California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1906

Introduced by Assembly Member Melendez

February 11, 2016

An act to amend Section 6601 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to mental health.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1906, as introduced, Melendez. Mental health: sexually violent predators.

Existing law requires the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to refer a person who is in custody under that department’s jurisdiction, who is serving a determinate sentence or whose parole has been revoked, for evaluation by the State Department of State Hospitals if the secretary determines that the person may be a sexually violent predator. Existing law establishes a screening process for the department and the Board of Parole Hearings to determine whether a person has committed a sexually violent offense, and to determine if the person is likely to be a sexually violent predator prior to referral to the State Department of State Hospitals for a full evaluation. Existing law also requires, if the State Department of State Hospitals determines that a person is a sexually violent predator, as defined, the Director of State Hospitals to forward a request to a specified county for a petition to be filed for the person to be committed to a facility for mental health treatment.

This bill would require the Director of State Hospitals to forward the request no less than 20 calendar days prior to the scheduled release date of the person.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. 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determinate prison sentence or whose parole has been revoked,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) 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.

(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 begin delete (i). end delete begin insert (i) no less than 20 calendar days
prior to the scheduled release date of the person. end insert 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. begin insert The person has no right to enforce the time limit
set forth in this subdivision and has no remedy for its violation. end insert

(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.

begin delete

(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.

end delete