligible for earned early release as provided in this section and who will be supervised by the department pursuant to RCW 9.94A.501 or 9.94A.5011, shall be transferred to community custody in lieu of earned release time;

(b) The department shall, as a part of its program for release to the community in lieu of earned release, require the offender to propose a release plan that includes an approved residence and living arrangement. All offenders with community custody terms eligible for release to community custody in lieu of earned release shall provide an approved residence and living arrangement prior to release to the community;

(c) The department may deny transfer to community custody in lieu of earned release time if the department determines an offender's release plan, including proposed residence location and living arrangements, may violate the conditions of the sentence or conditions of supervision, place the offender at risk to violate the conditions of the sentence, place the offender at risk to reoffend, or present a risk to victim safety or community safety. The department's authority under this section is independent of any court-ordered condition of sentence or statutory provision regarding conditions for community custody;

(d) If the department is unable to approve the offender's release plan, the department may do one or more of the following:

(i) Transfer an offender to partial confinement in lieu of earned early release for a period not to exceed three months. The three months in partial confinement is in addition to that portion of the offender's term of confinement that may be served in partial confinement as provided in RCW 9.94A.728(1)(e);

(ii) Provide rental vouchers to the offender for a period not to exceed six months if rental assistance will result in an approved release plan.

A voucher must be provided in conjunction with additional transition support programming or services that enable an offender to participate in services including, but not limited to, substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, sex offender treatment, educational programming, or employment programming;

(e) The department shall maintain a list of housing providers that meets the requirements of RCW 72.09.285. If more than two voucher recipients will be residing per dwelling unit, as defined in RCW 59.18.030, rental vouchers for those recipients may only be paid to a housing provider on the department's list;

(f) For each offender who is the recipient of a rental voucher, the department shall gather data as recommended by the Washington state institute for public policy in order to best demonstrate whether rental vouchers are effective in reducing recidivism.

(6) An offender serving a term of confinement imposed under RCW 9.94A.670(5)(a) is not eligible for earned release credits under this section.

Sec. 5. RCW 10.95.030 and 2015 c 134 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, any person convicted of the crime of aggravated first degree murder shall be sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of release or parole. A person sentenced to life imprisonment under this section shall not have that sentence suspended, deferred, or commuted by any judicial officer and the indeterminate sentence review board or its successor may not parole such prisoner nor reduce the period of confinement in any manner whatsoever including but not limited to any sort of good-time calculation. The department of social and health services or its successor or any executive official may not permit such prisoner to participate in any sort of release or furlough program.

(2) If, pursuant to a special sentencing proceeding held under RCW 10.95.050, the trier of fact finds that there are not sufficient mitigating circumstances to merit leniency, the sentence shall be death. In no case, however, shall a person be sentenced to death if the person had an intellectual disability at the time the crime was committed, under the definition of intellectual disability set forth in (a) of this subsection. A diagnosis of intellectual disability shall be documented by a licensed psychiatrist or licensed psychologist designated by the court, who is an expert in the diagnosis and evaluation of intellectual disabilities. The defense must establish an intellectual disability by a preponderance of the evidence and the court must make a finding as to the existence of an intellectual disability.

(a) "Intellectual disability" means the individual has: (i) Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning; (ii) existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior; and (iii) both significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning and deficits in adaptive behavior were manifested during the developmental period.

(b) "General intellectual functioning" means the results obtained by assessment with one or more of the individually administered general intelligence tests developed for the purpose of assessing intellectual functioning.

(c) "Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning" means intelligence quotient seventy or below.

(d) "Adaptive behavior" means the effectiveness or degree with which individuals meet the standards of personal independence and social responsibility expected for his or her age.

(e) "Developmental period" means the period of time between conception and the eighteenth birthday.

(3)(a)(i) Any person convicted of the crime of aggravated first degree murder for an offense committed prior to the person's ((sixteenth))18th birthday shall be sentenced to a maximum term of life imprisonment and a minimum term of total confinement of twenty-five years.

(ii) Any person convicted of the crime of aggravated first degree murder for an offense committed when the person is at least ((sixteen))18 years old but less than ((eighteen))21 years old shall be sentenced to a maximum term of life imprisonment and a minimum term of total confinement of no less than ((twenty-five))25 years if the court determines that the mitigating factors that account for the diminished culpability of youth, as described in (b) of this subsection, justify a downward departure; however, if the court determines that those mitigating factors do not justify a downward departure, the person shall instead be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of release or parole. ((A minimum term of life may be imposed, in which case the person will be ineligible for parole or early release.))

(b) In setting a minimum term, the court must take into account mitigating factors that account for the diminished culpability of youth as provided in Miller v. Alabama, 132 S.Ct. 2455 (2012) including, but not limited to, the age of the individual, the youth's childhood and life experience, the degree of responsibility the youth was capable of exercising, and the youth's chances of becoming rehabilitated.

(c) A person sentenced under this subsection shall serve the sentence in a facility or institution operated, or utilized under contract, by the state. During the minimum term of total confinement, the person shall not be eligible for community custody, earned release time, furlough, home detention, partial confinement, work crew, work release, or any other form of early release authorized under RCW 9.94A.728, or any other form of authorized leave or absence from the correctional facility while not in the direct custody of a corrections officer. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply: (i) In the case of an offender in need of emergency medical treatment; or (ii) for an extraordinary medical placement when authorized under RCW 9.94A.728(((3)))(1)(c).

(d) Any person sentenced pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to community custody under the supervision of the department of corrections and the authority of the indeterminate sentence review board. As part of any sentence under this subsection, the court shall require the person to comply with any conditions imposed by the board.

(e) No later than five years prior to the expiration of the person's minimum term, the department of corrections shall conduct an assessment of the offender and identify programming and services that would be appropriate to prepare the offender for return to the community. To the extent possible, the department shall make programming available as identified by the assessment.

(f) No later than one hundred eighty days prior to the expiration of the person's minimum term, the department of corrections shall conduct, and the offender shall participate in, an examination of the person, incorporating methodologies that are recognized by experts in the prediction of dangerousness, and including a prediction of the probability that the person will engage in future criminal behavior if released on conditions to be set by the board. The board may consider a person's failure to participate in an evaluation under this subsection in determining whether to release the person. The board shall order the person released, under such affirmative and other conditions as the board determines appropriate, unless the board determines by a preponderance of the evidence that, despite such conditions, it is more likely than not that the person will commit new criminal law violations if released. If the board does not order the person released, the board shall set a new minimum term not to exceed five additional years. The board shall give public safety considerations the highest priority when making all discretionary decisions regarding the ability for release and conditions of release.

(g) In a hearing conducted under (f) of this subsection, the board shall provide opportunities for victims and survivors of victims of any crimes for which the offender has been convicted to present statements as set forth in RCW 7.69.032. The procedures for victim and survivor of victim input shall be provided by rule. To facilitate victim and survivor of victim involvement, county prosecutor's offices shall ensure that any victim impact statements and known contact information for victims of record and survivors of victims are forwarded as part of the judgment and sentence.

(h) An offender released by the board is subject to the supervision of the department of corrections for a period of time to be determined by the board. The department shall monitor the offender's compliance with conditions of community custody imposed by the court or board and promptly report any violations to the board. Any violation of conditions of community custody established or modified by the board are subject to the provisions of RCW 9.95.425 through 9.95.440.

(i) An offender released or discharged under this section may be returned to the institution at the discretion of the board if the offender is found to have violated a condition of community custody. The offender is entitled to a hearing pursuant to RCW 9.95.435. The board shall set a new minimum term of incarceration not to exceed five years.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 10.95 RCW to read as follows:

(1) A person, who was sentenced prior to July 1, 2023, under this chapter or any prior law, to a term of life without the possibility of parole for an offense committed when the person is at least 18 years old but less than 21 years old, shall be returned to the sentencing court or the sentencing court's successor for sentencing consistent with RCW 10.95.030. Release and supervision of a person who receives a minimum term of less than life will be governed by RCW 10.95.030.

(2) The court shall provide an opportunity for victims and survivors of victims of any crimes for which the offender has been convicted to present a statement personally or by representation.

(3) The court's order setting a minimum term is subject to review to the same extent as a minimum term decision by the parole board before July 1, 1986.

(4) A resentencing under this section shall not reopen the defendant's conviction to challenges that would otherwise be barred by RCW 10.73.090, 10.73.100, 10.73.140, or other procedural barriers.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7. A new section is added to chapter 10.95 RCW to read as follows:

Sections 1 through 6 of this act apply to all sentencing hearings conducted on or after July 1, 2023, regardless of the date of an offender's underlying offense.

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