OLYMPIA — Defendants would pay the full cost of pretrial drug and alcohol monitoring under a bill passed by the Senate that removes a price cap for such oversight.
The Senate passed Senate Bill 6134 on a 41-3 vote Wednesday, and the measure now heads to the House for consideration. The bill comes following a unanimous Washington Supreme Court ruling earlier this month that found that the costs of pretrial electronic alcohol monitoring ordered by a trial court cannot exceed the $150 limit that is set in statute for pretrial supervision.
In the order, the nine-member court said that the costs for an electronic alcohol monitoring bracelet fit under the statutory meaning of “pretrial supervision.”
The measure, sponsored by Republican Sen. Mike Padden of Spokane, says that the $150 limitation on costs for pretrial supervision does not apply to those for pretrial alcohol and drug monitoring.
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