BILL NUMBER: AB 1906 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 17, 2016
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 23, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 15, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Melendez
FEBRUARY 11, 2016
An act to amend Sections 6601 and 6601.3 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to mental health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1906, 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sentence or whose parole has been revoked, for evaluation by the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
authorizes the board, upon a showing of good cause, as defined, to
order that the person referred to the State Department of State
Hospitals remain in custody for no more than 45 days beyond the
person's scheduled release date for full evaluation. Existing law
requires, if the State Department of State Hospitals determines that
the 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 or, if the person is ordered by the board
to remain in custody beyond the person's scheduled release date, no
less than 20 calendar days prior to the end of that hold. The bill
would modify the definition of "good cause" in the above provision.
The bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these
provisions.
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) (1) 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 (i) no less than 20 calendar days
prior to the scheduled release date of the person. 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.
(2) If a hold is placed pursuant to Section 6601.3 and 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 (i) no less than 20 calendar days prior to the end of the
hold.
(3) The person shall have no right to enforce the time limit set
forth in this subdivision and shall have no remedy for its violation.
(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) 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.
(k) 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.
SEC. 2. Section 6601.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
6601.3. (a) Upon a showing of good cause, the Board of Parole
Hearings may order that a person referred to the State Department of
State Hospitals pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 6601 remain in
custody for no more than 45 days beyond the person's scheduled
release date for full evaluation pursuant to subdivisions (c) to (i),
inclusive, of Section 6601.
(b) For purposes of this section, good cause means circumstances
where there is a recalculation of credits or a restoration of denied
or lost credits by any custodial agency or court, a resentencing by a
court, the receipt of the prisoner into custody, or equivalent
exigent circumstances that result in there being less than 45 days
prior to the person's scheduled release date for the full evaluation
described in subdivisions (c) to (i), inclusive, of Section 6601.