Washington State
House of Representatives
Office of Program Research
BILL
ANALYSIS
Community Safety Committee
HB 1185
Brief Description: Concerning membership on the correctional industries advisory committee.
Sponsors: Representatives Fosse, Farivar, Simmons, Wylie and Salahuddin.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Adds two voting members meeting specified requirements and nominated by the Governor to the Correctional Industries Advisory Committee.
Hearing Date: 1/28/25
Staff: Michelle Rusk (786-7153).
Background:

Correctional Industries Advisory Committee.?

The Correctional?Industries?Advisory Committee (Committee) was established within the Department of Corrections (DOC) to make recommendations to the DOC Secretary (Secretary) regarding the Correctional Industries Program. ?Specifically, the Committee develops and implements programs that offer inmates employment, work experience, and training, and that reduce the cost of housing inmates. ?

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The Committee consists of nine voting members appointed by the Secretary and four nonvoting legislative members.? The nine voting members serve three-year staggered terms, and must include three representatives from labor, three representatives from business, and three members from the general public.? The business members must represent cross sections of industries and all sizes of employers.

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Nothing About Us Without Us Act.

In 2024 the Nothing About Us Without Us Act (Act) was enacted.? The Act requires that the membership of any statutory entity must:? (1) include at least three individuals from underrepresented populations who have direct lived experience with the identified policy or issue the statutory entity is tasked with examining; and (2) reflect the diversity of people with direct lived experience including those who reside in urban and rural communities with differing cultural and economic circumstances.?

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The Act provides that "direct lived experience" means direct personal experience in the subject matter being addressed by a board, commission, council, committee, or other similar group, and "underrepresented population" means a population group that is more likely to be at higher risk for disenfranchisement due to adverse socioeconomic factors such as unemployment, high housing and transportation costs relative to income, effects of environmental harms, limited access to nutritious food and adequate health care, linguistic isolation, and other factors that may be barriers for participating in policy making processes.

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The Act applies prospectively and only applies to statutory entities created on or after January 1, 2025.
Summary of Bill:

Correctional Industries Advisory Committee.

Two voting members appointed by the Governor and serving three-year terms are added to the Correctional Industries Advisory Committee.? These two voting members must be individuals from underrepresented populations who have direct lived experience as those terms are defined in the Nothing About Us Without Us Act.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on January 22, 2025.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.