Approve reimbursement agreement with AOC for extraordinary costs in responding to State v. Blake on the state's behalf BEFORE THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
LEWIS COUNTY, WASHINGTON
IN THE MATTER OF: RESOLUTION NO. 21-358
APPROVING OF A REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT
WITH THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE
COURTS FOR EXTRAORDINARY COSTS IN
RESPONDING TO STATE V. BLAKE ON THE
STATE'S BEHALF
WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of Washington, in State v. Blake, held that fifty
years' worth of convictions for simple possession of a controlled substance were
unconstitutional and void; and
WHEREAS, defendants convicted of such offenses have a right to vacate their
convictions, be resentenced if appropriate, and receive a refund of legal financial
obligations paid, if they were ordered solely as a result of the void conviction; and
WHEREAS, Lewis County, on behalf of the State of Washington, has an obligation
to facilitate such court proceedings and to refund these paid legal financial
obligations; and
WHEREAS, the State of Washington has recognized that these county activities
on its behalf are extraordinary, beyond the normal administration of justice for
which counties would normally pay; and
WHEREAS, the State of Washington has appropriated tens of millions of dollars to
reimburse the counties for this extraordinary work on its behalf, which has been
allocated to the counties in proportion to their Blake-affected cases from within
the last ten years; and
WHEREAS, the State of Washington's appropriation will not cover the full costs of
such county activities on behalf of the State, but it is a welcome step to begin
affording the affected defendants the relief to which they are entitled under the
law; and
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners has reviewed the Reimbursement
Agreement with the Administrative Office of the Courts and finds it to be in the
public interest.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Reimbursement Agreement is
approved. County Clerk Scott Tinney, who will administer his office's work in
processing refunds in Blake-affected cases, is authorized to sign on behalf of
Lewis County and to act as program manager for this agreement.
DONE IN OPEN SESSION this 5th day of October, 2021.
Page 1 of 2 Res. 21-358
APPROVED AS TO FORM: BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Jonathan Meyer, Prosecuting Attorney LEWIS COUNTY, WASHINGTON
Eric Eisenberg
By: Eric Eisenberg, Vacant, Chair
Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney
ATTEST: •'•°"NTti;'v.s•. LindseyR. Pollock DVM
�,S,uPRDOF'. iG r
• f L dsey R. Pollock, DVM, Vice Chair
•4,
:f22, 1345 ;
Rieva Lester ▪'�•= -CON.s.`:• Sean D. Swope
Rieva Lester, Sean D. Swope, Commissioner
Clerk of the Lewis County Board of
County Commissioners
Page 2 of 2 Res. 21-358
DocuSign Envelope ID: 18CDA3AF-7B11-4079-9903-B7814809ADB5
INTERAGENCY REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT IAA22177
BETWEEN
WASHINGTON STATE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE COURTS
AND
LEWIS COUNTY
THIS REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT (Agreement) is entered into by and between
the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) and Lewis County, for the purpose of
reimbursing Lewis County (County) for extraordinary costs of resentencing and vacating
sentences under Blake and for the cost of refunding legal financial obligations (LFOs)
under the Blake decision.
1. PURPOSE
The purpose of this Agreement is to provide reimbursements to assist Counties with
extraordinary judicial, prosecutorial, or defense-related costs of resentencing and
vacating the sentences of defendants whose convictions or sentences in Superior
Court and District Court are affected by the State v. Blake decision and to provide
reimbursements to assist Counties who have reimbursed or will reimburse LFOs to
defendants whose convictions or sentences in Superior Court and District Court are
affected by the State v. Blake decision.
2. REIMBURSEMENT
A. Extraordinary Expenses Reimbursement. AOC shall reimburse the County
up to a maximum of$1,260,500 for extraordinary judicial, prosecutorial, or
defense-related costs of resentencing and vacating the sentences of
defendants whose convictions or sentences are affected by the State v. Blake
decision incurred during the period of February 25, 2021 to June 30, 2022.
No reimbursement will be made under this Agreement for resentencing or
vacation costs incurred after June 30, 2022, and any reimbursement requests
in excess of this amount will be denied. If additional funding is appropriated
by the Legislature for these purposes, the amount of reimbursement under
this Agreement may be increased by agreement of the parties.
B. LFO Reimbursement. AOC will reimburse the County up to a maximum of
$491,711 for payments made by the County during the period February 25,
2021 to June 30, 2022 pursuant to court order which required reimbursement
by the State of Washington of legal and financial obligations. No
reimbursement will be made under this Agreement for resentencing or
vacation costs incurred after June 30, 2022, and any reimbursement requests
in excess of this amount stated in this Section 2 (b) will be denied. If
additional funding is appropriated by the Legislature for these purposes, the
amount of reimbursement under this Agreement may be increased by
IAA22177 Page 1 of 4
DocuSign Envelope ID: 18CDA3AF-7B11-4079-9903-B7814809ADB5
agreement of the parties. Nothing in this Agreement requires the County to
make payments pursuant to a court order when the funds available for
reimbursement are less than the amount of the payment.
C. General. AOC shall provide reimbursement to the County for approved and
completed reimbursements by warrant or account transfer within 30 days of
receipt of a properly completed A-19 invoice and the completed data report as
required below.
3. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE
Performance under this Agreement begins July 1, 2021, regardless of the date of
execution, and ends on June 30, 2022. The period of performance may be
amended by mutual agreement of the parties if the Legislature provides additional
funding or time for these purposes.
4. TERMS OF REIMBURSEMENT
a) The County shall request reimbursement as follows:
1 . The County will submit its A-19 invoices monthly to
countyreimbursements(a�courts.wa.gov. A-19 invoices submitted under this
agreement must include:
a. Payment documents from the County indicating the amounts
expended, the recipients, and the date of expenditure.
b. Sufficient information to allow AOC to determine that the costs
reimbursed are extraordinary judicial, prosecutorial, or defense-
related costs of resentencing and vacating the sentences of
defendants whose convictions or sentences are affected by the State
v. Blake.
c. Proper coding for expenses under both 2.A. and B. For Lewis
County, expenses under 2.A. must be coded 40121, and
reimbursement under 2.B. must be coded 40100.
2. The County shall provide a monthly report to AOC that must contain at a
minimum:
a. A list of any case numbers associated with the services provided;
b. A breakdown of expenses by judicial, prosecutorial, and defense-
related costs;
c. The amount of LFOs reimbursed, with the case number associated
with that amount.
d. Any positions supported by these funds, broken down by judicial,
prosecutorial, and defense-related positions; and
e. Data, including case numbers and aggregate data on the number
and type of cases:
IAA22177 Page 2 of 4
DocuSign Envelope ID: 18CDA3AF-7B11-4079-9903-B7814809ADB5
i. Vacated under Blake;
ii. Resentenced under Blake; and
iii. Being worked on under Blake.
b) By May 1, 2022, the County agrees to report any allocated funds under either 2.
A. or B. that it will be unable to spend during the term of the contract, or any
additional funds it anticipates needing during the term of the contract should
additional funds become available. AOC reserves the right to reallocate funds
that are reported to be unable to be spent.
5. AGREEMENT ALTERATIONS AND AMENDMENTS
This Agreement may be amended by agreement of the parties. Such amendments
are not binding unless they are in writing and signed by personnel authorized to
bind each of the parties.
6. GOVERNANCE
This Agreement is entered into pursuant to and under the authority granted by the
laws of the state of Washington and any applicable federal laws. The provisions of
this Agreement must be construed to conform to those laws.
In the event of an inconsistency in the terms of this Agreement, or between its
terms and any applicable statute or rule, the inconsistency will be resolved by giving
precedence in the following order:
a. Applicable state and federal statutes and rules;
b. This Agreement; and
c. Any other provisions of the agreement, including materials incorporated by
reference.
7. WAIVER
A failure by either party to exercise its rights under this Agreement does not
preclude that party from subsequent exercise of such rights and is not a waiver of
any other rights under this Agreement unless stated to be such in a writing signed
by an authorized representative of the party and attached to the original Agreement.
8. SEVERABILITY
If any provision of this Agreement, or any provision of any document incorporated
by reference is held invalid, such invalidity does not affect the other provisions of
this Agreement which can be given effect without the invalid provision and to this
end the provisions of this Agreement are declared to be severable.
IAA22177 Page 3 of 4
DocuSign Envelope ID: 18CDA3AF-7B11-4079-9903-B7814809ADB5
9. AGREEMENT MANAGEMENT
The program managers noted below are responsible for and are the contact people
for all communications and billings regarding the performance of this Agreement:
AOC Program Manager County Program Manager
Christopher Stanley Scott Tinney
Chief Financial and Management Officer County Clerk
PO Box 41170 345 W. Main St, Second Floor
Olympia, WA 98504-1170 Chehalis, WA 98532
christopher.stanley@courts.wa.gov scott.tinney@lewiscountywa.gov
(360) 890-2549 360-740-1287
10. ENTIRE AGREEMENT
This Agreement contains all the terms and conditions agreed upon by the parties. No
other understandings, oral or otherwise, regarding the subject matter of this
Agreement are considered to exist or to bind any of the parties to this agreement
unless otherwise stated in this Agreement.
AGREED:
Administrative Office of the Courts Lewis County
DocuSigned by:
,9/22/2021 f
D7oockAr4rC641o...
Signature Date Signature Date
Christopher Stanley S c 0-ki" T. ,� .e y
Name Name
Chief Financial and Management Officer LQ-,,,;5 co I e✓V
Title Title
IAA22177 Page 4 of 4
BOCC AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
Resolution: BOCC Meeting Date: Oct. 5, 2021
Suggested Wording for Agenda Item: Agenda Type: Deliberation
Approving of a Reimbursement Agreement with the Administrative Office of the Courts for
Extraordinary Costs in Responding to State v. Blake on the State's Behalf
Contact: Eric Eisenberg Phone: 360-7401241
Department: CLRK - Clerk
Description:
This resolution approves a reimbursement agreement with the Administrative Office of the Courts,
whereby the State will partially reimburse Lewis County for extraordinary costs related to
responding to the State v. Blake decision, which overturned fifty years of convictions for possession
of a controlled substance. The contract includes up to $1,260,500 to reimburse extraordinary
processing costs for vacations or resentencings in individual cases and up to an additional
$491,711 to reimburse the County for returning, on behalf of the State, legal financial obligations
paid in such cases.
Approvals: Publication Requirements:
Publications:
User Status
PA's Office Approved
Additional Copies: Cover Letter To:
Scott Tinney, Becky Butler, Grace Jimenez Christopher Stanley, Chief Financial and
Management Officer for the Administrative
Office of the Courts,
Christopher.Stanley@courts.wa.gov