BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1960
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Date of Hearing: April 30, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 1960 (Perea) - As Amended: April 21, 2014
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires a state hospital director or clinician to
obtain state summary criminal history information for patients
committed to the Department of State Hospitals (DSH). The
information is to be used to assess the violence risk of a
patient, to assess appropriate placement of a patient, for
treatment purposes, and to determine progress and/or fitness for
release. This bill:
1)Provides the information may be obtained through use of the
California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS)
and requires law enforcement personnel to cooperate with
requests for state summary criminal history information
authorized pursuant to this bill.
2)Limits access to the information to the director of the state
hospital and clinicians, who must receive CLETS training,
pursuant to Department of Justice training, compliance and
inspection protocols.
3)Prohibits the use of this information for any purpose other
than those described and punishes, as a misdemeanor, provision
of information to a person not authorized to receive the
information. Requires the information to be destroyed within
30 days of discharge.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Negligible cost to DSH, as a CLETS terminal used by DSH police
is proximate.
AB 1960
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2)Minor absorbable costs for clinician CLETS training.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . According to the author and proponents, because
virtually all commitments to state hospitals are now criminal
justice-related, making criminal history information more
accessible to DSH staff is crucial. Proponents point to an
increasing incidence of violence in state hospitals and the
recent implementation of personal duress alarm systems and
pre-admission violence risk assessments as evidence of the
need for more consistent criminal history information to help
formulate placement and treatment plans.
Currently, state summary criminal history information is
furnished to the director of a state hospital for the
following classes of patients: (a) persons committed for
treatment following a successful plea of not guilty by reason
of insanity; (b) persons found mentally incompetent to stand
trial; (c) persons found to be, as a result of mental disorder
a danger to self or others.
The author and proponents, including the state hospitals,
contend the increasingly forensic mental health population,
which includes Sexually Violent Predators (SVPs) and Mentally
Disordered Offenders (MDOs) - patient classes for which DSH
does not generally receive criminal history information -
requires consistent and timely information for consistent,
effective, and safe programming.
2)The DSH current population (4,967) at Atascadero, Coalinga,
Metropolitan, Napa, and Patton State Hospitals comprises 1,350
persons found not guilty by reason of insanity; 1,283 persons
found incompetent to stand trial; 258 mentally ill CDCR
commitments; 1,154 mentally disordered offenders; 897 sexually
violent predators; and 25 mentally disordered sex offenders.
3)State summary Criminal History Information , commonly referred
to as a rap sheet, is the master record of information
compiled by the Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding the
identification and criminal history of any person, including
name, date of birth, physical description, fingerprints,
photographs, arrests, dispositions, etc.
4)Current law authorizes DOJ to furnish state summary criminal
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history information to specified entities upon a showing of a
need, provided that when information is furnished to assist an
agency, officer, or official of state or local government, a
public utility, or any other entity, specified restrictions
are observed.
Provides that the criminal history record required to be
furnished to a state hospital director is transmitted by the
court with the request for evaluation or with the order
committing the person to a treatment facility, except that the
director of a state hospital may receive the state summary
criminal history information from the law enforcement agency
that referred the person for evaluation and treatment, as
specified.
5)Support includes DSH (sponsor), CA Council of Mental Health
Agencies, the CA State Sheriffs Association, the CA Statewide
Law Enforcement Association, the CA Association of Psychiatric
Technicians. According to DSH Director Cliff Allenby, "Given
that 96% of new state hospital patients are admitted through
the criminal justice system, this information is essential for
hospital clinicians to complete accurate violence risk
assessments, develop individualized patient treatment plans,
and provide periodic reports to the committing court on a
patient's progress or fitness for release."
6)Opposition. The ACLU and CA Attorneys for Criminal Justice
contend the bill is overly broad and should be narrowed based
on need, with limited access and destruction of the rap sheet
after the risk has been assessed and placement and treatment
have been determined.
(The author has amended the bill to address ACLU's stated
concern regarding training for clinicians who have access to
the histories.)
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081