BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2190
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2190 (Maienschein)
As Amended August 21, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |78-0 |(May 28, 2014) |SENATE: |32-2 |(August 27, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.
SUMMARY : Allows the court to place a person found to be
incompetent to stand trial (IST) or not guilty by reason of
insanity (NGI) on outpatient status without prior confinement
for a specified period within a mental health treatment
facility, as specified, and requires a conservatorship
investigator to submit a copy of his or her report, upon the
request of the defendant or his or her attorney, to specified
entities in a criminal case.
The senate amendments specify that the court-ordered evaluation
of a person's mental condition must lead to a conservatorship
investigation in order for the conservatorship investigator to
submit a copy of his or her report to the specified entities.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Provided that outpatient status may be available to a person
who otherwise is required to be confined in a state hospital
or other treatment facility for 180 days or more for the
commission of a specified felony offense if the court finds a
suitable placement, including but not limited to, an
outpatient placement program, that would provide the person
with more appropriate mental health treatment and the court
finds that the placement would not pose a danger to the health
or safety of others, including the victim and his or her
family.
2)Required the court to consider all of the following criteria
before it may place any person who has been found IST or NGI
for a specified felony offense on outpatient status:
a) Whether the state hospital director or other treatment
facility to which the person has been committed advises the
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committing court and the prosecutor that the defendant
would no longer be a danger to the health and safety of
others, including himself or herself, while under
supervision and treatment in the community and the
defendant will benefit from that status; and,
b) Whether the community program director advises the court
that the defendant will benefit from that status and
identifies an appropriate program of supervision and
treatment.
3)Required the prosecutor, before release of a person as
specified above, to provide notice of the hearing date and
pending release to the committing-offense victim (or his or
her next of kin) where a request for the notice has been filed
with the court.
4)Required the court to consider all of the following criteria
before it may place any person who has been found IST or NGI
for a misdemeanor or non-specified felony offense on
outpatient status:
a) In the case of a person who is an inpatient, whether the
state hospital director or other treatment facility to
which the person has been committed advises the court that
the defendant will not be a danger to the health and safety
of others while on outpatient status and that he or she
will benefit from such outpatient status; and,
b) In all cases, whether the community program director or
a designee advises the court that the defendant will not be
a danger to the health and safety of others while on
outpatient status, will benefit from such status, and
identifies an appropriate program of supervision and
treatment.
5)Required the court, prior to determining whether to place the
person on outpatient status, to provide actual notice to the
prosecutor, defense attorney, and victim and to hold a hearing
at which the court may specifically order outpatient status
for the person.
6)Required the officer providing a conservatorship
investigation, when a court with jurisdiction over a person in
a criminal case orders an evaluation of the person's mental
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condition, as specified, to serve a copy of the report upon
the defendant or his or her attorney. Requires, upon the
prior written request of the defendant or his or her attorney,
the officer providing the conservatorship investigation to
submit a copy of the report to the court hearing the criminal
case, the district attorney, and the county probation
department.
7)Required that the conservatorship investigation report, and
the information contained in it, to be kept confidential and
not further disclosed to anyone without the prior written
consent of the defendant.
8)Required the court to place all copies of the report in a
sealed file after disposition of the criminal case, except
that the defendant and his or her attorney may retain their
copies and, if the defendant is placed on probation status,
the probation department may retain a copy for the purpose of
supervision until probation is terminated, at which time the
department is required to return its copy to the court for
placement in the sealed file.
9)Made legislative findings and declarations relative to a
conservatee's privacy rights.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)Unknown potential increase in court costs from additional
hearings to determine appropriate placements (General Fund).
Some individuals who have been found incompetent to stand
trial or not guilty by reason of insanity and who have been
placed in a state hospital may request an additional hearing
to determine whether they can be placed in an outpatient
placement before 180 days have elapsed. For example, if 5% of
the applicable individuals currently in a state hospital were
to receive an additional half-day court hearing, annual costs
would be about $275,000 per year.
2)Potential annual costs in the low millions from community
placements paid for by the state (General Fund). Under
current law, the state pays for community placements of
patients who are moved from a state hospital under the
Forensic Conditional Release Program. If 50% of the patients
in a state hospital who request a hearing for community
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placement are successful, annual state costs to pay for their
community placement would be about $2 million.
3)No savings are likely in the near-term. There is a long
waiting list for placement in a state hospital for individuals
who are incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of
insanity (typically, these individuals are being held in
county jails or other facilities at the local level).
Therefore, any individuals who are released from a State
Hospital will immediately be replaced by another individual
from the waiting list. In the 2014-15 Budget Act, the
Department received about $35 million to expand the capacity
to house incompetent to stand trial patients. In the
long-run, there could be savings to the state if there is no
longer a waiting list for admission to state hospitals.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "By giving the courts the
option to place offenders with mental disorders in an outpatient
setting, offenders can be given the treatment that is most
appropriate for them. Not only does this give the courts more
tools to properly treat mentally disordered offenders but there
is substantial evidence for cost saving as well. Also, by
permitting defendants to authorize the release of their
conservatorship reports to criminal courts, we can improve
coordination and treatment efforts between conservatorship
courts and criminal courts."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Shaun Naidu / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
FN:
0005439