§20971 Jimmy Ryce State Civil Commitment Programs for Sexually Dangerous Persons

Summary

The Attorney General must give grants to jurisdictions to create, improve, or run civil commitment programs for people found to be sexually dangerous. Grants cannot pay for transitional housing placed where children or other vulnerable people are likely to meet those persons. To get a grant, a jurisdiction must, before the compliance period ends (2 years after July 27, 2006), either already have a program that follows the Attorney General’s guidelines or submit a plan to set one up. The Attorney General can extend that deadline for a jurisdiction on a case-by-case basis. Each program must require timely notice to a State official before the release of any person in State custody who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense or who the State says is at high risk of committing a sexual offense against a minor. After getting notice, the State official must consider whether to start civil commitment or a similar proceeding. The Attorney General must report each year by January 31, starting in 2008, to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees about how jurisdictions are doing and the rate of sexually violent offenses in each jurisdiction. A “civil commitment program” means secure confinement with care and treatment and supervised care after release. A “sexually dangerous person” means someone with a serious mental illness, abnormality, or disorder that makes it hard for them to stop sexually violent behavior or child molestation. The law authorizes $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2010.