(a) As used in this section, “department” means the State Department of State Hospitals.

(b) The Legislature finds and declares that the purpose of this section is to establish a program for the department to perform reevaluations primarily through telehealth evaluations for felony incompetent to stand trial (IST) individuals in jail who have been waiting for admission to the department. The goals of this program are:

(1) To permit the department to conduct reevaluations of IST defendants committed to the department and awaiting admission to department facilities.

(2) To reduce the growing list of IST defendants awaiting placement to a department facility for competency restoration treatment.

(3) To help address the significant impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the IST waitlist through identification of individuals on the waitlist who have restored to competency in jail, are nonrestorable, are malingering, may be divertible, or have stabilized and are appropriate for outpatient treatment.

(4) To reduce the timeframe for a competency evaluation for IST defendants in jail and reduce unnecessary costly hospitalizations.

(5) To offer expert forensic mental health consultation to assist in identifying ISTs who may be appropriate for community placement. This supports the principles of deinstitutionalization for individuals who can best be supported in the least restrictive setting in the community.

(6) To offer expert medication consultation and technical assistance to local sheriffs to support effective use of psychotropic medications and stabilization of IST defendants awaiting placement to a department facility.

(7) To require courts and local county jails to provide to the department all relevant medical, behavioral, and court records of IST defendants committed to the department for evaluation purposes.

(8) To require local county jails to provide the department access to IST defendants in county jails and for local county jails to ensure the department the ability to provide reevaluations for IST defendants remotely.

(9) To require local county jails to allow the department access to necessary IST defendants’ information, including records and collateral information.

(c) The department, or its designee, have the authority and sole discretion to consider and conduct reevaluations for IST defendants committed to and awaiting admission to the department. A reevaluation shall involve a review by a department clinician or contracted clinician of an IST defendant‘s relevant medical and mental health records, including prior mental health evaluations and an evaluation of the IST defendant by that department clinician or contracted clinician. When conducting the reevaluation, the department or its designee may request defendant’s counsel to provide any information bearing on the defendant’s capacity to rationally cooperate in their defense that is absent from the records accessible to the court. Defense counsel may provide a written statement of their reasoning for questioning the defendant’s mental competence and the time of their most recent contact with the defendant. Any communication between the defendant’s counsel and the evaluator is confidential pursuant to § 954 of the Evidence Code. If not already provided, the court shall provide the department with all IST defendant records pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of § 1370 of the Penal Code, including any updated medical and behavioral health records requested by the department. At the sole discretion of the department, the department clinician or contracted clinician may conduct in person, or video telehealth, evaluations of IST defendants at the local jail for those IST patients awaiting admission to the department. The local jail shall provide the department confidential access to the IST defendant for reevaluation, including establishing and maintaining remote access capabilities at the jail for the department to remotely access the IST defendant.

(d) Reevaluations provided by the department clinician or contracted clinician shall include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Evaluations, including assessment of malingering, pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of § 1370 of the Penal Code, subdivision (b) of § 1370.01 of the Penal Code, or paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of § 1372 of the Penal Code.

(2) Assessments to determine whether the IST defendant should be referred to the county for further evaluation for potential participation in the county diversion program, if one exists, pursuant to clause (v) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of § 1370 of the Penal Code or paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of § 1370.01 of the Penal Code, or other outpatient treatment program.

(3) Evaluations on whether the IST defendant is substantially unlikely to be restored to competence in the foreseeable future pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of § 1370 of the Penal Code or subdivision (b) of § 1370.01 of the Penal Code. Evaluations shall include, if applicable, facts supporting that a defendant appears gravely disabled as described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008, which a court may utilize to order a conservatorship investigator to initiate conservatorship proceedings pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of § 1370 of the Penal Code.

(4) Psychopharmacology evaluations in which a department clinician will identify IST defendants who may need psychotropic medications, a psychopharmacology consultation, or an involuntary medication order.

(5) A written report from the department clinician or contracted clinician of their evaluations of the IST defendant, as well as any conclusions of mental health status and recommendations the clinician may have of placement of the IST defendant.

(e) A court may issue an order authorizing involuntary administration of antipsychotic medication pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (b) of § 1370 of the Penal Code. The court shall base its determination on the recommendation made by a department clinician pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (d). If a hearing is ordered by the court pursuant to subparagraph (C) or (D) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of § 1370 of the Penal Code, the clinician shall be allowed to testify remotely. In-person witness testimony shall only be allowed upon a court’s finding of good cause.

(f) Written reports shall be filed with the court in the committing county. That report shall be accepted by courts, either pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of § 1370 of the Penal Code, subdivision (b) of § 1370.01 of the Penal Code, or paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of § 1372 of the Penal Code.

(g) The department shall provide funding based on a flat rate set by the department to local county jails for reimbursement of information technology support and a portion of staff time utilized to facilitate telehealth interviews and evaluations of felony IST defendants in the jail. One-time funding based on a flat rate set by the department will be made available for reimbursement to the county sheriff upon agreement to facilitate telehealth evaluations in the jail. In addition, a flat rate, set by the department, for reimbursement of each telehealth evaluation conducted by the department for an IST defendant and facilitated by the jail will be paid on a quarterly basis in arrears following conclusion of the telehealth evaluation.

(h) Any contracts awarded to implement this chapter shall be exempt from the requirements contained in the Public Contract Code and the State Administrative Manual and shall not be subject to approval by the Department of General Services.

(i) Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the state hospitals and the department may implement, interpret, or make specific this section by means of a departmental letter or other similar instruction, as necessary.

(j) The department and any of the designated evaluators shall be provided access to the defendant’s medical records, including mental health records for purposes of conducting a reevaluation of the competency status of the defendant.

(k) The department and any of the designated evaluators shall, upon request, be provided prompt and unimpeded collateral consult with local county jail staff, including contractors, for the purpose of determining an IST defendant’s behavior, care, progress, and treatment.

(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 738, Sec. 12. (AB 204) Effective September 29, 2022.)