71.09.250 - Transition facility -- Siting. - Washington Statutes

Transition facility — Siting.

(1)(a) The secretary is authorized to site, construct, occupy, and operate (i) a secure community transition facility on McNeil Island for persons authorized to petition for a less restrictive alternative under RCW 71.09.090(1) and who are conditionally released; and (ii) a special commitment center on McNeil Island with up to four hundred four beds as a total confinement facility under this chapter, subject to appropriated funding for those purposes. The secure community transition facility shall be authorized for the number of beds needed to ensure compliance with the orders of the superior courts under this chapter and the federal district court for the western district of Washington. The total number of beds in the secure community transition facility shall be limited to twenty-four, consisting of up to fifteen transitional beds and up to nine pretransitional beds. The residents occupying the transitional beds shall be the only residents eligible for transitional services occurring in Pierce county. In no event shall more than fifteen residents of the secure community transition facility be participating in off-island transitional, educational, or employment activity at the same time in Pierce county. The department shall provide the Pierce county sheriff, or his or her designee, with a list of the fifteen residents so designated, along with their photographs and physical descriptions, and the list shall be immediately updated whenever a residential change occurs. The Pierce county sheriff, or his or her designee, shall be provided an opportunity to confirm the residential status of each resident leaving McNeil Island.

     (b) For purposes of this subsection, "transitional beds" means beds only for residents who are judged by a qualified expert to be suitable to leave the island for treatment, education, and employment.

     (2)(a) The secretary is authorized to site, either within the secure community transition facility established pursuant to subsection (1)(a)(i) of this section, or within the special commitment center, up to nine pretransitional beds.

     (b) Residents assigned to pretransitional beds shall not be permitted to leave McNeil Island for education, employment, treatment, or community activities in Pierce county.

     (c) For purposes of this subsection, "pretransitional beds" means beds for residents whose progress toward a less secure residential environment and transition into more complete community involvement is projected to take substantially longer than a typical resident of the special commitment center.

     (3) Notwithstanding RCW 36.70A.103 or any other law, this statute preempts and supersedes local plans, development regulations, permitting requirements, inspection requirements, and all other laws as necessary to enable the secretary to site, construct, occupy, and operate a secure community transition facility on McNeil Island and a total confinement facility on McNeil Island.

     (4) To the greatest extent possible, until June 30, 2003, persons who were not civilly committed from the county in which the secure community transition facility established pursuant to subsection (1) of this section is located may not be conditionally released to a setting in that same county less restrictive than that facility.

     (5) As of June 26, 2001, the state shall immediately cease any efforts in effect on such date to site secure community transition facilities, other than the facility authorized by subsection (1) of this section, and shall instead site such facilities in accordance with the provisions of this section.

     (6) The department must:

     (a) Identify the minimum and maximum number of secure community transition facility beds in addition to the facility established under subsection (1) of this section that may be necessary for the period of May 2004 through May 2007 and provide notice of these numbers to all counties by August 31, 2001; and

     (b) Develop and publish policy guidelines for the siting and operation of secure community transition facilities.

     (7)(a) The total number of secure community transition facility beds that may be required to be sited in a county between June 26, 2001, and June 30, 2008, may be no greater than the total number of persons civilly committed from that county, or detained at the special commitment center under a pending civil commitment petition from that county where a finding of probable cause had been made on April 1, 2001. The total number of secure community transition facility beds required to be sited in each county between July 1, 2008, and June 30, 2015, may be no greater than the total number of persons civilly committed from that county or detained at the special commitment center under a pending civil commitment petition from that county where a finding of probable cause had been made as of July 1, 2008.

     (b) Counties and cities that provide secure community transition facility beds above the maximum number that they could be required to site under this subsection are eligible for a bonus grant under the incentive provisions in RCW 71.09.255. The county where the special commitment center is located shall receive this bonus grant for the number of beds in the facility established in subsection (1) of this section in excess of the maximum number established by this subsection.

     (c) No secure community transition facilities in addition to the one established in subsection (1) of this section may be required to be sited in the county where the special commitment center is located until after June 30, 2008, provided however, that the county and its cities may elect to site additional secure community transition facilities and shall be eligible under the incentive provisions of RCW 71.09.255 for any additional facilities meeting the requirements of that section.

     (8) In identifying potential sites within a county for the location of a secure community transition facility, the department shall work with and assist local governments to provide for the equitable distribution of such facilities. In coordinating and deciding upon the siting of secure community transition facilities, great weight shall be given by the county and cities within the county to:

     (a) The number and location of existing residential facility beds operated by the department of corrections or the mental health division of the department of social and health services in each jurisdiction in the county; and

     (b) The number of registered sex offenders classified as level II or level III and the number of sex offenders registered as homeless residing in each jurisdiction in the county.

     (9)(a) "Equitable distribution" means siting or locating secure community transition facilities in a manner that will not cause a disproportionate grouping of similar facilities either in any one county, or in any one jurisdiction or community within a county, as relevant; and

     (b) "Jurisdiction" means a city, town, or geographic area of a county in which distinct political or judicial authority may be exercised.

[2003 c 216 § 3; 2001 2nd sp.s. c 12 § 201.]

Notes: Severability -- Effective date -- 2003 c 216: See notes following RCW 71.09.300.

Intent -- 2001 2nd sp.s. c 12: "The legislature intends the following omnibus bill to address the management of sex offenders in the civil commitment and criminal justice systems for purposes of public health, safety, and welfare. Provisions address siting of and continued operation of facilities for persons civilly committed under chapter 71.09 RCW and sentencing of persons who have committed sex offenses. Other provisions address the need for sex offender treatment providers with specific credentials. Additional provisions address the continued operation or authorized expansion of criminal justice facilities at McNeil Island, because these facilities are impacted by the civil facilities on McNeil Island for persons committed under chapter 71.09 RCW." [2001 2nd sp.s. c 12 § 101.]

Severability -- 2001 2nd sp.s. c 12: "If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected." [2001 2nd sp.s. c 12 § 504.]

Effective dates -- 2001 2nd sp.s. c 12: "This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately [June 26, 2001], except for sections 301 through 363, 501, and 503 of this act which take effect September 1, 2001." [2001 2nd sp.s. c 12 § 505.]