HB 1239 Washington House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Preparing incarcerated people for successful reentry upon release from a correctional facility.

HB 1239 modifies Washington state's earned release time policies to improve reentry outcomes for incarcerated individuals. It allows inmates to earn time off sentences through good behavior and participation in rehabilitative programs, with limits (up to 50% for eligible offenders) based on offense type and risk assessment. The bill requires participation in reentry programming to qualify for maximum earned time and creates an option for transfer to community supervision instead of earning additional time. These changes directly affect incarcerated people in Washington correctional facilities and aim to reduce repeat offenses by aligning sentence reductions with reentry readiness.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Last action Feb 4, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Bill → Substitute Bill · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was updated to reflect its progression from the House to the Substitute version, changing the legislative session from 2025 to 2026 and adding a new focus on addressing trauma for incarcerated women. The scope of eligibility for earned release time was significantly narrowed by adding a cutoff date of July 1, 2026, meaning only offenses committed before this date qualify for the new time credits. Additionally, the bill now explicitly references a new pilot program for survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence.

Scope change

The bill's applicability was restricted to offenses committed before July 1, 2026, and a new specific provision was added to address the needs of incarcerated women.

TIMELINE

The legislative session changed from the 2025 Regular Session to the 2026 Regular Session, and the bill number was updated to H-3383.1.

SCOPE

A new section was added to specifically address the high rates of sexual and intimate partner violence among incarcerated women and establish a survivor-informed pilot program at the Washington Corrections Center for Women.

ELIGIBILITY

Eligibility for earned release time is now limited to offenders sentenced for offenses committed before July 1, 2026, creating a new cutoff date that was not present in the original version.

The statutory language regarding deadly weapon and impaired driving enhancements was updated to explicitly exclude offenses committed on or after July 1, 2026, from receiving time credits.

The maximum percentage of earned release time for certain serious violent or sex offenses was reduced from 15 percent to 10 percent for offenses committed between July 1, 2003, and July 1, 2026.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 4, 2026

Committee

Referred to Appropriations.

lower

Feb 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

Minority; do not pass.

lower

Feb 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

Executive action taken in the House Committee on Community Safety at 1:30 PM.

lower

Jan 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

Executive session scheduled, but no action was taken in the House Committee on Community Safety at 8:00 AM.

lower

Jan 19, 2026

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Community Safety at 1:30 PM.

lower

Jan 12, 2026

Introduced

By resolution, reintroduced and retained in present status.

lower

Jan 28, 2025

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Community Safety at 4:00 PM.

lower

1 primary · 6 co-sponsors