Criminal Justice — Quaker Voice

Sam Merrill is Clerk of the Criminal Justice Working Group. Contact Sam Merrill.
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Criminal Justice Report for 2024

(updated 4/26/2024)

Unfortunately, none of the three CJ Priority bills were successful this year, nor were any of our original Secondary Support bills. However, three bills that we added to our Support list late in the session did pass the legislature, and have been sent to the Governor. These bills are:

HB 1903. Report stolen and lost firearms to law enforcement, so that they can be tracked.

HB 2303, to modify conditions for community custody on petition from individual in custody citing changed circumstances. This was a compromise bill that also includes features that we did not support, but Rep. Goodman sponsored it as a way to clarify some issues.

HB 2084. Improve training for construction trades for persons in prison, through establishment of a supervisory committee.

Priority Bills that we expect to work for again next session:

HB 1513 / SB 5572: Traffic Safety for All

Traffic stops by police have too often led to entanglement with the criminal justice system, disproportionately for communities of color. By reducing unnecessary low-level stops, this bill helps law enforcement officers focus on traffic stops related to road safety issues such as impaired/distracted driving and reckless driving. It creates grant money to help people fix their vehicles for low-level infractions. For a one-pager with more details about this bill, see here. For action items including talking points, see this page. HB 1513 expired in House Rules Committee.

HB 1798: Earned Release Time

The opportunity for incarcerated people to earn reductions in their sentences by participating in training and educational programs provides incentives to participate and promotes rehabilitation and accountability, preparing incarcerated persons for re-entry. This bill would expand the types of sentences for which substantial release time credits would be available. The proportion of the prison population to be affected that is Black is far higher than the proportion of Blacks in the general civilian population. Talking points about the bill are here . HB 1798 expired in the House Rules Committee.

HB 1087: Solitary Confinement

The Dept. of Corrections ended its use of solitary confinement for disciplinary purposes in 2021. HB 1087 would confirm that practice into law and extend it by prohibiting involuntary solitary confinement except for medical isolation and when there is danger to the individual or to others. Solitary confinement is traumatic and dehumanizing and harms the mental health of people subjected to it, especially those already mentally unstable and ill. Violence is often a symptom of isolation, not a cause. HB 1087 expired in the House Appropriations Committee.

Secondary Support bills, which are candidates for our efforts for next session:

HB 2287, to establish an Ombuds Advisory Board, passed the House 58-39, but expired in the Senate Human Services Committee.

HB 2065, on re-sentencing (on petition) for juvenile offenses that are no longer scorable, i.e., making the previous law on juvenile offenses retroactive. This bill passed the House 56-41, but expired in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

HB 1445. Authorize the WA state Attorney General (not just the federal Justice Dept.) to investigate violation of state laws and the constitution by law enforcement agencies. Was placed on the calendar for a vote in the full House, but did not actually receive a vote.

HB 1268. Unstacking sentencing enhancements (this bill gives discretion to judges to not add or stack enhancements on top of basic sentences). Was placed on the calendar for a vote in the full House, but did not actually receive a vote.

HB 2030. Voting rights in prison. Expired in House State Gov’t Committee.

HB 1174. Remove barriers to voting in jail (persons incarcerated in a county or municipal jail — as opposed to a state prison — can now legally vote, but procedures need to be established to make this feasible throughout the state). Expired in House State Gov’t Committee.

HB 1024. Minimum wage for prison labor (currently wages for work in prison by incarcerated persons are now far below the minimum wage). HB 1024 expired in the House Rules Committee.

Criminal Justice Report for 2023

One of our priority bills and five of our additional supported bills passed both House and Senate and were signed by the Governor. Success!

The successful top priority bill:

SB 5120: Establishing Crisis Relief Centers. Passed into law; effective 7/23/2023. Directs Dept. of Health to license Crisis Relief Centers — diversion facilities to serve persons experiencing a wide range of behavioral/mental health crises, focusing on specialists in those areas and not just police. Such centers would offer temporary care (less than 24 hours) and would be most helpful 4 pm to 9 am when other facilities are not available. This proposal is related to the workforce development bill SB 5189, which was also successful this session and was a Priority bill of the Economic Justice Working Group.

Five successful secondary priority bills:

SB 5046: Permits providing counsel at public expense to make it practical for persons without means to pursue post-conviction re-sentencing for unjust criminal judgments. Effective 7/23/2023.
SB 5078: Industry liability for firearms. Establishes liability for harm to individuals as a result of a firearm industry member’s violation of specified duties. Effective 7/23/2023.
SB 5131: Exempt funds for persons in prison from outside sources (such as from family) from deductions. Effective 7/23/2023.
SB 5134: Preparation for and specified services for reentry. Effective 7/23/2023.
HB 1240: Ban assault weapons. Effective 4/25/2023.

The following bill, which became law in 2023, achieved a long-standing goal of Quaker Voice and of Quakers in general.

SB 5087: Repeals laws ruled unconstitutional by the WA State Supreme Court. The action of this law includes repeal of the death penalty, and thus makes permanent the suspension of the death penalty previously ordered by the Governor. Effective 7/23/2023.

The following top priority bills did not succeed in 2023 and will be pursued next session.

HB 1268. Discretion in Sentencing Enhancements: This bill would permit judicial discretion concerning the stacking of sentence enhancements that generate pronounced racial inequity and excessive sentences. Under this bill, judges may still add enhancements (additional years in prison) if the case warrants extra sentencing length, but they would not be mandatory as they are now. This judicial discretion was supported unanimously by the Criminal Sentencing Task Force. This year the bill passed the House and reached the Senate floor, but did not get a vote, probably due to lack of sufficient votes to pass.
HB 1087/SB 5135. Solitary Confinement: Background: The Dept. of Corrections ended its use of solitary confinement for disciplinary purposes in 2021. HB 1087/SB 5135 would confirm that change into law, and extend it by prohibiting involuntary solitary confinement except for medical isolation and when there is danger to the individual or to others. This bill will return to the House Community Safety Committee next session.

Secondary priority bills not successful in 2023, which are candidates for Quaker Voice efforts next year.

HB 1513 (and SB 5572): Limits officers’ use of traffic stops and detentions for non-moving violations, and requires written consent for searches. Such stops can escalate out of control; an outcome much more likely for people of color. The bill creates a grant program to help low-income motorists to repair infractions. This bill got a late start, has strong support in many communities, several of which have experimented with the idea, and is a promising bill for next session. Study groups on this issue are planned by QV over the intersession.
HB 1024: Pay at least minimum wage for an incarcerated person working in prison.
HB 1174: Remove barriers to voting in jail. Background: Voting in a county or municipal jail (not in a state prison) is legal, but may be difficult. This bill requires county auditors to create a plan and provide voter registration information, ballot-related information, and ballots to people who are incarcerated in a county or municipal jail.
HB 1492: Procedures to address the Blake decision, including certain vacation of sentences, re-sentencing, and forgiveness of LFO’s concerning personal use of controlled substances (drugs). A different bill to address the Blake decision required a special session but eventually a version of it passed. Quaker voice followed but did not take a stand on this alternative bill.

Criminal Justice Legislative Report for 2022

(updated 7/10/2022)

One of our three priority issues for the 2022 session as well as one of our other support bills passed this session. This was somewhat disappointing, but given the short (60-day) legislative session in this election year, it was a significant success, and efforts on the other two priorities laid the ground work for next session.

HB 1412: Waive Restitution (part of LFOs) for Persons Unable to Pay. HB 1412 passed the House 70-24 and passed the Senate 38-11, was signed by the Governor, and will become effective 1/1/2023. Allows a court to not impose or waive full or partial restitution and the accrued interest if the offender does not have the ability to pay. To protect victims, this would only be allowed if owed to insurers or state agencies rather than to individuals. The final bill made exceptions for restitution owed to the Dept. of Labor and Industries and for the Crime Victims Compensation Program. Formerly incarcerated individuals struggle to maintain employment and housing, so the bill is about reentry and helping people succeed after incarceration.
HB 1169. Unstacking Sentencing Enhancements, particularly school zone enhancements. Would have provided court discretion to unstack enhancements, which are currently mandatory. Enhancements, especially when stacked on top of one another, substantially increase sentences, thus creating excessive time incarcerated. For example, years are now added to sentences for drug offenses in a “school zone.” This includes any area within 1000 feet of a school bus route, which can be an entire city, as in Seattle and most of Tacoma. Research shows only 2% of drug crimes in such zones involve selling drugs to children. The provision doesn’t protect children; it is effectively arbitrary. HB 1169 passed the House 53-45, but due to expected lack of votes, was not brought to a vote in the Senate. Quaker Voice is now meeting with legislators to advocate for this legislation and plans to push for its passage in the 2023 session.
HB 1756. Solitary Confinement. Dept. of Corrections ended solitary confinement for disciplinary purposes in 2021. HB 1756 would have prohibited involuntary solitary confinement except for facility-wide lockdown, medical isolation, or when necessary for emergency purposes. It would place limitations on its use for vulnerable persons, imposes time limits, requires medical evaluations, and establishes standards for living conditions. As testified by a person who has experienced it, solitary confinement is traumatic and dehumanizing. This bill failed to get beyond House Rules Committee; Quaker Voice is meeting with legislators during inter-session and will pursue passage of this bill in 2023.

Supported Bills

HB 1818. Passed the House 87-10 and the Senate 48-0, and was signed by the Governor. It will become effective 6/9/2022. Promotes Successful Re-entry and Rehabilitation, in particular extending the period for which a housing voucher can be offered.
HB 1681. Would mandate Vacation of Certain Convictions. Cut-off.
HB 1413. Would remove Juvenile Offenses from Criminal History Scoring. Cut-off.
SB 5307. Pretrial Release and Detention Act. Would establish clear, uniform criteria for the pretrial process and require court to consider financial resources of accused. Current bail system makes release dependent on ability to pay. Cut-off.

Two other bills that we monitored but did not actively work for were passed and are now law: HB 1735 will help clarify police role in behavioral health incidents; HB 2037 will clarify police use of force.

Other issues to continue monitoring:

SB 5047: Abolishing the Death Penalty.
School Resource Officers. It has been proposed that funds not be used for police in schools unless they are first made available for alternatives such as substance use professionals.
SB 5036: Expansion of Clemency and Pardons (passed the Senate in 2022 but not the House).

Issues Put on Hold

Earned Release Time (ERT). This long overdue reform would greatly increase the amount of earned release time that persons in prison — who are considered to have a positive participation in educational and rehabilitative programming — can accrue (raised from 10-15% to 33% accrual in most cases). This option would increase hope as well as motivation to participate in such programs.
Voting Rights for persons in prison. Full restoration of voting rights for persons released from prison but still under community supervision was passed into law in 2021 and took effect Jan. 1, 2022, twelve years after conditional restoration for persons no longer in community supervision was approved. Progress in voting rights is a long-term effort. Restoration of voting rights for persons still incarcerated in our state’s prisons would be the final step in the effort in our state to overturn a law that disproportionately impacts people of color and is itself a vestige of oppression and discrimination in our country that dates back centuries. This effort is on hold.

Issues to Research and Monitor as Needed

Post-conviction Review Board (for persons serving long sentences)
Incarcerated Elderly: Special concerns for elderly persons in prison

Criminal Justice Progress in 2021

Voting Rights under Community Supervision: Restoration of voting rights for persons released from prison but still under the authority of the Dept. of Corrections for community supervision (HB 1078) was passed and signed into law.
Police Reform and Racial Equity (the following are three of several such bills that were passed and are now law):
(1) Prohibition of certain military equipment for police use, and certain forms of use of force (HB 1054).
(2) Decertification of officers guilty of wrong-doing (SB 5051).
(3) Independent Investigation. Independent investigation by the governor’s office for police action involving deadly force (HB 1267) was passed and is now law.
Further legislation could include funding alternatives to incarceration such as diversion and use of professionals in the areas of substance abuse and mental health.
Debt-based Drivers’ License Suspension. The substitute bill that was passed (SB 5226) would permit suspension of licenses in some cases arising from failure to pay fines. However, two court cases have meanwhile been successful. An ACLU suit in Thurston County Superior Court led to a ruling that license suspension for persons unable to pay fines is unconstitutional. Another case decision specifies that licenses must be returned retroactively to approximately 100,000 persons, and going forward, no suspensions are allowed until January of 2023.
Blake decision follow-up. Following a court order (Blake decision) that rendered it unconstitutional to sentence persons for unknowing possession of controlled substances, a law (SB 5476) was quickly passed at the end of the last session that changed knowing possession of controlled substances from a felony to a gross misdemeanor. Quaker Voice intends to monitor other possible related legislation.
End Private Detention Facilities. HB 1090 was passed and is now law. However, existing contracts will be honored to their termination date.
Post-secondary Education in Prison. HB 1044 was passed and permits Dept. of Corrections to implement post-secondary education in prison, and pay for it under certain conditions.
Earned Release Time. Earned Release Time (HB 1282) was not passed; efforts to pass it will be continued in subsequent years. The bill would permit persons in prison to accrue earned release time at 33% across the board (up from mostly 10-15% now).

Criminal Justice Progress for 2020

Although the passage of new bills fell below Quaker Voice expectations in the 2020 session, we were remarkably pleased with the success in implementing the corrections ombuds bill that we championed for many years until its passage in 2018. But first, two bills we supported in 2020 are now law:

A bill to prohibit contracts by the WA Dept. of Corrections for privately-operated prisons.
A “bail-jumping” bill that will reduce penalties for not appearing in court, which tend to affect low-income people most.

Unfortunately, several of our priority issues were not resolved in 2020 and await further work, including:

(1) Abolishing the Death Penalty

(2) Restoration of voting rights for persons released from prison but under community supervision (passed into law in 2021)

(3) Establishment of a system for review for possible release for persons serving long-term sentences such as 15-20 years

(4) Reform of debt-based suspension of drivers’ licenses.

Quaker Voice understands that we are in this work for the long haul. For many bills, success requires several sessions, as was the case for establishment of the corrections ombuds office and reform of legal financial obligations.

Corrections Ombuds Office: In fact, following many years of advocacy by Quaker Voice and other organizations, the corrections ombuds office was set up in late 2018. It is a continuing success for us. Housed in the governor’s office, and led by the very talented and energetic Director, Joanna Carns, this office uses a hands-on approach and processes many concerns and grievances from persons in prison, proactively visits prisons to talk with the residents as well as staff and administrators, and works closely with the families of those in prison.

Working with the Dept. of Corrections, a workgroup was formed that has come to consensus on a number of solutions concerning the handling of grievances. In April, following concern about COVID-19 under the close quarters in prisons and a law suit from a non-profit legal group, Governor Inslee announced the release of a significant number of those confined. Director Carns hosts weekly phone calls with families of those in prisons and others to share progress and answer questions. While maintaining a very busy schedule, she has kept in contact with Quaker Voice and other organizations involved with the ombuds work.

Criminal Justice Progress for 2019

HB 1041 (New Hope Act). On discharging and vacating conviction records. Rep. Hansen, prime sponsor. This new law, which helps clear the way for an opportunity to rebuild lives, became effective July 28, 2019.
SB 5207. Although voting rights were not restored as hoped for persons under community supervision (see above), a bill (SB 5207) that prescribes notification of voting rights while still in prison (rights are restored after one leaves both prison and community supervision) was passed and became effective July 28, 2019.
HB 1064. Amends the police accountability Initiative I-940 to honor an agreement arranged by the proponents of I-940 and law enforcement officials; it is now law.

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Criminal Justice Progress for 2018

We celebrated the passage in 2018 of not one but two of the criminal justice bills that we have worked on for at least the past ten years

Establish a Corrections Ombuds Office, independent of the Dept. of Corrections (Success):

An Independent Corrections Ombuds (HB 1889) passed the House and the Senate, was signed by the Governor, and is now law.
The ombuds office is housed in the governor’s office and provides the opportunity for professionals in the Ombuds Office independent of the Department of Corrections to visit prisons, to learn both formally and informally about grievances and concerns of those in prison, attempt to resolve them, and bring conditions to light when appropriate.
The new Ombuds Director, Joanna Carns, reached out to Quaker Voice and other supporting organizations to request their input, has met both individually with Quaker Voice and with the larger group of supporting organizations, and continues to do so on a regular basis.
Such efforts should not only help persons in prison and their families but also help to reduce the costs and acrimony of legal disputes. Passage of the ombuds bill is especially satisfying, because this year Quaker Voice played a leadership role in the broad coalition for the ombuds effort.

Reform of Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs) for persons released from prison (HB 1783) passed both houses, has been signed by the Governor, and is now law (Success):

LFO reform eliminates the interest (previously 12 percent) on all non-restitution LFOs going forward, requires that courts not impose costs on a defendant who is indigent at the time of sentencing, and places restitution at the front of the line in receiving funds that are collected.
Most released prisoners, particularly those with a background of low income including many people of color, have a difficult time getting housing or a job. As a consequence, they find it almost impossible to pay off these debts, a situation that compromises their ability to reconstruct their lives. This reform will help them rehabilitate their lives, and by so doing, will enhance public safety.

Abolish the Death Penalty:

The Washington State Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional on October, 2018. Previously, legislation to abolish the death penalty (SB 6052), passed the Senate in 2018 on a close and dramatic vote, but was not brought to a vote in the House.

Police Accountability (Success):

I-940, which enhances police accountability and training in de-escalation and mental health issues, and was endorsed by Quaker Voice, was approved by the WA state electorate in November, 2018.
A “good faith” rather than “with malice” standard for police accountability will be used and de-escalation and mental health training will be required.

Ban the Box (Success):

“Ban the Box” passed. It is the catch-phrase description for legislation to prohibit questions about a job applicant’s possible criminal history on initial application forms (as in a check-box for previous convictions), thus allowing an applicant a fair chance for job consideration at this first critical stage.

Community Review Board (consideration for parole for persons with long-term sentences):

Quaker Voice supported HB 1789, a bill for study of consideration for parole after 20 years. Unfortunately, the bill would be only a first step toward actual consideration for parole and was not passed.

Driving with License Suspended 3:

Quaker Voice supported bills to change driving with license suspended 3 from a misdemeanor to a civil infraction, but these bills did not proceed in 2018. Driving with license suspended 3 typically occurs for persons unable to pay fines (not for serious actions such as DUI), including low-income people.

Other issues to monitor:

Immigrant detention; Repeal of mandate to notify immigration authorities (SB 5689); Voting rights for persons in prison convicted of a felony; Released offender identicards; Sentencing under 21; Restorative justice; Foster care (state raised) issues; Solitary confinement; and Incarcerated elderly.

Long Term Goals:

Give priority to efforts to repair the harm suffered by victims over attempts to punish offenders
Look for opportunities to take preventive action to identify and address the causes of crime
Replace costly incarceration through diversion, drug treatment, job training, and education whenever appropriate
Redress the racial inequity of our current criminal justice system
Support offenders’ efforts to redeem themselves and reintegrate into society

Criminal Justice Resources:

Justice and Crime in Washington State 2014: A resource list
Read More on our Facebook page
Firearm Fatalities in Washington State updated 10-29-2013

The Criminal Justice Working Group Practices