BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1906
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 15, 2016
Chief Counsel: Gregory Pagan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair
AB
1906 (Melendez) - As Introduced February 11, 2016
SUMMARY: Requires the Director of the Department of State
Hospitals (DSH) to forward a request to a county that a petition
be filed for a person to be committed to the DSH for sexually
violent predator (SVP) treatment no later than 20 calendar days
prior to the scheduled release date of the person.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Provides for the civil commitment for psychiatric and
psychological treatment of a prison inmate found to be a SVP
after the person has served his or her prison commitment.
(Welf. & Inst. Code, § 6600, et seq.)
2)Defines a "sexually violent predator" as "a person who has
been convicted of a sexually violent offense against at least
one victim, and who has a diagnosed mental disorder that makes
the person a danger to the health and safety of others in that
it is likely that he or she will engage in sexually violent
criminal behavior." (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 6600, subd.
(a)(1).)
3)Permits a person committed as a SVP to be held for an
indeterminate term upon commitment. (Welf. & Inst. Code, §
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6604.1.)
4)Requires that a person found to have been a SVP and committed
to the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) have a current
examination on his or her mental condition made at least
yearly. The report shall include consideration of conditional
release to a less restrictive alternative or an unconditional
release is in the best interest of the person and also what
conditions can be imposed to adequately protect the community.
(Welf. & Inst. Code, § 6604.9.)
5)Allows a SVP to seek conditional release with the
authorization of the DSH Director when DSH determines that the
person's condition has so changed that he or she no longer
meets the SVP criteria, or when conditional release is in the
person's best interest and conditions to adequately protect
the public can be imposed. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 6607.)
6)Allows a person committed as a SVP to petition for conditional
release or an unconditional discharge any time after one year
of commitment, notwithstanding the lack of recommendation or
concurrence by the Director of DSH. (Welf. & Inst. Code, §
6608, subd. (a).)
7)Provides that, if the court deems the conditional release
petition not frivolous, the court is to give notice of the
hearing date to the attorney designated to represent the
county of commitment, the retained or appointed attorney for
the committed person, and the Director of State Hospitals at
least 30 court days before the hearing date. (Welf. & Inst.
Code, § 6608, subd. (b).)
8)Requires the court to first obtain the written recommendation
of the director of the treatment facility before taking any
action on the petition for conditional release if the is made
without the consent of the director of the treatment facility.
(Welf. & Inst. Code, § 6608, subd. (c).)
9)Provides that the court shall hold a hearing to determine
whether the person committed would be a danger to the health
and safety of others in that it is likely that he or she will
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engage in sexually violent criminal behavior due to his or her
diagnosed mental disorder if under supervision and treatment
in the community. Provides that the attorney designated the
county of commitment shall represent the state and have the
committed person evaluated by experts chosen by the state and
that the committed person shall have the right to the
appointment of experts, if he or she so requests. (Welf. &
Inst. Code, § 6608, subd. (e).)
10)Requires the court to order the committed person placed with
an appropriate forensic conditional release program operated
by the state for one year if the court at the hearing
determines that the committed person would not be a danger to
others due to his or her diagnosed mental disorder while under
supervision and treatment in the community. Requires a
substantial portion of the state-operated forensic conditional
release program to include outpatient supervision and
treatment. Provides that the court retains jurisdiction of the
person throughout the course of the program. (Welf. & Inst.
Code, § 6608, subd. (e).)
11)Provides that if the court denies the petition to place the
person in an appropriate forensic conditional release program,
the person may not file a new application until one year has
elapsed from the date of the denial. (Welf. & Inst. Code, §
6608, subd. (h)
12)Allows, after a minimum of one year on conditional release,
the committed person, with or without the recommendation or
concurrence of the Director of State Hospitals, to petition
the court for unconditional discharge, as specified. (Welf. &
Inst. Code, § 6608, subd. (k).)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)Author's Statement: According to the author, "When the
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
and the Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) determine that an
individual in custody may be an SVP, based on their commitment
offense and a review of their social, criminal, and
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institutional history, the individual is referred to the DSH
for a full SVP evaluation.
"Following that evaluation, if DSH determines that the
individual is an SVP, the Director of DSH is required to
request that the District Attorney or County Counsel in the
county in which the person was convicted file a petition for
commitment. The filing of that petition begins a civil
commitment process, which can lead to the individual being
confined at Coalinga State Hospital to receive treatment until
it is determined that they no longer pose a risk of
re-offense.
"The SVP Act, as currently written, contains a statutory
timeline for each step of the evaluation process, as well as
time limits for the filing of the petition and certain court
proceedings. It does not, however, contain a time frame for
the submission of the request for the filing of a petition to
the DA or County Counsel. Because of this, DSH often submits
filing materials less than 48 hours before the release of an
inmate who has already been determined to qualify as an SVP.
The result of these late requests is that the prosecuting
agency bears the burden of filing a case and transporting a
defendant at the last minute at an enormous cost and use of
resources. The better, and long accepted operating practice
is for DSH to submit the filing in time for the DA to be able
to meaningfully review the request, file the petition, and
arrange for transportation through Statewide Transportation.
In at least one instance in Los Angeles County, the filing
request was submitted too late for the filing of a petition.
In several instances, the supporting documents that are
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necessary for the filing of a petition were not certified and
there was little to no time to correct this egregious error by
DSH.
The simple solution to this problem is to create a statutory
requirement that DSH submit the request for the filing of a
petition no fewer than 20 days prior to the release of a
person determined to be an SVP. This provides the attorneys
with time to meaningfully review and prepare a petition, and
protects public safety by helping to ensure that nobody slips
through the cracks due to a last minute filing request.
2)Argument in Support: The California District Attorneys
Association states, " The SVP Act (Welfare & Institutions Code
section 6600 et seq), as currently written, contains a
statutory timeline for each step of the evaluation process, as
well as time limits for the filing of the petition and certain
court proceedings. It does not, however, contain a time frame
for the submission of the request for the filing of a petition
to the DA or County Counsel. Because of this, DSH often
submits filing materials less than 48 hours before the release
of an inmate who has already been determined to qualify as an
SVP.
"The result of these late requests is that the prosecuting
agency bears the burden of filing a case and transporting a
defendant at the last minute at an enormous cost and use of
resources. The better, and long accepted operating practice is
for DSH to submit the filing in time for the DA to be able to
meaningfully review the request, file the petition, and a
arrange for transportation through Statewide Transportation.
In at least one instance in Los Angeles County, the filing
request was submitted too late for the filing of a petition.
In several instances, the support documents that are necessary
for the filing of a petition were not certified and there was
little to no time to correct this egregious error by DSH.
"AB 1906 would create a statutory requirement that DSH submit
the request for the filing of a petition no fewer than 20 days
prior to the release of a person determined to be an SVP. This
provides the attorneys with time to meaningfully review and
prepare a petition, and protects public safety by helping to
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ensure that nobody slips through the cracks due to a last
minute filing request."
3)Prior Legislation: AB 1003 of the 2015 Legislative Session
created an SVP oversight board comprised of members from the
DSH and the criminal justice system to make recommendation to
the Governor and Legislature regarding the SVP program. AB
1003 was held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee
suspense file.
REGISTERED SUPPORT /
OPPOSITION:
Support
California District Attorneys Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared
by: Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744