Assigned to JUD FOR COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fifth Legislature, Second Regular Session
FACT SHEET FOR S.B. 1114
court-ordered treatment; case records; confidentiality
Purpose
Modifies application requirements for emergency admissions for court-ordered evaluation.
Outlines circumstances in which courts have concurrent jurisdiction over a patient subject to
court-ordered treatment.
Background
A written application for emergency admission for a court-ordered evaluation must be
made to an evaluation agency before a person may be hospitalized in the agency. The application
must be made by a person with knowledge of the facts requiring emergency admission and must
include the following: 1) a statement by the applicant that the applicant believes on the basis of
personal observation that that the person is a danger to self or others due to a mental disorder, and
that the person is likely to suffer serious physical harm to or inflict serious harm on another without
immediate hospitalization; 2) the specific nature of the danger; 3) a summary of the observations
upon which the statement of danger is based; and 4) the signature of the applicant (A.R.S.
§ 36-524).
If the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that a proposed patient, as a result of a
mental disorder, is a danger to self or others or has a persistent or acute disability or a grave
disability, is in need of treatment and is either unwilling or unable to accept voluntary treatment,
the court must order the patient to undergo treatment as specified. An order to receive treatment
must not exceed specified time limitations based on the type of treatment and the type of mental
disorder present. The court may also order an investigation concerning the need for a guardian or
conservator, or both, on a finding that there is reasonable cause to believe that patient is an
incapacitated person or is a person in need of protection (A.R.S. § 36-540).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation.
Provisions
1. States, except as provided by law, court rule or court order, that case records and case
information regarding court-ordered evaluations and treatment related to mental disorders are
not open to public access or inspection.
2. Allows a court to authorize the release of such case records and information for good cause
shown.
3. Allows the Supreme Court to adopt appropriate rules to govern access to such case records and
information. FACT SHEET
S.B. 1114
Page 2
4. Requires the statement filed with an emergency admission application to include:
a) whether the applicant believes the person has a persistent or acute disability or grave
disability, and is unaware or unwilling to undergo voluntary treatment;
b) the specific nature of the harm or illness the person is likely to suffer or inflict without
immediate hospitalization; and
c) a summary of the facts that support the statements made by the applicant, including the
observations of persons who witnessed the events described in the statements or the
behaviors of the person who is subject to the application.
5. Allows an admitting officer to admit a person to Department of Health Services as an
emergency patient if the admitting officer finds, as a result of an examination and investigation,
that there is reasonable cause to believe that the person has a persistent or acute disability or a
grave disability and is unable or unwilling to undergo voluntary treatment.
6. Requires that a petition for any court-ordered treatment include additional outlined
information, regardless of whether the petition relates to a case involving grave disability.
7. Requires the petition for court-ordered treatment to include, if the person who is the subject of
the petition has an existing guardian, a statement identifying the existing guardian and a request
that the court consider imposing additional duties on the existing guardian.
8. Requires, if the petition contains a request for court action, a copy of the petition to be mailed
to an agency that is nominated as guardian or conservator or the person who is identified as an
existing guardian, rather than to the public fiduciary in the county of the patient's residence or
in which the patient was found before evaluation.
9. States that the superior court in a county where the patient is found or resides has concurrent
jurisdiction with the court in the county that issued the court order for treatment for the
purposes of:
a) enforcing the court order for treatment;
b) ordering changes to the treatment plan; or
c) amending the order to require the patient to undergo further inpatient treatment.
10. Requires the court, if the proceedings to commence enforcement of the order for treatment do
not occur in the same court that originally entered the order for treatment, to consult with the
original court of entry and determine, unless prevented by an emergency:
a) whether to hold hearings and enter orders to facilitate enforcement or administration of the
court order;
b) whether to refer the case back to the court of original entry for further proceedings; or
c) whether to transfer the entire case to the court of original entry in that county for all further
proceedings.
11. Allows the Supreme Court to adopt rules to govern the procedures to be used in enforcing and
administering court orders for treatment in the various counties of Arizona and the transfer of
cases between counties involving court order for treatment.
FACT SHEET
S.B. 1114
Page 3
12. Requires the Supreme Court, for the purpose of facilitating treatment of a patient, to adopt a
rule to establish a program to enable the judges of the superior court, county attorneys, patients'
attorneys, the regional behavioral health authority and behavioral health service providers in
any county to determine the existence of an active court order for treatment and the history of
court orders for treatment entered for a patient by a superior court in any county.
13. Requires the program to ensure that the information shared with other persons or entities is
necessary only for the purposes stated in this act and must require that the information shared
be maintained as confidential by the receiving person or entity.
14. Modifies the definition of persistent or acute disability to include a severe mental disorder that
significantly impairs judgement, reason, behavior or capacity to recognize reality, irrespective
of whether such impairment has a substantial probability of causing the person to suffer if left
untreated.
15. Makes technical and conforming changes.
16. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 2, 2022
ZD/sr