We spoke in favor of HB 203 Involuntary Commitment Amendments, which provides for the court-ordered civil commitment of an individual who has a mental illness and has a persistent unawareness of their mental illness or unreasonably refused to undergo mental health treatment who has been charged with a crime. The legislature has a growing interest in the intersection of mental illness and the criminal justice system. This bill is among a handful of bills intending to address the problems associated with the persistently mentally ill population on our streets. The bill modifies civil commitment standards to make it more likely that individuals can be civilly committed. The defense bar has supported these efforts as a means of intercepting these individuals before they become involved in the criminal justice system.

We spoke in support of HB 299 Court-ordered Treatment Modifications, which amends the amount of time an individual may be held under temporary commitment from 24 hours to 72 hours and provides that an individual with at least ten criminal cases in the previous five years, with at least one felony charge in each case, has demonstrated an inability to exercise sufficient behavioral control to avoid serious criminal justice involvement and directs care for these individuals. This bill passed.

HB 338 Mentally Ill Offenders Amendments passed, expanding on the bill run last year that created the plea of guilty with a mental condition. Qualifying conditions now include Bipolar I disorder as well as PTSD. It also gives examiners greater access to criminal and treatment history of an individual for evaluation and  treatment plan purposes. We spoke in support of this bill, as did prosecutors.

SB 139 Competency Amendments passed, which requires the Office of Substance Use and Mental Health to conduct a study on the delivery and accessibility of mental health treatment and supports in the state.

SB 212 Substance Use Treatment in Correctional Facilities passed, which allows the Department of Corrections to cooperate with medical personnel to provide medication assisted treatment to inmates who had an active medication assisted treatment plan prior to incarceration.