HB715: requiring persons found incompetent to stand trial to be placed in the secure psychiatric unit.

HB 715-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2003 SESSION

03-0979

09/01

HOUSE BILL 715-FN

AN ACT requiring persons found incompetent to stand trial to be placed in the secure psychiatric unit.

SPONSORS: Rep. Wendelboe, Belk 29

COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety

ANALYSIS

This bill requires persons found incompetent to stand trial under RSA 171-B to be placed in the secure psychiatric unit.

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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03-0979

09/01

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three

AN ACT requiring persons found incompetent to stand trial to be placed in the secure psychiatric unit.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Examination. Amend RSA 171-B:7, II and III to read as follows:

II. Whether involuntary admission is necessary[; and

III. If paragraphs I and II are met, the facility or program which can best provide the degree of security, services and treatment needed for the person].

2 Order of Court. Amend RSA 171-B:12 to read as follows:

171-B:12 Order of Court. If, after the hearing, the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person meets the standard set forth in RSA 171-B:2, the court shall order the person to submit to[:

I. Treatment and services in a receiving facility within the state developmental services delivery system;

II. Treatment and services within the state developmental services delivery system other than in-patient treatment; or

III.] treatment and services in the secure psychiatric unit [if the court determines that the programs and placements enumerated in paragraph I or II do not provide sufficient security and protection to the public].

3 Conditions of Conditional Discharge. Amend RSA 171-B:16 to read as follows:

171-B:16 Conditions of Conditional Discharge. No person who is admitted to [a receiving facility or to] the secure psychiatric unit pursuant to this chapter shall be discharged, either absolutely or conditionally, prior to the expiration of the order of commitment without prior approval of the [chief administrator of the state developmental services system when the person is committed to a receiving facility, or the] commissioner of the department of corrections[, when the person is committed to the secure psychiatric unit. No person who is transferred to the secure psychiatric unit pursuant to RSA 171-B:15 shall be discharged or transferred from the unit prior to the expiration of the order of commitment without prior approval of the commissioner of the department of corrections].

4 Reference Deleted; Voluntary Entry Into Service Delivery System. Amend RSA 171-A:5 to read as follows:

171-A:5 Voluntary Entry Into Service Delivery System.

[I.] Applications for service shall be made by the developmentally disabled person seeking such service, and all placements shall be voluntary. If the client is under the age of 18, the application for service may be initiated by a parent or legal guardian. If the client is over the age of 18 and has been found to be incapacitated by the probate court, the application for service may be initiated by the court-appointed guardian.

[II. Notwithstanding paragraph I, a person may be involuntarily admitted to the service delivery system pursuant to RSA 171-B.]

5 Reference Deleted; Withdrawal From Service Delivery System. Amend RSA 171-A:7 to read as follows:

171-A:7 Withdrawal From Service Delivery System. [Except for a person admitted involuntarily pursuant to RSA 171-B,] A client at any time may seek a change in services or withdraw entirely from the service delivery system. A parent or legal guardian may seek a change of services for or withdraw entirely a minor or ward in his or her custody at any time, unless such minor has reached the age of majority. The administrator shall notify the area agency of any such withdrawal and may, if appropriate, indicate in the client's record that such withdrawal was against professional advice.

6 Reference Deleted; Transfer of Involuntary Admittees; Rules. Amend RSA 171-A:8-a to read as follows:

171-A:8-a Transfer of Involuntary Admittees; Rules.

[I.] A receiving facility to which a person is ordered for involuntary admission or to which such person has been transferred may transfer the person to another receiving facility if the receiving facility to which the person is to be transferred can better provide the degree of security or treatment required by the person. All transfers shall require the approval of the chief administrator of the state developmental services system. The commissioner shall adopt rules pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to transfer criteria and procedures for the challenge of transfer decisions by the persons so transferred.

[II. Transfers to the secure psychiatric unit of involuntary admittees may be made pursuant to RSA 171-B:15.]

7 Reference Deleted; Discharge by Administrator. Amend RSA 171-A:21 to read as follows:

171-A:21 Discharge by Administrator.

I. When any person has been [involuntarily admitted to a receiving facility pursuant to RSA 171-B or] conditionally discharged pursuant to paragraph II of this section, the administrator of the receiving facility most recently providing services to the person may grant an absolute discharge to the person with the consent of the chief administrator of the state developmental services system or designee who has reviewed the person's situation, provided that the chief administrator or designee determines that an absolute discharge shall not create a potentially serious likelihood of danger to others or a potentially serious likelihood of substantial damage to real property. The administrator shall, in writing, immediately notify the court entering the original order of commitment and the attorney general that the person has been given an absolute discharge from the receiving facility. Upon receipt of the notice, the court shall make the notice part of the person's file and shall enter the discharge and date of discharge upon the docket.

II. The administrator of the facility may, with prior approval of the chief administrator of the state developmental services system or designee, grant a person, whose condition is not considered appropriate for absolute discharge, a conditional discharge.

8 Reference Deleted; Custody and Transportation. Amend RSA 171-A:27, I(c) to read as follows:

(c) As necessary to ensure the presence of the person at hearings or examinations conducted under RSA 171-A [or 171-B], to effect a transfer between receiving facilities, or to carry out any other lawful order of a court.

9 Reference Deleted; Commitment. Amend RSA 622:45, I to read as follows:

I. Any person subject to an involuntary admission to the state mental health services system pursuant to RSA 135-C [or any person subject to involuntary admission pursuant to RSA 171-B] may at any time be transferred to the unit upon a determination that the person would present a serious likelihood of danger to himself or herself or to others if admitted to or retained in a receiving facility in the state mental health services system. The admission to the unit may be ordered by:

(a) A probate court pursuant to RSA 135-C:34-54; or

(b) An administrator of a designated receiving facility to which a person has been involuntarily admitted pursuant to an involuntary emergency admission or an involuntary admission; or

(c) A probate court pursuant to RSA 171-B [or an administrator of a receiving facility to which a person has been involuntarily admitted pursuant to RSA 171-B].

10 Repeal. The following are repealed:

I. RSA 171-A:8, V, relative to termination of service.

II. RSA 171-A:20, relative to rules for receiving facilities.

III. RSA 171-A:25, relative to action for discharge.

IV. RSA 171-A:29, relative to rights guaranteed.

V. RSA 171-B:14, relative to amended orders.

VI. RSA 171-B:15, relative to transfers.

11 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2004.

LBAO

03-0979

Revised 5/12/03

HB 715 FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT requiring persons found incompetent to stand trial to be placed in the secure psychiatric unit.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Departments of Corrections and Health and Human Services have determined this bill will increase state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2004 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local expenditures or state, county and local revenue.

METHODOLOGY:

The Judicial Branch states this bill amends the statute on involuntary admission for individuals found not competent to stand trial that requires the probate court, if the involuntary admission standard is met, to order the individual to treatment and services at the secure psychiatric unit. The discretion for other treatment options is removed. Removing the discretion will shorten hearings, thereby saving some judicial time, however, the overall fiscal impact will be minimal since the probate court has averaged less than ten of these proceedings annually.

The Judicial Council stated this bill will have little or no impact on the delivery of indigent defense services since the statute only changes the location where the individual found incompetent to stand trial must be placed.

The Department of Justice is currently involved with a small number of proceedings involving involuntary commitment, and it does not appear that the changes contained in this bill will have a detrimental effect on the Department's ability to prosecute.

The Department of Corrections (DOC) estimates the cost of caring for a developmentally disabled person at the Secure Psychiatric Unit is $125,000 per year. The Department projects 25 such patients over the next 4-5 years, for an average of 5 patients per year. The Department estimates total annual costs of $625,000 per year.

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) states that under current law, an individual involuntarily admitted under RSA 171-B:12, may be sent by the court to: a) the Developmental Services receiving facility in Laconia, b)out-patient treatment in the community, or c) the secure psychiatric unit (SPU) at the prison. This bill will require the Court to send the individuals to the SPU. The SPU is operated by the DOC. The cost for operation of the SPU are unknown to DHHS but as a result of this bill, some costs are likely shifted to DOC. Orders of commitment are valid up to five years, but the Commissioner of Corrections could conditionally discharge the individual at any time to the community, resulting in indeterminable costs to the developmental services system. Under this bill, the statute authorizing the development of designated receiving facility (DRF) in Laconia would be repealed. The state fiscal year 2003 budget for the DRF is $1,031,251. The DRF has 6 beds, with only one individual committed under RSA 171-B. The closure of the DRF would require the placement in the community of 5 high-risk individuals who may present a danger to the public and who are difficult to manage and treat. Treatment costs for such individuals can range from $10,000 to $150,000 and beyond.