CS/HB 1265 Summary

• Expands eligibility for Military Veterans and Servicemembers Court Programs to include current or former U.S. Department of Defense contractors and military members of foreign allied countries, in addition to veterans and servicemembers with military-related mental illness, traumatic brain injury, substance abuse disorder, or psychological problems.

• Extends eligibility for pretrial veterans' treatment intervention programs for felony charges to the same expanded group of individuals, allowing voluntary admission upon motion of either party or the court's own motion.

• Extends eligibility for misdemeanor pretrial veterans' treatment intervention programs to the same expanded group, allowing courts to deny admission if the defendant previously entered a court-ordered veterans' treatment program.

• Authorizes courts to impose treatment program participation as a condition of probation or community control for individuals in the expanded eligible groups whose crimes were committed on or after July 1, 2016.

• Effective date: July 1, 2019.