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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
ENGROSSED SENATE
BILL NO. 3 By: Bullard, David, Bergstrom
and Stephens of the Senate
and
Humphrey and Wallace of the
House
An Act relating to transportation for mental health
services by law enforcement; amending 43A O.S. 2011,
Section 1-110, as last amended by Section 1, Chapter
374, O.S.L. 2016 (43A O.S. Supp. 2020, Section 1 -
110), which relates to law enforcement responsibility
for transporting persons for mental health services;
authorizing certain use of telemedicine; providing
definitions; amending certain responsibility;
authorizing certain agreements; amending 43A O.S.
2011, Section 5-207, as amended by Section 2, Chapter
296, O.S.L. 2012 (43A O.S. Supp. 2020, Section 5 -
207), which relates to the Local Law Enforcement
Mental Health Manpower Act; amending certain
transportation responsibility; providing for certain
contracting; removing certain transportation
determinants; and providing a n effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 43A O.S. 2011, Section 1 -110, as
last amended by Section 1, Chapter 374, O.S.L. 2016 (43A O.S. Supp.
2020, Section 1-110), is amended to read as follows:
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Section 1-110. A. Sheriffs and peace officers may utilize
telemedicine, when such capability is available and is in the
possession of the local law enforcement agency, to have a person
whom the officer reasonably believes is a perso n requiring
treatment, as defined in Section 1 -103 of this title, assessed by a
licensed mental health professional employed by or under contract
with a facility operated by, certified by or contracted with the
Department of Mental Health and Substance Abu se Services. To serve
the mental health needs of persons of their jurisdiction, peace
officers shall be responsible for transporting individuals in need
of initial assessment, emergency detention or protective custody
from the initial point of contact to and from designated sites or
facilities for the purpose of examination, emergency detention,
protective custody and inpatient services the nearest facility, as
defined in Section 1 -103 of this title, within a thirty (30) mile
radius of the peace officer ’s operational headquarters. If there is
not a facility within a thirty (30) mile radius of the peace
officer’s operational headquarters, transportation to a facility
shall be completed by either the Department of Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Services o r an entity contracted by the Department
for alternative transportation. For purposes of this section,
“initial contact” is defined as contact with an individual in need
of assessment, emergency detention or protective custody made by a
law enforcement officer. Initial contact in this section does not
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include an individual self -presenting at a facility as defined in
Section 1-103 of this title.
B. A municipal law enforcement agency shall be responsible for
transportation as provided in this act for any individual found
within such municipality ’s jurisdiction. The county sheriff shall
be responsible for transportation as provided in this act for any
individual found outside of a municipality ’s jurisdiction, but
within the county.
C. The law enforcement a gency transporting an individual to and
from designated sites or facilities pursuant to the provisions of
this section shall maintain responsibility for the transportation of
such individual pending completion of the examination, emergency
detention, protective custody and inpatient services Once an
individual has been presented to the facility, as provided in
subsection A of this section, by a transporting law enforcement
officer, the transporting law enforcement agency shall be
responsible for any subsequ ent transportation of such individual
pending completion of the initial assessment, emergency detention,
protective custody or inpatient services within a thirty (30) mile
radius of the peace officer ’s operational headquarters. All
transportation over thi rty (30) miles must be completed by either
the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services or an
entity contracted by the Department for alternative transportation .
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D. Sheriffs and peace officers shall be entitled to
reimbursement from the De partment of Mental Health and Substance
Abuse Services for transportation services associated with minors or
adults requiring examination initial assessment, emergency
detention, protective custody and inpatient services.
E. Any transportation provided by a sheriff or deputy sheriff
or a peace officer on behalf of any county, city, town or
municipality of this state, to or from any facility for the purpose
of examination initial assessment, admission, interfacility
transfer, medical treatment or court appe arance shall be reimbursed
in accordance with the provisions of the State Travel Reimbursement
Act.
F. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a law enforcement
agency or the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Services from entering into a law ful agreement with any other law
enforcement agency to fulfill the requirements established by this
section or from contracting with a third party to provide the
services established by this section provided the third party meets
minimum standards as deter mined by the Department . Standards
determined by the Department shall not exceed the standards required
by law enforcement.
G. A law enforcement agency shall not be liable for the actions
of a peace officer commissioned by the agency when such officer is
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providing services as a third party pursuant to subsection F of this
section outside his or her primary employment as a peace officer.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 43A O.S. 2011, Section 5 -207, as
amended by Section 2, Chapter 296, O.S. L. 2012 (43A O.S. Supp. 2020,
Section 5-207), is amended to read as follows:
Section 5-207. A. Any person who appears to be or states that
such person is mentally ill, alcohol -dependent, or drug-dependent to
a degree that immediate emergency action is ne cessary may be taken
into protective custody and detained as provided pursuant to the
provisions of this section. Nothing in this section shall be
construed as being in lieu of prosecution under state or local
statutes or ordinances relating to public int oxication offenses.
B. 1. Any peace officer who reasonably believes that a person
is a person requiring treatment as defined in Section 1 -103 of this
title shall take the person into protective custody. The officer
shall make every reasonable effort to take the person into custody
in the least conspicuous manner.
2. Upon taking the person into protective custody, the officer
may relinquish custody of the person believed to require treatment
to a duly qualified reserve officer or deputy employed by the s ame
agency to fulfill the officer ’s duties as required by this title.
C. The officer shall prepare a written statement indicating the
basis for the officer ’s belief that the person is a person requiring
treatment and the circumstances under which the offi cer took the
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person into protective custody. The officer shall give a copy of
the statement to the person or the person ’s attorney upon the
request of either. If the officer does not make the determination
to take an individual into protective custody on the basis of the
officer’s personal observation, the officer shall not be required to
prepare a written statement. However, the person stating to be
mentally ill, alcohol -dependent, or drug-dependent or the person
upon whose statement the officer relies shall sign a written
statement indicating the basis for such person ’s belief that the
person is a person requiring treatment. Any false statement given
to the officer by the person upon whose statement the officer relies
shall be a misdemeanor and subject to the sanctions of Title 21 of
the Oklahoma Statutes.
D. If the person is medically stable, the officer shall
immediately transport the person to an urgent recovery clinic or to
the nearest facility designated by the Commissioner of Mental Health
and Substance Abuse Services as an appropriate facility , as defined
in Section 1-103 of this title, for an initial assessment within a
thirty (30) mile radius of the peace officer ’s operational
headquarters, or may use telemedicine with a licensed mental health
professional employed or under contract with a facility operated by ,
certified by or contracted with the Department of Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Services to perform an initial assessment . If,
subsequent to an initial assessment, it is determined t hat emergency
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detention is warranted, the officer shall immediately transport the
person to the nearest facility , designated by the Commissioner as
appropriate for such detention, that has bed space available if the
facility is within thirty (30) miles of the peace officer’s
operational headquarters and the individual was determined to be a
person requiring treatment. The Department of Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Services may contract for the use of alternative
transportation providers to transport i ndividuals to facilities
designated for emergency detention when the nearest facility with
available bed space is more than thirty (30) miles from the peace
officer’s operational headquarters and the individual was determined
to be a person requiring treat ment. For the purposes of this
section, “urgent recovery clinics ” means clinics that offer services
aimed at the assessment and immediate stabilization of acute
symptoms of mental illness, alcohol and other drug abuse and
emotional distress, provided no m ore than twenty-three (23) hours
and fifty-nine (59) minutes of services are provided to a consumer
during one episode of care . If it is determined by the facility
director or designee that the person is not medically stable, the
officer shall immediately transport the person to the nearest
hospital or other appropriate treatment facility.
E. If the person is medically unstable, the person may be
transported to an appropriate medical facility for medical
treatment. A treating physician may authorize that the person be
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detained until the person becomes medically stable. When the person
becomes medically stable, if in the opinion of the treating or
discharging physician, the patient is still a person requiring
treatment as defined in Section 1 -103 of this title, the physician
shall authorize detention of the patient for transportation as
provided in subsection D of this section by an appropriate law
enforcement agency.
F. If the nearest facility designated by the Commissioner as an
appropriate facility for an initial assessment or detention is in
excess of fifty (50) miles from the county seat of the county in
which the person is located, and whenever, as provided in paragraph
(b) of Article III of Section 6 -201 of this title, there are factors
based upon clinical determinations made within the state indicating
that the care and treatment of the person would be facilitated or
improved thereby, the person may be transported by the officer to a
facility in another state if the facility:
1. Is located in a sta te that has enacted into law and entered
into the Interstate Compact on Mental Health;
2. Is designated or accredited by the mental health authorities
of that state as an appropriate facility for an initial assessment
or detention of such person;
3. Is accredited by the Joint Commission;
4. Is the nearest available facility to the county seat of the
county in which the person is located; and
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5. Has agreed prior to the person leaving the state to receive
the person for initial assessment or detention.
G. The parent, brother or sister who is eighteen (18) years of
age or older, child who is eighteen (18) years of age or older, or
guardian of the person, or a person who appears to be or states that
such person is mentally ill, alcohol -dependent, or drug-dependent to
a degree that emergency action is necessary may request the
administrator of a facility designated by the Commissioner as an
appropriate facility for an initial assessment to conduct an initial
assessment to determine whether the condition of th e person is such
that emergency detention is warranted and, if emergency detention is
warranted, to detain the person as provided in Section 5 -206 of this
title.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2021.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND CORRECTIONS,
dated 03/25/2021 - DO PASS, As Coauthored.