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Bill would elevate some repeat fourth-degree assaults to felony status under specified motivation rule
Summary
House Bill 23-10 would elevate fourth-degree assaults with a specified motivation to a class C felony when a defendant has two or more qualifying prior adult convictions within 10 years; sponsor said the change targets repeat offenders and improves accountability for survivors, while defenders warned of broad registration and immigration consequences.
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Representative Madison Richards told the House Committee on Community Safety on Jan. 19 that House Bill 23-10 aims to increase accountability for repeat perpetrators by elevating select fourth-degree assaults with a specified motivation to a class C felony when the defendant has two or more qualifying prior adult convictions within a 10-year period.
Staff briefed the committee that fourth-degree assault is generally a gross misdemeanor but that the bill would make it a class C felony, ranked at seriousness level 4, for defendants with the required prior convictions. That elevation would trigger criminal‑justice consequences such as offender…
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