Senator Mike Carrell News & Views (Printer Friendly)
House passes Carrell's bounty hunter bill, prison moral programs bill
March 5, 2008
OLYMPIA… Two more bills sponsored by Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, passed the Washington State House of Representatives Wednesday, one of which will come back to the Senate for concurrence and the other will go to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.
Substitute Senate Bill 6400, which passed the Senate 47-1 on Feb. 18, would direct the state Department of Corrections to study the development of programs that would foster the creation of strong moral character among incarcerated offenders.
“I’m looking forward to voting with the Senate in concurrence with the amendments made by the House committee,” Carrell said. “My bill directs DOC to form a task force to study in-prison programs to help inmates who volunteer develop an ethical foundation and build their moral character. It would also protect prison chaplains from violating the tenets of their faith while acting in an ecclesiastical role.”
SSB 6400 passed the House 95-1.
Carrell’s other bill, Substitute Senate Bill 6437, passed the House unanimously Wednesday. SSB 6437 would further regulate bail bond recovery agents, also known as bounty hunters. Last year, a few bounty hunters in Pierce County raised some eyebrows after using questionable tactics during the apprehension of a suspect. Carrell worked with bail bond recovery agencies and the state Department of Licensing to write SSB 6437.
“My bill holds bail bond agents responsible for the illegal or inappropriate actions of their bounty hunters and relieves law enforcement of liability when they accompany a bounty in apprehending a suspect,” Carrell said. “Bail bond recovery agents are a very necessary part of the law enforcement process. It was important to work with them in getting these new regulations passed, and I’m pleased that this will now be going to the governor’s desk”
SSB 6437 originally passed the Senate 48-0 on Feb. 15.
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Sen. Mike Carrell represents the 28th Legislative District, which includes Lakewood; Steilacoom; University Place; DuPont; Fircrest; Anderson,
Ketron and McNeil islands; and parts of Tacoma,
Fort Lewis, and McChord Air Force Base.
For more information contact Erich R. Ebel
at (360) 786-7395 or
ebel.erich@leg.wa.gov.
