Substitute House Bill 1317 amends multiple sentencing and release statutes (RCW 9.94A.510; 9.94A.540; 9.94A.570; 9.94A.728; 9.94A.729; 9.94A.730; 10.95.030), creates new sections, and repeals RCW 10.95.035. The bill changes sentencing rules, eligibility for release programs, earned release credit rules, and procedures for petitions to the indeterminate sentence review board (ISRB) for people who committed offenses before turning 21. On penalties and sentencing procedures, the bill sets mandatory minimum terms in RCW 9.94A.540 for certain crimes (for example, first degree murder not less than 20 years; first degree assault or first degree rape not less than 5 years; sexually violent predator escape 60 months) and provides that aggravated first degree murder committed before age 21 is governed by RCW 10.95.030. RCW 9.94A.570 is amended to provide life without possibility of release for persistent offenders and to restrict various early-release forms for those serving minimum terms. RCW 10.95.030 is amended to make aggravated first degree murder generally punishable by life without possibility of release but authorizes, in limited youth-based categories, a sentence of life with a minimum term (25 years) and allows those sentenced under that subsection to petition the ISRB for early release after serving the applicable minimum term; during the minimum term such persons are ineligible for community custody, earned release, furlough, home detention, partial confinement, work release, and similar programs except for emergency medical treatment or authorized extraordinary medical placement. On petition and release procedures, the bill amends RCW 9.94A.730 to permit persons convicted of crimes committed before age 21 to petition the ISRB for early release after specified minimum periods (generally no less than 15 years of total confinement, with separate minima of 20 years for first degree murder and 25 years for aggravated first degree murder), subject to conditions including no intervening convictions after age 21 and no disqualifying serious infractions in the prior 12 months. The department must perform risk and programming assessments (no later than five years before eligibility) and an examination using methodologies recognized for predicting dangerousness within 180 days of a petition. The ISRB must order release unless it finds by a preponderance of evidence that the person is more likely than not to commit new criminal law violations; victims must have opportunities to present statements, and releasees are supervised by the Department of Corrections under board-imposed conditions. Denied petitioners or those returned to custody may file again five years after denial or return, unless the board sets an earlier date. The bill also revises earned release credit and reentry procedures: credits are earned for behavior and performance (not credited in advance); county jails must certify presentence custody and lost credits; certain sentence enhancements disqualify portions of a sentence from good time or earned release; aggregate earned release caps vary by offense category (including a 50% cap for narrowly defined qualified offenders, with exclusions and assessment requirements using WSIPP’s risk tool). The department may transfer eligible offenders to community custody in lieu of earned release, require approved release plans, and, if a plan is not approved, may use up to three months partial confinement or provide rental vouchers with transition supports for up to six months. The bill defines extraordinary medical placement criteria and monitoring requirements, restricts its availability for people sentenced to death, life without possibility of release, or persistent offenders, and requires the department to collect housing voucher data as recommended by WSIPP. Specified sections are retroactive to persons incarcerated on the act’s effective date, there is a funding contingency nullifying the act if specific funding is not provided by June 30, 2025, and the act includes a statement that it does not create any right to release before a court-imposed term ends. Important gaps in the provided text: the sentencing grid (Table 1) is included but numerically unclear in this excerpt; some amendments (for example to RCW 9.94A.729) are incomplete; definitions for terms such as “persistent offender,” the full text of RCW 10.95.030 as amended, and detailed ISRB procedures and compositions are not fully present in the extracted facts.

If enacted, the bill makes people who committed crimes before turning 21 serve explicit minimum terms without access to earned release, community custody, furloughs, work release or other early-release programs during those minimums, but it creates a time-limited path to petition the indeterminate sentence review board for early release after serving specified terms (generally no less than 15 years for many offenses, 20 years for first degree murder, and 25 years for aggravated first degree murder). In practice this means more people serving long sentences will remain in prison for those floor terms, then face structured assessments, risk evaluations, and board hearings before any release; victims get formal opportunities to participate, and the board can return released people to custody for violations. The Department of Corrections, county jails, and the indeterminate sentence review board will see new duties and likely costs: DOC must do risk assessments and programming starting five years before eligibility, run 180-day evaluations after petitions, maintain approved housing provider lists, provide transitional housing vouchers with support services when needed, and monitor supervised releases and report violations; county jails must certify presentence custody and lost credits. The act also caps some earned-release amounts and creates data and assessment requirements tied to WSIPP tools. Important uncertainties remain in the excerpt: precise definitions (for example, “disqualifying serious infraction” and aspects of the sentencing grid) and the bill’s effective date are not included, and the whole act is void if the specified funding is not provided by June 30, 2025.