85R11239 MEW-D
By: Uresti S.B. No. 1623
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain persons who are acquitted by reason of insanity
in a criminal case and who are dangerous to the person's self.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 46C.252(c), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(c) The report must address:
(1) whether the acquitted person has a mental illness
or mental retardation and, if so, whether the mental illness or
mental retardation is severe;
(2) whether as a result of any severe mental illness or
mental retardation the acquitted person is likely to cause serious
harm to the person's self or another;
(3) whether as a result of any impairment the
acquitted person is subject to commitment under Subtitle C or D,
Title 7, Health and Safety Code;
(4) prospective treatment and supervision options, if
any, appropriate for the acquitted person; and
(5) whether any required treatment and supervision can
be safely and effectively provided as outpatient or community-based
treatment and supervision.
SECTION 2. Article 46C.253(b), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(b) At the hearing, the court shall address:
(1) whether the person acquitted by reason of insanity
has a severe mental illness or mental retardation;
(2) whether as a result of any mental illness or mental
retardation the person is likely to cause serious harm to the
person's self or another; and
(3) whether appropriate treatment and supervision for
any mental illness or mental retardation rendering the person
dangerous to the person's self or another can be safely and
effectively provided as outpatient or community-based treatment
and supervision.
SECTION 3. Article 46C.254, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 46C.254. EFFECT OF STABILIZATION ON TREATMENT REGIMEN.
If an acquitted person is stabilized on a treatment regimen,
including medication and other treatment modalities, rendering the
person no longer likely to cause serious harm to the person's self
or another, inpatient treatment or residential care may be found
necessary to protect the safety of the person's self or of others
only if:
(1) the person would become likely to cause serious
harm to the person's self or another if the person fails to follow
the treatment regimen on an Order to Receive Outpatient or
Community-Based Treatment and Supervision; and
(2) under an Order to Receive Outpatient or
Community-Based Treatment and Supervision either:
(A) the person is likely to fail to comply with an
available regimen of outpatient or community-based treatment, as
determined by the person's insight into the need for medication,
the number, severity, and controllability of side effects, the
availability of support and treatment programs for the person from
community members, and other appropriate considerations; or
(B) a regimen of outpatient or community-based
treatment will not be available to the person.
SECTION 4. Article 46C.255(c), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(c) If a hearing is held before a jury and the jury
determines that the person has a mental illness or mental
retardation and is likely to cause serious harm to the person's self
or another, the court shall determine whether inpatient treatment
or residential care is necessary to protect the safety of the
person's self or of others.
SECTION 5. Article 46C.256(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) The court shall order the acquitted person committed to
a mental hospital or other appropriate facility for inpatient
treatment or residential care if the state establishes by clear and
convincing evidence that:
(1) the person has a severe mental illness or mental
retardation;
(2) the person, as a result of that mental illness or
mental retardation, is likely to cause serious bodily injury to the
person's self or another if the person is not provided with
treatment and supervision; and
(3) inpatient treatment or residential care is
necessary to protect the safety of the person's self or of others.
SECTION 6. Article 46C.257(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) The court shall order the acquitted person to receive
outpatient or community-based treatment and supervision if:
(1) the state establishes by clear and convincing
evidence that the person:
(A) has a severe mental illness or mental
retardation; and
(B) as a result of that mental illness or mental
retardation is likely to cause serious bodily injury to the
person's self or another if the person is not provided with
treatment and supervision; and
(2) the state fails to establish by clear and
convincing evidence that inpatient treatment or residential care is
necessary to protect the safety of the person's self or of others.
SECTION 7. Articles 46C.258(a) and (b), Code of Criminal
Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The head of the facility to which an acquitted person is
committed has, during the commitment period, a continuing
responsibility to determine:
(1) whether the acquitted person continues to have a
severe mental illness or mental retardation and is likely to cause
serious harm to the person's self or another because of any severe
mental illness or mental retardation; and
(2) if so, whether treatment and supervision cannot be
safely and effectively provided as outpatient or community-based
treatment and supervision.
(b) The head of the facility must notify the committing
court and seek modification of the order of commitment if the head
of the facility determines that an acquitted person no longer has a
severe mental illness or mental retardation, is no longer likely to
cause serious harm to the person's self or another, or that
treatment and supervision can be safely and effectively provided as
outpatient or community-based treatment and supervision.
SECTION 8. Article 46C.265(b), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(b) The person responsible for administering a regimen of
outpatient or community-based treatment and supervision shall
notify the court ordering that treatment and supervision and the
attorney representing the state if the person:
(1) fails to comply with the regimen; and
(2) becomes likely to cause serious harm to the
person's self or another.
SECTION 9. Article 46C.266(b), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(b) At the hearing, the court without a jury shall determine
whether the state has established clear and convincing evidence
that:
(1) the acquitted person failed to comply with the
regimen in a manner or under circumstances indicating the person
will become likely to cause serious harm to the person's self or
another if the person is provided continued outpatient or
community-based treatment and supervision; or
(2) the acquitted person has become likely to cause
serious harm to the person's self or another if provided continued
outpatient or community-based treatment and supervision.
SECTION 10. Article 46C.268(f), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(f) The court shall discharge the acquitted person from all
court-ordered commitment and treatment and supervision and
terminate the court's jurisdiction over the person if the court
finds that the acquitted person has established by a preponderance
of the evidence that:
(1) the acquitted person does not have a severe mental
illness or mental retardation; or
(2) the acquitted person is not likely to cause
serious harm to the person's self or another because of any severe
mental illness or mental retardation.
SECTION 11. The changes in law made by this Act in amending
Chapter 46C, Code of Criminal Procedure, apply only to a defendant
acquitted of an offense on or after the effective date of this Act,
regardless of when the offense of which the defendant was acquitted
was committed. A defendant who before the effective date of this
Act is acquitted of an offense is governed by the law in effect on
the date the acquittal occurred, and the former law remains in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.