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STATE REPRESf NTA`I_IV1 Washington GENERAL GO\ERNMENT&
1 l"'LEGISLATIVE DIS"rRICT INFORMNI'ION 1 ECI INOLOGY
House of CHAIR
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Representatives t JOINT ADBIINISTRATIVE RULES REVIEW
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APPROPRINHONS
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April 16, 2015
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The Honorable Dan Di Guilio ,f
APR 2 0 2015 i
Mayor of Port Angeles
321 E 5th CI Y i I ANN' ALE
Port Angeles,WA 98362 �- -
Dear Mayor Di Giulio:
We are writing to ask your assistance in reviewing House Bill 1885 and Senate Bill 5755—both known as the Justice
Reinvestment Act. It would be helpful if you can reach out to your local law enforcement and urge them to review it also.
It is our belief that this legislation will address Washington's highest-in-the-nation property crime rate while also
holding down the growth of corrections costs and promoting safer communities.
HB 1885 and SB 5755 are based on the recommendations of a bipartisan,intergovernmental task force supported by
research from the Council of State Governments (CSG).To date,CSG has worked with over 20 states to counteract a
nationwide trend of spiraling corrections expenditures by developing data-driven and evidence-based policies to reduce
both costs and crime rates.
We are convinced we must fight crime differently.Our current policies have resulted in Washington state having the
highest property crime rate in the nation.You probably see this in the budgets you put together and in your work with
law enforcement and your community.Using an outdated model of simply locking up property crime offenders and then
releasing them unsupervised just isn't as effective as it can be.This is why we believe we have a new and better policy
introduced with bipartisan support in the House and Senate.SB 5755 and HB 1855 are based on data and evidence
worked by a broad task force and support of national organizations.The bills base changes in the sentencing grid on
data and prosecutors'input.A new penalty is imposed. New grants for law enforcement are made available.All modeling
projects fewer crimes committed and better recidivism rates.It will also invest locally by providing funds for your
property crime reduction efforts.We believe this is a good policy if it is fully and properly funded.
Justice Reinvestment has been referred to as getting"right on crime."We would welcome your support after your
conversation with your law enforcement agencies and elected state representatives. If you have questions about the
policy,we invite you to contact any of us or CSG's Marshall Clement at mclement @csg.org.Thank you for your
consideration.
Sincerely,
Rep.Zack Hudgins,Chair Sen.Jim Hargrove,Co-Chair Rep.Roger Goodman,Chair
House Gen. Gov't&IT Committee Justice Reinvestment Task Force House Public Safety Committee
Russ Hauge, Member Frank Straub Kathleen O'Toole
Justice Reinvestment Task Force Chief of Police,City of Spokane Chief of Police,City of Seattle
Former Kitsap County Prosecutor
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