BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 295| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 295 Author: Emmerson (R) Amended: 6/20/13 Vote: 27 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/30/13 AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Block, De León, Knight, Liu, Steinberg SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-0, 5/20/13 AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Padilla, Steinberg NO VOTE RECORDED: Lara SENATE FLOOR : 39-0, 5/28/13 AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Calderon, Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Knight, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Nielsen, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 8/8/13 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Sexually violent predators: civil commitment SOURCE : Riverside County District Attorney San Bernardino County District Attorney San Joaquin County District Attorney DIGEST : This bill makes a series of clarifying revisions to CONTINUED SB 295 Page 2 procedures used by the courts for handling sexually violent predator (SVP) petitions regarding conditional and unconditional release. Assembly Amendments entitle the petitioner to the appointment of experts, if he/she requests them for the hearing on the petition for conditional release. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1.Provides for the civil commitment of criminal offenders who have been determined to be a SVP for treatment in a secure state hospital facility, as specified. 2.Requires the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (secretary) to refer a prisoner for evaluation by the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) when the secretary determines that the person may be a SVP and specifies the judicial processes necessary for civil commitment as an SVP, including, but not limited to, the right to a jury trial. 3.Establishes provisions by which a committed person may petition for conditional release or unconditional discharge. This bill: 1.Provides that when an SVP patient files a petition for conditional release without the concurrence of the director of the treatment facility, the court may not act on the petition until the court obtains the written recommendation of that director. 2.Requires the community program director designated by the DSH to submit a report to the court making a recommendation as to the appropriateness of placement of the petitioner in a conditional-release program before the court holds a hearing. 3.Mandates the committed person be evaluated by state-chosen experts. 4.Entitles the petitioner to the appointment of experts, if he or she requests them, for the hearing on the petition for CONTINUED SB 295 Page 3 conditional release. 5.Shifts the burden of proof to the state to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that conditional release is inappropriate when the DSH report on the mental status of the SVP finds conditional discharge would be in the patient's best interests and that conditions to protect the public could be imposed. 6.Precludes the committed person from filing a subsequent petition for conditional release for one year after the denial of a petition. Background Civil Commitment Generally . The United States and California Supreme Courts, have consistently held that involuntary confinement for mental health treatment is a severe curtailment of liberty. Civil commitment schemes must be justified by compelling state interests. (Foucha v. Louisiana (1992) 504 U.S. 71, 77; People v. McKee, supra, 47 Cal.4th at p. 1193.) Proposition 83 in 2006 - Indeterminate Commitment of SVPs instead of Two-Year Commitment . In 2006, Proposition 83 (Jessica's Law) provided that a person found to be an SVP in a jury trial was to be civilly committed to the DSH for an indefinite period of time. Prior to enactment of Proposition 83, the SVP was entitled to a full jury trial every two years at which the prosecution had to prove again the person's status as an SVP. The indefinite commitment provision in Proposition 83 has been challenged in the California Court of Appeals and the California Supreme Court on the grounds that it violates the constitutional guarantees of due process and equal protection of the laws. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, annual costs of $38,000 (General Fund) for the DSH to submit additional recommendations to the court. SUPPORT : (Verified 8/12/13) CONTINUED SB 295 Page 4 Riverside County District Attorney (co-source) San Bernardino County District Attorney (co-source) San Joaquin County District Attorney (co-source) California District Attorneys Association Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The Riverside County District Attorney writes: These statutes attempt to describe the procedures whereby an SVP can seek conditional release to a less restrictive alternative or an unconditional discharge. Unfortunately, these statutes are confusing, poorly drafted, and incomplete. Under the current statutory language, it is difficult to determine the procedures that should be used when an SVP seeks release. The changes suggested by this bill will clarify how an SVP seeks conditional and unconditional release and the procedures that should be followed by the courts in considering these requests. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 08/08/13 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Chávez, Vacancy, Vacancy JG:nl:e 8/12/13 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE CONTINUED SB 295 Page 5 **** END **** CONTINUED