HB 4556 Summary

• Establishes competency evaluation procedures for juveniles in delinquency proceedings, with juveniles age 10 and older presumed competent unless competency is questioned and juveniles under age 10 presumed incompetent.

• Requires competency evaluations be conducted by qualified forensic mental health examiners with specific training in juvenile forensic evaluation, child/adolescent treatment, and developmental understanding, with evaluations conducted in the least restrictive environment.

• Protects juveniles' constitutional rights against self-incrimination by making statements and evidence from competency evaluations inadmissible in proceedings to determine responsibility for the charged offense or other crimes.

• Establishes restoration procedures including 60-day restoration orders (renewable once for maximum 120 days total) to allow education or treatment to restore competency, with different procedures for traffic/misdemeanor offenses (dismissal or suspension) versus serious misdemeanors and felonies (suspension of proceedings).

• Requires sealing of competency evaluation reports after case adjudication or finding of permanent incompetency, with limited exceptions for further evaluations, statistical analysis, mental health treatment, research, and data gathering purposes.