New protections enacted for stalking victims

Stalking is a crime that affects approximately 3.4 million Americans each year. These perpetrators know no economic, racial, or societal bounds. Some stalkers are former spouses or boyfriends who are angry about child custody battles or embittered by breakups. But they can also be total strangers to the victim.

Stalking can destroy lives. They sit outside homes for hours. They follow victims to work, to the gym, and out with friends. They call dozens of times a day and make constant threats.

Stalking may go on for years and can end in murder or suicide. Victims of stranger stalking in Washington state have virtually no tools to stop these actions. Under current law, the only protection these victims can receive is an anti-harassment order. Anti-harassment orders are what neighbors file against each other over barking dogs or fence disputes. Law enforcement places very low priority on anti-harassment orders.

Fortunately, HB 1383 sponsored by Rep. Roger Goodman (D-Kirkland) will help save lives. It will create a new a stalking protection order, similar to sexual assault and domestic violence protection orders. This will give law enforcement better tools to stop stalkers, more protections for victims, and harsher penalties for perpetrators.

HB 1383 passed the House and Senate unanimously. It was renamed the "Jennifer Paulson Stalking Protection Order" in memory of a Tacoma special education teacher who was murdered by her stalker three years ago. The bill now heads to the Governor's office for his signature.

More information:
•    End Stalking In America, Inc.
•    What other states are doing about stalking
•    Jennifer Paulson’s story

Photo credit: Salvatore Vuono/freedigitalphotos.net

Getting tough on drunk drivers

Washingtonians are three times more likely to be injured or killed on the roads than at the hands of criminals. Drunk drivers are a major cause of the tragedies in our neighborhoods and on our highways.

This afternoon, Governor Jay Inslee introduced his plan to combat chronic drunk driving at a press conference with Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

House Bill 2030, introduced by Rep. Dawn Morrell (D-Puyallup), streamlines complicated DUI laws in our state. After someone is arrested for DUI, law enforcement impounds the vehicle. An ignition interlock device would be installed before returning the car back to the driver. This is a common sense change that will help prevent tragedies.

It also creates a new driver’s license for the most persistent offenders that will prevent them from purchasing alcohol for ten years.

The legislation also dedicates funds to support highly-effective DUI emphasis patrols. Counties often lack the resources they need to prosecute repeat offenders. These changes will give them the funds they need to get the job done.

 “As a critical care nurse, I’ve had to ask the family of a 12-year-old if they wanted their child to be an organ donor,” said Rep. Morrell. “Once you’ve done that, you are resolved to prevent more carnage on our roads and more funerals for little boys and girls who’ll never go to prom, never get their diploma, and never bring their own sons and daughters home for Christmas to their grandparents. This bill will save lives.”

The leaders were joined by Frank and Carol Blair of Puyallup. Three years ago, their daughter Sheena was killed by a drunk driver. Carol and Frank have dedicated their lives to preventing another family from experiencing the same heartbreak.

“Victims of drunk drivers don’t get a second chance at life, so it’s time we stop giving the drunk drivers a second chance,” said Rep. Roger Goodman (D-Kirkland), chair of the House Public Safety Committee. “Governor Inslee has proposed strong new measures and although we only have a short time before the session ends I know we have the political will to pass these important reforms into law.”

The bill is scheduled for a public hearing the House Public Safety Committee on Thursday afternoon.

Read this story in Spanish.

Justice at last for those wrongfully convicted

The third time was the charm for Rep. Tina Orwall’s measure to compensate the wrongfully convicted in our state now that the Senate passed HB 1341 unanimously this evening. 

It’s been a long and winding road for this legislation. When Orwall first introduced it in 2011, it didn’t even get a hearing. The 2012 attempt was passed out of Judiciary, but was not scheduled for a hearing in Ways and Means. This time around, however, after numerous hurdles and some tweaking in the Senate, it’ll be on its way to Gov. Inslee’s desk as soon as the House agrees to the changes, which modified the bill to allow structured settlement awards and establishes that claimants must waive any other compensation under state or federal law. 

Orwall’s measure will provide a wrongfully convicted person with:

• $50,000 for each year behind bars
• Additional $50,000 for each year on death row
• $25,000 for each year on parole, community custody or as a registered sex offender
• Compensation for child support
• Reimbursement for restitution, assessments fees and court costs associated with the wrongful conviction
• Attorneys’ fees up to $75,000
• Higher education tuition waivers
• Access to reentry services

 Read this story in Spanish.

Guns and restraining orders don’t mix, says House bill that advances in Senate

Image courtesy of Boaz Yiftach/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Two House bills that tighten critical areas of firearms regulation quietly moved another step closer to final Legislative approval this week when they cleared a Senate committee.

House Bill 1840 would prohibit possession of a gun by anyone subject to certain restraining orders, no-contact orders or protection orders if a judge finds that the subject of the order poses a threat to an intimate partner or the child of an intimate partner. Those who fall under the finding and already have guns would be required to surrender them to police.

The Senate committee added the requirement for both an order and a court finding of a threat to the version of the bill that earlier passed the House 61-37. The House-passed version would trigger the gun prohibition in the case of either an order or a finding of a threat.

A recent New York Times article looked at how states nationwide deal with gun rights and restraining orders.

If the amended bill is approved by the full Senate, it would return to the House, which could either accept the Senate change or negotiate a version acceptable to both chambers.

The Senate committee also approved House Bill 1612 which sets up a statewide data base to log felony firearms offenders. The data base is designed to aid law-enforcement officers and would not be available for public viewing. It earlier passed the House 85-10.

Prevent drunk driving -- save lives

Lately, our local news has been full of disasters involving drunk drivers. In just one week, two grandparents were killed and their daughter-in-law and grandchild gravely injured when they were struck by a truck, and a mother was killed on her way to work by a car heading in the wrong direction on SR 520.

 

The drivers responsible for these incidents are both accused of being drunk at the time – and both had prior arrests for impaired driving on their records.

In response to these tragedies, Rep. Roger Goodman, founder and chair of the Washington Impaired Driving Working Group, is holding an emergency meeting Tuesday, April 9^th. There, lawmakers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement and judges will discuss smart solutions to stop impaired drivers.

Some policies up for discussion will certainly be:

·Sobriety checkpoints.

·Decreasing the number of impaired driving offenses before someone is charged with  a felony DUI from 5 to 3.

·Immediate arrest and jail time after offense.

·Mandatory impoundment and installation of an Ignition Interlock Device upon arrest.

·Spike strips on freeway on-ramps to prevent cars from driving the wrong way.

·Better enforcement for our current DUI laws through increased funding for the State’s Target Zero Plan.

Washington state is a national leader in effective DUI Prevention legislation. Since 2006, we have reduced deaths and injuries on our roadways by 34 percent.

 

But we clearly must do more. Regardless of what happens at tomorrow’s meeting, it is certain that our legislators will continue to push forward with smarter laws to prevent Impaired Driving and save lives in Washington state.

Read this story in Spanish.

House passes driver protection & accountability package

Putting in extra hours in advance of Wednesday’s house of origin cutoff, the House of Representatives passed several bills relating to enforcement and consumer protection for motorists on Saturday, March 9^th.

“It shouldn’t cost a mom or a dad a month of mortgage or rent to get their car back that they need for picking up their children or getting to work,” said Rep. Gerry Pollet in a floor speech on predatory towing rates.

The four pieces of legislation – which protect law-abiding drivers and punish those attempting to break the rules – all passed with strong, bipartisan support.

Here are the bills that were approved by the House of Representatives:

HB 1941 gives drivers who feel that have been inappropriately tolled, fined or assessed the wrong amount the opportunity to appeal the fee before an administrative judge that can actually mitigate the amount owed. Currently the process doesn’t allow much room to lower fines, even when compelling cases have been made that a person wasn’t aware of a tolling bill.

HB 1625 prevents victims of car accidents or parking missteps from being hit a second time by outrageous bills from towing companies, which can wind up cost hundred – even thousands – of dollars. While many towing services keep pricing in line, reports of some towing companies dinging drivers with outrageous rates from storage to non-business hour fees led to a need for reform.

HB 1944 makes it a gross misdemeanor to own or sell a license plating flipping device, which switch between two different license plates with the push of a button. These devices have become increasingly popular as some drivers seek to avoid tickets or tolls. By making them illegal, this legislation will help to ensure that no one is cheating the system.

HB 1946 helps crack down on improper use of disability parking placards. It expands the definition of unauthorized use to include expired or counterfeit placards and makes it illegal to gain a placard through medical misrepresentation. These changes will strengthen the program to ensure that it benefits people with disabilities, not freeloaders.

Read this story in Spanish.

“Sorry” just doesn’t cut it

Can you imagine getting charged with a horrible crime and spending almost two decades locked-up in prison until you're proven innocent thanks to DNA testing?

And what do you get once you're set free? Nothing. An apology, maybe.

Last Friday, the House Appropriations Committe passed a bill by State Rep. Tina Orwall that would bring justice to those wrongly convicted.

Read the full press release here.

Watch Rep. Orwall talk about House Bill 1341 in her latest video update:

You can also check out some of the media coverage on this issue:

• Associated Press: Bill seeks compensation for wrongful convictions
• KOMO News: Exonerated convicts ask Washington to pay up for lost time
• NY Daily News: Man who served 17 years in prison for rape he didn't commit inspires Washington state bill to compensate wrongfully imprisoned $50,000 per year
• Seattle Times: Innocent but locked up for 17 years, man hopes for compensation
• Seattle Weekly: The Innocence Project Tries Again with Wrongly Convicted Compensation Bill

Read this story in Spanish.

How do educators feel about armed teachers?

In the wake of the tragedy at Sandy Hook elementary, lawmakers across the nation are responding with ideas to increase school safety. Here in Olympia, some lawmakers have proposed bills that would allow teachers to be armed in the classroom. While that bill (HB 1788) is not likely to pass, it does raise the question: how do teachers feel about guns in the classroom?

An online poll of 10,661 educators from all 50 states conducted by the School Improvement Network gives us an answer to that question.

The survey found that nearly three out of four teachers were unlikely to bring a firearm to the classroom if they were allowed to. It also found that only three out of ten teachers felt safe from gun violence in their school.

In other words, 69% of teachers believe gun violence could become a reality in their schools, but fewer than 30% were likely to arm themselves as a solution.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently weighed in on the issue telling reporters, "The vast majority of teachers have spoken pretty loudly and said they're not interested in being armed, so that's a red herring."

The survey also reveals how schools have increased security since the Sandy Hook shooting. A few of those include:

• Locking doors from the inside
• Practice lockdown drills more frequently
• Extra security/police patrols
• New security entrances
• Require visitors to get a visitor's pass to be on campus

Read this story in Spanish.

Zero, zip, nada driving fatalities for teens ages 16 - 17 in first half of 2012

While teen driving fatalities were up nearly 20 percent nationally in the first half of 2012, here in Washington no lives were lost behind the wheel among 16- and 17-year-old drivers.

That's according to the preliminary Teenage Driver Fatalities by State Report released today by the Governors Highway Safety Association.

The good news might have something to do with the fact that Washington has the highest seat-belt use rate in the nation.

Or perhaps it's because last year 46 schools across our state signed up for the Distracted Driving grant project offered by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission and State Farm Insurance. Program Manager Jonna VanDyk said they expect about twice as many schools to participate in 2013.

Whatever the reason, we're lifting our water/soda/juice glasses and cheering "hear, hear!" for Washington's smart teen drivers.

Read this story in Spanish.

Neighborhood Safe Streets bill moving forward

The Neighborhood Safe Streets bill passed the House Wednesday on a vote of 86-10, moving one step closer to saving cities and counties money by allowing them to use their common sense.

Right now, local governments must pay for an engineering report to raise – or lower – speed limits. It makes sense for raising the limit, to ensure a road can handle higher speeds.

But it's a waste of time and money for state law to require engineering reports to lower a speed limit. Any road or highway can always handle lower speeds.

The legislation by Rep. Cindy Ryu (D-Shoreline) cuts that red tape, which will save taxpayer dollars --and more importantly, save lives.

The Seattle Bike Blog does a great job explaining the bill:

"Speeds on such streets are most often 25 mph today. Studies show that a person struck by a car going 30 miles per hour has a 40 percent chance of dying. When the speed drops to 20 mph, the chance of dying drops to 5 percent. So while a few mph might seem like a small safety gain, it can actually be the difference between life and death."

This common-sense reform is now in the Senate, and you can track it by clicking here.

Read this story in Spanish.

To drive, or not to drive? That is the question

Image courtesy vectorportal

How much is too much?

Voters just approved a new law (Initiative 502) making marijuana legal for adults 21 and over, and to regulate it and tax it just like alcohol.

Just like you can't drink and drive, you can't drive while intoxicated with marijuana.

Which brings us back to the question: how much is too much?

This Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., the House Public Safety Committee will dive into the issue.

There's accepted science involving alcohol to determine when you're driving under the influence (DUI). If your blood-alcohol level is .08 or above, that's a DUI.

I-502 puts forth a blood limit of 5 nanograms per milliliter of the active drugs in marijuana. So is the science behind that number solid, or do lawmakers need to look at something else?

The Public Safety Committee is bringing in all kinds of experts – scientists, law enforcement and prosecutors – to talk it over.

Here's the lineup for Wednesday:

Overview of I-502: What is legal? What is still illegal?

• Alison Holcomb, ACLU
• Rick Garza, Liquor Control Board

Driving Under the Influence of Marijuana: From the Roadside to the Courthouse

• Officer Wylie, Olympia Police Department
• Lieutenant Rob Sharpe (and DRE Program Manager), WSP Forensic Laboratory Services Bureau, head of Impaired Driving Section
• Fiona Couper, State Toxicologist, WSP

Enforcement Protocols and Prosecution of Driving Under the Influence of Marijuana:

• Aaron Pelley, Defense Attorney
• Patricia Fulton, Defense Attorney
• Amy Freedheim, King County Prosecutor's Office

The Science of Cannabis and Impaired Driving

• R. Andrew Sewell, Yale University (via Skype)
• Paul Armantano, NORML

Read this story in Spanish.

Drunk driving and carbon monoxide laws now in effect

Among the new laws that went into effect on New Year's Day are two laws aimed at saving lives.

The first deals with drunk drivers trying to cheat their ignition interlock devices. All new interlocks will now snap a photo when somebody blows into the tube to test their blood-alcohol level, so cheaters won't be able to get a sober passenger to blow into the tube for them.

The law – House Bill 2443 -- was authored by Rep. Roger Goodman (D-Kirkland), the new chair of the House Public Safety Committee.

You can read more about that law here, which also made other reforms to reduce drunk driving.

The second law deals with carbon monoxide poisoning, which can kill people without warning since the gas is odorless and colorless.

The law requires carbon monoxide detectors in homes and hotels, much like they're now required to have smoke detectors.

Related link: KOMO TV story about new laws taking effect Jan. 1.

Read this story in Spanish here.

Working together for victims of domestic violence

   

The Pierce County legislative delegation and county council members at the Crystal Judson Family Justice Center, packing flee bags and finding ways to work together. Flee bags are backpacks full of basic essentials that women fleeing domestic violence can grab and take with them. In the very front: Rep.-elect Dawn Morrell (D-Puyallup). In the back: Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist and Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy. Photo by Rep. Laurie Jinkins (D-Tacoma).

To read this story in Spanish, click here.

Teens and Texting: A problem that isn’t going away

 Photo credit: Edbrown05 via Wikimedia Commons

Summer is finally here, at least according to the calendar. While we hope everyone has a fun and safe summer, this is a good time to remind our readers about a few roadway realities.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15 to 20-year-olds in the U.S. Their inexperience behind the wheel is a major contributor to crashes involving teenage drivers and too many of them engage in extremely risky and distracting behavior while driving. According to a recent survey by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 6 out of 10 high school seniors admitted to texting or emailing while behind the wheel in the last 30 days.

Teens are far more likely to be involved in a car crash than any other age group. Texting while driving greatly increases that risk. Since texting is a relatively new technology, the data is still being collected. However, some early research suggests texting while driving is more dangerous than driving impaired.

Most states have adopted legislation to help reduce vehicle collisions involving teens. Texting while driving is illegal for all drivers in 39 states, including Washington. Five other states have texting bans in effect for teen drivers.

Washington’s Graduated Driver’s License (GDL) program was recently credited for contributing to the 62 percent decrease in child injury deaths in King County. GDL programs allow young drivers more time to gain that valuable experience behind the wheel without the distraction of friends in the car. GDL license holders under the age of 18 are also prohibited from using cell phones while driving. This includes talking (even with a hands free device) and texting.

To read this story in Spanish, click here.

Drunk drivers who kill now face tougher sentences

A new law aimed at deadly drunk drivers is already taking hold.

As this Seattle Times story shows, the first test case happened the same day the law took effect.

Here’s the meat of that story:

Michelle Leigh Dittamore was charged Wednesday with vehicular homicide, accused of slamming her father's two-seat sports car — which she didn't have permission to drive — head-on into a vehicle driven by Jana Lynne Berry, 48, who was killed instantly at the scene of the June 7 late-night crash.

Dittamore's 4-year-old son, Grayson, was in the front passenger seat and suffered bruising from the seat belt and air bag, according to charging documents. His presence in the vehicle at the time of the crash is considered an enhancement that, should Dittamore be convicted, will add a year onto her prison sentence.

Dittamore had allegedly consumed one tumbler of pink Champagne and the drug Klonopin, a benzodiazepine, which is known to make users dizzy or drowsy, before the crash, charging papers say. … Dittamore, whose license was suspended in 2009, apparently sneaked into her father's bedroom and took his car keys along with his Ambien prescription, charging papers say. She didn't have permission to drive her father's Honda S2000, nor was she insured to drive, the papers say.

In March, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed into law a bill that increased prison terms for those convicted of vehicular homicide to six to 8 1/2 years, an increase from the previous 2 ½ to almost 3 ½ years. The law went into effect on the day of the crash.

The law (House Bill 2216) was sponsored by Rep.Christopher Hurst (D-Enumclaw), chair of the Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee and a retired police detective. In a press release at the time the governor signed the bill, Hurst said the law ensures justice for families and friends who lose a loved one to a drunk driver, and that he wrote the bill after witnessing immeasurable suffering and carnage around drunk driving accidents time and time again throughout his 25 year career. 

“A vehicle operated under the influence of alcohol is a deadly weapon and it’s time our sentencing guidelines reflected that fact,” Hurst said at the time. “Nothing can bring back the victims of these crimes, but I do hope this change brings some justice for the loved ones coping with an unimaginable loss.”

Before the law, the penalty for vehicular homicide wasn’t comparable to similar crimes such as manslaughter. The new law more than doubles the jail time for vehicular homicide by DUI. Those found guilty will face 78 to 102 months behind bars,equivalent to the penalty for first-degree manslaughter.

More from the release:

Prosecuting attorneys across the state have long advocated for an increase in sentences for DUI vehicular homicide; leading the charge have been King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg and Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist.

"This increased penalty will feel more like justice to victim's families, friends and the community," Lindquist said. "Furthermore, this legislation is part of a larger effort to send a message that we don't tolerate drunk driving in Washington."

“With the leadership of Reps. Chris Hurst and Roger Goodman in the House and David Frockt, Adam Kline and Mike Padden in the Senate, we have given the families of loved ones lost to drunk drivers some sense of justice,” said Satterberg. “The increased sentences will not bring back their family members but will send a strong message to drunk drivers that their actions have consequences."

The full text and legislative history of House Bill 2216 can be viewed online here.

To read this story in Spanish, please click here.

Did someone come to your aid in an emergency? Now you can say thanks

If you’ve ever called 9-1-1 due to a collision, a fire, a burglary or a medical emergency you know how crucial it is that Washington’s firefighters, police officers and paramedics get to your location as quickly as possible. 

Many people owe their lives to Washington’s first responders every day and to the 9-1-1 dispatchers who do their jobs outstandingly every time a call comes in. 

The week of April 8-14, 2012 is National Telecommunicators Week, intended to honor the first link in the chain of emergency. If you want to say thank you, come to the Capitol building on Thursday, April 12 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., where you’ll meet State Patrol dispatchers and learn what they do every day to make the citizens of Washington state safe on our highways.

To read this post in Spanish, click here.

Washington leads the way once again in the fight against human trafficking

“If this can happen to my daughter, it can happen to your daughter,” said, in this King 5 story, the mother of a young girl who was forced into the commercial sex industry right here in our state.

Human trafficking, which includes commercial sex and forced labor, is the fastest growing international crime and the second most profitable organized crime, behind drug trafficking. The U.S. Department of State reports that 14,500-17,000 persons are trafficked into the United States each year.

But not all the victims of human trafficking had to cross our borders or reach our shores, many of them are born and raised in our state. Since October 2008, King County courts have charged and prosecuted 67 offenders for sex trafficking-related crimes. Seventy-two percent of their victims were children. Currently, it is estimated that 300-500 youth are being forced into prostitution just in King County. But there are human traffickers in other counties as well such as Snohomish, Pierce, Yakima and Spokane.

In 2002 Washington became the first state in the nation to criminalize human trafficking. And now we are the first in the nation to require verification of age for online ads that promote sex-related services. That was one of a big package of anti-human trafficking bipartisan bills signed into law by Governor Chris Gregoire last week.

Gov. Chris Gregoire signs anti-trafficking bills into law.

The two bills we recently wrote about here, aimed at reducing the commercial sale of sex in our state by establishing heftier fines for both johns and pimps, were also among the bills to get the governor’s signature.

For more information on these and all the bills in the anti-trafficking package, go here.

To read this post in Spanish, click here.

Drive hammered, get nailed

For years, that’s been the catch-phrase of the Washington State Patrol, sending a clear message to drunk drivers: we’re coming after you.

There’s a good reason to be vigilant about drunks behind the wheel. Though violent crime gets more headlines, the average person has a greater chance of being maimed or killed on the road than at the hands of violent criminals.

Now with the passage of House Bill 2216 by Rep. Christopher Hurst, drunk drivers who cause a crash that kills somebody will get nailed much harder.

Hurst wrote the bill in the context of his 25-year career as a police officer and detective. He responded to more crashes than he cares to remember.

“A vehicle operated under the influence of alcohol is a deadly weapon and it’s time our sentencing guidelines reflected that fact,” said Rep. Hurst. “Nothing can bring back the victims of these crimes, but I do hope this change brings some justice for the loved ones coping with an unimaginable loss.”

Under the new law, jail time for vehicular homicide by DUI more than doubles. Those found guilty will face 78 to 102 months behind bars, equivalent to the penalty for first-degree manslaughter.

Prosecuting attorneys across the state have long advocated for an increase in sentences for DUI vehicular homicide. Leading the charge: King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg and Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist.

"This increased penalty will feel more like justice to victim's families, friends and the community," Lindquist said. "Furthermore, this legislation is part of a larger effort to send a message that we don't tolerate drunk driving in Washington."

Tom McBride, with the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, said, "Driving drunk and causing the accident that kills another person is, in every sense of the word, criminally reckless. Drunk driving vehicular homicide should be treated as seriously as manslaughter, another recklessness based crime, - which is what this law does."

“With the leadership of Reps. Chris Hurst and Roger Goodman in the House and David Frockt, Adam Kline and Mike Padden in the Senate, we have given the families of loved ones lost to drunk drivers some sense of justice,” Satterberg said. “The increased sentences will not bring back their family members but will send a strong message to drunk drivers that their actions have consequences."

The bill was signed by Gov. Gregoire yesterday and goes into effect ninety days after the legislative session adjourned on March 8th, and those convicted after that date will face longer sentences behind bars. 

For people who like numbers and charts: this link to the Traffic Safety Commission has all sorts of data and color charts on drunk driving crashes. There is some jargon to translate. “VMT” stands for “Vehicle Miles Traveled,” so what they’re doing is adjusting crash figures for the growing population and number of cars on the road.

To read this post in Spanish, click here.

New law saves taxpayers millions on sex offender costs

A new reform will crack down on what The Olympian called “runaway legal costs for violent sex offenders.”

Loopholes in the legal system allowed court cases to drag on for years, with an average cost of $39,000 per inmate every year.

Special Commitment Center, McNeil Island
Photo credit: DSHS

Lawmakers worked together to fix the system with Senate Bill 6493, which is estimated to save taxpayers $1.8 million per year on legal fees for the 280 sexual predators locked up at the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island.

Now, these aren’t regular inmates, filing lawsuits that the state is somehow paying for out of taxpayer’s pockets.

McNeil Island is a special case, because these sex predators have served their sentences and are now confined on the island because they’ve been ruled a continued threat to society and not ready for release.

So they have legal rights, and it’s important for the state to handle court questions right – because if we don’t, these violent predators will win their cases and get out. They’ll be back in our communities and at high risk to re-offend.

The new law balances the need to handle court cases correctly – and keep violent sex offenders away from our kids and families – while ending a payment system that was out of control.

Here’s what The Olympian said about the details in the new reform:

 Among other things, the legislation:

• Creates yearly contracts with about two dozen attorneys statewide to provide legal services for sexual offenders. The contracts will replace costly hourly billing by defense attorneys, fees that were hard to track and contain.

Hourly billing was also a disincentive to bring cases to the courtroom in a timely manner. It is not unusual for continuances and delays on civil commitment trials to drag on for years. These types of delays are costly to taxpayers and clog up the court system.

• Transfers the legal costs from the state Department of Social and Health Services to the state Office of Public Defense, which should improve fiscal accountability for the program.

Under the old system, DSHS paid the fees for attorneys and expert witnesses, but had little control over the expenditures, which were authorized by judges and a maze of local officials before they reached the state agency.

In another cost-savings move, the cost of prosecuting the offenders, including state psychological evaluations, will move to the state Attorney General’s Office from DSHS. Again, this should provide better fiscal control over costs.

The changes in the process for both prosecuting and defending sexual predators was long overdue. Legal costs were averaging about $39,000 per year per offender.

That was an outrageous cost born by taxpayers, a cost that should drop significantly with unanimous passage of Senate Bill 6493.

Read the whole editorial here. 

Aerial view of McNeil Island
Photo credit: Dept. Of Corrections

To read this post in Spanish, click here.

Rest in peace, good little bills

In case you missed it, a little drama unfolded last night on the Senate floor. While it may have made for some interesting television for procedural junkies like us, it also meant that a lot of bills didn’t get a vote ahead of the 5:00 PM opposite house cut-off for policy bills.

Among the causalities on the Senate’s floor calendar:

HB 2503: This measure would have given veterans and members of the National Guard priority registration when they sign up for college classes. The extra time to secure their classes would have given our veterans ample time to get that information back to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

HB 1217: The ‘Safe Streets’ bill would have given cities the option to set speed limits as low as 20 MPH on non-arterials. Cities can currently take this action, but not without a costly study on traffic and engineering.

HB 2717: Legislation to encourage colleges and universities to report efficiency measures they’ve taken. That information is later shared across our state’s higher education system, encouraging other institutions to take similar actions in order to reduce their bottom line.

HB 2372: A consumer protection bill to cap towing fees when your car is impounded on private property. Following widespread reports of price-gouging by predatory towing companies, this bill would have ensured that no Washingtonian is held hostage by recovery fees equal to a month’s rent.

These are just a few of the bills we are mourning over here in the HDC today.