Sexually violent predators.

Existing law provides for the civil commitment of a person who is determined to be a sexually violent predator. Existing law establishes a procedure by which a person committed as a sexually violent predator may petition for conditional release and requires the court, if it makes a specified determination, to place the person on conditional release. Existing law generally requires that a person released on conditional release pursuant to these provisions be placed in the county of domicile and requires the State Department of State Hospitals, or its designee, to consider specified factors when recommending a specific placement. Existing law requires the county of domicile to designate a county agency or program that will provide assistance and consultation in the process of locating and securing housing within the county for committed persons who are about to be conditionally released. This bill, instead, would require the counsel for the committed individual, the sheriff or the chief of police of the locality for placement, and the county counsel and the district attorney of the county of domicile, or their designees, to provide assistance and consultation in the department's process of locating and securing housing within the county. The bill would require the department to convene a committee with the participants listed above for the purpose of obtaining that assistance and consultation information and would authorize the court to order a status conference to evaluate the progress of the department in locating and securing housing and in obtaining relevant assistance and consultation information from the participants. By imposing new duties on local government officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law authorizes a court to order a committed person to be conditionally released in a county other than the county of domicile if the court finds that extraordinary circumstances, as defined, require placement outside the county of domicile and if the designated county of placement is given prior notice and an opportunity to be heard. Under this bill, the court would be authorized to make a finding of extraordinary circumstances only after the county of domicile has petitioned the court to make that finding. The bill would authorize the court to grant the petition and make a finding of extraordinary circumstances only after certain events have occurred, including that the county of domicile has demonstrated to the court that the county of domicile has engaged in an exhaustive housing search with meaningful and robust participation from the participants listed above, the county of domicile has provided at least one alternative placement county for consideration, and the department and the district attorney of a proposed alternative placement county have had an opportunity to be heard at a noticed hearing. The bill would require the court, if it finds that extraordinary circumstances require the placement to occur outside the county of domicile, to state its findings on the record and the grounds supporting its findings. The bill would require the Judicial Council to report to the Legislature on an annual basis the instances in which a court issues a finding of extraordinary circumstances, as specified. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.