SB 1682
Initials AG/MT Page 1 Caucus & COW
ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Fifty-sixth Legislature
Second Regular Session
Senate: HHS DP 7-0-0-0 | 3rd Read 18-11-1-0
House: HHS DP 7-2-1-0
SB 1682: state hospital; bed availability
Sponsor: Senator Gowan, LD 19
Caucus & COW
Overview
Directs the Arizona State Hospital (ASH) to admit patients based on clinical need for
treatment and forbids any limit on admission based on a patient's county of residence.
History
ASH, a division of the Arizona Department of Health Services, is a 260-bed facility that
provides long-term inpatient psychiatric treatment to individuals with mental illnesses,
personality disorders or emotional conditions who are under a court order to receive
treatment. ASH is divided into three separate facilities: 1) the Civil Hospital; 2) the Forensic
Hospital; and 3) the Arizona Community Protection and Treatment Center (ACPTC).
Patients receiving treatment at the Civil Hospital have been court-ordered to receive
involuntary treatment as a result of having been determined to be a danger to themselves or
others, gravely disabled or persistently and acutely disabled. Patients receiving treatment at
the Forensic Hospital are court-ordered for either pre-trial or post-trial treatment as a result
of involvement with the criminal justice system due to a mental health issue. ACPTC
supervises and treats persons classified as sexually violent persons (A.R.S. Title 36, Chapter
2, Article 1).
A patient ordered by a court to undergo treatment and is not hospitalized in ASH at the time
of the order must be treated for at least 25 days in a local mental health treatment agency
that is geographically convenient for the patient before being hospitalized in ASH. A patient
who is ordered by a court to undergo treatment may be admitted for treatment if the patient
is accepted by the ASH Superintendent or if the court orders placement.
After a hearing, if the court finds that the patient's present condition and history
demonstrate that the patient will not benefit from a continued period of treatment in or by a
local mental health treatment agency either as an inpatient or an outpatient or that ASH
provides a program that is specific to the needs of the patient and is unavailable in a local
mental health treatment agency, is the least restrictive placement to meet the needs of the
patient for the foreseeable future and there is a legally funded bed in ASH the court can
amend the original treatment order authorizing the placement of the patient at ASH. The
ASH Superintendent must notify the court whether a bed is available at ASH (A.R.S. § 36-
541).
Provisions
1. Requires ASH to admit patients based on clinical need for treatment. (Sec. 1)
☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal Note SB 1682
Initials AG/MT Page 2 Caucus & COW
2. Prohibits ASH from placing a limit on admission based on a patient's county of residence.
(Sec. 1)
3. Removes the requirement that there must be a legally available funded bed at ASH for a
patient to be placed there if the court finds that ASH provides a program that is specific
to the needs of the patient that is unavailable in a local mental health treatment agency
and is the least restrictive placement to meet the needs of the patient for the foreseeable
future. (Sec. 2)