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Ross votes to hold felons,
Corrections accountable
Democrats
say no to moving public safety legislation forward
Rep.
Charles Ross got another taste of the one-party rule in Olympia
tonight when Democrats rejected his side's effort to bring the "Felons
Before Families" legislation to the House floor for a vote. By a 59-38
count, the majority party said no to a motion that would have moved
House Bill 2377 directly to the voting calendar.
"I promised my
constituents that I will do all I can here in Olympia to make our
communities safer places to live. And on the first day of this session,
I heard the Speaker of the House say that we should be 'mindful of the
households back home.' House Bill 2377 would hold felons accountable,
and hold the state Department of Corrections accountable, and it is
certainly mindful of the households back home. What happened here
tonight was disheartening," said Ross, R-Naches.
The first-term 14th
District lawmaker is a co-sponsor of HB 2377, which would:
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Place a freeze on
early releases until Corrections can determine how many felons they can
effectively supervise in the community and present a plan to the
Legislature for a manageable supervision program.
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Increase penalties for
violating conditions of release from 60 days in jail to being sent
back to prison for the rest of the original sentence.
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Require the DOC to
perform unannounced, random inspections of offenders' homes for
drugs, guns or other evidence of criminal activity. The Department
of Corrections can do this, but is not doing so, to the
frustration of state community corrections officers.
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Require Corrections to
investigate and produce written reports for all crimes committed by
those under community supervision.
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Require Corrections to
report annually to the Legislature on caseload, recidivism and any
systemic problems in the program.
Ross also co-sponsored the
original Families Before Felons legislation (House
Bill 2084). Because Democrats allowed HB 2084 to die last week
without so much as a committee hearing, Ross and other Republicans
refiled that bill's language as HB 2377 in order to allow their motion.
"Public safety should rank
ahead of partisanship," said Ross, who serves on the
House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee.
"This is the twenty-first
bill I've sponsored or co-sponsored this session which has something to
do with public safety. Unfortunately, most of them have gone nowhere,
and that's not what is best for the families of our state," he said.
"I’ve met House Democrats
who care about public safety. But there were only three Democrat votes
for our motion tonight. Aren't there 14 or 15 House Democrats who
believe we should put a freeze on releasing felons from prison early
until Corrections can get its act together? If there are, they were
quiet tonight."
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