BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1906
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
1906 (Melendez)
As Amended August 15, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | 74-0 |(March 28, |SENATE: | 39-0 |(August 17, |
| | |2016) | | |2016) |
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Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.
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.
The Senate amendments clarify that if 45 day hold is placed on a
person determined to be an SVP, the Director of DSH shall
forward a request that a petition be filed to commit the person
to DSH for treatment at least 20 calendar days prior to the
expiration of the hold.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Provides for the civil commitment for psychiatric and
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psychological treatment of a prison inmate found to be a SVP
after the person has served his or her prison commitment.
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."
3)Permits a person committed as a SVP to be held for an
indeterminate term upon commitment.
4)Requires that a person found to have been a SVP and committed
to the 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.
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.
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.
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.
8)Requires the court to first obtain the written recommendation
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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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
AB 1906
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FISCAL EFFECT: None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: 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 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
[District Attorney] 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
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instances, the supporting 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.
"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."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by:
Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN:
0004316