Florida Senate - 2010                                     SB 822
       
       
       
       By Senator Hill
       
       
       
       
       1-00671-10                                             2010822__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to forensic services; amending s.
    3         916.105, F.S.; providing legislative intent that
    4         forensic services be provided to a person charged with
    5         a misdemeanor as well as a felony offense; amending
    6         ss. 916.106, 916.107, 916.13, and 916.302, F.S.,
    7         relating to definitions, the rights of forensic
    8         clients, the involuntary commitment of a defendant
    9         with mental illness, and the involuntary commitment of
   10         a defendant determined to be incompetent; conforming
   11         provisions to changes made by the act; providing an
   12         effective date.
   13  
   14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   15  
   16         Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 916.105, Florida
   17  Statutes, is amended to read:
   18         916.105 Legislative intent.—
   19         (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Department
   20  of Children and Family Services and the Agency for Persons with
   21  Disabilities, as appropriate, establish, locate, and maintain
   22  separate and secure forensic facilities and programs for the
   23  treatment or training of defendants who have been charged with a
   24  misdemeanor or felony, and who have been found to be incompetent
   25  to proceed due to their mental illness, mental retardation, or
   26  autism, or who have been acquitted of a misdemeanor or felony by
   27  reason of insanity, and who, while still under the jurisdiction
   28  of the committing court, are committed to the department or
   29  agency under the provisions of this chapter. Such facilities
   30  must be able shall be sufficient to accommodate the number of
   31  defendants committed under the conditions noted above. Except
   32  for those defendants found by the department or agency to be
   33  appropriate for treatment or training in a civil facility or
   34  program pursuant to subsection (3), forensic facilities shall be
   35  designed and administered so that ingress and egress, together
   36  with other requirements of this chapter, may be strictly
   37  controlled by staff responsible for security in order to protect
   38  the defendant, facility personnel, other clients, and citizens
   39  in adjacent communities.
   40         Section 2. Subsections (6) and (7) of section 916.106,
   41  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   42         916.106 Definitions.—For the purposes of this chapter, the
   43  term:
   44         (6) “Defendant” means an adult, or a juvenile who is
   45  prosecuted as an adult, who has been arraigned and charged with
   46  a misdemeanor or felony offense under the laws of this state.
   47         (7) “Department” means the Department of Children and
   48  Family Services. The department is responsible for the treatment
   49  of forensic clients who have been determined incompetent to
   50  proceed due to mental illness or who have been acquitted of a
   51  misdemeanor or felony by reason of insanity.
   52         Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
   53  916.107, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   54         916.107 Rights of forensic clients.—
   55         (1) RIGHT TO INDIVIDUAL DIGNITY.—
   56         (a) The policy of the state is that the individual dignity
   57  of the client shall be respected at all times and upon all
   58  occasions, including any occasion when the forensic client is
   59  detained, transported, or treated. Clients with mental illness,
   60  retardation, or autism and who are charged with committing a
   61  misdemeanor or felony felonies shall receive appropriate
   62  treatment or training. In a criminal case involving a client who
   63  has been adjudicated incompetent to proceed or not guilty by
   64  reason of insanity, a jail may be used as an emergency facility
   65  for up to 15 days following the date the department or agency
   66  receives a completed copy of the court commitment order
   67  containing all documentation required by the applicable Florida
   68  Rules of Criminal Procedure. For a forensic client who is held
   69  in a jail awaiting admission to a facility of the department or
   70  agency, evaluation and treatment or training may be provided in
   71  the jail by the local community mental health provider for
   72  mental health services, by the developmental disabilities
   73  program for persons with retardation or autism, the client’s
   74  physician or psychologist, or any other appropriate program
   75  until the client is transferred to a civil or forensic facility.
   76         Section 4. Section 916.13, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   77  read:
   78         916.13 Involuntary commitment of defendant adjudicated
   79  incompetent.—
   80         (1) Every defendant who is charged with a misdemeanor or
   81  felony and who is adjudicated incompetent to proceed may be
   82  involuntarily committed for treatment upon a finding by the
   83  court of clear and convincing evidence that:
   84         (a) The defendant has a mental illness and because of the
   85  mental illness:
   86         1. The defendant is manifestly incapable of surviving alone
   87  or with the help of willing and responsible family or friends,
   88  including available alternative services, and, without
   89  treatment, the defendant is likely to suffer from neglect or
   90  refuse to care for herself or himself and such neglect or
   91  refusal poses a real and present threat of substantial harm to
   92  the defendant’s well-being; or
   93         2. There is a substantial likelihood that in the near
   94  future the defendant will inflict serious bodily harm on herself
   95  or himself or another person, as evidenced by recent behavior
   96  causing, attempting, or threatening such harm;
   97         (b) All available, less restrictive treatment alternatives,
   98  including treatment in community residential facilities or
   99  community inpatient or outpatient settings, which would offer an
  100  opportunity for improvement of the defendant’s condition have
  101  been judged to be inappropriate; and
  102         (c) There is a substantial probability that the mental
  103  illness causing the defendant’s incompetence will respond to
  104  treatment and the defendant will regain competency to proceed in
  105  the reasonably foreseeable future.
  106         (2) A defendant who has been charged with a misdemeanor or
  107  felony and who has been adjudicated incompetent to proceed due
  108  to mental illness, and who meets the criteria for involuntary
  109  commitment to the department under the provisions of this
  110  chapter, may be committed to the department, and the department
  111  shall retain and treat the defendant. No later than 6 months
  112  after the date of admission and at the end of any period of
  113  extended commitment, or at any time the administrator or
  114  designee shall have determined that the defendant has regained
  115  competency to proceed or no longer meets the criteria for
  116  continued commitment, the administrator or designee shall file a
  117  report with the court pursuant to the applicable Florida Rules
  118  of Criminal Procedure.
  119         Section 5. Subsection (1) and paragraph (a) of subsection
  120  (2) of section 916.302, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  121         916.302 Involuntary commitment of defendant determined to
  122  be incompetent to proceed.—
  123         (1) CRITERIA.—Every defendant who is charged with a
  124  misdemeanor or felony and who is adjudicated incompetent to
  125  proceed due to retardation or autism may be involuntarily
  126  committed for training upon a finding by the court of clear and
  127  convincing evidence that:
  128         (a) The defendant has retardation or autism;
  129         (b) There is a substantial likelihood that in the near
  130  future the defendant will inflict serious bodily harm on himself
  131  or herself or another person, as evidenced by recent behavior
  132  causing, attempting, or threatening such harm;
  133         (c) All available, less restrictive alternatives, including
  134  services provided in community residential facilities or other
  135  community settings, which would offer an opportunity for
  136  improvement of the condition have been judged to be
  137  inappropriate; and
  138         (d) There is a substantial probability that the retardation
  139  or autism causing the defendant’s incompetence will respond to
  140  training and the defendant will regain competency to proceed in
  141  the reasonably foreseeable future.
  142         (2) ADMISSION TO A FACILITY.—
  143         (a) A defendant who has been charged with a misdemeanor or
  144  felony and who is found to be incompetent to proceed due to
  145  retardation or autism, and who meets the criteria for
  146  involuntary commitment to the agency under the provisions of
  147  this chapter, shall be committed to the agency, and the agency
  148  shall retain and provide appropriate training for the defendant.
  149  No later than 6 months after the date of admission or at the end
  150  of any period of extended commitment or at any time the
  151  administrator or designee shall have determined that the
  152  defendant has regained competency to proceed or no longer meets
  153  the criteria for continued commitment, the administrator or
  154  designee shall file a report with the court pursuant to this
  155  chapter and the applicable Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure.
  156         Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.