Bill No.: SF0107                  Drafter:  JHR

LSO No.:  09LSO-0384              Effective Date:  7/1/2009

Secs 1 & 5:  3/5/2009

Enrolled Act No.:  SEA0077

Chapter No.:       145

Prime Sponsor:     Senator Ross

Catch Title:       Court Supervised Treatment Programs Act.

Subject:  Creates a Court Supervised Treatment Programs Act.

Summary/Major Elements:

· Under current law, there is a drug court program operating in most counties of the state to address the needs of persons with alcohol or substance abuse problems who enter the criminal justice system.

· This Bill:

o Replaces the drug court program with a court supervised treatment program;

o Authorizes district, circuit, and municipal judges to participate in the program;

o Provides for judicial immunity;

o Establishes a court supervised treatment program account within the Department of Health to fund these alternative courts;

o Creates a panel to oversee the program and establish a process for funding local treatment courts;

o Specifies that applicants for funding to establish and operate such court may be a governmental entity (i.e. municipality, county, joint powers board or nonprofit agency) and all program employees of the court shall be employees of the program, except for judicial employees or employees of the Department of Corrections;

o Requires that participants be persons who have been charged with an offense in which alcohol or substance abuse may have been a factor and the person has entered an admission, a guilty or nolo contendere plea, has entered a consent decree under Title 14 or is on parole;

o Requires consent of the referring judge, the participant and prosecuting attorney, pursuant to a written agreement;

o Authorizes incentives for participants who are performing well in the program;

o Specifies requirements for the local program and courts, including establishing an adequate continuum of care for the needs of participants;

o Requires frequent and random drug testing of participants;

o Authorizes the Board of Parole to require as a condition of parole, that the parolee participate in a program under the act;

o Authorizes judges to place a person on probation for a period longer than the maximum possible term  of imprisonment if the person participates in a court supervised treatment program;

o Authorizes a court to require a child's parents or guardian to participate in a court supervised treatment program under specified provisions of Title 14 under certain conditions;

o Repeals current drug court provisions, but continues existing funding for such courts until June 30, 2009, or until the funding for the program is exhausted if funding for the drug court program was authorized prior to July 1, 2009;

o Provides for transfer of funding on July 1, 2009, from the drug court account created by W.S. 5-10-103 (repealed by this act) to the court supervised treatment program account created by this act.

Comments:

· Creates a major program: Court Supervised Treatment Program