Plain English Breakdown
The official text states this bill 'would' require changes, indicating it is proposed language; however, metadata notes it passed both chambers.
AB-1782: Changes Rules for Mental Health Evaluations Before Parole
This law changes the rules so that a prisoner with severe mental illness must meet three out of five specific criteria to be sent to state hospital treatment as a condition of parole.
What This Bill Does
- Changes the rule from requiring all conditions to require only three of five listed criteria for certification.
- Requires the chief psychiatrist at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to certify that a prisoner meets these new standards.
- Adds sexual harassment and battery as types of physical harm when evaluating if a person is dangerous.
- Keeps requirements about having a severe mental health disorder, needing treatment, past criminal behavior linked to illness, recent treatment history, and danger to others.
Who It Names or Affects
- Prisoners with severe mental health disorders who are waiting for parole release.
- The chief psychiatrist of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
- The State Department of State Hospitals that provides treatment as a condition of parole.
Terms To Know
- Parole
- Early release from prison under specific rules while still being supervised.
- Remission
- A time when symptoms of a mental health disorder are not active or have gone away.
- Aggravating factor
- Something that made the crime worse or more serious, such as being caused by illness.
Limits and Unknowns
- The text does not list an effective date for when this law starts.
- The bill summary lists five criteria but does not explain how officials choose which three apply in every case.
- The source material does not describe what happens if a prisoner meets fewer than three of the new criteria.