Concerning prison riot offenses., the official text

CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1815
Chapter 169, Laws of 2025
69TH LEGISLATURE
2025 REGULAR SESSION
PRISON RIOT OFFENSES—JUVENILES
EFFECTIVE DATE: April 25, 2025
Passed by the House April 18, 2025
Yeas 58  Nays 37
LAURIE JINKINS

Speaker of the House of Representatives
Passed by the Senate April 8, 2025
Yeas 27  Nays 21
JOHN LOVICK

President of the Senate
CERTIFICATE
I, Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1815 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth.
BERNARD DEAN

Chief Clerk
Chief Clerk
Approved April 25, 2025 10:11 AM
FILED
April 25, 2025

BOB FERGUSON

Governor of the State of Washington
Secretary of State
State of Washington

ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1815

AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
Passed Legislature - 2025 Regular Session
State of Washington
69th Legislature
2025 Regular Session

By House Early Learning & Human Services (originally sponsored by Representatives Peterson, Cortes, and Goodman)
READ FIRST TIME 02/21/25.
AN ACT Relating to prison riot offenses; amending RCW 9.94.049 and 9.94A.640; adding a new section to chapter 9.94A RCW; adding new sections to chapter 13.40 RCW; creating a new section; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 9.94.049 and 2021 c 243 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)(a) For the purposes of this chapter, except for RCW 9.94.010, the term "correctional institution" means any place designated by law for the keeping of persons held in custody under process of law, or under lawful arrest, including state prisons, county and local jails, juvenile detention centers, and other facilities operated by the department of corrections, department of children, youth, and families, or local governmental units primarily for the purposes of punishment, correction, or rehabilitation following conviction or adjudication of a criminal offense.
(b) For the purposes of RCW 9.94.010, the term "correctional institution" means any place designated by law primarily for the keeping of persons age 18 or older held in custody under process of law, or under lawful arrest, including state prisons, county and local adult jails, and other facilities operated by the department of corrections, or local governmental units primarily for the purposes of punishment, correction, or rehabilitation following conviction or adjudication of a criminal offense. For the purposes of RCW 9.94.010, the term "correctional institution" does not include facilities operated by the department of children, youth, and families or county juvenile detention facilities.
(2) For the purposes of RCW 9.94.043 and 9.94.045, "state correctional institution" means all state correctional facilities under the supervision of the secretary of the department of corrections used solely for the purpose of confinement of convicted felons.
Sec. 2. RCW 9.94A.640 and 2021 c 237 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) ((Every ))Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, every offender who has been discharged under RCW 9.94A.637 may apply to the sentencing court for a vacation of the offender's record of conviction. If the court finds the offender meets the tests prescribed in subsection (2) of this section, the court may clear the record of conviction by: (a) Permitting the offender to withdraw the offender's plea of guilty and to enter a plea of not guilty; or (b) if the offender has been convicted after a plea of not guilty, by the court setting aside the verdict of guilty; and (c) by the court dismissing the information or indictment against the offender.
(2) An offender may not have the record of conviction cleared if:
(a) There are any criminal charges against the offender pending in any court of this state or another state, or in any federal court;
(b) The offense was a violent offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030 or crime against persons as defined in RCW 43.43.830, except the following offenses may be vacated if the conviction did not include a firearm, deadly weapon, or sexual motivation enhancement: (i) Assault in the second degree under RCW 9A.36.021; (ii) assault in the third degree under RCW 9A.36.031 when not committed against a law enforcement officer or peace officer; and (iii) robbery in the second degree under RCW 9A.56.210;
(c) The offense is a class B felony and the offender has been convicted of a new crime in this state, another state, or federal court in the ten years prior to the application for vacation;
(d) The offense is a class C felony and the offender has been convicted of a new crime in this state, another state, or federal court in the five years prior to the application for vacation;
(e) The offense is a class B felony and less than ten years have passed since the later of: (i) The applicant's release from community custody; (ii) the applicant's release from full and partial confinement; or (iii) the applicant's sentencing date;
(f) The offense was a class C felony, other than a class C felony described in RCW 46.61.502(6) or 46.61.504(6), and less than five years have passed since the later of: (i) The applicant's release from community custody; (ii) the applicant's release from full and partial confinement; or (iii) the applicant's sentencing date; or
(g) The offense was a felony described in RCW 46.61.502 or 46.61.504.
(3) If the applicant is a victim of sex trafficking, prostitution, or commercial sexual abuse of a minor; sexual assault; or domestic violence as defined in RCW 9.94A.030, the victim or the prosecutor of the county in which the victim was sentenced may apply to the sentencing court or the sentencing court's successor to vacate the victim's record of conviction for a class B or class C felony offense using the process in RCW 9.94A.648. When preparing or filing the petition, the prosecutor is not deemed to be providing legal advice or legal assistance on behalf of the victim, but is fulfilling an administrative function on behalf of the state in order to further their responsibility to seek to reform and improve the administration of criminal justice. A record of conviction vacated using the process in RCW 9.94A.648 is subject to subsection (4) of this section.
(4)(a) Except as otherwise provided, once the court vacates a record of conviction under subsection (1) of this section, the fact that the offender has been convicted of the offense shall not be included in the offender's criminal history for purposes of determining a sentence in any subsequent conviction, and the offender shall be released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the offense. For all purposes, including responding to questions on employment applications, an offender whose conviction has been vacated may state that the offender has never been convicted of that crime. A conviction that has been vacated under this section may not be disseminated or disclosed by the state patrol or local law enforcement agency to any person, except other criminal justice enforcement agencies. Nothing in this section affects or prevents the use of an offender's prior conviction in a later criminal prosecution, and nothing in this section affects the requirements for restoring a right to possess a firearm under RCW 9.41.040.
(b) A conviction vacated on or after July 28, 2019, qualifies as a prior conviction for the purpose of charging a present recidivist offense occurring on or after July 28, 2019, and may be used to establish an ongoing pattern of abuse for purposes of RCW 9.94A.535.
(5) Every person convicted of a prison riot offense under RCW 9.94.010 who was incarcerated in a facility operated by the department of children, youth, and families or a county juvenile detention facility at the time of the offense may apply to the sentencing court for a vacation of the applicant's record of adjudication or conviction for the offense. If an applicant qualifies under this subsection, the court shall vacate the record of conviction or adjudication.
NEW SECTION.    Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 9.94A RCW to read as follows:
(1) In any criminal case where an offender has been sentenced for an offense where a conviction or adjudication for a prison riot offense that occurred in a facility operated by the department of children, youth, and families or a county juvenile detention facility was used as a basis for the offender's sentence, the prosecuting attorney shall, or the offender may, make a motion for relief from sentence to the original sentencing court.
(2) The sentencing court shall grant the motion for relief from sentence established in this section if it finds that a current or past conviction or adjudication for a prison riot offense that occurred in a facility operated by the department of children, youth, and families or a county juvenile detention facility was used as a basis for the offender's sentence and shall immediately set an expedited date for resentencing. At resentencing, the court shall sentence the offender as if the current or past conviction for a prison riot offense that occurred in a facility operated by the department of children, youth, and families or a county juvenile detention facility did not occur.
NEW SECTION.    Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 13.40 RCW to read as follows:
(1) In any juvenile offender case where an offender has been sentenced for an offense where an adjudication for a prison riot offense that occurred in a facility operated by the department of children, youth, and families or a county juvenile detention facility was used as a basis for the offender's sentence or disposition, the prosecuting attorney shall, or the offender may, make a motion for relief from disposition to the original court that imposed the disposition.
(2) The court that imposed the disposition shall grant the motion for relief from disposition established in this section if it finds that a current or past adjudication for a prison riot offense that occurred in a facility operated by the department of children, youth, and families or a county juvenile detention facility was used as a basis for the offender's disposition and shall immediately set an expedited date for resentencing. At resentencing, the court shall impose a disposition as if the current or past adjudication for a prison riot offense that occurred in a facility operated by the department of children, youth, and families or a county juvenile detention facility did not occur.
NEW SECTION.    Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 13.40 RCW to read as follows:
(1) The department shall establish rules for including prison riot behavior as described in RCW 9.94.010(1) as an infraction that is managed through the internal behavioral management infraction system.
(2) By August 1, 2025, the department shall respond to prison riot behavior as described in RCW 9.94.010(1) that occurs in an institution using the internal behavioral management infraction system.
(3) The department may impose an infraction using the internal behavioral management infraction system for offenses that were vacated under section 2 of this act when appropriate.
NEW SECTION.    Sec. 6. Section 1 of this act applies retroactively to all prison riot convictions or adjudications and prison riot offenses that have been charged within five years before the effective date of this section.
NEW SECTION.    Sec. 7. 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.
Passed by the House April 18, 2025.
Passed by the Senate April 8, 2025.
Approved by the Governor April 25, 2025.
Filed in Office of Secretary of State April 25, 2025.