Amended in Assembly April 22, 2015

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1003

Introduced by Assembly Member Nazarian

February 26, 2015

An act to amend begin delete Section 6604.9 of end delete begin insert Sections 6601 an 6604.9 of, and to add Section 6610 to, end insert the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to mental health.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1003, as amended, Nazarian. Mental health: begin delete Sexually end delete begin insert sexually end insert 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, begin insert 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, end insert 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. begin delete Existing end delete

begin insert

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.

end insert

begin insert Existing end insert 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. begin delete 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. end delete

begin delete

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.

end delete

This bill would require the report described above to be signed by the Director of the State Department of State Hospitals. begin delete By amending the requirements for the report, this bill would amend Proposition 83. end delete

begin insert

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.

end insert

Vote:  begin delete ²⁄₃ end delete begin insert majority end insert . Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 6601 of the end insert begin insert Welfare and Institutions Code end insert
begin insert is amended to read: end insert

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)  begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert 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.

begin insert

(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).

end insert begin insert

(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.

end insert

(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.

begin delete SECTION 1. end delete
begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 6610 is added to the end insert begin insert Welfare and Institutions
Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 6610. end insert   

(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.

end insert