Bill Text: CA AB1003 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Mental health: sexually violent predators.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB1003 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB1003-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1003 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Nazarian
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
An act to amend Section 6604.9 of Sections
6601 an 6604.9 of, and to add Section 6610 to, the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to mental health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1003, as amended, Nazarian. Mental health: Sexually
sexually violent predators.
Existing law provides for the civil commitment of criminal
offenders who have been determined to be sexually violent predators
for treatment in a secure state hospital facility, as specified.
Existing law requires the Secretary of the Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation to refer a prisoner for evaluation by the State
Department of State Hospitals when the secretary determines that the
person may be a sexually violent predator, requires the State
Department of State Hospitals to evaluate the person in accordance
with a standardized assessment protocol, as specified, to determine
whether the person is a sexually violent predator, and
specifies the judicial processes necessary for civil commitment as a
sexually violent predator, including, but not limited to, the right
to a jury trial. Existing
This bill would require the State Department of State Hospitals to
consult, on or before January 30, 2016, with a committee comprised
of representatives of specified organizations to make recommendations
regarding possible changes to the standardized assessment protocol.
The bill would require the State Department of State Hospitals, on or
before March 1, 2016, to initiate the regulatory process to update
the standardized assessment protocol, as specified.
Existing law requires an annual examination of the
mental condition of a sexually violent predator to determine whether
conditional release to a less restrictive alternative or
unconditional release is in the best interest of the person and the
conditions imposed would adequately protect the community. Existing
law requires that the report be in the form of a declaration and
prepared by a professionally qualified person. Proposition
83, enacted by the voters at the November 7, 2006, statewide general
election, made various changes to the sexually violent predator civil
commitment process.
Proposition 83 permits the Legislature to amend its provisions,
either by a 2/3 vote of the membership of each house, or by a
majority vote of the membership of each house if the amendments
expand the scope of the application of the provisions of the
proposition or increase the punishments or penalties provided in the
proposition.
This bill would require the report described above to be signed by
the Director of the State Department of State Hospitals. By
amending the requirements for the report, this bill would amend
Proposition 83.
The bill would also create a 7-member oversight board to advise
the Governor and the Legislature regarding the civil commitment of
sexually violent predators comprised of representatives selected by
the State Department of State Hospitals and other organizations, as
specified. The bill would require the oversight board to meet at
least 6 times per year and, beginning January 1, 2017, to make an
annual report to the Governor and the Legislature including the board'
s recommendations, as specified.
Vote: 2/3 majority . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 6601 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code is amended to read:
6601. (a) (1) Whenever the Secretary of the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation determines that an individual who is
in custody under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation, and who is either serving a determinate prison
sentence or whose parole has been revoked, may be a sexually violent
predator, the secretary shall, at least six months prior to that
individual's scheduled date for release from prison, refer the person
for evaluation in accordance with this section. However, if the
inmate was received by the department with less than nine months of
his or her sentence to serve, or if the inmate's release date is
modified by judicial or administrative action, the secretary may
refer the person for evaluation in accordance with this section at a
date that is less than six months prior to the inmate's scheduled
release date.
(2) A petition may be filed under this section if the individual
was in custody pursuant to his or her determinate prison term, parole
revocation term, or a hold placed pursuant to Section 6601.3, at the
time the petition is filed. A petition shall not be dismissed on the
basis of a later judicial or administrative determination that the
individual's custody was unlawful, if the unlawful custody was the
result of a good faith mistake of fact or law. This paragraph shall
apply to any petition filed on or after January 1, 1996.
(b) The person shall be screened by the Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation and the Board of Parole Hearings based on whether
the person has committed a sexually violent predatory offense and on
a review of the person's social, criminal, and institutional history.
This screening shall be conducted in accordance with a structured
screening instrument developed and updated by the State Department of
State Hospitals in consultation with the Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation. If as a result of this screening it is determined
that the person is likely to be a sexually violent predator, the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall refer the person
to the State Department of State Hospitals for a full evaluation of
whether the person meets the criteria in Section 6600.
(c) (1) The State Department of State
Hospitals shall evaluate the person in accordance with a standardized
assessment protocol, developed and updated by the State Department
of State Hospitals, to determine whether the person is a sexually
violent predator as defined in this article. The standardized
assessment protocol shall require assessment of diagnosable mental
disorders, as well as various factors known to be associated with the
risk of reoffense among sex offenders. Risk factors to be considered
shall include criminal and psychosexual history, type, degree, and
duration of sexual deviance, and severity of mental disorder.
(2) On or before January 30, 2016, the State Department of State
Hospitals shall consult with a committee consisting of one
representative from each of the State Department of State Hospitals,
the California District Attorneys Association, the California Public
Defenders Association, and the Los Angeles District Attorney's
Office. The committee members shall select a member of the private
defense bar and a person with experience as an evaluator under
Article 4 (commencing with Section 6600) of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of
Division 6 to make recommendations regarding possible changes to the
standardized assessment protocol, as described in paragraph (3).
(3) On or before March 1, 2016, the State Department of State
Hospitals shall initiate the regulatory process to update the
standardized assessment protocol, including a plan for formal
supervisory review of evaluations and a checklist for reviewing
evaluations, as recommended by the March 2015 report of the
California State Auditor. The regulations shall also include
requirements and procedures for training evaluators.
(d) Pursuant to subdivision (c), the person shall be evaluated by
two practicing psychiatrists or psychologists, or one practicing
psychiatrist and one practicing psychologist, designated by the
Director of State Hospitals. If both evaluators concur that the
person has a diagnosed mental disorder so that he or she is likely to
engage in acts of sexual violence without appropriate treatment and
custody, the Director of State Hospitals shall forward a request for
a petition for commitment under Section 6602 to the county designated
in subdivision (i). Copies of the evaluation reports and any other
supporting documents shall be made available to the attorney
designated by the county pursuant to subdivision (i) who may file a
petition for commitment.
(e) If one of the professionals performing the evaluation pursuant
to subdivision (d) does not concur that the person meets the
criteria specified in subdivision (d), but the other professional
concludes that the person meets those criteria, the Director of State
Hospitals shall arrange for further examination of the person by two
independent professionals selected in accordance with subdivision
(g).
(f) If an examination by independent professionals pursuant to
subdivision (e) is conducted, a petition to request commitment under
this article shall only be filed if both independent professionals
who evaluate the person pursuant to subdivision (e) concur that the
person meets the criteria for commitment specified in subdivision
(d). The professionals selected to evaluate the person pursuant to
subdivision (g) shall inform the person that the purpose of their
examination is not treatment but to determine if the person meets
certain criteria to be involuntarily committed pursuant to this
article. It is not required that the person appreciate or understand
that information.
(g) Any independent professional who is designated by the
Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or the
Director of State Hospitals for purposes of this section shall not be
a state government employee, shall have at least five years of
experience in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, and
shall include psychiatrists and licensed psychologists who have a
doctoral degree in psychology. The requirements set forth in this
section also shall apply to any professionals appointed by the court
to evaluate the person for purposes of any other proceedings under
this article.
(h) If the State Department of State Hospitals determines that the
person is a sexually violent predator as defined in this article,
the Director of State Hospitals shall forward a request for a
petition to be filed for commitment under this article to the county
designated in subdivision (i). Copies of the evaluation reports and
any other supporting documents shall be made available to the
attorney designated by the county pursuant to subdivision (i) who may
file a petition for commitment in the superior court.
(i) If the county's designated counsel concurs with the
recommendation, a petition for commitment shall be filed in the
superior court of the county in which the person was convicted of the
offense for which he or she was committed to the jurisdiction of the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The petition shall be
filed, and the proceedings shall be handled, by either the district
attorney or the county counsel of that county. The county board of
supervisors shall designate either the district attorney or the
county counsel to assume responsibility for proceedings under this
article.
(j) The time limits set forth in this section shall not apply
during the first year that this article is operative.
(k) An order issued by a judge pursuant to Section 6601.5, finding
that the petition, on its face, supports a finding of probable cause
to believe that the individual named in the petition is likely to
engage in sexually violent predatory criminal behavior upon his or
her release, shall toll that person's parole pursuant to paragraph
(4) of subdivision (a) of Section 3000 of the Penal Code, if that
individual is determined to be a sexually violent predator.
(l) Pursuant to subdivision (d), the attorney designated by the
county pursuant to subdivision (i) shall notify the State Department
of State Hospitals of its decision regarding the filing of a petition
for commitment within 15 days of making that decision.
(m) This section shall become operative on the date that the
director executes a declaration, which shall be provided to the
fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature, including the
Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, and the
Department of Finance, specifying that sufficient qualified state
employees have been hired to conduct the evaluations required
pursuant to subdivision (d), or January 1, 2013, whichever occurs
first.
SECTION 1. SEC. 2. Section 6604.9 of
the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:
6604.9. (a) A person found to be a sexually violent predator and
committed to the custody of the State Department of State Hospitals
shall have a current examination of his or her mental condition made
at least once every year. The report shall be in the form of a
declaration and shall be prepared by a professionally qualified
person. The report shall also be signed by the Director of the State
Department of State Hospitals. The person may retain or, if he or she
is indigent and so requests, the court may appoint, a qualified
expert or professional person to examine him or her, and the expert
or professional person shall have access to all records concerning
the person.
(b) The annual report shall include consideration of whether the
committed person currently meets the definition of a sexually violent
predator and whether conditional release to a less restrictive
alternative, pursuant to Section 6608, or an unconditional discharge,
pursuant to Section 6605, is in the best interest of the person and
conditions can be imposed that would adequately protect the
community.
(c) The State Department of State Hospitals shall file this
periodic report with the court that committed the person under this
article. A copy of the report shall be served on the prosecuting
agency involved in the initial commitment and upon the committed
person.
(d) If the State Department of State Hospitals determines that
either: (1) the person's condition has so changed that the person no
longer meets the definition of a sexually violent predator and
should, therefore, be considered for unconditional discharge, or (2)
conditional release to a less restrictive alternative is in the best
interest of the person and conditions can be imposed that adequately
protect the community, the director shall authorize the person to
petition the court for conditional release to a less restrictive
alternative or for an unconditional discharge. The petition shall be
filed with the court and served upon the prosecuting agency
responsible for the initial commitment.
(e) The court, upon receipt of the petition for conditional
release to a less restrictive alternative, shall consider the
petition using procedures described in Section 6608.
(f) The court, upon receiving a petition for unconditional
discharge, shall order a show cause hearing, pursuant to the
provisions of Section 6605, at which the court may consider the
petition and any accompanying documentation provided by the medical
director, the prosecuting attorney, or the committed person.
SEC. 3. Section 6610 is added to the
Welfare and Institutions Code , to read:
6610. (a) (1) There is hereby created an oversight board that
shall advise the Legislature and the Governor regarding sexually
violent predators under Article 4 (commencing with Section 6600) of
Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 6.
(2) The board shall be comprised of seven members. Each of the
following organizations shall select one representative to serve on
the oversight board: The State Department of State Hospitals, the
California District Attorneys Association, the California Public
Defenders Association, the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office,
and the California Judicial Commission on Judicial Performance.
(3) The board members selected pursuant to paragraph (2) shall
select both a representative of the private defense bar and a person
with experience as an evaluator under Article 4 (commencing with
Section 6600) of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 6 to serve on the
oversight board.
(b) (1) The oversight board shall meet at least six times per
year.
(2) On or before January 1, 2017, and on or before January 1 in
each subsequent year, the oversight board shall make a report to the
Governor and the Legislature making recommendations relating to
implementation of Article 4 (commencing with Section 6600) of Chapter
2 of Part 2 of Division 6, including, but not limited to, evaluating
sexually violent predators in state hospitals.
(3) The report required pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be
submitted to the Legislature in compliance with subdivision (c) of
Section 9795 of the Government Code.
