88R14766 EAS-F
 
  By: Jetton H.B. No. 2506
 
  Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2506:
 
  By:  Klick C.S.H.B. No. 2506
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to procedures applicable to the emergency detention of a
  person with mental illness at a mental health facility, including
  the detention, transportation, and transfer of the person and to
  certain best practices for courts with jurisdiction over emergency
  mental health matters.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Sections 571.003(9) and (12), Health and Safety
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
               (9)  "Inpatient mental health facility" means a mental
  health facility that can provide 24-hour residential and
  psychiatric services and that is:
                     (A)  a facility operated by the department;
                     (B)  a private mental hospital licensed by the
  department;
                     (C)  a community center, facility operated by or
  under contract with a community center or other entity the
  department designates to provide mental health services;
                     (D)  a local mental health authority or a facility
  operated by or under contract with a local mental health authority;
                     (E)  a mental health or psychiatric unit of [an
  identifiable part of] a general hospital in which diagnosis,
  treatment, and care for persons with mental illness is provided and
  that is licensed by the department; or
                     (F)  a hospital operated by a federal agency.
               (12)  "Mental health facility" means:
                     (A)  an inpatient or outpatient mental health
  facility operated by the department, a federal agency, a political
  subdivision, or any person;
                     (B)  a community center or a facility operated by
  a community center;
                     (C)  a mental health or psychiatric unit [that
  identifiable part] of a general hospital in which diagnosis,
  treatment, and care for persons with mental illness is provided; or
                     (D)  with respect to a reciprocal agreement
  entered into under Section 571.0081, any hospital or facility
  designated as a place of commitment by the department, a local
  mental health authority, and the contracting state or local
  authority.
         SECTION 2.  Section 573.001, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by amending Subsections (d) and (g) and adding Subsection
  (d-1) to read as follows:
         (d)  Except as provided by Subsection (d-1), a [A] peace
  officer who takes a person into custody under Subsection (a) shall
  immediately:
               (1)  transport the apprehended person to[:
                     [(A)]  the nearest appropriate inpatient mental
  health facility; or
                     [(B)  a mental health facility deemed suitable by
  the local mental health authority, if an appropriate inpatient
  mental health facility is not available; or]
               (2)  transfer the apprehended person to emergency
  medical services personnel of an emergency medical services
  provider in accordance with a memorandum of understanding executed
  under Section 573.005 for transport to a facility described by
  Subdivision (1) [(1)(A) or (B)].
         (d-1)  Subsection (d) does not apply to a peace officer who
  takes into custody under Subsection (a) a person who requires
  stabilization due to an emergency medical condition.
         (g)  A peace officer who takes a person into custody under
  Subsection (a) shall immediately inform the person orally in
  simple, nontechnical terms:
               (1)  of the reason for the detention; [and]
               (2)  of the warning described by Section 2(a), Article
  38.22, Code of Criminal Procedure; and
               (3)  that a staff member of the facility will inform the
  person of the person's rights at [within 24 hours after] the time
  the person is admitted to a facility and before questioning,
  assessing, or examining the person, as provided by Section
  573.025(b).
         SECTION 3.  Section 573.002, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
         (f)  If a person who has been detained under Section 573.001
  and transported to a facility under this section subsequently is
  transported to a mental health facility as authorized by Section
  573.022(d), a copy of the notification of detention form filed
  under Subsection (a) must accompany the detained person to the
  mental health facility.
         SECTION 4.  Section 573.012, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by adding Subsection (j) to read as follows:
         (j)  A judge or magistrate is not prohibited from issuing a
  warrant under this section for a person for whom a previous warrant
  was issued under this section unless the person was detained
  pursuant to the previously issued warrant for a preliminary
  examination under Section 573.021 for a period that exceeded the
  maximum custodial period permitted under that section.
         SECTION 5.  Subchapter B, Chapter 573, Health and Safety
  Code, is amended by adding Section 573.013 to read as follows:
         Sec. 573.013.  JUDICIAL BEST PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES. The
  Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall
  develop and provide to each court in the state with jurisdiction to
  hear emergency mental health matters under this chapter best
  practices and procedures for ensuring that a judge or magistrate is
  available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond to
  applications for emergency detention under Section 573.012(h).
         SECTION 6.  Section 573.021, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), and (d) and adding
  Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
         (a)  A mental health facility shall temporarily accept a
  person for whom an application for detention is filed or for whom a
  peace officer or emergency medical services personnel of an
  emergency medical services provider transporting the person in
  accordance with a memorandum of understanding executed under
  Section 573.005 files a notification of detention completed by the
  peace officer under Section 573.002(a).
         (a-1)  A general hospital may temporarily accept and detain a
  person for whom a warrant under Section 573.012 is issued or for
  whom a peace officer or emergency medical services personnel of an
  emergency medical services provider transporting the person in
  accordance with a memorandum of understanding executed under
  Section 573.005 files a notification of detention completed by the
  peace officer under Section 573.002(a).
         (b)  A person accepted for a preliminary examination may be
  detained in custody for not longer than 48 hours after the time the
  person is presented to the mental health facility unless a written
  order for protective custody is obtained.  The 48-hour period
  allowed by this section includes any time the patient spends
  waiting in the mental health facility for medical care before the
  person receives the preliminary examination.  If the 48-hour
  period ends on a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or before 4 p.m.
  on the first succeeding business day, the person may be detained
  until 4 p.m. on the first succeeding business day. If the 48-hour
  period ends at a different time, the person may be detained only
  until 4 p.m. on the day the 48-hour period ends.  If extremely
  hazardous weather conditions exist or a disaster occurs, the
  presiding judge or magistrate may, by written order made each day,
  extend by an additional 24 hours the period during which the person
  may be detained.  The written order must declare that an emergency
  exists because of the weather or the occurrence of a disaster.
         (d)  A mental health facility must comply with this section
  only to the extent that the commissioner determines that a mental
  health facility has sufficient resources to perform the necessary
  services under this section.
         SECTION 7.  Section 573.022, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
         (d)  A local mental health authority that determines a person
  detained under Section 573.002 should be transported to an
  appropriate mental health facility before the expiration of the
  period for emergency detention described by Section 573.021(b) may
  submit a request for a peace officer to provide transportation.  On
  a peace officer's receipt of notice of the request from the
  officer's supervisor, the peace officer immediately shall
  transport the detained person to the appropriate mental health
  facility.  A copy of the notification of emergency detention for the
  detained person filed under Section 573.002(a) must accompany the
  detained person to the receiving facility.  The receiving facility
  may not require any form other than the copy of the peace officer's
  notification of detention as a predicate to accepting a person for
  emergency detention.
         SECTION 8.  Section 573.025(b), Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  A person apprehended, detained, or transported for
  emergency detention under this subtitle shall be informed of the
  rights provided by this section and this subtitle:
               (1)  orally in simple, nontechnical terms, at [within
  24 hours after] the time the person is admitted to a facility and
  before the person is questioned, assessed, or examined, and in
  writing in the person's primary language if possible; or
               (2)  through the use of a means reasonably calculated
  to communicate with a hearing or visually impaired person, if
  applicable.
         SECTION 9.  The changes in law made by this Act apply to an
  emergency detention under Chapter 573, Health and Safety Code, that
  begins on or after the effective date of this Act.  An emergency
  detention under Chapter 573, Health and Safety Code, that begins
  before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law as it
  existed immediately before that date, and that law is continued in
  effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 10.  As soon as practicable after the effective date
  of this Act, the Office of Court Administration of the Texas
  Judicial System shall develop the best practices and procedures as
  required by Section 573.013, Health and Safety Code, as added by
  this Act.
         SECTION 11.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.