BILL REQ. #: H-1680.1
| State of Washington | 63rd Legislature | 2013 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/22/13.
AN ACT Relating to competency to stand trial evaluations; adding a new section to chapter 10.77 RCW; and providing an expiration date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 A new section is added to chapter 10.77 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) If in any six-month time period, the state hospital has not met
the performance targets established in RCW 10.77.068 for timely
completion of competency evaluations and restorations of competency in
order to stand trial in fifty percent of cases submitted by any one
county, the court of that county may appoint a qualified expert or
professional person, whom the prosecuting attorney and defense attorney
shall approve, to evaluate and report upon the mental condition of the
defendant. When determining his or her approval of a qualified expert
or professional person, the prosecuting attorney may take into account,
among other factors, whether it is more likely than not that an
evaluation in the jail by a qualified expert or professional person
will be inadequate to complete an accurate evaluation.
(2) A court that appoints a qualified expert or professional person
under this section shall do so from a list of qualified experts or
professional persons assembled with participation by representatives of
the prosecuting attorney and the defense bar.
(3) A qualified expert or professional person appointed by a court
for an indigent person under this section should be compensated for
competency evaluations in an amount that will encourage in-depth
evaluation reports. The department must reimburse the county for the
costs of a qualified expert or professional person appointed for an
indigent person under this section in an amount determined by the
department to be fair and reasonable. The amount of reimbursement
established by the department must at least meet the equivalent amount
for evaluations conducted by the department.
(4) This section expires June 30, 2016.