House Bill 698 Summary

• Renames the "Rivers McGraw Mental Health Diversion Program Act" to the "Rivers McGraw Mental Health Treatment Court Act" and transitions the program into a specialized mental health treatment court system.

• Requires the Administrative Office of Courts to establish a uniform certification process for mental health treatment courts with minimum standards, applications due April 30 annually, and certification decisions by December 31.

• Expands eligibility to include civil respondents and clarifies that defendants charged with specific crimes of violence (murder, rape, robbery, kidnapping, etc.) are disqualified; persons without convictions for these crimes in the past 10 years may participate.

• Establishes Administrative Office of Courts duties including certification, compliance oversight, data collection, contracts with treatment providers, and five-year external program evaluations.

• Allows successful program completion to result in case dismissal and criminal record expungement for criminal defendants, and dismissal of civil commitment petitions for civil respondents; effective July 1, 2022.