OLR Bill Analysis

sHB 6341 (as amended by House "A")*

AN ACT CONCERNING COMPETENCY TO STAND TRIAL.

SUMMARY:

This bill permits information sharing among health care providers treating or evaluating a defendant who has been, or is believed to be, not guilty due to a mental disease or defect. Currently, there is no express authorization for sharing this information without the defendant's consent.

The bill gives clinical teams evaluating a defendant's competency access to information on treatment dates and locations in the treatment history in the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Service's (DMHAS) database of treatment episodes for the purpose of requesting a release of information from the defendant. It specifies that no treatment in the database can be included in the evaluators' written report or introduced at the competency hearing unless the defendant authorized its release. Under the bill, the limitation in access to information for this purpose does not limit any other lawful release or use of information from the database.

In addition, when a court orders a defendant to be treated to restore his or her competency, the bill requires the clinical evaluating team to give the court-ordered health care provider information they obtained in the course of their evaluation. They must do this within 24 hours of the court's restoration order.

Finally, no later than five business days after a court determines that the defendant (1) will not become competent within the time that he or she can be detained or supervised or (2) has become competent, the person in charge of the treatment facility, or a designee, must give a copy of its progress report to the clinical team that originally evaluated the defendant. The bill extends the deadline for completing the initial competency exam from 15 calendar to 15 business days.

*House Amendment “A” places restrictions on access and use of treatment information in the DMHAS database.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage

COMMITTEE ACTION

Judiciary Committee

Joint Favorable Substitute