CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1241

Chapter 292, Laws of 2024

68TH LEGISLATURE

2024 REGULAR SESSION

HARASSMENT OF ELECTION OFFICIALS

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 26, 2024

SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1241

AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

ByHouse Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry (originally sponsored by Representatives Leavitt, Reeves, Reed, Morgan, and Bronoske)

AN ACT Relating to harassment; amending RCW 9A.46.020; reenacting and amending RCW 40.24.030; and declaring an emergency.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 9A.46.020 and 2023 c 102 s 16 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) A person is guilty of harassment if:

(a) Without lawful authority, the person knowingly threatens:

(i) To cause bodily injury immediately or in the future to the person threatened or to any other person; or

(ii) To cause physical damage to the property of a person other than the actor; or

(iii) To subject the person threatened or any other person to physical confinement or restraint; or

(iv) Maliciously to do any other act which is intended to substantially harm the person threatened or another with respect to his or her physical health or safety; and

(b) The person by words or conduct places the person threatened in reasonable fear that the threat will be carried out. "Words or conduct" includes, in addition to any other form of communication or conduct, the sending of an electronic communication.

(2)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, a person who harasses another is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.

(b) A person who harasses another is guilty of a class C felony if any of the following apply: (i) The person has previously been convicted in this or any other state of any crime of harassment, as defined in RCW 9A.46.060, of the same victim or members of the victim's family or household or any person specifically named in a no-contact or no-harassment order; (ii) the person harasses another person under subsection (1)(a)(i) of this section by threatening to kill the person threatened or any other person; (iii) the person harasses a criminal justice participant or election official who is performing his or her official duties at the time the threat is made; or (iv) the person harasses a criminal justice participant or election official because of an action taken or decision made by the criminal justice participant or election official during the performance of his or her official duties. For the purposes of (b)(iii) and (iv) of this subsection, the fear from the threat must be a fear that a reasonable criminal justice participant or election official would have under all the circumstances. Threatening words do not constitute harassment if it is apparent to the criminal justice participant or election official that the person does not have the present and future ability to carry out the threat.

(3) Any criminal justice participant or election official who is a target for threats or harassment prohibited under subsection (2)(b)(iii) or (iv) of this section, and any ((family members))person residing with him or her, shall be eligible for the address confidentiality program created under RCW 40.24.030.

(4) For purposes of this section, a criminal justice participant includes any (a) federal, state, or local law enforcement agency employee; (b) federal, state, or local prosecuting attorney or deputy prosecuting attorney; (c) staff member of any adult corrections institution or local adult detention facility; (d) staff member of any juvenile corrections institution or local juvenile detention facility; (e) community corrections officer, probation, or parole officer; (f) member of the indeterminate sentence review board; (g) advocate from a crime victim/witness program; or (h) defense attorney.

(5) For the purposes of this section, an election official includes any staff member of the office of the secretary of state or staff member of a county auditor's office, regardless of whether the member is employed on a temporary or part-time basis, whose duties relate to voter registration or the processing of votes as provided in Title 29A RCW.

(6) The penalties provided in this section for harassment do not preclude the victim from seeking any other remedy otherwise available under law.

Sec. 2. RCW 40.24.030 and 2023 c 462 s 501 and 2023 c 193 s 18 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

(1)(a) An adult person, a parent or guardian acting on behalf of a minor, or a guardian acting on behalf of an ((incapacitated person))individual subject to guardianship as defined in RCW 11.130.010, (b) any election official as described in RCW 9A.46.020 or 9A.90.120 who is a target for threats or harassment prohibited under RCW 9A.46.020 or 9A.90.120(2)(b) (iii) or (iv), and any person residing with such person(([,])), (c) any criminal justice participant as defined in RCW 9A.46.020 who is a target for threats or harassment prohibited under RCW 9A.46.020(2)(b) (iii) or (iv) and any criminal justice participant as defined in RCW 9A.90.120 who is a target for threats or harassment prohibited under RCW 9A.90.120(2)(b) (iii) or (iv), and any person residing with such person, and (d) any protected health care services provider, employee, or an affiliate of such provider, who provides, attempts to provide, assists in the provision, or attempts to assist in the provision of protected health care services as defined in RCW 7.115.010, and any family members residing with such person, may apply to the secretary of state to have an address designated by the secretary of state serve as the person's address or the address of the minor or incapacitated person. The secretary of state shall approve an application if it is filed in the manner and on the form prescribed by the secretary of state and if it contains:

(i) A sworn statement, under penalty of perjury, by the applicant that the applicant has good reason to believe (A) that the applicant, or the minor or incapacitated person on whose behalf the application is made, is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, or stalking and that the applicant fears for the applicant's safety or the applicant's children's safety, or the safety of the minor or incapacitated person on whose behalf the application is made; (B) that the applicant, as an election official as described in RCW 9A.46.020 or 9A.90.120, is a target for threats or harassment prohibited under RCW 9A.46.020 or 9A.90.120(2)(b) (iii) or (iv); (C) that the applicant, as a criminal justice participant as defined in RCW 9A.46.020, is a target for threats or harassment prohibited under RCW 9A.46.020(2)(b) (iii) or (iv), or that the applicant, as a criminal justice participant as defined in RCW 9A.90.120 is a target for threats or harassment prohibited under RCW 9A.90.120(2)(b) (iii) or (iv); or (D) that the applicant, as a protected health care services provider, employee, or an affiliate of such provider, who provides, attempts to provide, assists in the provision, or attempts to assist in the provision of protected health care services as defined in RCW 7.115.010, is a target for threats or harassment prohibited under RCW 9A.90.120 or 9A.46.020;

(ii) If applicable, a sworn statement, under penalty of perjury, by the applicant, that the applicant has reason to believe they are a victim of (A) domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking perpetrated by an employee of a law enforcement agency, (B) threats or harassment prohibited under RCW 9A.90.120(2)(b) (iii) or (iv) or 9A.46.020(2)(b) (iii) or (iv), or (C) threats or harassment as described in (a)(i)(D) of this subsection;

(iii) A designation of the secretary of state as agent for purposes of service of process and for the purpose of receipt of mail;

(iv) The residential address and any telephone number where the applicant can be contacted by the secretary of state, which shall not be disclosed because disclosure will increase the risk of (A) domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, or stalking, (B) threats or harassment prohibited under RCW 9A.90.120(2)(b) (iii) or (iv) or 9A.46.020(2)(b) (iii) or (iv), or (C) threats or harassment as described in (a)(i)(D) of this subsection;

(v) The signature of the applicant and of any individual or representative of any office designated in writing under RCW 40.24.080 who assisted in the preparation of the application, and the date on which the applicant signed the application.

(2) Applications shall be filed with the office of the secretary of state.

(3) Upon filing a properly completed application, the secretary of state shall certify the applicant as a program participant. Applicants shall be certified for four years following the date of filing unless the certification is withdrawn or invalidated before that date. The secretary of state shall by rule establish a renewal procedure.

(4)(a) During the application process, the secretary of state shall provide each applicant a form to direct the department of licensing to change the address of registration for vehicles or vessels solely or jointly registered to the applicant and the address associated with the applicant's driver's license or identicard to the applicant's address as designated by the secretary of state upon certification in the program. The directive to the department of licensing is only valid if signed by the applicant. The directive may only include information required by the department of licensing to verify the applicant's identity and ownership information for vehicles and vessels. This information is limited to the:

(i) Applicant's full legal name;

(ii) Applicant's Washington driver's license or identicard number;

(iii) Applicant's date of birth;

(iv) Vehicle identification number and license plate number for each vehicle solely or jointly registered to the applicant; and

(v) Hull identification number or vessel document number and vessel decal number for each vessel solely or jointly registered to the applicant.

(b) Upon certification of the applicants, the secretary of state shall transmit completed and signed directives to the department of licensing.

(c) Within 30 days of receiving a completed and signed directive, the department of licensing shall update the applicant's address on registration and licensing records.

(d) Applicants are not required to sign the directive to the department of licensing to be certified as a program participant.

(5) A person who knowingly provides false or incorrect information upon making an application or falsely attests in an application that disclosure of the applicant's address would endanger (a) the applicant's safety or the safety of the applicant's children or the minor or incapacitated person on whose behalf the application is made, (b) the safety of any election official as described in RCW 9A.46.020 or 9A.90.120 who is a target for threats or harassment prohibited under RCW 9A.46.020 or 9A.90.120(2)(b) (iii) or (iv), (c) the safety of any criminal justice participant as defined in RCW 9A.46.020 who is a target for threats or harassment prohibited under RCW 9A.46.020(2)(b) (iii) or (iv) or of any criminal justice participant as defined in RCW 9A.90.120 who is a target for threats or harassment prohibited under RCW 9A.90.120(2)(b) (iii) or (iv), or (d) the safety of any person as described in subsection (1)(a)(i)(D) of this section who is a target for threats or harassment, or any family members residing with such person, shall be punished under RCW 40.16.030 or other applicable statutes.

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