ENGROSSED HOUSE
BILL NO. 1555	By:	Jordan, Bennett, Sherrer, McDaniel (Jeannie), Inman, Dorman, Derby, Pittman and Shelton of the House

				and

		Simpson of the Senate

An Act relating to criminal procedure; creating the Oklahoma Veterans' Treatment Court Act; giving judicial districts authority to establish Veterans' Treatment Court program; giving discretion for how and where the program may be administered; defining terms; setting guidelines for admission to program; requiring defendants be asked about veteran status before arraignment; describing eligibility screening process for program; requiring eligibility assessment contain certain elements; exempting assessment requirements in certain cases; allowing participation to be revoked; mandating written agreement between defendant and court; allowing court to order defendant complete treatment and counseling programs; excluding defendants charged with or convicted of a violent felony; excluding defendants unwilling to participate; excluding defendants previously discharged from program; allowing program to maintain network of certain treatment providers; mandating that participant has legal counsel before entering program; allowing participant to withdraw from program within certain time period; providing participant with individualized treatment program; ensuring program does not continue longer than certain time; requiring program to make, establish, and publish procedures; describing certain conditions for termination from program; allowing court to dismiss charges, terminate sentence or discharge defendant from proceedings upon program completion; providing for codification; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 480 of Title 22, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Oklahoma Veterans' Treatment Court Act".
SECTION 2.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 481 of Title 22, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A.  The presiding judge of each judicial district may establish a Veterans' Treatment Court program including a format under which it operates.  At the discretion of the presiding judge, the Veterans' Treatment Court program may be operated in one county in the judicial district and allow veteran and servicemember defendants from all counties within the district to participate.
B.  The Veterans’ Treatment Court program shall work collaboratively with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, other agencies, and other organizations and agencies with a mission of serving veterans to determine eligibility and demand for Veterans’ Treatment Court services.
C.  Nothing in this section shall prohibit any county or municipal court from establishing a Veterans’ Treatment Court for misdemeanor offenses.  Such misdemeanor veterans’ treatment courts shall follow the rules and regulations of this act except that the penalty for revocation shall not exceed one (1) year in the county jail or the maximum penalty for the misdemeanor allowed by statute, whichever is less.  
SECTION 3.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 482 of Title 22, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
As used in the Oklahoma Veterans' Treatment Court Act:
1.  “Defendant” means any person who has been charged with a crime and awaits adjudication;
2.  “Veteran” means a former member of the United States military including a member of the reserves and National Guard as defined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs; and 
3.  “Violent felony” means any criminal offense listed in paragraphs 1 through 19 in Section 13.1 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
SECTION 4.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 483 of Title 22, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A.  Admission to the Veterans' Treatment Court shall not be automatic.  The program’s appointed judge shall determine whether the defendant and the defendant’s criminal case qualify for the program.  Prior to arraignment, each defendant in the state shall be asked by an agent of the court whether the defendant is a veteran.  Further, a defendant who claims veteran status may apply for consideration by completing the screening and referral form.
1.  The court may order the defendant to submit to an eligibility screening and an assessment through the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to determine the defendant’s veteran status.
2.  The court may order the defendant to submit to an eligibility screening and mental health and drug and alcohol screening and assessment of the defendant by a court-designated evaluator to provide assessment services.  The assessment shall include a risk assessment and be based, in part, upon the known availability of treatment resources available to the Veterans' Treatment Court program.  The assessment shall also include recommendations for treatment of the conditions which are indicating a need for treatment under the monitoring of the court and be reflective of a level of risk assessed for the individual seeking admission.  An assessment need not be ordered if the court finds a valid screening or assessment related to the present charge pending against the defendant has been completed within the previous sixty (60) days.
3.  The judge shall inform the defendant that if the defendant fails to meet the conditions of the Veterans' Treatment Court program, eligibility to participate in the program may be revoked and the defendant may be sentenced or the prosecution continued.
4.  The defendant shall execute a written agreement with the court as to participation in the program and shall agree to all of the terms and conditions of the program, including but not limited to the possibility of sanctions or incarceration for failing to abide or comply with the terms of the program.  
5.  The court may order the defendant to complete substance abuse treatment in an outpatient, inpatient, residential, or jail-based custodial treatment program, order the defendant to complete mental health counseling in an inpatient or outpatient basis, and comply with physician recommendations regarding medications and all follow-up treatment.  This treatment may include but is not limited to posttraumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, depression and substance abuse treatment.
B.  A defendant shall be excluded from the Veterans' Treatment Court program in any of the following scenarios:
1.  The defendant is currently charged with or has previously been convicted of a violent felony;
2.  The defendant does not demonstrate a willingness to participate in the treatment program; or
3.  The defendant has previously been discharged from a Veterans' Treatment Court program for noncompliance due to misconduct.
C.  The court shall have discretion for good cause shown to consider otherwise ineligible defendants pursuant to subsection B of this section for admission to the Veterans’ Treatment Court program.
SECTION 5.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 484 of Title 22, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A.  The Veterans' Treatment Court program may maintain a network of substance abuse treatment programs representing a continuum of graduated substance abuse treatment options commensurate with the needs of defendants.  These may include programs with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and community-based programs supported and sanctioned by either or both.
B.  Any substance abuse treatment program to which defendants are referred shall meet all of the rules and governing programs of the Veterans' Treatment Court program.
C.  The Veterans' Treatment Court program may employ additional services or interventions, as it deems necessary on a case-by-case basis.
D.  The Veterans' Treatment Court program may maintain or collaborate with a network of mental health treatment programs and, if it is a co-occurring mental health and substance abuse court program, a network of substance abuse treatment programs representing a continuum of treatment options commensurate with the needs of the defendant and available resources including programs with the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
SECTION 6.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 485 of Title 22, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A.  A Veterans' Treatment Court program established pursuant to the Oklahoma Veterans' Treatment Court Act shall:
1.  Ensure a person eligible for the program has legal counsel before volunteering to proceed through the program and while participating in the program;
2.  Allow a participant to withdraw from the program after thirty (30) days and be reassigned to the traditional docket;
3.  Provide a participant with a court-ordered individualized treatment plan indicating the services that will be provided to the participant; and
4.  Ensure the jurisdiction of the Veterans' Treatment Court program continues for a period of not less than six (6) months but shall not continue beyond the period of community supervision for the offense charged.
B.  A Veterans' Treatment Court program established under this act shall make, establish, and publish local procedures.
SECTION 7.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 486 of Title 22, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A.  If the Veterans' Treatment Court program finds from the evidence presented, including but not limited to the reports or proffers of proof from the Veterans' Treatment Court professionals that:
1.  The defendant is not performing satisfactorily in the assigned programs;
2.  The defendant is not benefitting from education, treatment, or rehabilitation;
3.  The defendant has engaged in criminal conduct rendering the defendant unsuitable for the program; or
4.  The defendant has otherwise violated the terms and conditions of the program or the sentence, or is for any reason unable to participate, the court may impose reasonable sanctions under prior written agreement of the defendant, including but not limited to imprisonment or dismissal of the defendant from the program, and the court may reinstate criminal proceedings against the defendant or proceed with a violation of probation, conditional discharge, or revocation hearing.
B.  Upon successful completion of the terms and conditions of the program, the court may dismiss and expunge the original charges against the defendant or successfully terminate the defendant’s sentence or otherwise discharge the defendant from any further proceedings in the original prosecution.
SECTION 8.  This act shall become effective July 1, 2011.
SECTION 9.  It being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
Passed the House of Representatives the 10th day of March, 2011.

	
Presiding Officer of the House of
	Representatives

Passed the Senate the ____ day of __________, 2011.

	
Presiding Officer of the Senate