NY S03378

Requires courts to impose a mandatory period of confinement for defendants found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect equal to the prison sentence they would have received if convicted of the charged crime

Eliminates the current initial hearing process where courts determine whether a defendant has a dangerous mental disorder; instead, courts must automatically issue commitment orders for the full term imposed

Removes provisions allowing defendants who were released on bail to undergo psychiatric examinations on an outpatient basis; all defendants must now be committed to secure facilities

Restricts furlough orders to only allow supervised temporary leaves (removing the option for unsupervised furloughs) for defendants under recommitment or retention orders, but not those under initial commitment orders

Applies to criminal offenses committed on or after January 1 of the year following enactment