FINAL BILL REPORT

SHB 1542

                                  C 252 L 89

BYHouse Committee on Health Care (originally sponsored by Representatives Braddock, Brooks, Locke, Cantwell, Day, Prentice, Morris, Sprenkle, Van Luven, Beck, Silver, Baugher, Brough, Winsley, Brekke and P. King) 

Creating a system making offenders accountable for legal financial obligations.

House Committe on Health Care

Rereferred House Committee on Appropriations

Senate Committee on Health Care & Corrections and Committee on Ways & Means

SYNOPSIS AS ENACTED

BACKGROUND:

Courts may order criminal offenders to pay fines, court costs, and/or restitution.  The Department of Corrections is responsible for supervising collection of these monetary obligations from felony offenders; however, the department may not collect the money from the offender directly.  All money must be paid to the clerk of the court. 

The courts are often unable to provide offender payment information to the department in a timely manner.  As a result, the community corrections officer is handicapped in his or her collections efforts.

Community corrections officers have three methods for securing collection of legal financial obligation:  confrontation with the offender, violation reports to bring the offender before the sentencing court, and recommendations for confinement.  These approaches have proven to be largely insufficient.  The collection rate averages only 25 percent.

SUMMARY:

A convicted felon must report, under oath, his or her present, past and future earning capabilities to the Department of Corrections.  This report must be remitted to the court for sentencing purposes.

"Legal financial obligations" are defined and include court ordered fines, restitution and/or costs.  If the court orders the offender to pay, it must set a minimum monthly payment schedule.

The department or crime victim may seek civil remedies such as wage assignments and attachment of property, to enforce payment of the offender's "legal financial obligation."

The department may remove funds from an inmate's account in order to secure payment on these obligations.

Restitution to crime victims is given the highest priority for distribution of the offender's monies.  All monetary payments will be supervised by the department for a period of 10 years after the date of release from confinement or the date the sentence was entered.

The penalty assessment imposed on offenders is increased to $100 per felony or gross misdemeanor and to $75 per misdemeanor.

The Department of Corrections and the County Clerks' Association must develop a compatible management and accounting system for legal financial obligation collections.  They must report their findings to both the House Health Care Committee and the Senate Health Care and Corrections Committee by December 1, 1989.  Unless determined otherwise, the Department of Corrections will be authorized to collect the obligations as of July 1, 1990.

VOTES ON FINAL PASSAGE:

      House 98   0

      Senate    44     1 (Senate amended)

      House 93   0 (House concurred)

EFFECTIVE:July 23, 1989

            July 1, 1990 (Sections 1 - 12, 19 - 21, 25 and 26)