H-0590.1
HOUSE BILL 1432
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2023 Regular Session
By Representatives Farivar, Cortes, Senn, Simmons, Goodman, Reed,
Callan, Ortiz-Self, Fosse, Berry, Alvarado, Thai, Stonier, Lekanoff,
Peterson, Gregerson, Ramel, Macri, Pollet, and Ormsby
Read first time 01/18/23. Referred to Committee on Human Services,
Youth, & Early Learning.
1 AN ACT Relating to decreasing barriers to successful community
2 participation for individuals involved in the juvenile justice
3 system; amending RCW 6.17.020, 7.68.035, 7.68.120, 10.01.160,
4 13.40.020, 13.40.060, 13.40.077, 13.40.080, 13.40.127, 13.40.150,
5 13.40.162, 13.40.165, 13.40.180, 13.40.190, 13.40.200, 13.40.205,
6 13.40.205, 13.40.210, 13.40.250, 13.40.308, 13.40.510, 13.50.260,
7 13.50.270, and 43.43.7541; reenacting and amending RCW 13.40.020;
8 adding new sections to chapter 13.40 RCW; creating new sections;
9 repealing RCW 13.40.056, 13.40.085, 13.40.192, 13.40.198, 13.40.610,
10 and 13.40.640; providing contingent effective dates; and providing
11 contingent expiration dates.
12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
13 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that:
14 (a) The goal of the juvenile justice system should be to protect
15 public safety by providing meaningful opportunity for rehabilitation.
16 Outstanding legal financial obligations represent a significant
17 obstacle for youth and emerging adults trying to rebuild their lives
18 after involvement with the juvenile justice system. The consequences
19 of legal financial obligations for youth impact their ability to
20 access education, find and keep work, and to remain stably housed –
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 1 all key indicators of success and statistically important factors in
2 reducing recidivism.
3 (b) Despite significant reforms, thousands of youth impacted by
4 the juvenile justice system are struggling to pay legal financial
5 obligations and other costs, and very few harmed parties receive the
6 restitution ordered by juvenile courts.
7 (c) Decades of research in Washington and around the country has
8 found that legal financial obligations fall disproportionately on
9 black, indigenous, low-income, and rural communities and communities
10 of color. These disproportionate harms are unacceptable in any
11 context, but especially well documented in juvenile court. Legal
12 financial obligations are also expensive to collect, an unstable
13 source of government revenue, and undermine trust in courts that may
14 seem to operate as tax collectors. Because juveniles do not have the
15 means to pay, only a small percentage of juvenile restitution is
16 collected and in turn, harmed parties rarely see any compensation.
17 Making people whole should be a guiding principle of any juvenile
18 court system, while acknowledging that society bears some
19 responsibility for harm done by individual young people.
20 (d) Eliminating juvenile legal financial obligations and creating
21 a community compensation program will better serve harmed parties,
22 increase racial and socioeconomic equity in Washington, improve
23 public safety, and help to support young people and families involved
24 in the juvenile system.
25 (2) Therefore, the legislature finds and declares that the
26 purpose of this act is to improve public safety by decreasing
27 barriers to successful reentry and rehabilitation amongst youth
28 previously involved in the juvenile justice system.
29 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 13.40
30 RCW to read as follows:
31 No fine, administrative fee, cost, surcharge, or restitution may
32 be imposed or collected by the court or any agent of the court
33 against any juvenile or a juvenile's parent or guardian, or other
34 person having custody of the juvenile, in connection with any
35 juvenile offender proceeding including, but not limited to, fees for
36 diversion, DNA sampling, or victims' penalty assessments. Parties
37 harmed by juveniles may collect compensation through the community
38 compensation program as provided in section 4 of this act.
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 1 NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 13.40
2 RCW to read as follows:
3 (1) On or before the effective date of this section, the
4 administrative office of the courts, courts of limited jurisdiction
5 and their clerks, shall ensure that any fine, fee, cost, surcharge,
6 or restitution previously imposed against juveniles and family
7 members by the juvenile court is considered null and void, and
8 uncollectible. The administrative office of the courts shall notify
9 juveniles and families about any waived debt.
10 (2) On or before July 1, 2023, and in compliance with RCW
11 43.01.036, the administrative office of the courts shall report to
12 the relevant committees of the legislature the numbers of orders
13 vacated or partially vacated pursuant to this section in each
14 judicial district and the amount of the balances vacated in each
15 judicial district.
16 (3) On or before July 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, the
17 administrative office of the courts shall in compliance with RCW
18 43.01.036, report to the relevant committees of the legislature the
19 total amount assessed to and collected from individuals charged in
20 superior court and other courts of limited jurisdiction, in fees,
21 court costs, fines, and restitution. This annual report shall include
22 information about total amounts assessed and collected, disaggregated
23 by the defendants' age, race, gender, legal financial obligation
24 type, and charging court.
25 NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 13.40
26 RCW to read as follows:
27 (1) A community compensation task force is established within the
28 department of labor and industries. The purpose of the task force is
29 to address the elimination of juvenile restitution required by
30 section 2 of this act and the compensation of parties harmed by
31 juveniles. Core considerations for the task force should be reliant
32 on restorative principles and best practices. The task force shall
33 hold its first meeting on or before July 1, 2023. A final
34 implementation plan must be submitted on or before July 1, 2024, to
35 the appropriate committees of the legislature. The final
36 implementation plan must be published and must include:
37 (a) A description of the decision-making structure recommended by
38 the task force;
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 1 (b) Details on the infrastructure of the community compensation
2 program created in this section to compensate parties harmed by
3 juveniles including, but not limited to, how the program shall
4 operate within the department of labor and industries, and an
5 estimate of the administrative cost required to maintain the program
6 including the salaries of any necessary staff;
7 (c) A process for harmed parties, potentially including those who
8 do not meet the current statutory definition of "victim," to
9 participate in the community compensation program, including details
10 of the application and disbursement process, which must:
11 (i) Ensure individuals may participate in the compensation
12 program regardless of their legal status;
13 (ii) Guarantee, to the greatest extent possible, the anonymity of
14 those participating in the compensation program;
15 (iii) Not require a court order for harmed parties to participate
16 in the compensation program;
17 (iv) Limit, to the greatest extent possible, the amount of
18 documentation required to participate in the program and the
19 administrative burden on individuals seeking payment;
20 (v) Consider capping amounts and types of costs that are eligible
21 for compensation; and
22 (vi) Consider critically the ability of government entities,
23 corporations, insurance companies, and other nonindividual harmed
24 parties to participate in the compensation program with individual
25 harmed parties having priority access;
26 (d) A process for determining the eligibility of parties who may
27 try to participate in the program. It is the intention of the
28 legislature that the community compensation program be accessible to
29 the broadest possible number of harmed parties, and that
30 participation in the program does not require an adjudication or an
31 order from the court; and
32 (e) Standards and practices for calculating the amount of
33 compensation individual applicants may receive.
34 (2) The community compensation task force representatives shall
35 include:
36 (a) Three people who were ordered to pay juvenile legal financial
37 obligations, either as juveniles or parents;
38 (b) Three people who were ordered to receive restitution payments
39 from a respondent;
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 1 (c) One representative from a statewide coalition focused on
2 legal financial obligations and youth justice;
3 (d) One representative from a civil society organization focused
4 on legal financial obligation reform;
5 (e) One member of the Washington state partnership council on
6 juvenile justice;
7 (f) One public defender specializing in juvenile law;
8 (g) One juvenile court judge;
9 (h) One prosecutor specializing in juvenile law;
10 (i) One county clerk or juvenile court administrator;
11 (j) One member of the Washington state supreme court minority and
12 justice commission; and
13 (k) One individual with expertise in restorative justice
14 practices or expertise in community compensation programs.
15 NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 13.40
16 RCW to read as follows:
17 (1) Within funds appropriated for this specific purpose, the
18 community compensation program is created in and will be administered
19 by the department of labor and industries. The program is authorized
20 to receive private contributions and funds from other sources.
21 (2) Consistent with the recommendations of the community
22 compensation task force established in section 4 of this act, the
23 community compensation program will provide compensation to parties
24 harmed by juveniles.
25 (3) The department may adopt rules necessary to implement this
26 section.
27 Sec. 6. RCW 6.17.020 and 2022 c 260 s 5 are each amended to read
28 as follows:
29 (1) Except as provided in subsections (2), (3), and (4) of this
30 section, the party in whose favor a judgment of a court has been or
31 may be filed or rendered, or the assignee or the current holder
32 thereof, may have an execution, garnishment, or other legal process
33 issued for the collection or enforcement of the judgment at any time
34 within 10 years from entry of the judgment or the filing of the
35 judgment in this state.
36 (2) After July 23, 1989, a party who obtains a judgment or order
37 of a court or an administrative order entered as defined in RCW
38 74.20A.020(6) for accrued child support, or the assignee or the
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 1 current holder thereof, may have an execution, garnishment, or other
2 legal process issued upon that judgment or order at any time within
3 10 years of the 18th birthday of the youngest child named in the
4 order for whom support is ordered.
5 (3) After June 9, 1994, a party in whose favor a judgment has
6 been filed as a foreign judgment or rendered pursuant to subsection
7 (1) or (4) of this section, or the assignee or the current holder
8 thereof, may, within 90 days before the expiration of the original
9 10-year period, apply to the court that rendered the judgment or to
10 the court where the judgment was filed as a foreign judgment for an
11 order granting an additional 10 years during which an execution,
12 garnishment, or other legal process may be issued. If a district
13 court judgment of this state is transcribed to a superior court of
14 this state, the original district court judgment shall not be
15 extended and any petition under this section to extend the judgment
16 that has been transcribed to superior court shall be filed in the
17 superior court within 90 days before the expiration of the 10-year
18 period of the date the transcript of the district court judgment was
19 filed in the superior court of this state. The petitioner shall pay
20 to the court a filing fee equal to the filing fee for filing the
21 first or initial paper in a civil action in the court, except in the
22 case of district court judgments transcribed to superior court, where
23 the filing fee shall be the fee for filing the first or initial paper
24 in a civil action in the superior court where the judgment was
25 transcribed. The order granting the application shall contain an
26 updated judgment summary as provided in RCW 4.64.030. The filing fee
27 required under this subsection shall be included in the judgment
28 summary and shall be a recoverable cost. The application shall be
29 granted as a matter of right, subject to review only for timeliness,
30 factual issues of full or partial satisfaction, or errors in
31 calculating the judgment summary amounts.
32 (4)(a) A party who obtains a judgment or order for restitution
33 pursuant to a criminal judgment and sentence against an adult
34 defendant, or the assignee or the current holder thereof, may
35 execute, garnish, and/or have legal process issued upon the judgment
36 or order any time within 10 years subsequent to the entry of the
37 judgment and sentence or 10 years following the adult offender's
38 release from total confinement as provided in chapter 9.94A RCW. The
39 clerk of (([the])) the superior court, or a party designated by the
40 clerk, may seek extension under subsection (3) of this section for
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 1 purposes of collection as allowed under RCW 36.18.190, provided that
2 no filing fee shall be required.
3 (b) A party who obtains a judgment or order for court-ordered
4 legal financial obligations other than restitution, pursuant to a
5 criminal judgment and sentence against an adult defendant, or the
6 assignee or the current holder thereof, may execute, garnish, and
7 have legal process issued upon the judgment or order any time within
8 10 years subsequent to the entry of the judgment and sentence or 10
9 years following the adult offender's release from total confinement
10 as provided in chapter 9.94A RCW. The clerk of (([the])) the superior
11 court, or a party designated by the clerk, may seek extension under
12 subsection (3) of this section for purposes of collection as allowed
13 under RCW 36.18.190, only if the court finds that the offender has
14 the current or likely future ability to pay the nonrestitution legal
15 financial obligations. A person does not have the current ability to
16 pay if the person is indigent as defined in RCW 10.01.160(3). No
17 filing fee shall be required for filing a petition for an extension
18 pursuant to this subsection (4)(b).
19 (5) "Court" as used in this section includes but is not limited
20 to the United States supreme court, the United States courts of
21 appeals, the United States district courts, the United States
22 bankruptcy courts, the Washington state supreme court, the court of
23 appeals of the state of Washington, superior courts and district
24 courts of the counties of the state of Washington, and courts of
25 other states and jurisdictions from which judgment has been filed in
26 this state under chapter 6.36 or 6.40 RCW.
27 (6) The perfection of any judgment lien and the priority of that
28 judgment lien on property as established by RCW 6.13.090 and chapter
29 4.56 RCW is not altered by the extension of the judgment pursuant to
30 the provisions of this section and the lien remains in full force and
31 effect and does not have to be rerecorded after it is extended.
32 Continued perfection of a judgment that has been transcribed to other
33 counties and perfected in those counties may be accomplished after
34 extension of the judgment by filing with the clerk of the other
35 counties where the judgment has been filed either a certified copy of
36 the order extending the judgment or a certified copy of the docket of
37 the matter where the judgment was extended.
38 (7) Except as ordered in RCW 4.16.020 (2) or (3), chapter 9.94A
39 RCW, or chapter 13.40 RCW, no judgment is enforceable for a period
40 exceeding 20 years from the date of entry in the originating court.
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 1 Nothing in this section may be interpreted to extend the expiration
2 date of a foreign judgment beyond the expiration date under the laws
3 of the jurisdiction where the judgment originated.
4 (8) The chapter 261, Laws of 2002 amendments to this section
5 apply to all judgments currently in effect on June 13, 2002, to all
6 judgments extended after June 9, 1994, unless the judgment has been
7 satisfied, vacated, and/or quashed, and to all judgments filed or
8 rendered, or both, after June 13, 2002.
9 (9) Notwithstanding any provisions of this section, no fees,
10 costs, or surcharges arising out of a juvenile offender proceeding
11 may be charged to a juvenile, or the pare