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SB 5266

Concerning the indeterminate sentence review board.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Jess Bateman and 7 co-sponsors

Allows people who committed crimes before 18 to petition the ISRB for early release after age 24, with assessments, supervision, and safety checks.

Senate Rules "X" file.
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Bill Summary · SB 5266

Summary — SB 5266 (2025): Concerning the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board

Status: Senate Rules "X" file (last action 2025-03-17). Introduced 01/14/2025. Assigned to Human Services → Ways & Means; second substitute passed Ways & Means 02/27/2025.

Purpose

SB 5266 allows people who were convicted of one or more crimes committed before their 18th birthday to petition the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board (ISRB) for early release once they reach age 24. The bill is intended to create stronger incentives for rehabilitation during young adulthood—recognizing brain development into the mid-20s—and to align state practice with U.S. Supreme Court rulings limiting mandatory life sentences for minors.

Key provisions

  • Eligibility trigger: a person convicted for crimes committed before age 18 may petition the ISRB after reaching age 24 (replacing a prior requirement of serving at least 20 years of confinement).
  • Recent behavior requirements: petitioner must not have been convicted of any crime in the 12 months before filing and must not have committed any "disqualifying serious infraction" (per DOC or DCYF) in the 12 months before filing.
  • Exclusions / murder cases:
    • Earlier substitute versions flatly excluded persons convicted of three or more murder offenses.
    • The second substitute (committee-passed) modifies that approach: persons convicted of three or more murder offenses may petition only after serving at least 20 years of total confinement.
  • Certain sentences remain ineligible: sentences imposed under RCW 10.95.030 or 9.94A.507 are excluded.
  • Pre-release assessment and programming: DOC must assess an offender no later than five years before eligibility and identify programming/services; DOC should make programming available where possible.
  • Evaluation timeline: within 180 days of receiving a petition DOC must conduct an examination (using expert-recognized methodologies predicting dangerousness) and estimate the probability of future criminal behavior.
  • Release standard: ISRB must release the person under conditions unless it finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that release would more likely than not result in new criminal violations; public safety is the highest priority.
  • Victim input: hearings must allow victim/survivor statements per RCW 7.69.032; procedures to be provided by rule.
  • Supervision and revocation: released persons are supervised by DOC up to the length of the original sentence; violations may result in return to custody with hearing rights and ability to refile a petition five years after denial or return.
  • Housing assistance and data: DOC may provide rental vouchers when needed for safe release; must maintain a compliant housing provider list (RCW 72.09.285) and collect data per Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) recommendations to evaluate voucher effectiveness.
  • Administrative limits: the bill caps the number of petitions acted on by DOC/ISRB for newly eligible persons at no more than 70 per year and establishes prioritization rules (text truncated in available summary).

Who is affected

  • Directly: incarcerated people who were under 18 at the time of their offense(s) — particularly those serving long indeterminate sentences — who will be eligible to petition earlier.
  • Indirectly: victims and survivors (through hearing participation), DOC and ISRB operations (assessments, evaluations, supervision), county prosecutors (providing victim contact info), housing providers, and state budget/administrative resources (assessments, vouchers, data collection).

Procedural/timeline notes

  • DOC assessment required five years prior to eligibility.
  • DOC evaluation required within 180 days of petition receipt.
  • Petitioners denied may refile after five years (or earlier if ISRB sets a different timeframe).
  • The bill creates an annual processing cap (70) for newly eligible petitions and contains prioritization rules (details in full text).
  • Bill text indicates it creates new statutory sections and provides an unspecified expiration date (not shown in the provided excerpt).

Potential impacts and considerations

  • Expands early-review opportunities for juvenile-era offenders, potentially increasing rehabilitative incentives and earlier community reentry for some.
  • Administrative resource needs: DOC/ISRB will require resources to conduct assessments, evaluations, hearings, supervision, housing vouchers, and data collection.
  • The 70-per-year cap and prioritization could limit access in early years and create a queue; exact prioritization criteria are not available in the truncated text.
  • The bill balances earlier eligibility with safety safeguards (evaluation, preponderance standard, supervision, victim input).

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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