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Bill 186

                    Current Status

Bill Number:                      186
Type of Legislation:              General Bill GB
Introducing Body:                 Senate
Introduced Date:                  19990112
Primary Sponsor:                  Holland
All Sponsors:                     Holland, Elliott, Giese, McGill, Hutto
Drafted Document Number:          l:\s-jud\bills\holland\jud0016.dhh.doc
Companion Bill Number:            3153
Residing Body:                    Senate
Current Committee:                Judiciary Committee 11 SJ
Subject:                          Drug Treatment Court Act, Crimes and 
                                  Offenses, Courts, Narcotics and Drugs


                        History

Body    Date      Action Description                     Com     Leg Involved
______  ________  ______________________________________ _______ ____________
Senate  19990114  Recommitted to Committee,              11 SJ
                  retaining its place on the Calendar
Senate  19990114  Recalled from Committee                11 SJ
Senate  19990112  Introduced, read first time,           11 SJ
                  referred to Committee
Senate  19981216  Prefiled, referred to Committee        11 SJ


                             Versions of This Bill

TO AMEND TITLE 17, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, BY ADDING CHAPTER 26 SO AS TO ENACT THE "DRUG TREATMENT COURT ACT" INCLUDING PROVISIONS TO ESTABLISH THE OFFICE OF A STATE DRUG TREATMENT COURT DIRECTOR AND ADVISORY COMMITTEE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A DRUG TREATMENT COURT PROGRAM FUND, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF LOCAL DRUG TREAMENT COURT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Title 17 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

Section 17-26-10. This chapter may be cited as the "Drug Treatment Court Act."

Section 17-26-20. For purposes of this chapter:

(1) 'Committee' means the State Drug Treatment Court Advisory Committee.

(2) 'Director' means the State Drug Treatment Court Director.

Section 17-26-30. The General Assembly recognizes that a critical need exists in this State for criminal justice system programs that will reduce the incidence of drug use, drug addiction, and crimes committed as a result of drug use and drug addiction. It is the intent of the General Assembly by this chapter to create a program to facilitate the implementation of new and the continuation of existing drug treatment court programs.

The goals of the drug treatment court programs created under this chapter include the following:

(1) To reduce alcoholism and other drug dependencies among offenders;

(2) To reduce recidivism;

(3) To reduce the drug-related court workload;

(4) To increase the personal, familial, and societal accountability of offenders;

(5) To promote the effective interaction and use of resources among criminal justice personnel and community agencies; and

(6) To ensure access to drug treatment courts is available to any person in South Carolina on an affordable basis.

Section 17-26-40. The South Carolina Drug Treatment Court Program is established to facilitate the creation of drug treatment court programs throughout the State. Drug treatment court programs created pursuant to this chapter shall be operated in a manner consistent with the guidelines promulgated by the director in consultation with the committee established pursuant to Section 17-26-40. In promulgating the guidelines, the director and the committee shall consider the following:

(1) Drug courts integrate alcohol and other drug treatment services with justice system case processing;

(2) Using a nonadversarial approach, promote public safety while protecting participants' due process rights;

(3) Using a nonadversarial approach, eligible participants are identified early and promptly placed in the drug treatment court program;

(4) Drug treatment courts provide access to a continuum of alcohol, drug, and other related treatment and rehabilitation services;

(5) Abstinence is monitored by frequent alcohol and other drug testing;

(6) A coordinated strategy governs drug treatment court responses to participants' compliance;

(7) Ongoing judicial interaction with each drug treatment court participant is essential;

(8) Monitoring and evaluation measure the achievement of program goals and gauge effectiveness;

(9) Continuing interdisciplinary education promotes effective drug treatment court planning, implementation, and operations; and

(10) Forging partnerships among drug treatment courts, public agencies, and community-based organizations generates local support and enhances drug court effectiveness.

Section 17-26-50. The committee is established to develop guidelines for drug treatment court programs and to monitor programs wherever they are implemented. The committee shall be chaired by the director and shall consist of not less than seven members to be appointed by the Chairmen of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees. The members must be representative of the courts, corrections, and substance abuse treatment communities. The members shall consist of the following:

(1) a member of the judiciary;

(2) a circuit solicitor or his designee;

(3) a member of the defense bar;

(4) a representative of the drug/alcohol treatment community;

(5) a representative from the Department of Corrections; and

(6) a representative from the Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services.

Section 17-26-60. The Drug Treatment Court Program Fund is established in the office of the director and is administered by him in consultation with the committee. Grants shall be awarded from this fund to implement and continue drug treatment court programs. Grants shall be awarded based on the general guidelines set forth by the director and the committee.

Section 17-26-70. A circuit solicitor who establishes a drug treatment court in a county of the solicitor's judicial circuit shall form at least one local drug treatment court management committee for the circuit. The circuit solicitor may form local management committees for each county in the circuit that establishes a drug treatment court program. The committees shall consist of the following members to be appointed by the circuit solicitor:

(1) a judge of the circuit court;

(2) a judge of the magistrate court;

(3) the circuit solicitor or his designee;

(4) the public defender or his designee in judicial circuits served by a public defender;

(5) a member of the private criminal defense bar;

(6) a representative from the clerk of court's office in the judicial circuit;

(7) a probation officer;

(8) a local law enforcement officer;

(9) a representative of the treatment providers in the community;

(10) the director of the local drug treatment court program, if applicable; and

(11) any other persons selected by the local management committee.

The local drug treatment court management committees shall develop local guidelines and procedures, not inconsistent with the state guidelines, that are necessary for the operation and evaluation of the local drug treatment court.

Section 17-26-80. The director, in conjunction with the committee, shall develop criteria for eligibility and other procedural and substantive guidelines for drug treatment court operation.

Section 17-26-90. (A) Grant applications for the drug treatment court programs shall be submitted to the director, in such form and with such information as the director and committee may require consistent with the provisions of this chapter. Grants shall be awarded to the most comprehensive and feasible plans providing for the implementation or continuation of drug treatment courts. The director recommends to the committee grants for approval. The committee shall approve the grants to be awarded. Grants shall be administered in accordance with laws made for that purpose, including appropriations acts and provisions in appropriations acts, and may adopt rules for the implementation, operation, and monitoring of grant-funded programs.

(B) Grant applications shall specify a local program director who shall be responsible for the local administration of the project. Grant funds may be used to fund a full-time or part-time local program director position. The local program director may be an employee of the grant recipient, an employee of the court, or a grant-established position under the circuit solicitor or presiding drug treatment court judge.

Section 17-26-100. Nothing contained in this chapter shall confer a right or an expectation of a right to treatment for an offender within the criminal justice system.

Section 17-26-110. Each offender shall contribute to the cost of the substance abuse treatment received in the drug treatment court program, based upon guidelines developed by the committee.

Section 17-26-120. Each grant application requesting funding for a drug treatment court shall include a method for evaluating the program's effectiveness, based upon each program's stated goals. Each funded program shall submit evaluation reports to the director as requested. Additionally, the director shall be responsible for developing a model to evaluate the effectiveness of all drug treatment court programs. A report evaluating the effectiveness of the drug treatment court programs in the State shall be submitted to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees by the first day of the legislative session each year."

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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