S.B. No. 1475
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to a jail-based restoration of competency pilot program.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Article 46B.073, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
  amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
         (e)  Notwithstanding Subsections (b), (c), and (d) and
  notwithstanding the contents of the applicable order of commitment,
  in a county in which the department operates a jail-based
  restoration of competency pilot program under Article 46B.090, a
  defendant for whom an order is issued under this article committing
  the defendant to a mental health facility or residential care
  facility shall be provided competency restoration services at the
  jail under the pilot program if the service provider at the jail
  determines the defendant will immediately begin to receive
  services. If the service provider at the jail determines the
  defendant will not immediately begin to receive competency
  restoration services, the defendant shall be transferred to the
  appropriate mental health facility or residential care facility as
  provided by the court order. This subsection expires September 1,
  2017.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter D, Chapter 46B, Code of Criminal
  Procedure, is amended by adding Article 46B.090 to read as follows:
         Art. 46B.090.  JAIL-BASED RESTORATION OF COMPETENCY PILOT
  PROGRAM. (a)  If the legislature appropriates to the department
  the funding necessary for the department to operate a jail-based
  restoration of competency pilot program as described by this
  article, the department shall develop and implement the pilot
  program in one or two counties in this state that choose to
  participate in the pilot program.  In developing the pilot program,
  the department shall coordinate and allow for input from each
  participating county.
         (b)  The department shall contract with a provider of
  jail-based competency restoration services to provide services
  under the pilot program if the department develops a pilot program
  under this article.
         (c)  Not later than November 1, 2013, the commissioner of the
  department, in consultation with a stakeholder workgroup
  established by the department as provided by Subsection (d), shall
  adopt rules as necessary to implement the pilot program.  In
  adopting rules under this article, the commissioner shall specify
  the types of information the department must collect during the
  operation of the pilot program for use in evaluating the outcome of
  the pilot program.
         (d)  The commissioner of the department shall establish a
  stakeholder workgroup to participate in developing and
  establishing rules for the pilot program. The stakeholder
  workgroup must be composed of:
               (1)  one member who is a sheriff;
               (2)  one member who represents a local mental health
  authority;
               (3)  one member who is a county commissioner, county
  judge, or elected county officer;
               (4)  one member who is a district attorney or county
  attorney with criminal jurisdiction;
               (5)  one member who is a defense attorney;
               (6)  one member who is a judge of a district criminal
  court or county criminal court;
               (7)  two members who are mental health advocates; and
               (8)  any other member the department considers
  appropriate to appoint to the stakeholder workgroup.
         (e)  This subsection and Subsection (d) expire not later than
  the 30th day after the date rules are adopted under Subsection (c).
         (f)  To contract with the department under Subsection (b), a
  provider of jail-based competency restoration services must
  demonstrate to the department that:
               (1)  the provider:
                     (A)  has previously provided jail-based
  competency restoration services for one or more years; or
                     (B)  is a local mental health authority that has
  previously provided competency restoration services;
               (2)  the provider's jail-based competency restoration
  program:
                     (A)  uses a multidisciplinary treatment team to
  provide clinical treatment that is:
                           (i)  directed toward the specific objective
  of restoring the defendant's competency to stand trial; and
                           (ii)  similar to the clinical treatment
  provided as part of a competency restoration program at an
  inpatient mental health facility;
                     (B)  employs or contracts for the services of at
  least one psychiatrist;
                     (C)  assigns staff members to defendants
  participating in the program at an average ratio not lower than 3.7
  to 1; and
                     (D)  provides weekly treatment hours commensurate
  to the treatment hours provided as part of a competency restoration
  program at an inpatient mental health facility;
               (3)  the provider is certified by a nationwide
  nonprofit organization that accredits health care organizations
  and programs, such as the Joint Commission on Health Care Staffing
  Services, or the provider is a local mental health authority in good
  standing with the department; and
               (4)  the provider has a demonstrated history of
  successful jail-based competency restoration outcomes or, if the
  provider is a local mental health authority, a demonstrated history
  of successful competency restoration outcomes.
         (g)  A contract under Subsection (b) must require the
  designated provider to collect and submit to the department the
  information specified by rules adopted under Subsection (c).
         (h)  The designated provider shall enter into a contract with
  the participating county or counties.  The contract must require
  the participating county or counties to:
               (1)  ensure the safety of defendants who participate in
  the jail-based restoration of competency pilot program;
               (2)  designate a separate space in the jail for the
  provider to conduct the pilot program;
               (3)  provide the same basic care to the participants as
  is provided to other inmates of a jail; and
               (4)  supply clinically appropriate psychoactive
  medications to the mental health service provider for purposes of
  administering court-ordered medication to the participants in
  accordance with Article 46B.086 of this code and Section 574.106,
  Health and Safety Code.
         (i)  The psychiatrist for the provider shall conduct at least
  two full psychiatric evaluations of the defendant during the period
  the defendant receives competency restoration services in the jail.
  The psychiatrist must conduct one evaluation not later than the
  21st day and one evaluation not later than the 55th day after the
  date the defendant begins to participate in the pilot program. The
  psychiatrist shall submit to the court a report concerning each
  evaluation required under this subsection.
         (j)  If at any time during a defendant's participation in the
  jail-based restoration of competency pilot program the
  psychiatrist for the provider determines that the defendant has
  attained competency to stand trial:
               (1)  the psychiatrist for the provider shall promptly
  issue and send to the court a report demonstrating that fact; and
               (2)  the court shall consider that report as the report
  of an expert stating an opinion that the defendant has been restored
  to competency for purposes of Article 46B.0755(a) or (b).
         (k)  If at any time during a defendant's participation in the
  jail-based restoration of competency pilot program the
  psychiatrist for the provider determines that the defendant's
  competency to stand trial is unlikely to be restored in the
  foreseeable future:
               (1)  the psychiatrist for the provider shall promptly
  issue and send to the court a report demonstrating that fact; and
               (2)  the court shall:
                     (A)  proceed under Subchapter E or F and order the
  transfer of the defendant, without unnecessary delay, to the first
  available facility that is appropriate for that defendant, as
  provided under Subchapter E or F, as applicable; or
                     (B)  release the defendant on bail as permitted
  under Chapter 17.
         (l)  If the psychiatrist for the provider determines that a
  defendant ordered to participate in the pilot program has not been
  restored to competency by the end of the 60th day after the date the
  defendant began to participate in the pilot program:
               (1)  for a defendant charged with a felony, the
  defendant shall be transferred, without unnecessary delay and for
  the remainder of the period prescribed by Article 46B.073(b), to
  the first available facility that is appropriate for that defendant
  as provided by Article 46B.073(c) or (d); and
               (2)  for a defendant charged with a misdemeanor, the
  court may:
                     (A)  order a single extension under Article
  46B.080 and the transfer of the defendant without unnecessary delay
  to the appropriate mental health facility or residential care
  facility as provided by Article 46B.073(d) for the remainder of the
  period under the extension;
                     (B)  proceed under Subchapter E or F;
                     (C)  release the defendant on bail as permitted
  under Chapter 17; or
                     (D)  dismiss the charges in accordance with
  Article 46B.010.
         (m)  Unless otherwise provided by this article, the
  provisions of this chapter, including the maximum periods
  prescribed by Article 46B.0095, apply to a defendant receiving
  competency restoration services under the pilot program in the same
  manner as those provisions apply to any other defendant who is
  subject to proceedings under this chapter.
         (n)  If the department develops and implements a jail-based
  restoration of competency pilot program under this article, not
  later than December 1, 2016, the commissioner of the department
  shall submit a report concerning the pilot program to the presiding
  officers of the standing committees of the senate and house of
  representatives having primary jurisdiction over health and human
  services issues and over criminal justice issues.  The report must
  include the information collected by the department during the
  pilot program and the commissioner's evaluation of the outcome of
  the program as of the date the report is submitted.
         (o)  This article expires September 1, 2017.
         SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to a defendant against whom proceedings have not been initiated
  under Chapter 46B, Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by this
  Act, before the effective date of this Act. The determination of
  incompetency for a defendant against whom proceedings have been
  initiated under Chapter 46B, Code of Criminal Procedure, before the
  effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the
  proceedings were initiated, and the former law is continued in
  effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
 
 
 
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1475 passed the Senate on
  April 29, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 30, Nays 1.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1475 passed the House on
  May 22, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 132, Nays 12, one
  present not voting.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
 
  Approved:
 
  ______________________________ 
              Date
 
 
  ______________________________ 
            Governor