ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5029
State of Washington
69th Legislature
2025 Regular Session
By Senate Human Services (originally sponsored by Senators C. Wilson, Frame, Hasegawa, Nobles, Saldaña, Trudeau, and Wellman)
READ FIRST TIME 01/23/25.
AN ACT Relating to the transportation of individuals released or discharged from the custody of the department of corrections; and amending RCW 72.02.100 .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 72.02.100 and 2024 c 32 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Any person serving a sentence for a term of confinement in a state correctional facility (( for convicted felons )), pursuant to court commitment, who is thereafter released upon an order of parole of the indeterminate sentence review board, or who is discharged from custody upon expiration of sentence, or who is ordered discharged from custody by a court of appropriate jurisdiction, shall be entitled to retain his or her earnings from labor or employment while in confinement and shall be supplied by the superintendent of the state correctional facility with suitable and presentable clothing, the sum of no less than $40 for subsistence, and transportation by the (( least expensive )) method of public transportation (( not to exceed the cost of $100 )) to (( his or her )) the person's place of residence or the place designated in (( his or her )) the person's (( parole )) reentry plan, or to the place from which committed if such person is being discharged on expiration of sentence, or discharged from custody by a court of appropriate jurisdiction: PROVIDED, That up to an additional $60 may be made available to the parolee for necessary personal and living expenses upon application to and approval by such person's community corrections officer. Public transportation provided by the department of corrections for a person unconditionally released or discharged by the department shall be limited to a location within the state, unless the person is subject to the interstate compact for adult offender supervision under RCW 9.94A.745 , subject to an out-of-state warrant or detainer under chapter 9.100 RCW, subject to a demand for extradition under chapter 10.88 RCW, or subject to any other agreement between the state and another state or the state and the federal government. If in the opinion of the superintendent suitable arrangements have been made to provide the person to be released with suitable clothing and/or the expenses of transportation, the superintendent may consent to such arrangement. The superintendent reserves the right to review and make a determination whether to approve or deny any transportation expenses intended for one individual to ensure appropriate use of state funds and that the request is reasonable. If the superintendent has reasonable cause to believe that the person to be released has ample funds, with the exception of earnings from labor or employment while in confinement, to assume the expenses of clothing, transportation, or the expenses for which payments made pursuant to this section or RCW 72.02.110 or any one or more of such expenses, the person released shall be required to assume such expenses. If the department of corrections has made arrangements with a partnering nonprofit organization that will support the individual's reentry into the community, the department shall make a reasonable effort to coordinate the timing of the individual's release from the department's custody, including the timing of transportation to the person's place of residence or place from which discharged from custody.