Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Chapter 123A of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 9 the following two sections:-

Section 9A. The commissioners of the departments of correction and mental health may jointly petition the superior court in whose jurisdiction the center is located to transfer to the custody of the commissioner of correction for the purposes of incarceration in a correctional facility any person committed to the center pursuant to this chapter if the commissioners determine that said person poses a substantial threat of physical harm to staff or other patients or a substantial risk of escape; provided, however, that such person has also been sentenced for a criminal offense and said sentence has not expired.

Upon the motion of the person concerning whom the transfer hearing is to be held or upon its own motion, the court may appoint counsel for said person if it finds him to be indigent and where necessary to protect his rights.

A full hearing on the petition to transfer shall be commenced within thirty days, unless a continuance is requested by the person who is the subject of the hearing or his counsel.

If the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence upon a full hearing that the person has posed a substantial threat of physical harm to staff or other patients or a substantial risk of escape and said person has a criminal sentence that has not expired, the court shall order said person remanded to the custody of the commissioner of correction subject to the terms of his criminal sentences. Upon completion of said person's criminal sentence a hearing shall be held pursuant to section nine. If the transferred person is found to be sexually dangerous he shall be conveyed to the center pursuant to the provisions of his commitment. If said person is not found to be sexually dangerous he shall be relieved of his commitment.

The parole board shall develop special standards to govern parole determinations for repeat sex offenders which shall give due consideration to the person's history of repetitive sexual violence.

If the court does not find, after a full hearing on the petition to transfer, that the person has posed a substantial threat of physical harm to staff or other patients or a substantial risk of escape, it shall dismiss the petition and order such person conveyed to the center subject to the terms of his commitment thereto.

Nothing in this chapter shall preclude the commissioner of correction from exercising his authority pursuant to section fifty-two A of chapter two hundred and seventy-six.

Section 9B. Upon the motion of the departments of correction and mental health, the court may issue a temporary restraining order authorizing that any patient be temporarily transferred to the custody of the commissioner of correction to be held at a secure correctional facility; provided, however, that said person is determined by the court to pose an immediate and imminent threat to others at the center or an immediate threat to the security of the facility; provided, further, that such person has also been sentenced for a criminal offense and said sentence has not expired. Pending a full hearing on a petition to transfer said person pursuant to section nine A, a temporary restraining order authorizing temporary transfer issued pursuant to this section may be extended until said hearing has been concluded pursuant to the motions of the departments of correction and mental health.