By Farabee H.B. No. 1093
77R2969 PEP-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to certain procedures used to deal with a criminal
1-3 defendant suspected of being or determined to be incompetent to
1-4 stand trial.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Sections 3(a), (b), and (f), Article 46.02, Code
1-7 of Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
1-8 (a) At any time the issue of the defendant's incompetency to
1-9 stand trial is raised, the court may, on its own motion or motion
1-10 by the defendant, his counsel, or the prosecuting attorney, appoint
1-11 the local mental health or mental retardation authority or other
1-12 disinterested experts experienced and qualified in mental health or
1-13 mental retardation to examine the defendant with regard to his
1-14 competency to stand trial and to testify at any trial or hearing on
1-15 this issue.
1-16 (b) The court may order any defendant to submit to
1-17 examination for the purposes described in this article. If the
1-18 defendant is free on bail, the court in its discretion may order
1-19 him to submit to examination. If the defendant fails or refuses to
1-20 submit to examination, the court may order him to submit to
1-21 [custody for] examination in a mental health facility determined to
1-22 be appropriate by the local mental health or mental retardation
1-23 authority for a reasonable period not to exceed 21 days. The court
1-24 may [not] order a defendant to a facility operated by the Texas
2-1 Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation for examination
2-2 only on request of the local mental health or mental retardation
2-3 authority and with [without] the consent of the head of the [that]
2-4 facility [or for a period exceeding 21 days]. If a defendant who
2-5 has been ordered to a facility operated by Texas Department of
2-6 Mental Health and Mental Retardation for examination remains in
2-7 such facility for a period of time exceeding 21 days, the head of
2-8 that facility shall cause the defendant to be immediately
2-9 transported to the committing court and placed in the custody of
2-10 the sheriff of the county in which the committing court is located.
2-11 That county shall reimburse the Texas Department of Mental Health
2-12 and Mental Retardation facility for the mileage and per diem
2-13 expenses of the personnel required to transport the defendant
2-14 calculated in accordance with the state travel regulations in
2-15 effect at the time.
2-16 (f) The local mental health or mental retardation authority
2-17 or other appointed experts shall be paid by the county in which the
2-18 indictment was returned or information was filed. A facility
2-19 [operated by the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental
2-20 Retardation] which accepts a defendant for examination under
2-21 [Subsection (a) of] this section shall be reimbursed by the county
2-22 in which the indictment was returned or information was filed for
2-23 such expenses incurred as are determined by the department to be
2-24 reasonably necessary and incidental to the proper examination of
2-25 the defendant.
2-26 SECTION 2. Section 5(a), Article 46.02, Code of Criminal
2-27 Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
3-1 (a) When a defendant has been determined incompetent to
3-2 stand trial for a [any] felony [or for a misdemeanor] because of
3-3 mental illness or mental retardation, and absent a determination
3-4 that there is no substantial probability that the defendant will
3-5 attain competency to stand trial in the foreseeable future, the
3-6 court shall enter an order committing the defendant to the maximum
3-7 security unit of any facility designated by the Texas Department of
3-8 Mental Health and Mental Retardation, to an agency of the United
3-9 States operating a mental hospital, or to a Veterans Administration
3-10 hospital for a period not to exceed 18 months. When a defendant
3-11 has been determined incompetent to stand trial for a misdemeanor
3-12 because of mental illness or mental retardation, and absent a
3-13 determination that there is no substantial probability that the
3-14 defendant will attain competency to stand trial in the foreseeable
3-15 future, the court shall enter an order committing the defendant to
3-16 a [the] mental health facility determined to be appropriate by the
3-17 local mental health or mental retardation authority [designated by
3-18 the Commissioner of Mental Health and Mental Retardation to serve
3-19 the catchment area in which the committing court is located] for a
3-20 period not to exceed 18 months. On request of the local mental
3-21 health or mental retardation authority, the court may enter an
3-22 order committing the defendant to a facility operated by the Texas
3-23 Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. An order
3-24 issued under this subsection shall also place the defendant in the
3-25 custody of the sheriff for transportation to the facility to be
3-26 confined in the facility for further examination and treatment
3-27 toward the specific objective of attaining competency to stand
4-1 trial. The court shall order that a transcript of all medical
4-2 testimony received by the jury be forthwith prepared by the court
4-3 reporter and that the transcript, together with a statement of the
4-4 facts and circumstances surrounding the alleged offense, shall
4-5 accompany the patient to the facility.
4-6 SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only to
4-7 a defendant charged with an offense committed on or after the
4-8 effective date of this Act. A defendant charged with an offense
4-9 committed before the effective date of this Act is covered by the
4-10 law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
4-11 continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
4-12 section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this
4-13 Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
4-14 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.