By Mr. Antonioni, a petition (accompanied by bill,
Senate, No. 787) of Robert A. Antonioni, Jennifer L.
Flanagan, Anthony J. Verga, Stephen L. DiNatale and other
members of the General Court for legislation to
establish a special commission to study the feasibility
of the establishment of a pilot mental health court in the
commonwealth. The Judiciary.
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
RESOLVED, That there shall be a special commission consisting of 3 members of the senate, 3 members of the house of representatives, the chief justice of the district court or her designee, the commissioner of the department of mental health or her designee and 3 members to be appointed by the governor for the purpose of making an investigation and study relative to the feasibility of establishing a pilot program in the district court division of the trial court to provide post conviction voluntary alternative sentencing for a defendant with mental illness applicable only to a defendant found guilty of a misdemeanor or non-violent crime. The program shall provide for diversion of the defendant into judicially supervised, community based treatment.
The commission shall report to the general court the results of its investigation and study and its recommendations, if any, together with drafts of legislation necessary to carry its recommendations into effect by filing the same with the clerk of the senate on or before the first Wednesday of December, 2007.
