Amends TCA Title 36; Title 39 and Title 40.

As a condition of bail or other pretrial release, this bill requires the magistrate, judge, or other person ordering the release of a defendant who has been charged with stalking, aggravated stalking, or especially aggravated stalking to order the defendant to undergo the same evaluation, as described below, as an accused believed to be incompetent to stand trial. Under present law, when a defendant charged with a criminal offense is believed to be incompetent to stand trial, or there is a question about the defendant's mental capacity at the time of the commission of the crime, the criminal, circuit, or general sessions court judge may order the defendant to be evaluated on an outpatient basis. The evaluation must be done by the community mental health center or licensed private practitioner designated by the commissioner to serve the court or, if the evaluation cannot be made by the center or the private practitioner, on an outpatient basis by the state hospital or the state-supported hospital designated by the commissioner to serve the court. If, and only if, the outpatient evaluator concludes that further evaluation and treatment are needed, the court may order the defendant hospitalized, and if in a department facility, in the custody of the commissioner for not more than 30 days for further evaluation and treatment. Present law authorizes the court to authorize the district attorney general to designate a qualified expert, who is willing to be appointed, to examine the defendant, if (i) an inpatient evaluator notifies the court in a pretrial proceeding that the type or extent of assessment required exceeds the expertise or resources available to the evaluator or exceeds the scope of analysis of the defendant's competence to stand trial, satisfaction of criteria for the insanity defense, or for commitment; or (ii) in any other type of felony criminal proceeding, the court determines that examination of the defendant by a qualified expert for the state is necessary to adjudicate fairly the matter before it.