| Momentum Bucket | Building Momentum |
| Legal Title | AN ACT Relating to sentencing enhancements for theft offenses, robbery, possessing stolen property, and trafficking stolen property; |
| Bill Description | Concerning sentencing enhancements for theft offenses, robbery, possessing stolen property, and trafficking stolen property. |
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What this bill does
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House Bill 2209 (H-2637.1) amends RCW 9.94A.533 to change and restate multiple sentencing-enhancement rules. It treats anticipatory offenses (criminal attempt, solicitation, conspiracy) by setting the standard grid range for the completed crime and multiplying that range by 75 percent. It specifies multiple mandatory sentence enhancements that run consecutively and must be served in total confinement for categories including firearm enhancements, non-firearm deadly-weapon enhancements, offenses committed in county jails or state correctional facilities, certain chapter 69.50 (controlled substances) violations, impaired-driving vehicular homicide enhancements, and sexual-motivation enhancements, with statutory start dates for application noted in the text. The bill also includes value-based additional time for specified theft and trafficking offenses and additional childand minor-related enhancements for certain DUI and gang-related offenses.
The firearm and non-firearm deadly-weapon enhancements add specified months or years by felony class, double if certain prior weapon enhancements were previously imposed, and exclude a listed set of firearm-related offenses; they apply to felonies committed after July 23, 1995. Sexual-motivation enhancements add specified months or years by felony class for offenses committed on or after July 1, 2006, are mandatory and consecutive, may be doubled for prior sexual-motivation sentencing, and include limited exceptions allowing extraordinary medical placement or release under cited statutes. The bill sets rules about statutory maximums (the statutory maximum is presumptive if the standard range exceeds it unless the offender is a persistent offender) and provides that enhancement portions cannot be reduced if they cause the sentence to exceed a statutory maximum. It also states procedural details such as that the portion of total confinement required under a subsection is calculated before any earned early release time is credited and that courts may still impose sentences outside the standard range under RCW 9.94A.535.
Several specific provisions and cross-references are incomplete or unclear in the provided text. The subsection text for part of the sexual-motivation provision was cut off, the bill appears to have other sections not included here, the citation "RCW 69.50.4013" appears in the text but may be a typographical or incomplete reference, and a numeric multiplier for a gang-related-minor enhancement contains ambiguous markup ("one hundred ((twenty-five))25 percent"). The bill title refers to enhancements for theft, robbery, possessing stolen property, and trafficking stolen property, but any theftor robbery-specific changes beyond the value-based trafficking/theft enhancements shown are not present in these extracted facts.
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Why it matters
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If enacted, the bill would increase and tighten mandatory sentence enhancements for a range of crimes: attempts/solicitations/conspiracies would use 75 percent of the completed-crime grid, firearm enhancements add 5, 3, or 18 months depending on felony class (and double if a prior deadly-weapon enhancement exists), non‑firearm deadly‑weapon enhancements add 2, 1, or 6 months by class (also doubling with prior enhancements), sexual‑motivation enhancements apply to all felonies and must be served in total confinement and consecutively, gang-related crimes that involve paying/threatening/soliciting a minor multiply the range by 125 percent, certain offenses committed in jails or correctional facilities add 12–18 months, and specified theft/trafficking thresholds add 12 or 24 months. The enhancements are generally mandatory, run consecutively, are calculated before earned early release credit, and include limited exceptions for extraordinary medical placement or release under existing statutes.
The people most affected will be convicted offenders, who face longer fixed periods of confinement and less ability to reduce the enhancement portion of a sentence even if the total exceeds statutory maximums; sentencing judges will have to apply multiple mandatory consecutive enhancements (though some statutory departure authority and youth discretion remain), and county and state correctional systems will likely see increased custody time and related costs and capacity pressure. Prosecutors’ decisions about filing and notice can affect whether some enhanced penalties are available. Important details are missing from the provided text: the sexual‑motivation subsection cuts off, the bill title mentions theft and robbery changes that do not appear in these excerpts, and the citation “RCW 69.50.4013” is unclear.
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| Official Documents | View Full Bill Text |
| Date Introduced | 01/12/2026 |
| Originating Chamber | House |
| Biennium | 2025-26 |
| Total Campaign Dollars Backing Bill | $2,385,707.25 |
| SENTENCING |
| Hearing | House Community Safety (Public) |