Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 100 (2020GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Snow, V. L.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/24/2020

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• defines terms;
• provides the requirements for establishing a veteran treatment court;
• provides the requirements for creating policies and procedures for a veteran treatment court;
• addresses eligibility for participation in a veterans treatment court;
• addresses admission, modification, termination, and completion in a veterans court;
• addresses domestic violence offenses;
• states that there is no right to participate in a veterans treatment court; and
• provides a severability clause.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

VETERANS TREATMENT COURT ACT
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: V. Lowry Snow
Senate Sponsor: 
Lyle W. Hillyard
Cosponsors:
Cheryl K. Acton
Carl R. Albrecht
Stewart E. Barlow
Walt Brooks
Stephen G. Handy
Susan Pulsipher
Keven J. Stratton
Christine F. Watkins
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill enacts the Veterans Treatment Court Act.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ defines terms;
▸ provides the requirements for establishing a veteran treatment court;
▸ provides the requirements for creating policies and procedures for a veteran
treatment court;
▸ addresses eligibility for participation in a veterans treatment court;
▸ addresses admission, modification, termination, and completion in a veterans court;
▸ addresses domestic violence offenses;
▸ states that there is no right to participate in a veterans treatment court; and
▸ provides a severability clause.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
ENACTS:
78A-5-301.5
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
78A-5-302
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
78A-5-303
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
78A-5-304
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
78A-5-305
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
78A-5-306
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
78A-5-307
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
78A-5-308
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
78A-5-309
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
78A-5-310
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
78A-5-311
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
78A-5-312
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
78A-5-313
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
REPEALS:
78A-5-301
, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2015, Chapter 354
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
78A-5-301.5
 is enacted to read:
Part 3. Veterans Treatment Court Act
 78A-5-301.5.
Title.
This part is known as the "Veterans Treatment Court Act."
Section 2. Section 
78A-5-302
 is enacted to read:
 78A-5-302.
Definitions.
As used in this part:
(1) "Defendant" means a veteran charged with a criminal offense.
(2) "Domestic violence" means the same as that term is defined in Section 
77-36-1
.
(3) (a) "Participant agreement" means the record, required by Subsection
78A-5-304
(1), of the policies and procedures of a veterans treatment court and any specific
terms and conditions applicable to the defendant.
(b) "Participant agreement" includes a modification under Section 
78A-5-310
.
(4) "Record," except as otherwise provided in Subsection 
78A-5-307
(1)(c), means
information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other
medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.
(5) "Servicemember" means:
(a) a member of the active or reserve components of the Army, Navy, Air Force,
Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, of the United States; or
(b) a member of the National Guard of the United States.
(6) (a) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto
Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States.
(b) "State" includes a federally recognized Indian tribe.
(7) "Veteran" means a former servicemember who qualifies for health care benefits
from the Veterans Administration.
(8) "Veterans treatment court" means a veterans treatment court program administered
under this part by a court of this state.
Section 3. Section 
78A-5-303
 is enacted to read:
 78A-5-303.
Creation of a veterans treatment court.
(1) The Judicial Council may create a veterans treatment court in any judicial district or
geographic region that demonstrates:
(a) the need for a veterans treatment court; and
(b) the existence of a collaborative strategy between the veterans treatment court,
prosecutors, defense attorneys, substance abuse treatment services, the Department of
Corrections, and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Justice Outreach
Program to work with veteran offenders.
(2) A veterans treatment court shall:
(a) establish a collaborative strategy that includes monitoring and evaluation
components to measure program effectiveness; and
(b) submit a collaborative strategy, for the purpose of coordinating the disbursement of
funding, to the Administrative Office of the Courts.
(3) A veterans treatment court shall include continuous judicial supervision using a
cooperative approach with prosecutors, defense attorneys, substance abuse treatment services,
the Department of Corrections, and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans
Justice Outreach Program, as appropriate, to promote public safety, protect participants' due
process rights, and integrate veteran treatment programs with the justice system case
processing.
(4) Screening criteria for participation in a veterans treatment court shall include:
(a) a plea in abeyance or plea agreement for a criminal offense, or a requirement for
participation in a veterans treatment court as a condition of probation;
(b) frequent alcohol and other drug testing, if appropriate;
(c) participation in veteran outreach programs, including substance abuse treatment
programs where appropriate;
(d) sanctions for noncompliance with the requirements for participation in a veterans
treatment court; and
(e) any additional criteria developed by a veterans treatment court.
(5) No later than October 1 each year, the Administrative Office of the Courts shall
provide to the Executive Offices and Criminal Justice Appropriations Subcommittee a written
report describing:
(a) the types of policies and procedures adopted by veteran treatment courts;
(b) the number of veteran participants in the previous fiscal year;
(c) the outcomes for veteran participants in the previous fiscal year; and
(d) recommendations for future veterans treatment courts, including expansion and
funding.
Section 4. Section 
78A-5-304
 is enacted to read:
 78A-5-304.
Record of policies and procedures.
(1) A veterans treatment court shall create a record of policies and procedures adopted
to implement Sections 
78A-5-305
 through 
78A-5-312
.
(2) A veterans treatment court shall seek input from prosecutors, defense attorneys, and
other interested persons in developing and adopting policies and procedures to implement
Sections 
78A-5-305
 through 
78A-5-312
.
Section 5. Section 
78A-5-305
 is enacted to read:
 78A-5-305.
Policies and procedures for a veterans treatment court.
(1) A veterans treatment court shall adopt policies and procedures to:
(a) integrate alcohol-treatment, drug-treatment, and mental-health services with the
defendant's criminal case;
(b) use a nonadversarial approach in which prosecutors and defense attorneys promote
public safety while protecting due-process rights of defendants;
(c) exercise early identification of eligible defendants;
(d) provide access to a continuum of alcohol-treatment, drug-treatment, mental-health
treatment, and other related treatment and rehabilitation services;
(e) monitor defendants for abstinence from alcohol and drugs by frequent testing;
(f) direct a coordinated strategy that responds to each defendant's needs;
(g) provide ongoing judicial interaction with each defendant;
(h) monitor and evaluate the achievement of goals;
(i) continue interdisciplinary education to promote effective veterans treatment court
planning, implementation, and operations; and
(j) forge partnerships between the veterans treatment court and the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Justice Outreach Program, the Department of
Veterans and Military Affairs, public agencies, and community-based organizations to generate
local support and enhance the effectiveness of the veterans treatment court.
(2) In adopting policies and procedures under this section, the court shall consider
nationally recognized best practices to implement the policies and procedures described in
Subsection (1) and comply with certification standards for problem-solving courts adopted by
the Judicial Council.
Section 6. Section 
78A-5-306
 is enacted to read:
 78A-5-306.
Supplemental policies and procedures of veterans treatment court.
(1) A veterans treatment court may adopt supplemental policies and procedures to:
(a) refer a defendant with a medical or medication need to an appropriate health care
provider;
(b) refer a defendant to other available services, including assistance with housing,
employment, nutrition, and education;
(c) provide a defendant access to a mentor who is a veteran;
(d) integrate intervention, treatment, and counseling, as part of the rehabilitative
services offered to a defendant who has been a victim of domestic violence, sexual trauma,
child abuse, or other trauma;
(e) confer with the victim or alleged victim of the domestic violence offense for which
the defendant is charged that serves as the basis for the defendant's participation in the veterans
treatment court;
(f) evaluate and assess a defendant charged with a domestic violence offense and
integrate specific counseling as part of the total rehabilitative services for the defendant;
(g) monitor a defendant charged with a domestic violence offense to assure compliance
with a domestic violence protection order, no-contact order, and prohibition of weapon
possession; and
(h) otherwise assist the veterans treatment court.
(2) In adopting policies and procedures under this section, the veterans treatment court
shall consider nationally recognized best practices related to policies and procedures described
in Subsection (1) and comply with certification standards for problem-solving courts adopted
by the Judicial Council.
Section 7. Section 
78A-5-307
 is enacted to read:
 78A-5-307.
Eligibility.
(1) A defendant is eligible to be screened for participation in a veterans treatment court
if:
(a) the defendant is a veteran;
(b) the defendant has a mental-health condition, traumatic brain injury, or substance
use disorder;
(c) the defendant agrees on the court record to voluntarily:
(i) participate in the veterans treatment court;
(ii) enter into a plea in abeyance or plea agreement, or participate in a veterans
treatment court as a condition of probation; and
(iii) adhere to a participant agreement; and
(d) as determined by the court, the defendant's participation in the veterans treatment
court would be in the interest of justice and of benefit to the defendant and the community.
(2) In making the determination under Subsection (1)(d), a court shall consider:
(a) the nature and circumstances of the offense charged;
(b) special characteristics or circumstances of the defendant, including the defendant's
criminogenic risk and need;
(c) the defendant's criminal history and whether the defendant previously participated
in a veterans treatment court or a similar program;
(d) whether the defendant's needs exceed treatment resources available to the veterans
treatment court;
(e) the impact on the community of the defendant's participation and treatment in the
veterans treatment court;
(f) special characteristics or circumstances of the victim or alleged victim;
(g) provision for, and the likelihood of obtaining, restitution from the defendant over
the course of participation in the veterans treatment court;
(h) the recommendation of the prosecutor regarding whether the defendant should
participate in a veterans treatment court;
(i) mitigating circumstances; and
(j) other circumstances reasonably related to the defendant, the defendant's case, and
available resources.
(3) Section 
77-37-3
 applies when making the determination under Subsections (1) and
(2).
Section 8. Section 
78A-5-308
 is enacted to read:
 78A-5-308.
Requirement for admission.
For a defendant to be admitted to a veterans treatment court, the defendant and
prosecutor must sign, and the court must approve, a participant agreement and a plea in
abeyance, plea agreement, or probation agreement.
Section 9. Section 
78A-5-309
 is enacted to read:
 78A-5-309.
Victim of domestic violence.
(1) If a victim or alleged victim of a domestic violence offense that serves as the basis
for the defendant's participation in a veterans treatment court can be reasonably located, the
victim or alleged victim must be offered:
(a) referrals to domestic violence service providers; and
(b) information on how to report an allegation of:
(i) an offense committed by the defendant; or
(ii) a violation by the defendant of the participant agreement.
(2) Except as expressly provided for in this part, the participation of the defendant in a
veterans treatment court does not alter the rights of a victim or alleged victim of domestic
violence under the law of this state.
Section 10. Section 
78A-5-310
 is enacted to read:
 78A-5-310.
Modification or termination.
(1) (a) If a prosecutor finds that a defendant has failed to comply with the defendant's
participant agreement, the prosecutor may notify the veterans treatment court and the defendant
of the defendant's failure to comply with the participant agreement.
(b) Any notice by a prosecutor under Subsection (1)(a) shall include specific
allegations of the defendant's non-compliant conduct with the participant agreement.
(2) Upon notice under Subsection (1), or upon any other notice that the defendant has
failed to comply with the defendant's participant agreement, the veterans treatment court shall
hold a hearing, after giving notice to all parties, on the defendant's failure to comply with the
participant agreement.
(3) At the hearing described in Subsection (2), the veterans treatment court shall:
(a) review the defendant's conduct under the participant agreement; and
(b) hear recommendations from all parties in order to determine whether the
defendant's participation in the veterans treatment court should be modified or terminated.
(4) After notice and a hearing is provided in accordance with this section, the veterans
treatment court may modify or terminate a defendant's participation in a veterans treatment
court.
Section 11. Section 
78A-5-311
 is enacted to read:
 78A-5-311.
Completion of the participant agreement.
If the veterans treatment court determines that a defendant has completed the
requirements of the defendant's participant agreement, the court shall adjudicate the defendant's
case in accordance with the defendant's participant agreement and any applicable plea in
abeyance agreement, plea agreement, probation agreement, court order, or judgment.
Section 12. Section 
78A-5-312
 is enacted to read:
 78A-5-312.
No right to participate.
This part does not create a right to participation in a veterans treatment court.
Section 13. Section 
78A-5-313
 is enacted to read:
 78A-5-313.
Severability.
If any provision of this part, or the application of any provision of this part to any
person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of this part shall be given effect without
the invalid provision or application.
Section 14. 
Repealer.
This bill repeals:
Section 
78A-5-301
,
Creation of a veterans court program -- Definition of a
veterans court program -- Criteria for participation in a veterans court program --
Reporting requirements.