wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 2693 > Original Bill
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.
"Department" means the department of social and health services.
"Fair share principles" and "fair share principles of release" means that each county has adequate options for conditional release housing placements in a number generally equivalent to the number of residents from that county who are subject to total confinement pursuant to this chapter.
"Health care facility" means any hospital, hospice care center, licensed or certified health care facility, health maintenance organization regulated under chapter 48.46 RCW, federally qualified health maintenance organization, federally approved renal dialysis center or facility, or federally approved blood bank.
"Health care practitioner" means an individual or firm licensed or certified to engage actively in a regulated health profession.
"Health care services" means those services provided by health professionals licensed pursuant to RCW 18.120.020(4).
"Health profession" means those licensed or regulated professions set forth in RCW 18.120.020(4).
"Less restrictive alternative" means court-ordered treatment in a setting less restrictive than total confinement which satisfies the conditions set forth in RCW 71.09.092. A less restrictive alternative may not include placement in the community protection program as pursuant to RCW 71A.12.230. A less restrictive alternative may only include a placement that has been investigated and verified by the department as being in a location where the ratio of adults to children residing within a 500-foot radius of the placement exceeds a ratio of three to one.
"Likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if not confined in a secure facility" means that the person more probably than not will engage in such acts if released unconditionally from detention on the sexually violent predator petition. Such likelihood must be evidenced by a recent overt act if the person is not totally confined at the time the petition is filed under RCW 71.09.030.
"Mental abnormality" means a congenital or acquired condition affecting the emotional or volitional capacity which predisposes the person to the commission of criminal sexual acts in a degree constituting such person a menace to the health and safety of others.
"Personality disorder" means an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual's culture, is pervasive and inflexible, has onset in adolescence or early adulthood, is stable over time and leads to distress or impairment. Purported evidence of a personality disorder must be supported by testimony of a licensed forensic psychologist or psychiatrist.
"Predatory" means acts directed towards: (a) Strangers; (b) individuals with whom a relationship has been established or promoted for the primary purpose of victimization; or (c) persons of casual acquaintance with whom no substantial personal relationship exists.
"Prosecuting agency" means the prosecuting attorney of the county where the person was convicted or charged or the attorney general if requested by the prosecuting attorney, as provided in RCW 71.09.030.
"Recent overt act" means any act, threat, or combination thereof that has either caused harm of a sexually violent nature or creates a reasonable apprehension of such harm in the mind of an objective person who knows of the history and mental condition of the person engaging in the act or behaviors.
"Risk potential activity" or "risk potential facility" means an activity or facility that provides a higher incidence of risk to the public from persons conditionally released from the special commitment center. Risk potential activities and facilities include: Public and private schools, school bus stops, licensed day care and licensed preschool facilities, public parks, publicly dedicated trails, sports fields, playgrounds, recreational and community centers, churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, public libraries, public and private youth camps, and others identified by the department following the hearings on a potential site required in RCW 71.09.315. For purposes of this chapter, "school bus stops" does not include bus stops established primarily for public transit.
"Secretary" means the secretary of social and health services or the secretary's designee.
"Secure community transition facility" means a residential facility for persons civilly committed and conditionally released to a less restrictive alternative under this chapter. A secure community transition facility has supervision and security, and either provides or ensures the provision of sex offender treatment services. Secure community transition facilities include but are not limited to the facility established pursuant to RCW 71.09.250(1)(a)(i) and any community-based facilities established under this chapter and operated by the secretary or under contract with the secretary.
"Secure facility" means a residential facility for persons civilly confined under the provisions of this chapter that includes security measures sufficient to protect the community. Such facilities include total confinement facilities, secure community transition facilities, and any residence used as a court-ordered placement under RCW 71.09.096.
"Sexually violent offense" means an act committed on, before, or after July 1, 1990, that is: (a) An act defined in Title 9A RCW as rape in the first degree, rape in the second degree by forcible compulsion, rape of a child in the first or second degree, statutory rape in the first or second degree, indecent liberties by forcible compulsion, indecent liberties against a child under age fourteen, incest against a child under age fourteen, or child molestation in the first or second degree; (b) a felony offense in effect at any time prior to July 1, 1990, that is comparable to a sexually violent offense as defined in (a) of this subsection, or any federal or out-of-state conviction for a felony offense that under the laws of this state would be a sexually violent offense as defined in this subsection; (c) an act of murder in the first or second degree, assault in the first or second degree, assault of a child in the first or second degree, kidnapping in the first or second degree, burglary in the first degree, residential burglary, or unlawful imprisonment, which act, either at the time of sentencing for the offense or subsequently during civil commitment proceedings pursuant to this chapter, has been determined beyond a reasonable doubt to have been sexually motivated, as that term is defined in RCW 9.94A.030; or (d) an act as described in chapter 9A.28 RCW, that is an attempt, criminal solicitation, or criminal conspiracy to commit one of the felonies designated in (a), (b), or (c) of this subsection.
"Sexually violent predator" means any person who has been convicted of or charged with a crime of sexual violence and who suffers from a mental abnormality or personality disorder which makes the person likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if not confined in a secure facility.
"Total confinement facility" means a secure facility that provides supervision and sex offender treatment services in a total confinement setting. Total confinement facilities include the special commitment center and any similar facility designated as a total confinement facility by the secretary.
"Treatment" means the sex offender specific treatment program at the special commitment center or a specific course of sex offender treatment pursuant to RCW 71.09.092 (1) and (2).
Before the court may enter an order directing conditional release to a less restrictive alternative, it must find the following: (1) The person will be treated by a treatment provider who is qualified to provide such treatment in the state of Washington under chapter 18.155 RCW; (2) the treatment provider has presented a specific course of treatment and has agreed to assume responsibility for such treatment and will report progress to the court on a regular basis, and will report violations immediately to the court, the prosecutor, the supervising community corrections officer, and the superintendent of the special commitment center; (3) housing exists in Washington that complies with distance restrictions, has been investigated and verified by the department to be in a location where the ratio of adults to children residing within a 500-foot radius of the housing exceeds a ratio of three to one, is sufficiently secure to protect the community, and the person or agency providing housing to the conditionally released person has agreed in writing to accept the person, to provide the level of security required by the court, and immediately to report to the court, the prosecutor, the supervising community corrections officer, and the superintendent of the special commitment center if the person leaves the housing to which he or she has been assigned without authorization; (4) if the department has proposed housing that is outside of the county of commitment, a documented effort was made by the department to ensure that placement is consistent with fair share principles of release; (5) the person is willing to comply with the treatment provider and all requirements imposed by the treatment provider and by the court; and (6) the person will be under the supervision of the department of corrections and is willing to comply with supervision requirements imposed by the department of corrections.
If the court or jury determines that conditional release to a less restrictive alternative is in the best interest of the person and includes conditions that would adequately protect the community, and the court determines that the minimum conditions set forth in RCW 71.09.092 and in this section are met, the court shall enter judgment and direct a conditional release.
The court shall impose any additional conditions necessary to ensure compliance with treatment and to protect the community. If the court finds that conditions do not exist that will both ensure the person's compliance with treatment and protect the community, then the person shall be remanded to the custody of the department of social and health services for control, care, and treatment in a secure facility as designated in RCW 71.09.060(1).
If the service provider designated by the court to provide inpatient or outpatient treatment or to monitor or supervise any other terms and conditions of a person's placement in a less restrictive alternative is other than the department of social and health services or the department of corrections, then the service provider so designated must agree in writing to provide such treatment, monitoring, or supervision in accord with this section. Any person providing or agreeing to provide treatment, monitoring, or supervision services pursuant to this chapter may be compelled to testify and any privilege with regard to such person's testimony is deemed waived.
[Empty]
Prior to authorizing any release to a less restrictive alternative, the court shall impose such conditions upon the person as are necessary to ensure the safety of the community, which must include, at minimum, the condition that the person will be subject to electronic monitoring that, to the extent feasible, provides real-time tracking, programmable inclusion and exclusion zones, and the ability to provide notifications if the person tampers with the monitoring device or enters an exclusion zone. In imposing conditions, the court must impose a restriction on the proximity of the person's residence to public or private schools providing instruction to kindergarten or any grades one through 12 in accordance with RCW 72.09.340. Courts shall require a minimum distance restriction of 500 feet on the proximity of the person's residence to child care facilities and public or private schools providing instruction to kindergarten or any grades one through 12. Courts shall also require that the person's residence be in a location where the ratio of adults to children residing within a 500-foot radius of the residence exceeds a ratio of three to one, as investigated and verified by the department. The court shall order the department of corrections to investigate the less restrictive alternative and, within 60 days of the order to investigate, recommend any additional conditions to the court. These conditions shall be individualized to address the person's specific risk factors and criminogenic needs and may include, but are not limited to, the following: Specification of residence or restrictions on residence including distance restrictions, specification of contact with a reasonable number of individuals upon the person's request who are verified by the department of corrections to be appropriate social contacts, prohibition of contact with potential or past victims, prohibition of alcohol and other drug use, participation in a specific course of inpatient or outpatient treatment that may include monitoring by the use of polygraph and plethysmograph, monitoring through the use of global positioning system technology, supervision by a department of corrections community corrections officer, a requirement that the person remain within the state unless the person receives prior authorization by the court, and any other conditions that the court determines are in the best interest of the person or others. A copy of the conditions of release shall be given to the person and to any designated service providers.
To the greatest extent possible, the person, person's counsel, prosecuting agency responsible for the initial commitment, treatment provider, supervising community corrections officer, and appropriate clinical staff of the special commitment center shall meet and collaborate to craft individualized, narrowly tailored, and empirically based conditions to present to the court to help facilitate the person's successful transition to the community.
[Empty]
Prior to authorizing release to a less restrictive alternative proposed by the department, the court shall consider whether the person's less restrictive alternative placement is in accordance with fair share principles. To ensure equitable distribution of releases, and prevent the disproportionate grouping of persons subject to less restrictive orders in any one county, or in any one jurisdiction or community within a county, the legislature finds it is appropriate for releases to a less restrictive alternative to occur in a manner that adheres to fair share principles. The legislature recognizes that there may be reasons why the department may not recommend that a person be released to his or her county of commitment, including availability of individualized resources, the person's support needs, or when the court determines that the person's return to his or her county of commitment would be inappropriate considering any court-issued protection orders, victim safety concerns that cannot be addressed through use of global positioning system technology, the unavailability of appropriate treatment or facilities that would adequately protect the community, negative influences on the person, and the location of family or other persons or organizations offering support to the person. If the court authorizes conditional release based on the department's proposal to a county other than the county of commitment, the court shall enter specific findings regarding its decision and identify whether the release remains in line with fair share principles.
[Empty]
When the department develops a less restrictive alternative placement under this section, it shall attempt to identify a placement satisfying the requirements of RCW 71.09.092 that is aligned with fair share principles. The department shall document its rationale for the recommended placement.
If the department does not support or recommend conditional release to a less restrictive alternative due to a clinical determination, the department shall document its objection and certify that the department is developing the less restrictive alternative pursuant to a court order and not because of a clinical determination.
When the department develops or proposes a less restrictive alternative placement under this chapter, it shall be considered a predisposition recommendation.
In developing, modifying, and enforcing less restrictive alternatives, the department shall be deemed to be performing a quasi-judicial function.
If the committed person is not conditionally released to his or her county of commitment, the department shall provide the law and justice council of the county in which the person is conditionally released with notice and a written explanation, including whether the department remains in compliance with fair share principles regarding releases under this chapter.
For purposes of this section, the person's county of commitment means the county of the court which ordered the person's commitment.
This subsection (5) does not apply to releases to a secure community transition facility under RCW 71.09.250.
[Empty]
When ordered by the court, the department must provide less restrictive alternative treatment that includes, at a minimum:
The services identified in the person's discharge plan as outlined in RCW 71.09.080(4);
The assignment of a community care coordinator;
Regular contacts with providers of court-ordered treatment services;
Community escorts, if needed;
A transition plan that addresses the person's access to continued services upon unconditional discharge;
Financial support for necessary housing;
Life skills training and disability accommodations, if needed; and
Assistance in pursuing benefits, education, and employment.
At the time the department of corrections is ordered to investigate a proposed less restrictive alternative placement, subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the department shall assign a social worker to assist the person with discharge planning, pursuing benefits, and coordination of care prior to release.
The social worker shall assist the person with completing applications for benefits prior to the person's release from total confinement.
To promote continuity of care and the individual's success in the community, the department social worker shall be responsible for initiating a clinical transition of care between the last treating clinician at the special commitment center and the person's designated community treatment provider. This transition between one clinical setting to another shall occur no later than 15 days before an individual's release from the special commitment center.
If applicable, the social worker shall assist the person with locating any needed disability accommodations in the community and with obtaining resources to help address the person's identified life skills needs prior to release from total confinement.
Any service provider designated to provide inpatient or outpatient treatment shall monthly, or as otherwise directed by the court, submit to the court, to the department of social and health services facility from which the person was released, to the prosecuting agency, and to the supervising community corrections officer, a report stating whether the person is complying with the terms and conditions of the conditional release to a less restrictive alternative.
Each person released to a less restrictive alternative shall have his or her case reviewed by the court that released him or her no later than one year after such release and annually thereafter until the person is unconditionally discharged. Review may occur in a shorter time or more frequently, if the court, in its discretion on its own motion, or on motion of the person, the secretary, or the prosecuting agency so determines. The questions to be determined by the court are whether the person shall continue to be conditionally released to a less restrictive alternative, and if so, whether a modification to the person's less restrictive alternative order is appropriate to ensure the conditional release remains in the best interest of the person and adequate to protect the victim and the community. The court in making its determination shall be aided by the periodic reports filed pursuant to subsection (7) of this section and the opinions of the secretary and other experts or professional persons.