House approves shorter timelines and procedures for competency evaluations in misdemeanor cases
Senate Bill 132 changes procedures and timeframes for competency evaluations, shortening evaluation windows for certain nonviolent misdemeanors and preserving procedures for restoration and transfer to DBHDD when appropriate; the House passed the bill 142‑24.
The full story
Representative Tyler Paul Smith presented Senate Bill 132, describing changes to the state’s competency‑to‑stand‑trial statutory framework. The bill would require a hearing before a mental competency evaluation and establishes shorter timeframes for certain evaluations: 90 days when the person is in custody and 45 days for defendants charged with a nonviolent misdemeanor (excluding DUI and domestic violence misdemeanors), according to the sponsor’s floor remarks. The House agreed to the committee substitute and passed SB 132 on a recorded vote announced as 142 yeas and 24 nays.
Sign up to keep reading.
Your free newsletter brings you what your city council, county, and school board discussed and decided.