H-2973.2
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2178
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By House Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry (originally sponsored
by Representatives Goodman, Simmons, and Doglio)
READ FIRST TIME 01/31/24.
1 AN ACT Relating to establishing a pathway off lifetime community
2 custody for individuals with sex offense convictions; amending RCW
3 9.94A.507 and 9.94A.670; and adding a new section to chapter 9.94A
4 RCW.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
6 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 9.94A
7 RCW to read as follows:
8 (1)(a) Individuals who are recommended as risk level I upon their
9 release from confinement by the end-of-sentence review committee
10 under RCW 72.09.345 shall be discharged from community custody five
11 years after their return to the community if they meet the
12 eligibility requirements and have not committed a temporary
13 disqualifying event. The board shall review the relevant records to
14 determine if the individual meets the eligibility criteria and
15 discharge them from community custody if the individual is eligible
16 in an administrative process.
17 (b) If the individual is determined to not meet criteria for
18 discharge from community custody, or the department identifies
19 specific safety concerns, the board, in its review, may hold a
20 hearing to determine if the individual may be discharged from
21 community custody or order community custody to continue. Any input
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 1 from community corrections officers, parole or probation officers, or
2 law enforcement must be considered by the board.
3 (c) If the board finds the individual does not meet criteria to
4 be discharged from community custody, the board may order community
5 custody continue for up to 60 months before being reviewed again for
6 discharge from community custody.
7 (2)(a) Individuals who are recommended as risk level II by the
8 end-of-sentence review committee upon their release from confinement
9 may be eligible for discharge from community custody 10 years after
10 their return to the community if they meet the eligibility
11 requirements and have not committed a temporary disqualifying event.
12 (b)(i) The board must determine if the individual qualifies for
13 discharge from community custody and may extend the period of
14 supervision if the board determines the individual has recently
15 engaged in behaviors that are related to the crime of conviction,
16 risk of reoffense, or a risk to community safety. Any input from
17 community corrections officers, parole or probation officers, or law
18 enforcement must be considered by the board. A review hearing must be
19 held by the board at least 120 days prior to the end of the
20 supervision period.
21 (ii) Before the review hearing, the board shall conduct, and the
22 offender may participate in, an examination of the offender,
23 incorporating methodologies that are recognized by experts in the
24 prediction of sexual dangerousness. The board may consider a person's
25 failure to participate in an examination for board decision making.
26 (iii) The board may contract for an additional, independent
27 examination, subject to the standards in this section.
28 (c) If a temporary disqualifying event occurs within the last
29 five years of the first 10 years from an individual's release from
30 confinement, the individual will not be eligible for discharge from
31 community custody for an additional three years after the initial 10
32 years in the community have concluded. A review hearing by the board
33 must be held at least 120 days prior to the end of the supervision
34 date.
35 (d) If the individual engages in behaviors that are related to
36 the crime of conviction, risk of reoffense, or a risk to community
37 safety, after the individual has been on community custody for the
38 maximum time allowed in (c) of this subsection, the board may order
39 community custody continue for up to 60 months before being reviewed
40 again for discharge from community custody.
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 1 (3)(a) Individuals who are recommended as risk level III by the
2 end-of-sentence review committee upon their release from confinement
3 may be eligible for discharge from community custody 15 years after
4 their return to the community if they meet the eligibility
5 requirements and have not committed a temporary disqualifying event.
6 (b)(i) The board must determine if the individual qualifies for
7 discharge from community custody and may extend the period of
8 supervision if the board determines the individual has recently
9 engaged in behaviors that are related to the crime of conviction,
10 risk of reoffense, or a risk to community safety. Any input from
11 community corrections officers, parole or probation officers, or law
12 enforcement must be considered by the board. A review hearing must be
13 held at least 120 days prior to the end of the supervision period.
14 (ii) Before the review hearing, the board shall conduct, and the
15 offender may participate in, an examination of the offender,
16 incorporating methodologies that are recognized by experts in the
17 prediction of sexual dangerousness. The board may consider a person's
18 failure to participate in an examination for board decision making.
19 (iii) The board may contract for an additional, independent
20 examination, subject to the standards in this section.
21 (c) If a temporary disqualifying event occurs within the last
22 five years of the first 15 years from an individual's release from
23 confinement, the individual will not be eligible for discharge from
24 community custody for an additional five years after the initial 15
25 years in the community have concluded. A review hearing by the board
26 must be held at least 120 days prior to the end of the supervision
27 period.
28 (d) If the individual engages in behaviors that are related to
29 the crime of conviction, risk of reoffense, or a risk to community
30 safety, after the individual has been on supervision for the maximum
31 time allowed in (c) of this subsection, the board may order community
32 custody continue for up to 60 months before being reviewed again for
33 discharge from community custody.
34 (4) For purposes of this section:
35 (a) "Temporary disqualifying event" means:
36 (i) The individual has been found guilty of any serious and risk-
37 relevant violation of the conditions of community custody, as
38 determined by the board at an on-site hearing. The board shall adopt
39 rules defining "serious violation";
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 1 (ii) The individual has been convicted of any new felony offense
2 or any misdemeanor sex offense as defined in RCW 9A.44.128 or
3 9.94A.030;
4 (iii) The individual has not completed all recommended treatment
5 as required in the judgment and sentence and board conditions. The
6 board may waive this condition if there is a finding the failure to
7 complete all recommended treatment resulted from the individual's
8 indigence;
9 (iv) The individual has been found to be noncompliant with
10 conditions of supervision on a repeated basis as documented by the
11 department. These violations must be addressed on a formal basis by
12 the board prior to release from community custody; or
13 (v) The individual has been assessed to be at significant risk
14 for sexual recidivism on an empirically validated department-approved
15 dynamic risk assessment completed within 120 days of eligibility for
16 discharge.
17 (b) "Discharge from community custody" means the individual is no
18 longer under the supervision of the department or the board, unless a
19 required return to community custody occurs before the statutory
20 maximum of the crime of conviction. Discharge from community custody
21 shall not impede the restoration of civil rights, count as probation,
22 or terminate the jurisdiction of the board. Discharge from community
23 custody shall not impact an offender's duty to register under RCW
24 9A.44.130. Removal from community custody shall not impact community
25 notification under RCW 4.24.550.
26 (c) "Return to community custody" means that the board resumes
27 community custody of an individual due to a conviction for a crime
28 reasonably related to the crime which placed the individual under the
29 jurisdiction of the board, risk of reoffense, or community safety.
30 (d) Eligibility requirements to be discharged from community
31 custody are:
32 (i) Meet the criteria in subsection (1), (2), or (3) of this
33 section associated with the individual's recommended risk level by
34 the end of sentence review committee; and
35 (ii) Not engage in risk relevant behaviors related to the crime
36 of conviction, risk of reoffense, or risk to community safety within
37 a reasonable time frame to the individual's eligibility to be
38 discharged from community custody.
39 (5) By December 1, 2024, and every December 1st of each year
40 thereafter, and in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, the department and
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 1 board shall submit a report to the governor and the appropriate
2 committees of the legislature that details the following:
3 (a) The number of individuals eligible for discharge from
4 lifetime community custody;
5 (b) The number of individuals granted discharge from lifetime
6 community custody; and
7 (c) The number of individuals who, after discharge from lifetime
8 community custody, are investigated for a recent overt act as defined
9 by RCW 71.09.020 or new sex offense as defined by RCW 9A.44.128 or
10 9.94A.030.
11 (6) The department and the board have discretion to implement the
12 review process for discharging eligible individuals from community
13 custody over a period of time not to exceed 12 months following the
14 effective date of this section.
15 Sec. 2. RCW 9.94A.507 and 2008 c 231 s 33 are each amended to
16 read as follows:
17 (1) An offender who is not a persistent offender shall be
18 sentenced under this section if the offender:
19 (a) Is convicted of:
20 (i) Rape in the first degree, rape in the second degree, rape of
21 a child in the first degree, child molestation in the first degree,
22 rape of a child in the second degree, or indecent liberties by
23 forcible compulsion;
24 (ii) Any of the following offenses with a finding of sexual
25 motivation: Murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree,
26 homicide by abuse, kidnapping in the first degree, kidnapping in the
27 second degree, assault in the first degree, assault in the second
28 degree, assault of a child in the first degree, assault of a child in
29 the second degree, or burglary in the first degree; or
30 (iii) An attempt to commit any crime listed in this subsection
31 (1)(a); or
32 (b) Has a prior conviction for an offense listed in RCW
33 9.94A.030(((31)(b))) (37), and is convicted of any sex offense other
34 than failure to register.
35 (2) An offender convicted of rape of a child in the first or
36 second degree or child molestation in the first degree who was
37 ((seventeen)) 17 years of age or younger at the time of the offense
38 shall not be sentenced under this section.
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 1 (3)(a) Upon a finding that the offender is subject to sentencing
2 under this section, the court shall impose a sentence to a maximum
3 term and a minimum term.
4 (b) The maximum term shall consist of the statutory maximum
5 sentence for the offense.
6 (c)(i) Except as provided in (c)(ii) of this subsection, the
7 minimum term shall be either within the standard sentence range for
8 the offense, or outside the standard sentence range pursuant to RCW
9 9.94A.535, if the offender is otherwise eligible for such a sentence.
10 (ii) If the offense that caused the offender to be sentenced
11 under this section was rape of a child in the first degree, rape of a
12 child in the second degree, or child molestation in the first degree,
13 and there has been a finding that the offense was predatory under RCW
14 9.94A.836, the minimum term shall be either the maximum of the
15 standard sentence range for the offense or ((twenty-five)) 25 years,
16 whichever is greater. If the offense that caused the offender to be
17 sentenced under this section was rape in the first degree, rape in
18 the second degree, indecent liberties by forcible compulsion, or
19 kidnapping in the first degree with sexual motivation, and there has
20 been a finding that the victim was under the age of ((fifteen)) 15 at
21 the time of the offense under RCW 9.94A.837, the minimum term shall
22 be either the maximum of the standard sentence range for the offense
23 or ((twenty-five)) 25 years, whichever is greater. If the offense
24 that caused the offender to be sentenced under this section is rape
25 in the first degree, rape in the second degree with forcible
26 compulsion, indecent liberties with forcible compulsion, or
27 kidnapping in the first degree with sexual motivation, and there has
28 been a finding under RCW 9.94A.838 that the victim was, at the time
29 of the offense, developmentally disabled, mentally disordered, or a
30 frail elder or vulnerable adult, the minimum sentence shall be either
31 the maximum of the standard sentence range for the offense or
32 ((twenty-five)) 25 years, whichever is greater.
33 (d) The minimum terms in (c)(ii) of this subsection do not apply
34 to a juvenile tried as an adult pursuant to RCW 13.04.030(1)(e) (i)
35 or (v). The minimum term for such a juvenile shall be imposed under
36 (c)(i) of this subsection.
37 (4) A person sentenced under subsection (3) of this section shall
38 serve the sentence in a facility or institution operated, or utilized
39 under contract, by the state.
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 1 (5) When a court sentences a person to the custody of the
2 department under this section, the court shall, in addition to the
3 other terms of the sentence, sentence the offender to community
4 custody under the supervision of the department and the authority of
5 the board for any period of time the person is released from total
6 confinement before the expiration of the maximum sentence, unless or
7 until the person is discharged from community custody as outlined in
8 section 1 of this act.
9 (6)(a) As part of any sentence under this section, the court
10 shall also require the offender to comply with any conditions imposed
11 by the board under RCW 9.95.420 through 9.95.435.
12 (b) An offender released by the board under RCW 9.95.420 is
13 subject to the supervision of the department until the expiration of
14 the maximum term of the sentence. The department shall monitor the
15 offender's compliance with conditions of community custody imposed by
16 the court, department, or board, and promptly report any violations
17 to the board. Any violation of conditions of community custody
18 established or modified by the board are subject to the provisions of
19 RCW 9.95.425 through 9.95.440.
20 Sec. 3. RCW 9.94A.670 and 2009 c 28 s 9 are each amended to read
21 as follows:
22 (1) Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the
23 definitions in this subsection apply to this section only.
24 (a) "Sex offender treatment provider" or "treatment provider"
25 means a certified sex offender treatment provider or a certified
26 affiliate sex offender treatment provider as defined in RCW
27 18.155.020.
28 (b) "Substantial bodily harm" means bodily injury that involves a
29 temporary but substantial disfigurement, or that causes a temporary
30 but substantial loss or impairment of the function of any body part
31 or organ, or that causes a fracture of any body part or organ.
32 (c) "Victim" means any person who has sustained emotional,
33 psychological, physical, or financial injury to person or property as
34 a result of the crime charged. "Victim" also means a parent or
35 guardian of a victim who is a minor child unless the parent or
36 guardian is the perpetrator of the offense.
37 (2) An offender is eligible for the special sex offender
38 sentencing alternative if:
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 1 (a) The offender has been convicted of a sex offense other than a
2 violation of RCW 9A.44.050 or a sex offense that is also a serious
3 violent offense. If the conviction results from a guilty plea, the
4 offender must, as part of his or her plea of guilty, voluntarily and
5 affirmatively admit he or she committed all of the elements of the
6 crime to which the offender is pleading guilty. This alternative is
7 not available to offenders who plead guilty to the offense charged
8 under North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 91 S.Ct. 160, 27 L.Ed.2d
9 162 (1970) and State v. Newton, 87 Wash.2d 363, 552 P.2d 682 (1976);
10 (b) The offender has no prior convictions for a sex offense as
11 defined in RCW 9.94A.030 or any other felony sex offenses in this or
12 any other state;
13 (c) The offender has no prior adult convictions for a violent
14 offense that was