--- type: "Bill" title: "Competence to stand trial." description: "(1) Existing law prohibits a person from being tried or adjudged to punishment while that person is mentally incompetent. Existing law establishes a process by which a defendant's mental competency is evaluated and by which the defendant receives treatment, including, if applicable, antipsychotic medication, with the goal of returning the defendant to competency. Existing law suspends a criminal action pending restoration to competency." jurisdiction: "us/states/ca" legislature: "California Legislature" session: "20212022" identifier: "SB 317" citation: "California SB 317 (20212022)" classification: ["bill"] subjects: ["Competence to stand trial."] status: "enacted" primary_sponsors: ["Stern"] version_count: 9 action_count: 30 vote_count: 6 first_action: "2021-02-04" last_action: "2021-10-06" source: "openstates" source_identifier: "ocd-bill/fa5486ad-61dd-4920-97d7-e9ae23796bd0" source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB317" source_hash: "1af9d9a7fa1af0b85d56119d7d0dc30ebfa60ce4a6c6c872241250a9bf483010" vintage: "2026-07-01" source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump" retrieved_at: "2026-07-06" confidence: "reported" tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"] --- # California SB 317 (20212022) — Competence to stand trial. (1) Existing law prohibits a person from being tried or adjudged to punishment while that person is mentally incompetent. Existing law establishes a process by which a defendant's mental competency is evaluated and by which the defendant receives treatment, including, if applicable, antipsychotic medication, with the goal of returning the defendant to competency. Existing law suspends a criminal action pending restoration to competency. ## Version chain The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment. 1. **02/04/21 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB317&version=20210SB31799INT) 2. **04/15/21 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB317&version=20210SB31798AMD) 3. **04/29/21 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB317&version=20210SB31797AMD) 4. **06/23/21 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB317&version=20210SB31796AMD) 5. **07/12/21 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB317&version=20210SB31795AMD) 6. **09/01/21 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB317&version=20210SB31794AMD) 7. **10/06/21 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB317&version=20210SB31792CHP) 8. **SB317** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB317) 9. **09/10/21 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB317&version=20210SB31793ENR) ## Votes - Unfinished Business SB317 Stern By Wiener Concurrence — **32–5** (pass) · upper - SB 317 Stern Senate Third Reading By Santiago — **65–0** (pass) · lower - Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations] — **5–0** (pass) · upper - Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] — **7–0** (pass) · lower - 3rd Reading — **32–5** (pass) · upper - Do pass. — **16–0** (pass) · lower ## Sponsors - Stern — primary (person) ## Timeline The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote. - **2021-02-04** Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print. `introduction, reading-1` - **2021-02-05** From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 7. - **2021-02-17** Referred to Com. on PUB. S. `referral-committee` - **2021-02-22** Art. IV. Sec. 8(a) of the Constitution dispensed with. - **2021-02-22** (Ayes 32. Noes 4.) - **2021-02-22** Joint Rule 55 suspended. (Ayes 32. Noes 4. Page 272.) - **2021-03-26** Set for hearing April 27. - **2021-04-15** From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S. `amendment-passage, committee-passage, reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee` - **2021-04-28** From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 940.) (April 27). `amendment-passage, committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable` - **2021-04-29** Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee` - **2021-05-04** Set for hearing May 10. - **2021-05-10** From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8. `committee-passage, reading-2` - **2021-05-11** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-1, reading-2` - **2021-05-28** Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 32. Noes 5. Page 1275.) Ordered to the Assembly. `passage, reading-1, reading-3` - **2021-05-28** In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk. `reading-1` - **2021-06-03** Referred to Com. on PUB. S. `referral-committee` - **2021-06-15** June 15 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author. - **2021-06-23** From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S. `amendment-passage, committee-passage, reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee` - **2021-06-30** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 29). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee` - **2021-07-12** From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `amendment-passage, committee-passage, reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee` - **2021-08-19** From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (August 19). `committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable` - **2021-08-23** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-1, reading-2` - **2021-09-01** Read third time and amended. `amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-3` - **2021-09-01** Ordered to third reading. - **2021-09-07** Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 65. Noes 0. Page 2821.) Ordered to the Senate. `passage, reading-1, reading-3` - **2021-09-07** In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending. - **2021-09-08** Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 32. Noes 5. Page 2521.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. `amendment-passage, committee-passage-favorable` - **2021-09-13** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3:30 p.m. - **2021-10-06** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature` - **2021-10-06** Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 599, Statutes of 2021. `became-law` ## Source OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/fa5486ad-61dd-4920-97d7-e9ae23796bd0`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).