Committee debates custody, clinical goals and feasibility of proposed forensic facility in S.193

Summary

Lawmakers on the House Corrections and Institutions Committee debated S.193’s proposal to create a forensic facility, splitting over whether custody and governance should sit with the Department of Corrections or the Agency of Human Services and asking the administration for a feasibility plan, timeline and cost estimates.

The House Corrections and Institutions Committee on April 21 discussed S.193, a bill that would create a forensic facility for people found incompetent to stand trial or adjudicated not guilty by reason of insanity. Committee members spent most of the session debating who should run the facility, which populations the bill would cover and what interim and long-term steps the state should require before implementation.

Katie McN, legislative counsel for the committee, told members healthcare committee reviewers had focused on clarifying the facility’s location, physical design and which populations would be served. "A lot of their questions were just trying to wrap their head around the concept and what population we were talking about," she said, summarizing recent walkthroughs and earlier reports.

The bill’s current draft places establishment and operation under the commissioner of corrections. Several committee members said…

Committee debates custody, clinical goals and feasibility of proposed forensic facility in S.193

Summary

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