(a) (1) The sex offender risk assessment tools authorized by this section for use with selected populations shall be known, with respect to each population, as the State-Authorized Risk Assessment Tool for Sex Offenders (SARATSO). If a SARATSO has not been selected for a given population pursuant to this section, no duty to administer the SARATSO elsewhere in this code shall apply with respect to that population. Every person required to register as a sex offender shall be subject to assessment with the SARATSO as set forth in this section and elsewhere in this code.
(2) A representative of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, in consultation with a representative of the State Department of State Hospitals and a representative of the Attorney General’s office, shall comprise the SARATSO Review Committee. The purpose of the committee, which shall be staffed by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, shall be to ensure that the SARATSO reflects the most reliable, objective, and well-established protocols for predicting sex offender risk of recidivism, has been scientifically validated and cross validated, and is, or is reasonably likely to be, widely accepted by the courts. The committee shall consult with experts in the fields of risk assessment and the use of actuarial instruments in predicting sex offender risk, sex offending, sex offender treatment, mental health, and law, as it deems appropriate.
(b) (1) Commencing January 1, 2007, the SARATSO for adult males required to register as sex offenders shall be the STATIC-99 risk assessment scale, which shall be the SARATSO static tool for adult males.
(2) The SARATSO Review Committee shall determine whether the STATIC-99 should be supplemented with an empirically derived instrument that measures dynamic risk factors or whether the STATIC-99 should be replaced as the SARATSO with a different risk assessment tool. The SARATSO Review Committee shall select an empirically derived instrument that measures dynamic risk factors and an empirically derived instrument that measures risk of future violence. The selected instruments shall be the SARATSO dynamic tool for adult males and the SARATSO future violence tool for adult males. If the committee unanimously agrees on changes to be made to a designated SARATSO, it shall advise the Governor and the Legislature of the changes, and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall post the decision on its Internet Web site. Sixty days after the decision is posted, the selected tool shall become the SARATSO for adult males.
(c) On or before July 1, 2007, the SARATSO Review Committee shall research risk assessment tools for adult females required to register as sex offenders. If the committee unanimously agrees on an appropriate risk assessment tool to be used to assess this population, it shall advise the Governor and the Legislature of the selected tool, and the State Department of Mental Health shall post the decision on its Internet Web site. Sixty days after the decision is posted, the selected tool shall become the SARATSO for adult females.
(d) On or before July 1, 2007, the SARATSO Review Committee shall research risk assessment tools for male juveniles required to register as sex offenders. If the committee unanimously agrees on an appropriate risk assessment tool to be used to assess this population, it shall advise the Governor and the Legislature of the selected tool, and the State Department of Mental Health shall post the decision on its Internet Web site. Sixty days after the decision is posted, the selected tool shall become the SARATSO for male juveniles.
(e) On or before July 1, 2007, the SARATSO Review Committee shall research risk assessment tools for female juveniles required to register as sex offenders. If the committee unanimously agrees on an appropriate risk assessment tool to be used to assess this population, it shall advise the Governor and the Legislature of the selected tool, and the State Department of Mental Health shall post the decision on its Internet Web site. Sixty days after the decision is posted, the selected tool shall become the SARATSO for female juveniles.
(f) The committee shall periodically evaluate the SARATSO static, dynamic, and risk of future violence tools for each specified population. If the committee unanimously agrees on a change to the SARATSO for any population, it shall advise the Governor and the Legislature of the selected tool, and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall post the decision on its Internet Web site. Sixty days after the decision is posted, the selected tool shall become the SARATSO for that population.
(g) The committee shall perform other functions consistent with the provisions of this act or as may be otherwise required by law, including, but not limited to, defining tiers of risk based on the SARATSO. The committee shall be immune from liability for good faith conduct under this act.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 24, Sec. 15. (AB 1470) Effective June 27, 2012.)