This bill amends existing law and creates a new section in chapter 72.09 RCW. It amends RCW 9.94A.729 (earned release time) to change how agencies calculate and credit earned release time (ERT), sets new eligibility rules and caps for ERT tied to offense types and offense dates, and authorizes the Department of Corrections to transfer eligible people to community custody in lieu of ERT under specified conditions. It also adds a peer-led, survivorand recovery-informed pilot program at two women’s correctional facilities and amends RCW 7.69.030 to expand and make enforceable certain victim, survivor, and witness rights. The changes to ERT are substantive and procedural: agencies may reduce sentences by ERT under agency procedures and may calculate but not credit ERT in advance; jails must certify presentence custody and days of ERT lost; certain sentencing enhancements (deadly-weapon, impaired-driving, minor-child) are excluded from ERT for offenses in specified date ranges; aggregate ERT caps vary by offense and offense date (including a possible 50% cap for a narrowly defined group subject to WSIPP risk assessment and other criteria, and a 33.33% cap for offenses committed on or after July 1, 2026, with listed ineligible sentence types); some offender categories remain ineligible; and the department must maintain housing-provider lists, may provide rental vouchers up to six months with transitional services, may impose up to three months additional partial confinement, and must collect prescribed data on voucher recipients. The new pilot program requires the Department of Corrections to establish a peer-led, survivorand recovery-informed program at the Washington Corrections Center for Women and the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton, to be delivered by peer support specialists certified under RCW 18.420.050 and to include outside volunteers and an in-state public university practicum/research partnership. The initial cohort is limited so no additional DOC supervision staff are required. The Washington statewide reentry council, working with program peers and volunteers, must submit a preliminary report by October 1, 2027 and a final report by June 1, 2028 on enrollment, completion rates, safety incidents or grievances, and reentry outcomes; the reporting requirement section expires June 30, 2028. The pilot program description in the provided text is incomplete. RCW 7.69.030 is amended to enumerate specific rights for crime victims, survivors, and witnesses (including written notice of rights and certain notifications, a right to reasonable employment leave for some victims, property return procedures, scheduling accommodations when subpoenaed, and inclusion of victim impact statements in presentence and commitment files). The amendment creates a procedural enforcement mechanism: a victim, survivor, or witness denied a right may file a petition in the superior court where the crime occurred seeking an order directing compliance; compliance with the right is stated to be the sole available remedy and the court must expedite consideration. Some definitions, full eligibility criteria for the 50% ERT provision, and other implementation details are not included in the extracted text.

If enacted, people in Washington prisons will face clearer limits on how much earned release time (ERT) they can accumulate based on when their offense occurred and whether sentencing enhancements apply; certain enhancements (deadly weapon, impaired driving, minor child) will not earn credit for the portion of time they add, some serious offenses have lower caps, and after July 1, 2026 most offenders can earn up to one-third of their sentence. The Department of Corrections will be required to use a WSIPP-recommended risk assessment for people who might qualify for an expanded 50% cap, may move eligible people to supervised community custody instead of releasing them early but only with an approved housing and release plan, must keep a list of approved housing providers, and can offer up to six months of rental vouchers plus transition support while collecting data on voucher outcomes; these changes could increase DOC’s responsibilities and short-term costs for vouchers and support services, while some incarcerated people will likely serve longer terms because parts of enhancements no longer count toward ERT. The bill also creates a peer-led, survivor-informed pilot program at two women’s facilities using certified peer support specialists and university partnerships, limited initially so no extra DOC supervision staff are needed, with required preliminary and final reports due by October 1, 2027 and June 1, 2028 and the reporting provision expiring June 30, 2028. Victims and witnesses gain enumerated procedural rights and a narrow court remedy if rights are denied, and agencies must take practical steps like giving victims a written rights statement at reporting and attempting to return property within ten days; the pilot’s full design, the detailed eligibility for the 50% ERT option, and how rental vouchers and other new costs will be funded are not fully specified in the provided text.