AWC Legislative Bulletin - Volume 30, No. 11
March 16, 2007 (Plain Text Version)

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In this issue:
What You Need to Know Now
From the Director: SST Passes House
Energy & Telecommunications
Environment & Water
General Local Government
Infrastructure, Transportation & Economic Development
Land Use & Housing
Law & Justice
Municipal Finance
Personnel & Labor Relations
Online Legislative Advocacy Tools
AWC Legislative Contacts & Officers

Law & Justice

Offender Re-entry Programs (E2SSB 5070)

E2SSB 5070, sponsored by Sen. Carrell (R-Lakewood), passed the Senate on March 10 and is scheduled to be heard in the House Human Services Committee on Tuesday, March 20 at 8 am.

The engrossed version of the bill continues to address a number of programs related to the re-entry of offenders in the community, with the goal of reducing recidivism, including a provision for pilot Community Transition Coordination Networks for coordinated community services to offenders in counties.

The bill provides that any local jurisdiction providing supervision would be subject to a gross negligence standard of liability for supervision. Such a standard has been a priority of AWC for a number of years. This is the same language that is included in SHB 1669, which is an AWC priority issue. We are pleased it has been included in this omnibus bill.

E2SSB 5070 also provides for a housing voucher program for qualifying offenders to assist in transitional housing. AWC will continue to work on providing assurances to jurisdictions regarding the placement and concentration of offenders in communities.

AWC Priority
Offender Supervision Liability (SHB 1669)

SHB 1669, which will provide for a gross negligence liability standard for misdemeanant supervision, passed the House unanimously on March 9 and is now in the Senate Judiciary Committee. As expected, the substitute version of the bill took out the section providing that the standard of proof must be clear, cogent, and convincing.

We are hopeful that the Judiciary Committee will schedule this bill for a hearing soon. Parity with the state on the level of liability for supervision would be one small step in addressing the significant issue of offender supervision liability for cities.

Clarifying Municipal Court Contracting Authority & Appointment/Election of Municipal Court Judges (SHB 1590, SSB 5353)

SHB 1590, which clarifies the authority of cities to contract with other cities for municipal court services, passed out of the House with a unanimous vote on March 9.

SSB 5353 failed to pass out of the Senate prior to the legislative cutoff and is considered dead for the session. AWC had opposed two provisions of the bill that required all cities with appointed judges to appoint through a nominating commission process and submit judges to retention elections, and required an expansion of subject matter jurisdiction to include protection orders for all municipal courts. However, we had supported the provisions of the bill similar to SHB 1590 clarifying municipal court contracting authority for cities.

Given the outcome on SSB 5353, SHB 1590 faces an uphill battle in the Senate. We have been told that the Judiciary Committee may be reluctant to even hold a hearing on the bill. However, we remain hopeful that the Legislature will finally address the issue of court contracting authority before the Supreme Court rules on a pending case heard last year that, if adverse to cities, could call into question the court contracting arrangements for 33 cities that currently use this contracting model.

Allowing Courts to Retain Small Overpayments (HB 1994)

HB 1994, sponsored by Rep. Richard Curtis (R-La Center), allows courts to retain overpayments of $10 or less, rather than transferring them to the Department of Revenue under the Unclaimed Property Act. This is especially helpful with very small overpayments such as occur if a person overpays a traffic ticket by a few cents. Rather than being required to return that amount, the court would be authorized to deposit the overpayment amount into the local current expense fund.

HB 1994 passed the House on March 10 and is now in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Wrongful Injury or Death Cause of Action (ESHB 1873)

This bill passed the House on March 14 with an amendment which expands the scope of liability to include a wrongful injury or death cause of action for parents for children under 26, parents dependent on the child for support, and parents of children with developmental disabilities regardless of their age. In addition, the scope of damages that may be recovered was expanded to include non-economic damages. Non-economic damages are also recoverable by the personal representative on behalf of the estate for loss of enjoyment of life and shortened life expectancy, in addition to emotional distress and pain and suffering on behalf of the victim.

This represents a substantial expansion to the number of people who may file a cause of action in a wrongful death, and the damages for which they may seek redress. AWC will continue to actively work in collaboration with the Liability Reform Coalition, the Washington Defense Trial Lawyers, and the insurance industry to limit the scope of this proposal as it moves forward through the process in the Senate.

Indigent Defense Grants (HB 1793)

HB 1793 would remove the limit on the number of cities eligible for grants through the Office of Public Defense for indigent defense service improvements. These grants were created by legislation in 2005. The first grants to cities totaled $300,000 and were awarded to Yakima, Auburn, Lynnwood, Medical Lake, and Spokane. This session, the amount of funding being considered is substantially increased, making it important to also increase the number of cities that may potentially be eligible.

The bill is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, March 21 at 3:30 pm.

Court Interpreter Services (E2SHB 2176)

This bill, which would require all courts to establish language assistance plans and reimburse courts with approved plans half the costs of qualified interpreter services, is also scheduled to be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, March 21 at 3:30 pm.

The bill passed the House unanimously on March 12 with an amendment that:

restricts the reporting requirement on the availability of and need for interpreter services in court-mandated programs or classes to those courts that receive reimbursement for interpreter services;
extends the deadline one year to 2008 for the courts receiving funding to report to the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) and for AOC to report this information to the Legislature; and
removes a null and void clause that was contingent on funding and makes AOC’s assistance to courts in the development and implementation of language assistance plans and the reimbursement of interpreter costs subject to available appropriations.

Allowing Unclaimed Property to be Donated (SHB 1268/ SSB 5193)

Law enforcement may come into possession of personal property when items are turned in as "found" or confiscated at crime scenes that involve property crimes, such as a recovered stolen vehicle suspected of being used in thefts or burglaries that contains items of value left behind in the vehicle. Currently, they may only dispose of such items if they are sold at public auction or thrown away. However, city police and county sheriffs may donate unclaimed bicycles, tricycles, and toys to non-profit charitable organizations for use by needy persons.

This bill finally clarifies that the state patrol, county sheriffs, and local police agencies may donate any unclaimed personal property to nonprofit charitable organizations, provided such property is used for the benefit of needy persons.

SHB 1268 is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday, March 16 at 1:30 pm. SSB 5193 is scheduled to be heard in the House Local Government Committee on Tuesday, March 20 at 1:30 pm.

Limiting Charitable Donations in Charging Decisions (SB 6100)

SSB 6100 passed the Senate on March 14, and the bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee. The bill limits the use of charitable donations in return for a city attorney or county prosecutor dismissing, amending, or agreeing not to file a criminal charge or traffic infraction. Payments to specific funds authorized by state statute, such as victims compensation funds or collection of costs associated with treatment or supervision, would be allowed.

Gang-Related Offenses (SSB 5987)

The House Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness will also hear SSB 5987 on Thursday, March 22 at 10 am. The bill, which passed the House on March 10 with a vote of 48-0, establishes a work group to address the issue of gang-related crime and report to the Legislature by January 2008.

Criminal Violations of No-contact, Protection, and Restraining Orders (SHB 1642)

SHB 1642 will be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, March 20 at 10 am. This bill clarifies that violations of no-contact orders, protection orders, and restraining orders can be enforced as criminal offenses even if the violation itself did not include criminal behavior.

The issue has arisen in many courts across the state in which criminal defense attorneys have successfully argued that simply making contact, such as a phone call, with someone who has one of these orders against the person making contact is not itself criminal behavior. Instead, they argue the contact itself must amount to criminal behavior, such as issuing threats. This bill would clarify that all violations are criminal behavior.

Objections to Issuance of Liquor Licenses (HB 2113)

HB 2113 would require the Liquor Control Board to give substantial weight to objections by cities and counties regarding the issuance or renewal of liquor licenses. The bill passed the House on March 13 and has been referred to the Senate Labor, Commerce, Research & Development Committee. AWC supports this legislation.

AWC Legislative Bulletin - Volume 30, No. 11March 16, 2007 (Plain Text Version)