HB 1655-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2010 SESSION
01/09
HOUSE BILL 1655-FN
AN ACT relative to persons with mental illness and the corrections system.
SPONSORS: Rep. Rosenwald, Hills 22; Rep. L. Weber, Ches 2; Rep. Batula, Hills 19; Rep. Charron, Rock 7; Sen. Lasky, Dist 13
This bill:
I. Reduces the time period between an order for evaluation for competency to stand trial and the filing of the evaluation report in cases where the defendant is incarcerated.
II. Authorizes the court to select an appropriate remedy when the evaluation report is not filed within the required time period.
III. Reduces the maximum time of continued incarceration after a finding of incompetency to stand trial.
IV. Streamlines the procedure for the involuntary admission of persons found not competent to stand trial.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
10-2393
01/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT relative to persons with mental illness and the corrections system.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Competency; Commitment for Evaluation. Amend RSA 135:17, I to read as follows:
I. When a person is charged or indicted for any offense, or is bound over by any district or municipal court to await the action of the grand jury, the district or superior court before which he or she is to be tried, if a plea of insanity is made in court, or said court is notified by either party that there is a question as to the competency or sanity of the person, may make such order for a pre-trial examination of such person by a qualified psychiatrist or psychologist on the staff of any public institution or by a private qualified psychiatrist or psychologist as the circumstances of the case may require, which order may include, though without limitation, examination at the secure psychiatric unit on an out-patient basis, the utilization of local mental health clinics on an in-or out-patient basis, or the examination of such person, should he or she be incarcerated for any reason, at his or her place of detention by qualified psychiatrists or psychologists assigned to a state or local mental health facility. Such pre-trial examination shall be completed and the report filed with the court within 60 days after the date of the order for such examination[, unless either party requests an extension of this period]. For the purposes of this paragraph and RSA 135:17-a, III, “qualified” means board-eligible or board-certified in forensic psychiatry or psychology, or demonstrated competence and experience in completing court-ordered forensic criminal evaluations. A licensed out-of-state psychiatrist or psychologist who meets the definition of qualified may also conduct evaluations under this paragraph and RSA 135:17-a, III. In the case of a person who has not been released pending trial, the pre-trial examination shall be completed and the report filed with the court within 30 days after the date of the order for such examination.
I-a. If the pre-trial examination report is not filed within the time required in paragraph I, the court shall schedule an expedited hearing and at such hearing consider the reasons for the delay and the expected date of completion of the report. Following such hearing, the court shall order an appropriate remedy, which may include but not be limited to the following: modification of bail status, an order granting a defense request to allow a private evaluator to conduct the evaluation, with payment pursuant to RSA 604-A:6 if appropriate, sanctions against a party or the department of corrections if found to be acting in bad faith, and dismissal of the case with or without prejudice.
2 Competency Hearing; Commitment for Treatment. Amend RSA 135:17-a, V to read as follows:
V. If the court has determined that the defendant has not regained competency, and the court determines that he or she is dangerous to himself or herself or others, the court shall order the person to remain in custody for a reasonable period of time, not to exceed [90] 30 days, to be evaluated for the appropriateness of involuntary treatment pursuant to RSA 135-C:34 or RSA 171-B:2. The court may order the person to submit to examinations by a physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist designated by the state for the purpose of evaluating appropriateness and completing the certificate for involuntary admission into the state mental health services system, the state developmental services delivery system, or the secure psychiatric unit, as the case may be. If a defendant who was charged with a sexually violent offense, as defined in RSA 135-E:2, XI, has not regained competency, the court shall proceed pursuant to RSA 135-E.
3 Involuntary Admission; Representation by Attorney General. Amend RSA 135-C:21 to read as follows:
135-C:21 Representation by Attorney General. The attorney general or [his] designee shall represent the state of New Hampshire in proceedings conducted pursuant to this chapter in which the state is an interested party. This section shall not be construed to require designation by the attorney general when a county attorney is seeking an emergency or non-emergency involuntary admission of a person who has been found incompetent to stand trial in a criminal case.
4 Involuntary Admissions; Petition. Amend RSA 135-C:36, I(c) to read as follows:
(c) A certificate from a physician who is approved by either a designated receiving facility or a community mental health program approved by the commissioner, who has examined the person sought to be admitted within 5 days of the date the petition is filed and who agrees that, based on this examination, such person satisfies the standard set forth in RSA 135-C:34. In cases involving a petition filed by a prosecuting agency following a finding of incompetency to stand trial due to mental illness in a criminal case, a physician’s certificate need not be included if the petition includes copies of the report of the competency evaluation completed pursuant to RSA 135:17 and the order of the court finding the person not competent to stand trial.
5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2011.
LBAO
10-2393 Revised 04/07/10
HB 1655 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to persons with mental illness and the corrections system.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch states this bill may increase state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2011 and each year thereafter. The Department of Corrections states this bill may increase state general fund expenditures by $75,000 in FY 2011, $157,500 in FY 2012, $165,375 in FY 2013 and $173,643 in FY 2014. The Department of Health and Human Services states this bill will increase state expenditures by $31,520 in FY 2011, by $63,680 in FY 2012, by $64,320 in FY 2013 and by $64,960 in FY 2014. The New Hampshire Association of Counties states this bill will have an indeterminable fiscal impact on county expenditures in FY 2011 and each year thereafter. There is no fiscal impact on local expenditures or county and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states this bill makes changes to law that impacts persons with mental illness and the corrections system. The Branch states this bill will not add any cases to the Branch’s caseload but does result in the potential for an additional hearing in cases where a pre-trial report on the defendant’s competence to stand trial is not filed timely. These hearings are typically 15 to 30 minute in duration. If it is assumed the hearing takes 20 minutes and the cost of a minute of judicial time is $1.6195, then the additional cost for this hearing would be $32.39 (20 minutes * $1.6195 per judicial minute). The Branch states it does not expect this bill to generate the 309 additional hearings that would be needed to have a fiscal impact in excess of $10,000.
The Department of Corrections states requiring individuals incarcerated under a pre-trial status to be evaluated for competency to stand trial within 30 days as opposed to 60 days will require the addition of a contracted forensic psychologist position. The Department contracts out for mental health services with a private vendor. The Department estimates the base cost for salary, benefits and administrative costs for the additional forensic psychologist position will be $150,000 in first year. The Department estimates the cost will increase by 5 percent each year thereafter. The bill takes effect January 1, 2011. The Department estimates state expenditures will increase by $75,000 in FY 2011, by 157,500 ($150,000* 5%) in FY 2012, by $165,375 ($157,500* 5%) in FY 2013 and by $173,643 ($165,375* 5%) in FY 2014.
The Department of Health and Human Services states if involuntary admissions of individuals to the New Hampshire Hospital increases as a result of county prosecutors or county officials relying on prior and/ or outdated competency evaluations for defendants housed in county correctional facilities, then expenditures will increase. The Department assumes this bill may result in an increase of 10 involuntary admissions a year, with an average length of stay of 8 days. The Department states the average daily cost in FY 2011 is estimated at $788. The Department assumes a one percent rate increase per year. The Department estimates the following expenditures:
SFY 11 = $31,520 ($788 daily rate * 10 additional patients * 8 days/ by 2 based on eff. date)
SFY 12 = $63,680 ($796 daily rate * 10 additional patients * 8 days)
SFY 13 = $64,320 ($804 daily rate * 10 additional patients * 8 days)
SFY 14 = $64,960 ($812 daily rate * 10 additional patients * 8 days)
The Department of Health and Human Services states the federal share of these costs would be 30 percent or $9,456 in FY 2011, $19,104 in FY 2012, $19,296 in FY 2013, and $19,488 in FY 2014.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states this bill will have an indeterminable fiscal impact on the county expenditures. This bill may reduce the incarceration time in county correctional facilities by expediting the time period for evaluating competency to stand trial and by reducing the maximum time of incarceration after a finding of competency. This would reduce county expenditures associated with incarceration, which on average is $35,342 annually per person incarcerated. The county attorneys may have increased expenditures due to the shorter time frames. The Association is not able to determine the fiscal impact as it does not know how many individuals would be impacted by this bill.