Washington bill permitting end of sex offender supervision passes out of committee

(The Center Square) – A Washington House bill allowing sex offenders under lifetime state supervision to petition to end it has cleared its first committee, even though one critical member of the committee referred to it as “one of the worst bills for me this session.”

“This is a unique crime,” Rep. Gina Mosbrucker, R-Goldendale, told colleagues prior to the Tuesday vote in the House Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry Committee.

A substitute version of House Bill 2178 sponsored by Chair Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland, switches the authority to decide whether a convicted sex offender may end state supervision, known as community custody, from the Department of Corrections to the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board. The board would have to submit annual reports to the Governor’s Office and the Legislature.

However, the bill would still allow those recommended as level three, the highest risk level under state law, to be considered by the board for release. The sex offender levels are based on the likelihood of reoffending, not the severity of the sexual offense.

Speaking in favor of his bill before the vote, Goodman said the bill was about “striking a balance between making sure the community is safe and allowing those individuals who have behaved perfectly fine – probably better than us because they’re being watched – a possibility of discharge from supervision.”

He added that the bill is “still a work in progress. I do believe we’re headed towards a structure of possible discharge from supervision for those who meet the qualifications.”

However, Mosbrucker remarked, “You said it’s a work in progress. Then don’t move it.”

Also speaking against the bill was Rep. Jenny Graham, R-Spokane, who said “I look at the fact that they’re even out of jail as being a gift to them, especially if they are a persistent offender. There are victims…that go on to commit suicide, which I believe they [sex offenders] should be charged for murder when it happens.”

Rep. Dan Griffey, R-Allyn, said he would “not support this bill in any way shape or form.”

Among those speaking in favor of the bill was Rep. Tara Simmons, D-Bremerton, who said she was a victim of sex crimes herself but eventually reached a point where she did “not really care anymore what happens to the people who hurt me.”

She said the bill would enable convicted sex offenders who are repented to rebuild their lives, adding that community custody uses law enforcement resources that could be put to better use elsewhere.

The bill has not yet been referred to another committee.