Juvenile rehab. safety

AN ACT Relating to improving safety at state juvenile 1
rehabilitation institutions; amending RCW 9.94.049, 9.94A.640, and 2
13.40.044; and repealing RCW 9.94A.646 and 13.40.043.3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 9.94.049 and 2025 c 169 s 1 are each amended to read 5
as follows: 6
(1)(((a))) For the purposes of this chapter, ((except for RCW 7
9.94.010,)) the term "correctional institution" means any place 8
designated by law for the keeping of persons held in custody under 9
process of law, or under lawful arrest, including state prisons, 10
county and local jails, juvenile detention centers, and other 11
facilities operated by the department of corrections, department of 12
children, youth, and families, or local governmental units primarily 13
for the purposes of punishment, correction, or rehabilitation 14
following conviction or adjudication of a criminal offense.15
(((b) For the purposes of RCW 9.94.010, the term "correctional 16
institution" means any place designated by law primarily for the 17
keeping of persons age 18 or older held in custody under process of 18
law, or under lawful arrest, including state prisons, county and 19
local adult jails, and other facilities operated by the department of 20
corrections, or local governmental units primarily for the purposes 21
S-3845.1
SENATE BILL 6144
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators Braun and Conway
Read first time 01/14/26. Referred to Committee on Human Services.
p. 1 SB 6144
of punishment, correction, or rehabilitation following conviction or 1
adjudication of a criminal offense. For the purposes of RCW 9.94.010, 2
the term "correctional institution" does not include facilities 3
operated by the department of children, youth, and families or county 4
juvenile detention facilities.))5
(2) For the purposes of RCW 9.94.043 and 9.94.045, "state 6
correctional institution" means all state correctional facilities 7
under the supervision of the secretary of the department of 8
corrections used solely for the purpose of confinement of convicted 9
felons. 10
Sec. 2. RCW 9.94A.640 and 2025 c 169 s 2 are each amended to 11
read as follows: 12
(1) ((Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, 13
every)) Every offender who has been discharged under RCW 9.94A.637 14
may apply to the sentencing court for a vacation of the offender's 15
record of conviction. If the court finds the offender meets the tests 16
prescribed in subsection (2) of this section, the court may clear the 17
record of conviction by: (a) Permitting the offender to withdraw the 18
offender's plea of guilty and to enter a plea of not guilty; or (b) 19
if the offender has been convicted after a plea of not guilty, by the 20
court setting aside the verdict of guilty; and (c) by the court 21
dismissing the information or indictment against the offender.22
(2) An offender may not have the record of conviction cleared if:23
(a) There are any criminal charges against the offender pending 24
in any court of this state or another state, or in any federal court;25
(b) The offense was a violent offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030 26
or crime against persons as defined in RCW 43.43.830, except the 27
following offenses may be vacated if the conviction did not include a 28
firearm, deadly weapon, or sexual motivation enhancement: (i) Assault 29
in the second degree under RCW 9A.36.021; (ii) assault in the third 30
degree under RCW 9A.36.031 when not committed against a law 31
enforcement officer or peace officer; and (iii) robbery in the second 32
degree under RCW 9A.56.210; 33
(c) The offense is a class B felony and the offender has been 34
convicted of a new crime in this state, another state, or federal 35
court in the ten years prior to the application for vacation;36
(d) The offense is a class C felony and the offender has been 37
convicted of a new crime in this state, another state, or federal 38
court in the five years prior to the application for vacation;39
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(e) The offense is a class B felony and less than ten years have 1
passed since the later of: (i) The applicant's release from community 2
custody; (ii) the applicant's release from full and partial 3
confinement; or (iii) the applicant's sentencing date;4
(f) The offense was a class C felony, other than a class C felony 5
described in RCW 46.61.502(6) or 46.61.504(6), and less than five 6
years have passed since the later of: (i) The applicant's release 7
from community custody; (ii) the applicant's release from full and 8
partial confinement; or (iii) the applicant's sentencing date; or9
(g) The offense was a felony described in RCW 46.61.502 or 10
46.61.504. 11
(3) If the applicant is a victim of sex trafficking, 12
prostitution, or commercial sexual abuse of a minor; sexual assault; 13
or domestic violence as defined in RCW 9.94A.030, the victim or the 14
prosecutor of the county in which the victim was sentenced may apply 15
to the sentencing court or the sentencing court's successor to vacate 16
the victim's record of conviction for a class B or class C felony 17
offense using the process in RCW 9.94A.648. When preparing or filing 18
the petition, the prosecutor is not deemed to be providing legal 19
advice or legal assistance on behalf of the victim, but is fulfilling 20
an administrative function on behalf of the state in order to further 21
their responsibility to seek to reform and improve the administration 22
of criminal justice. A record of conviction vacated using the process 23
in RCW 9.94A.648 is subject to subsection (4) of this section.24
(4)(a) Except as otherwise provided, once the court vacates a 25
record of conviction under subsection (1) of this section, the fact 26
that the offender has been convicted of the offense shall not be 27
included in the offender's criminal history for purposes of 28
determining a sentence in any subsequent conviction, and the offender 29
shall be released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from 30
the offense. For all purposes, including responding to questions on 31
employment applications, an offender whose conviction has been 32
vacated may state that the offender has never been convicted of that 33
crime. A conviction that has been vacated under this section may not 34
be disseminated or disclosed by the state patrol or local law 35
enforcement agency to any person, except other criminal justice 36
enforcement agencies. Nothing in this section affects or prevents the 37
use of an offender's prior conviction in a later criminal 38
prosecution, and nothing in this section affects the requirements for 39
restoring a right to possess a firearm under RCW 9.41.040.40
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(b) A conviction vacated on or after July 28, 2019, qualifies as 1
a prior conviction for the purpose of charging a present recidivist 2
offense occurring on or after July 28, 2019, and may be used to 3
establish an ongoing pattern of abuse for purposes of RCW 9.94A.535.4
(((5) Every person convicted of a prison riot offense under RCW 5
9.94.010 who was incarcerated in a facility operated by the 6
department of children, youth, and families or a county juvenile 7
detention facility at the time of the offense may apply to the 8
sentencing court for a vacation of the applicant's record of 9
adjudication or conviction for the offense. If an applicant qualifies 10
under this subsection, the court shall vacate the record of 11
conviction or adjudication.))12
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The following acts or parts of acts are 13
each repealed:14
(1) RCW 9.94A.646 (Resentencing— Juveniles— Prison riot offenses) 15
and 2025 c 169 s 3; and 16
(2) RCW 13.40.043 (Prison riot offenses — Relief from disposition) 17
and 2025 c 169 s 4. 18
Sec. 4. RCW 13.40.044 and 2025 c 169 s 5 are each amended to 19
read as follows: 20
(1) The department shall establish rules for including prison 21
riot behavior as described in RCW 9.94.010(1) as an infraction ((that 22
is managed through the internal behavioral management infraction 23
system)). 24
(2) By August 1, 2025, the department shall respond to prison 25
riot behavior as described in RCW 9.94.010(1) that occurs in an 26
institution using the internal behavioral management infraction 27
system and referring the incident to law enforcement.28
(((3) The department may impose an infraction using the internal 29
behavioral management infraction system for offenses that were 30
vacated under RCW 9.94A.640 when appropriate.))31
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