What's happening
This bill shifts the financial responsibility for psychiatric examination costs of defendants from the county to the state.
Why it matters
Centralizes funding and administration. By shifting costs from counties to the state, the bill may lead to more uniform standards and potentially better oversight of psychiatric evaluations across New York, reducing disparities between wealthier and poorer counties.
Reduces local fiscal burden. Counties, especially those with tight budgets, will no longer bear these unpredictable and sometimes significant costs, which could free up resources for other local needs or services.
May improve access to psychiatric evaluation. Counties previously struggling to fund these examinations may now have fewer barriers, possibly allowing more timely and consistent mental fitness assessments for defendants statewide.
Could impact state budget and policy priorities. With the state assuming these costs, there could be increased scrutiny on the efficiency and necessity of psychiatric evaluations, and budget planners may need to allocate more resources to cover the expanded responsibility.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
State Pays For Psychiatric Exams
In Senate Committee · Codes · Sponsor Robert Ortt
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3157
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 28, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. GUNTHER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to payment of certain costs associated with the psychiatric examination of defendants to determine mental fitness
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 7 of section 730.20 of the criminal procedure law, as amended by chapter 692 of the laws of 1972, is amended to read as follows:
7. A psychiatric examiner is entitled to his reasonable traveling expenses, a fee of fifty dollars for each examination of a defendant and a fee of fifty dollars for each appearance at a court hearing or trial but not exceeding two hundred dollars in fees for examination and testimony in any one case; except that if such psychiatric examiner be an employee of the state of New York he shall be entitled only to reasonable traveling expenses, unless such psychiatric examiner makes the examination or appears at a court hearing or trial outside his hours of state employment in a county in which the director of community mental health services certifies to the fiscal officer thereof that there is a shortage of qualified psychiatrists available to conduct examinations under the criminal procedure law in such county, in which event he shall be entitled to the foregoing fees and reasonable traveling expenses. Such fees and traveling expenses and the costs of sending a defendant to another place of detention or to a hospital for examination, of his maintenance therein and of returning him shall, when approved by the court, be a charge of the [county in which the defendant is being tried] state.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to expenses occurring on and after such date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01482-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.