BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1003
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
1003 (Nazarian) - As Amended April 22, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill creates a Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) Oversight
Board (board) comprised of members from the Department of State
Hospitals (DSH) and the criminal justice system to make
recommendation to the Governor and Legislature regarding the SVP
AB 1003
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program. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the DSH, on or before January 30, 2016, to consult
with a committee consisting of one representative of the DSH,
California District Attorneys Association (CDAA), California
Public Defenders Association (CPDA), and the Los Angeles
District Attorney's Office (LADA). The committee members are
required to select a member of the private defense bar, and a
person with experience as a SVP evaluator to make
recommendations to make possible changes to the SVP
standardized assessment protocol.
2)States that, on or before March 1, 2016, the DSH is required
to initiate the regulatory process to update SVP standardized
assessment protocol, including a plan for formal supervisory
review of SVP evaluations and a checklist for reviewing
evaluations, as recommended in a March 2015 report of the
California State Auditor (CSA). The regulations are to
include requirements and procedures for training evaluators.
3)Creates a seven-member board to advise the Governor and the
Legislature regarding SVP's, and the membership to consist of
one representative from each of the following organizations:
DSH, CDAA, CPDA, LADA, and the California Judicial Commission
on Judicial Performance. The board is required to meet at
least six times per year.
4)States that 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 regarding the SVP program, including, but not
limited to, evaluating SVP's confined in the state hospitals.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Ongoing cost to DSH in the range of $500,000 for two senior
supervisory level psychiatrists to staff the board, and the
implementation and training of the required regulations.
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COMMENTS:
1)Author's Statement: According to the author, "AB 1003
establishes an oversight board that would implement interim
regulations for evaluating SVP's, until that time where a
special committee would make comprehensive recommendations to
the Legislature and the Governor."
"In March of 2015, the California State Auditor released a
report on California State Hospitals assessment protocols and
training. In its review of the State Hospitals' Sex Offender
Commitment program, the auditor found several the processes by
which they evaluated sex offenders were flawed. This bill
establishes a process to address the concerns raised in the
report, as well as other issues that may not have been
addressed."
2)Background. Current law, the Sexually Violent Predator Act
(SVPA) establishes an extended civil commitment scheme for sex
offenders who are about to be released from prison, but are
referred to the DSH for treatment in a state hospital, because
they have suffered from a mental illness which causes them to
be a danger to the safety of others.
The DSH uses specified criteria to determine whether an
individual qualifies for treatment as a SVP. Under existing
law, a person may be deemed a SVP if: (a) the defendant has
committed specified sex offenses against two or more victims;
(b) the defendant has a diagnosable mental disorder that makes
the person a danger to the health and safety of others in that
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it is likely that he or she will engage in sexually-violent
criminal behavior; and, (3) two licensed psychiatrists or
psychologists concur in the diagnosis. If both clinical
evaluators find that the person meets the criteria, the case
is referred to the county district attorney who may file a
petition for civil commitment.
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro R. Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081