CHAPTER 149
SB 100 - FINAL VERSION
3/29/01...0406s
6/12/01...1549eba
2001 SESSION
09/01
SENATE BILL 100
AN ACT establishing a committee to study the feasibility of creating a mental health court division.
SPONSORS: Sen. Wheeler, Dist 21; Sen. Below, Dist 5; Sen. McCarley, Dist 6; Sen. Disnard, Dist 8; Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20; Sen. Hollingworth, Dist 23; Sen. Cohen, Dist 24; Rep. Guinta, Hills 39; Rep. Pilliod, Belk 3; Rep. Manning, Ches 9; Rep. Dowling, Rock 13
This bill establishes a committee to study the feasibility of creating a mental health court division in the district courts. The mental health court division would hear misdemeanor cases involving individuals with mental illness.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
3/29/01...0406s
6/12/01...1549eba
01-0694
09/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand One
AN ACT establishing a committee to study the feasibility of creating a mental health court division.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
149:1 Committee Established. There is established a committee to study the feasibility of establishing a mental health court division within the district courts to hear misdemeanor cases involving persons with mental illnesses. The purpose of the mental health court division is to quickly resolve such cases and divert mentally ill persons into appropriate treatment programs instead of the criminal justice system.
149:2 Membership and Compensation.
I. The members of the committee shall be as follows:
(a) Three members of the senate, appointed by the senate president.
(b) Three members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house.
II. The committee may solicit input from:
(a) The Alliance for the Mentally Ill of New Hampshire.
(b) The commissioner of the department of health and human services, or designee.
(c) The administrative judge of the district courts, or designee.
(d) Law enforcement agencies.
(e) Providers of mental health services.
(f) Consumers who have received or currently receive services through the New Hampshire mental health system.
II. Members of the committee shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the committee.
149:3 Duties. The committee shall study the feasibility of establishing a mental health court division within the district courts to hear misdemeanor cases involving mentally ill persons and to divert such persons, when necessary, from the criminal justice system to appropriate treatment
programs. The committee shall study the mental health court currently operating in Broward County, Florida and its applicability to New Hampshire. The committee shall also study drug courts which operate in many parts of the country and which are similar to the mental health court in Broward County, Florida. The committee shall assess the need for a mental health court division, considering the mental health services system and criminal justice system currently operating in New Hampshire.
149:4 Chairperson; Quorum. The members of the committee shall elect a chairperson from among the members. The first meeting of the committee shall be called by the first-named senate member. The first meeting of the committee shall be held within 45 days of the effective date of this section.
149:5 Report. The committee shall report its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation to the senate president, the speaker of the house of representatives, the senate clerk, the house clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before November 1, 2001.
149:6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
(Approved: June 29, 2001)
(Effective Date: June 29, 2001)