Committee unanimously advances overhaul of competency process to broaden treatment options, add community restoration pathway

The Consumer & Public Affairs Committee gave unanimous approval to House Bill 4 as amended, a broad package of changes to New Mexico’s criminal competency statutes that sponsors say will create more pathways from criminal court to treatment and clarify where restoration treatment may take place.

Sponsor Representative Christine Chandler told the committee the bill is intended to close gaps in the current competency process and to allow courts, prosecutors and defense counsel more options for defendants who are not competent to stand trial. “If a person is deemed not competent and dangerous, they will be committed to a secured locked licensed inpatient psychiatric hospital for restoration,” Chandler said in describing the amended language.

The bill expands the evaluation scope beyond a narrow competency assessment to include questions relevant to civil commitment and assisted outpatient treatment (AOT). It also clarifies that inpatient restoration need not be limited to a single Department of Health facility in Las Vegas and reinstates specific phrases (for example, “psychologist or psychiatrist” and the term “treatment supervisor”) at the request of DOH to remove ambiguity.

One significant policy change creates a limited, time-bound option for community-based outpatient restoration for defendants who are not dangerous and whose needs can be met in the community; the bill also makes clear a judge may refer a non-dangerous defendant to civil options such as assisted outpatient treatment instead of pursuing a criminal case.

Witness testimony was mixed: disability-rights advocates praised avenues into treatment but urged stronger, explicit authorization for diversion programs and care for people who repeatedly cycle through the system; the New Mexico State Police, municipal leaders and Las Cruces officials supported the bill as another tool to protect communities and address repeat offenders who have severe mental illness.

Committee counsel and mental-health experts warned the statute’s changes will require new training, more forensic evaluation capacity and investment in behavioral-health infrastructure to avoid bottlenecks. The sponsors agreed that more state-level investment will be needed if the law is enacted and pointed to other bills and budget requests under discussion that would build capacity.

After discussion, the committee adopted a technical amendment offered by counsel to incorporate stakeholder recommendations, then voted 6-0 to advance HB 4.

Votes at a glance: House Bill 4 — Motion: do pass as amended; mover: Representative Thompson; second: Representative Romero. Committee vote: unanimous 6-0.