Controlled subst. violations

AN ACT Relating to expanding the circumstances that may 1
constitute a major violation of the uniform controlled substances 2
act; and amending RCW 9.94A.535. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 9.94A.535 and 2019 c 219 s 1 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
The court may impose a sentence outside the standard sentence 7
range for an offense if it finds, considering the purpose of this 8
chapter, that there are substantial and compelling reasons justifying 9
an exceptional sentence. Facts supporting aggravated sentences, other 10
than the fact of a prior conviction, shall be determined pursuant to 11
the provisions of RCW 9.94A.537. 12
Whenever a sentence outside the standard sentence range is 13
imposed, the court shall set forth the reasons for its decision in 14
written findings of fact and conclusions of law. A sentence outside 15
the standard sentence range shall be a determinate sentence.16
If the sentencing court finds that an exceptional sentence 17
outside the standard sentence range should be imposed, the sentence 18
is subject to review only as provided for in RCW 9.94A.585(4).19
A departure from the standards in RCW 9.94A.589 (1) and (2) 20
governing whether sentences are to be served consecutively or 21
H-0097.1
HOUSE BILL 1000
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Walsh, Marshall, Jacobsen, Couture, McClintock,
Keaton, Caldier, and Barnard
Prefiled 12/02/24. Read first time 01/13/25. Referred to Committee
on Community Safety.
p. 1 HB 1000
concurrently is an exceptional sentence subject to the limitations in 1
this section, and may be appealed by the offender or the state as set 2
forth in RCW 9.94A.585 (2) through (6). 3
(1) Mitigating Circumstances - Court to Consider4
The court may impose an exceptional sentence below the standard 5
range if it finds that mitigating circumstances are established by a 6
preponderance of the evidence. The following are illustrative only 7
and are not intended to be exclusive reasons for exceptional 8
sentences. 9
(a) To a significant degree, the victim was an initiator, willing 10
participant, aggressor, or provoker of the incident.11
(b) Before detection, the defendant compensated, or made a good 12
faith effort to compensate, the victim of the criminal conduct for 13
any damage or injury sustained. 14
(c) The defendant committed the crime under duress, coercion, 15
threat, or compulsion insufficient to constitute a complete defense 16
but which significantly affected his or her conduct.17
(d) The defendant, with no apparent predisposition to do so, was 18
induced by others to participate in the crime. 19
(e) The defendant's capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of 20
his or her conduct, or to conform his or her conduct to the 21
requirements of the law, was significantly impaired. Voluntary use of 22
drugs or alcohol is excluded. 23
(f) The offense was principally accomplished by another person 24
and the defendant manifested extreme caution or sincere concern for 25
the safety or well-being of the victim. 26
(g) The operation of the multiple offense policy of RCW 9.94A.589 27
results in a presumptive sentence that is clearly excessive in light 28
of the purpose of this chapter, as expressed in RCW 9.94A.010.29
(h) The defendant or the defendant's children suffered a 30
continuing pattern of physical or sexual abuse by the victim of the 31
offense and the offense is a response to that abuse.32
(i) The defendant was making a good faith effort to obtain or 33
provide medical assistance for someone who is experiencing a drug-34
related overdose. 35
(j) The current offense involved domestic violence, as defined in 36
RCW 10.99.020, and the defendant suffered a continuing pattern of 37
coercion, control, or abuse by the victim of the offense and the 38
offense is a response to that coercion, control, or abuse.39
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(k) The defendant was convicted of vehicular homicide, by the 1
operation of a vehicle in a reckless manner and has committed no 2
other previous serious traffic offenses as defined in RCW 9.94A.030, 3
and the sentence is clearly excessive in light of the purpose of this 4
chapter, as expressed in RCW 9.94A.010. 5
(2) Aggravating Circumstances - Considered and Imposed by the 6
Court 7
The trial court may impose an aggravated exceptional sentence 8
without a finding of fact by a jury under the following 9
circumstances: 10
(a) The defendant and the state both stipulate that justice is 11
best served by the imposition of an exceptional sentence outside the 12
standard range, and the court finds the exceptional sentence to be 13
consistent with and in furtherance of the interests of justice and 14
the purposes of the sentencing reform act. 15
(b) The defendant's prior unscored misdemeanor or prior unscored 16
foreign criminal history results in a presumptive sentence that is 17
clearly too lenient in light of the purpose of this chapter, as 18
expressed in RCW 9.94A.010. 19
(c) The defendant has committed multiple current offenses and the 20
defendant's high offender score results in some of the current 21
offenses going unpunished. 22
(d) The failure to consider the defendant's prior criminal 23
history which was omitted from the offender score calculation 24
pursuant to RCW 9.94A.525 results in a presumptive sentence that is 25
clearly too lenient. 26
(3) Aggravating Circumstances - Considered by a Jury - Imposed by 27
the Court 28
Except for circumstances listed in subsection (2) of this 29
section, the following circumstances are an exclusive list of factors 30
that can support a sentence above the standard range. Such facts 31
should be determined by procedures specified in RCW 9.94A.537.32
(a) The defendant's conduct during the commission of the current 33
offense manifested deliberate cruelty to the victim.34
(b) The defendant knew or should have known that the victim of 35
the current offense was particularly vulnerable or incapable of 36
resistance. 37
(c) The current offense was a violent offense, and the defendant 38
knew that the victim of the current offense was pregnant.39
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(d) The current offense was a major economic offense or series of 1
offenses, so identified by a consideration of any of the following 2
factors: 3
(i) The current offense involved multiple victims or multiple 4
incidents per victim; 5
(ii) The current offense involved attempted or actual monetary 6
loss substantially greater than typical for the offense;7
(iii) The current offense involved a high degree of 8
sophistication or planning or occurred over a lengthy period of time; 9
or 10
(iv) The defendant used his or her position of trust, confidence, 11
or fiduciary responsibility to facilitate the commission of the 12
current offense. 13
(e) The current offense was a major violation of the Uniform 14
Controlled Substances Act, chapter 69.50 RCW (VUCSA), related to 15
trafficking in controlled substances, which was more onerous than the 16
typical offense of its statutory definition: The presence of ANY of 17
the following may identify a current offense as a major VUCSA:18
(i) The current offense involved at least three separate 19
transactions in which controlled substances were sold, transferred, 20
or possessed with intent to do so; 21
(ii) The current offense involved an attempted or actual sale or 22
transfer of controlled substances in quantities substantially larger 23
than for personal use; 24
(iii) The current offense involved the manufacture of controlled 25
substances for use by other parties; 26
(iv) The circumstances of the current offense reveal the offender 27
to have occupied a high position in the drug distribution hierarchy;28
(v) The current offense involved a high degree of sophistication 29
or planning, occurred over a lengthy period of time, or involved a 30
broad geographic area of disbursement; ((or))31
(vi) The offender used his or her position or status to 32
facilitate the commission of the current offense, including positions 33
of trust, confidence or fiduciary responsibility (e.g., pharmacist, 34
physician, or other medical professional); or35
(vii) The current offense involved the knowing delivery or 36
distribution of fentanyl, precursor chemicals used in the illicit 37
manufacture of fentanyl, or a counterfeit substance containing 38
fentanyl, and resulted in substantial bodily harm as defined in RCW 39
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9A.04.110, permanent impairment to cognitive functions, or death of 1
another person. 2
(f) The current offense included a finding of sexual motivation 3
pursuant to RCW 9.94A.835. 4
(g) The offense was part of an ongoing pattern of sexual abuse of 5
the same victim under the age of eighteen years manifested by 6
multiple incidents over a prolonged period of time.7
(h) The current offense involved domestic violence, as defined in 8
RCW 10.99.020, or stalking, as defined in RCW 9A.46.110, and one or 9
more of the following was present: 10
(i) The offense was part of an ongoing pattern of psychological, 11
physical, or sexual abuse of a victim or multiple victims manifested 12
by multiple incidents over a prolonged period of time;13
(ii) The offense occurred within sight or sound of the victim's 14
or the offender's minor children under the age of eighteen years; or15
(iii) The offender's conduct during the commission of the current 16
offense manifested deliberate cruelty or intimidation of the victim.17
(i) The offense resulted in the pregnancy of a child victim of 18
rape. 19
(j) The defendant knew that the victim of the current offense was 20
a youth who was not residing with a legal custodian and the defendant 21
established or promoted the relationship for the primary purpose of 22
victimization. 23
(k) The offense was committed with the intent to obstruct or 24
impair human or animal health care or agricultural or forestry 25
research or commercial production. 26
(l) The current offense is trafficking in the first degree or 27
trafficking in the second degree and any victim was a minor at the 28
time of the offense. 29
(m) The offense involved a high degree of sophistication or 30
planning. 31
(n) The defendant used his or her position of trust, confidence, 32
or fiduciary responsibility to facilitate the commission of the 33
current offense. 34
(o) The defendant committed a current sex offense, has a history 35
of sex offenses, and is not amenable to treatment.36
(p) The offense involved an invasion of the victim's privacy.37
(q) The defendant demonstrated or displayed an egregious lack of 38
remorse. 39
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(r) The offense involved a destructive and foreseeable impact on 1
persons other than the victim. 2
(s) The defendant committed the offense to obtain or maintain his 3
or her membership or to advance his or her position in the hierarchy 4
of an organization, association, or identifiable group.5
(t) The defendant committed the current offense shortly after 6
being released from incarceration. 7
(u) The current offense is a burglary and the victim of the 8
burglary was present in the building or residence when the crime was 9
committed. 10
(v) The offense was committed against a law enforcement officer 11
who was performing his or her official duties at the time of the 12
offense, the offender knew that the victim was a law enforcement 13
officer, and the victim's status as a law enforcement officer is not 14
an element of the offense. 15
(w) The defendant committed the offense against a victim who was 16
acting as a good samaritan. 17
(x) The defendant committed the offense against a public official 18
or officer of the court in retaliation of the public official's 19
performance of his or her duty to the criminal justice system.20
(y) The victim's injuries substantially exceed the level of 21
bodily harm necessary to satisfy the elements of the offense. This 22
aggravator is not an exception to RCW 9.94A.530(2).23
(z)(i)(A) The current offense is theft in the first degree, theft 24
in the second degree, possession of stolen property in the first 25
degree, or possession of stolen property in the second degree; (B) 26
the stolen property involved is metal property; and (C) the property 27
damage to the victim caused in the course of the theft of metal 28
property is more than three times the value of the stolen metal 29
property, or the theft of the metal property creates a public hazard.30
(ii) For purposes of this subsection, "metal property" means 31
commercial metal property, private metal property, or nonferrous 32
metal property, as defined in RCW 19.290.010. 33
(aa) The defendant committed the offense with the intent to 34
directly or indirectly cause any benefit, aggrandizement, gain, 35
profit, or other advantage to or for a criminal street gang as 36
defined in RCW 9.94A.030, its reputation, influence, or membership.37
(bb) The current offense involved paying to view, over the 38
internet in violation of RCW 9.68A.075, depictions of a minor engaged 39
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in an act of sexually explicit conduct as defined in RCW 9.68A.011(4) 1
(a) through (g). 2
(cc) The offense was intentionally committed because the 3
defendant perceived the victim to be homeless, as defined in RCW 4
9.94A.030. 5
(dd) The current offense involved a felony crime against persons, 6
except for assault in the third degree pursuant to RCW 7
9A.36.031(1)(k), that occurs in a courtroom, jury room, judge's 8
chamber, or any waiting area or corridor immediately adjacent to a 9
courtroom, jury room, or judge's chamber. This subsection shall apply 10
only: (i) During the times when a courtroom, jury room, or judge's 11
chamber is being used for judicial purposes during court proceedings; 12
and (ii) if signage was posted in compliance with RCW 2.28.200 at the 13
time of the offense. 14
(ee) During the commission of the current offense, the defendant 15
was driving in the opposite direction of the normal flow of traffic 16
on a multiple lane highway, as defined by RCW 46.04.350, with a 17
posted speed limit of ((forty-five)) 45 miles per hour or greater.18
(ff) The current offense involved the assault of a utility 19
employee of any publicly or privately owned utility company or 20
agency, who is at the time of the act engaged in official duties, 21
including: (i) The maintenance or repair of utility poles, lines, 22
conduits, pipes, or other infrastructure; or (ii) connecting, 23
disconnecting, or recording utility meters. 24
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