BILL REQ. #:  S-4077.1 

Read first time 01/18/2006.   Referred to Committee on Human Services & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to establishing a council on mentally ill offenders; adding new sections to chapter 72.09 RCW; making an appropriation; 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 72.09 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The council on mentally ill offenders is hereby established within the department of corrections. The council shall be composed of thirteen members, one of whom shall be the secretary of the department of corrections or his or her designee, who shall be designated as a cochairperson. If the secretary chooses to be represented by a designee, the designee shall be the assistant secretary of the department of corrections or a person of equivalent position. One member shall be the director of the health and recovery services administration or his or her designee, and eleven members shall be appointed as follows:
     (a) The governor shall appoint five members, one representing community mental health interests. A representative of the jail commander's association, one current or former superior court judge, one current or former court of limited jurisdiction judge, and one other member with interest or expertise related to the treatment of mentally ill offenders.
     (b) The president of the senate shall appoint three members, one representing law enforcement and one representing community mental health interests, and one other member with interest or expertise related to the treatment of mentally ill offenders.
     (c) The speaker of the house shall appoint three members, one representing law enforcement and one representing community mental health interests, and one other member with interest or expertise related to the treatment of mentally ill offenders.
     (2) The council shall select a cochairperson from among its members. Seven members of the council shall constitute a quorum.
     (3) The director of the health recovery services administration shall serve as the liaison with the department of social and health services and any other departments within that agency necessary to further the purposes of this section.
     (4) Members of the council shall receive no compensation, but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary travel expenses and training expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. For purposes of compensation, attendance at meetings of the board and training shall be deemed performance by a member of the duties of his or her state or local government employment. The county or local municipality of the judge or judges that participate in meetings shall be reimbursed in an amount equal to the amount paid to a pro tem judge that substitutes in court for the duly elected or appointed judge. The payment for the pro tem judge shall be in addition to the other actual expenses incurred by the judge in order to attend the meetings of the council including travel and lodging expenses.
     (5) The goal of the council is to investigate and promote cost-effective approaches to meeting the long-term needs of adults and juveniles with mental disorders who are likely to become offenders or who have a history of offending. The council shall:
     (a) Identify strategies for preventing adults and juveniles with mental health needs from becoming offenders;
     (b) Identify strategies for improving the cost-effectiveness of services for adults and juveniles with mental health needs who have a history of offending; and
     (c) Identify incentives to encourage state and local criminal justice, juvenile justice, and mental health programs to adopt cost-effective approaches for serving adults and juveniles with mental health needs who are likely to offend or who have a history of offending.
     (6) The council shall consider strategies that:
     (a) Improve service coordination among state and local mental health, criminal justice, and juvenile justice programs;
     (b) Improve the ability of adult and juvenile offenders with mental health needs to transition successfully between corrections-based, juvenile justice-based, and community-based treatment programs;
     (c) Improve access to prescription medications, medicare and medicaid benefits, and community-based treatment programs; and
     (d) Will create an electronic medical records program that will permit all levels of corrections to share information concerning the health care, treatment, and medications used by any offender incarcerated in the state of Washington.
     (7) The secretary of the department of corrections and the director of mental health shall furnish for the use of the council facilities, supplies, and personnel. The council may secure the assistance of any state agency, department, or instrumentality in the course of its work, including the advice and assistance of the attorney general and the joint legislative audit and review committee.
     (8)(a) The council on mentally ill offenders shall file with the legislature, not later than December 31st of each year, except in 2006, a report that provides details of the council's activities during the preceding year. The report shall include recommendations for improving the cost-effectiveness of mental health and criminal justice programs.
     (b) After the first year of operation, the council may recommend to the legislature and governor modifications to its jurisdiction, composition, and membership that will further the purposes of this section.
     (9) The council on mentally ill offenders is authorized to apply for any funds that may be available from the federal government or other sources to further the purposes of this section.
     (10)(a) For purposes of this section, the council shall address the needs of adults and juveniles who meet the following criteria: Persons who have been arrested, detained, incarcerated, or are at a significant risk of being arrested, detained, or incarcerated, and who have a mental disorder.
     (b) The council may expand its purview to allow it to identify strategies that are preventive in nature and could be directed to identifiable categories of adults and juveniles that fall outside of the criteria listed in (a) of this subsection.
     (11) This section expires January 1, 2011.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 72.09 RCW to read as follows:
     The department of corrections shall submit a biennium budget request in an amount of not less than two hundred thousand dollars in 2007 and each biennium budget request thereafter that the council on mentally ill offenders is operating and reporting as required to support the activities and work of the council.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   The sum of one hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 2007, from the general fund to the department of corrections for the purposes of funding the council on mentally ill offenders for the purposes of this act.