This bill, titled the "youth hope act," amends existing law (including RCW 9.94A.730 and related sections) to allow people convicted of one or more crimes committed before their 18th birthday to petition the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board for early release after reaching age 24, subject to specified exclusions and conditions. It creates a new procedural path and eligibility expansion rather than creating a new crime; it changes release procedures and standards, adds assessment and examination requirements for the Department of Corrections (DOC), and authorizes certain supports and supervision for persons released by the board. Under the bill DOC must assess eligible offenders no later than five years before they can petition, identify and, to the extent possible, provide programming and services, and conduct a formal examination within 180 days of receiving a petition that includes recognized methodologies and a prediction of probability of future criminal behavior. The board is required to order release under conditions unless it finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the person is more likely than not to commit new criminal law violations despite conditions, with public safety given highest priority. The measure provides for victim and survivor statements in hearings as set out in RCW 7.69.032, requires county prosecutors to forward victim impact statements, authorizes DOC rental vouchers under specified rules and data collection, places released persons under DOC supervision for a period set by the board (up to the court-imposed term) with violations handled under existing RCW 9.95.425–9.95.440, and sets filing and refiling timelines after denial or return to custody. It also limits the number of petitions acted on under this expansion to 70 per year (with specified prioritization) and makes that petition-limit section expire July 1, 2035. The text provided does not include the definition or criteria for "disqualifying serious infraction," the full prior text of the sections being amended for comparison, the act’s effective date, the rules that will govern victim input, operational details beyond the stated priorities for selecting petitions within the 70-per-year cap, or whether the change applies retroactively or includes transition provisions. These gaps are not addressed in the extracted facts.

If enacted, the bill creates a new, limited path for people who committed crimes before turning 18 to ask the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board for early release once they are at least 24, provided they have had no new convictions or specified serious infractions in the prior 12 months and their sentence is not one of the excluded types. Practically, that will require the Department of Corrections to start doing risk and reentry assessments up to five years before eligibility, offer programming where possible, perform a formal 180-day risk examination when a petition is filed, supervise anyone released under board conditions, and in some cases provide rental vouchers tied to a DOC-approved housing provider list; the board must release petitioners unless it finds by a preponderance of evidence they are more likely than not to reoffend. The program is capped at 70 petitions per year for people newly made eligible by this law (with specific prioritization rules) and that cap and prioritization expire July 1, 2035. Most affected will be incarcerated people convicted as juveniles who meet the timing and behavior conditions, the DOC (which will absorb assessments, programming, risk exams, supervision, voucher administration, and data collection per WSIPP guidance), and the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board (which will handle hearings and decisions under the lowered release standard). County prosecutors and victims will see new duties to provide impact statements and contact information. The cap limits how many people get reviewed each year, which will constrain costs and workload but leave many eligible people waiting; key implementation details are unclear from the text provided, including the precise definition of a “disqualifying serious infraction,” the effective date, whether the law applies retroactively, and the full rules for victim input and how petitions beyond the stated priorities will be selected.