Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB32 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 32
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the detention and transportation of a person with a
7	7	mental illness.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subsections (d), (e), and (f), Section 573.001,
10	10	Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
11	11	(d) A peace officer who takes a person into custody under
12	12	Subsection (a) shall immediately transport the apprehended person
13	13	to:
14	14	(1) the nearest appropriate inpatient mental health
15	15	facility; [or]
16	16	(2) a mental health facility deemed suitable by the
17	17	local mental health authority, if an appropriate inpatient mental
18	18	health facility is not available; or
19	19	(3) a medical facility or other facility that the
20	20	local mental health authority deems suitable, if a facility
21	21	described in Subdivision (1) or (2) is not available.
22	22	(e) A jail or similar detention facility used to detain
23	23	persons charged with or convicted of a crime is not a facility [may
24	24	not be deemed] suitable for detention of a person taken into custody
25	25	under this section unless another facility described by Subsection
26	26	(d)(1) or (2) is not available and the nearest facility described by
27	27	Subsection (d)(3) is located more than 75 miles from the location
28	28	where the peace officer has custody of the person. A person may be
29	29	detained in a jail or similar detention facility under this
30	30	subsection for not longer than 12 hours. The sheriff or other
31	31	officeholder responsible for the facility shall document:
32	32	(1) the time the person's detention begins;
33	33	(2) the duration of the detention;
34	34	(3) the reason for the detention; and
35	35	(4) the time a representative of the local mental
36	36	health authority arrives at the facility [except in an extreme
37	37	emergency].
38	38	(f) The sheriff or officeholder responsible for [A person
39	39	detained in] a jail or a similar detention [nonmedical] facility
40	40	shall ensure that a person detained in the jail or similar detention
41	41	facility is [be] kept separate from any person who is charged with
42	42	or convicted of a crime.
43	43	SECTION 2. Section 574.023, Health and Safety Code, is
44	44	amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
45	45	(e) A person taken into custody under this section may be
46	46	detained only in the manner provided by Section 574.027.
47	47	SECTION 3. Section 574.027, Health and Safety Code, is
48	48	amended by amending Subsections (c) and (d) and adding Subsection
49	49	(c-1) to read as follows:
50	50	(c) A person under a protective custody order may not be
51	51	detained in a jail or nonmedical facility used to detain persons who
52	52	are charged with or convicted of a crime unless another facility
53	53	described by Subsection (a) is not available and the nearest
54	54	medical facility or other facility deemed suitable by the local
55	55	mental health authority is located more than 75 miles from the
56	56	location where the peace officer has custody of the person. A
57	57	person may be detained in a jail or nonmedical facility under this
58	58	subsection for not longer than 12 hours. The sheriff or other
59	59	officeholder responsible for the facility shall document:
60	60	(1) the time the person's detention begins;
61	61	(2) the duration of the detention;
62	62	(3) the reason for the detention; and
63	63	(4) the time a representative of the local mental
64	64	health authority arrives at the facility [except because of and
65	65	during an extreme emergency and in no case for longer than 72 hours,
66	66	excluding Saturdays, Sundays, legal holidays, and the period
67	67	prescribed by Section 574.025(b) for an extreme emergency. The
68	68	person must be isolated from any person who is charged with or
69	69	convicted of a crime].
70	70	(c-1) The sheriff or officeholder responsible for a jail or
71	71	a nonmedical facility described by Subsection (c) shall ensure that
72	72	a person detained in the jail or facility under Subsection (c) is
73	73	kept separate from any person who is charged with or convicted of a
74	74	crime.
75	75	(d) The county health authority shall ensure that proper
76	76	care and medical attention are made available to a person who is
77	77	detained in a jail or nonmedical facility under Subsection (c).
78	78	SECTION 4. Section 574.045, Health and Safety Code, is
79	79	amended by adding Subsection (l) to read as follows:
80	80	(l) A patient restrained under Subsection (g) may be
81	81	restrained only during the apprehension, detention, or
82	82	transportation of the patient. The method of restraint must permit
83	83	the patient to sit in an upright position without undue difficulty.
84	84	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
85	85	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
86	86	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
87	87	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
88	88	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.