1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to veterans; providing courts the option for stay of adjudication for 
1.3 	military members and veterans diagnosed as suffering from a qualifying 
1.4 	psychological injury or condition;proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
1.5 	Statutes, chapter 609.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. [609.0951] SERVICE MEMBERS AND VETERANS AT 
1.8 	ARRAIGNMENT.
1.9 		Subdivision 1.Evaluation; stay of adjudication; treatment. (a) For purposes of 
1.10 	this section, "qualifying psychological evaluation" means a psychological evaluation by a 
1.11 	qualified psychiatrist, clinical psychologist, physician, or, to the satisfaction of the court, 
1.12 	other competent medical authority. "Qualifying psychological evaluation" includes, but is 
1.13 	not limited to, a psychological evaluation conducted or administered at any time by an 
1.14 	appropriate professional member of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs who 
1.15 	is trained and authorized to the satisfaction of the court to make such evaluations.
1.16 	(b) When a defendant appears in court upon arraignment for a crime, the court 
1.17 	shall inquire whether the defendant is currently serving in, or is a veteran of, the United 
1.18 	States armed forces. If the defendant is serving in or is a veteran of the United States 
1.19 	armed forces and claims, or reasonably appears to the court, to be suffering from any 
1.20 	psychological injury or condition that may have been a causative or contributing factor in 
1.21 	the person's alleged or charged offense, the court shall determine whether the person has 
1.22 	obtained a qualifying psychological evaluation of the injury or condition and, if not, then 
1.23 	the court shall order the person to do so.
1.24 	(c) If by means of a qualifying psychological evaluation the defendant is found by 
1.25 	the court to be suffering from a psychological injury or condition that may have been a 
2.1 	causative factor or may have played a significant contributing role in the person's alleged 
2.2 	or charged offense, the court may, if the court considers it appropriate, and irrespective 
2.3 	of any objection by the prosecutor, stay adjudication of conviction or the imposition or 
2.4 	execution of sentence in order to order one or more of the alternative treatment options 
2.5 	determined by the commissioner of veterans affairs according to subdivision 2, or as 
2.6 	otherwise identified by the court, as appropriate for the defendant.
2.7 		Subd. 2.Treatment options. (a) The commissioner of veterans affairs, in 
2.8 	consultation with the adjutant general of the National Guard, the state court administrator, 
2.9 	the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the Minnesota Bar Association, the 
2.10 	Mental Health Association of Minnesota, the Minnesota Association of Community 
2.11 	Mental Health Programs, and the Minnesota American Indian Mental Health Advisory 
2.12 	Council, shall develop and periodically update a listing, including brief descriptions and 
2.13 	program contact information, of mental health treatment programs available to Minnesota 
2.14 	courts as alternatives to the adjudication of members and veterans of the United States 
2.15 	armed forces, as considered appropriate by a court under subdivision 1.
2.16 	(b) The commissioner must provide to the state court administrator a copy of the 
2.17 	listing of treatment options in paragraph (a) for dissemination to the district courts, and 
2.18 	may otherwise disseminate the list as considered helpful for veterans.

2.19 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective August 1, 2010, and applies to 
2.20 	hearings in Minnesota courts on or after that date.