82R9559 EES-F
By: Wentworth S.B. No. 1162
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to reporting regarding, the apprehension and
transportation of, and records relating to certain persons who are
or may be persons with mental illness.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 611.004, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read as follows:
(e) A professional shall report to law enforcement
personnel and disclose confidential information relating to a
patient if the professional has reason to believe and does believe
that the patient or another person is mentally ill and intends to:
(1) attempt suicide by acting in a manner that
provokes a lethal response by a police officer;
(2) cause serious bodily injury to a government
official; or
(3) cause serious bodily injury to another individual.
(f) A professional who in good faith discloses confidential
information in accordance with Subsection (e) is immune from civil
or criminal liability for that disclosure.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 573, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 573.0015 to read as follows:
Sec. 573.0015. APPREHENSION BY PEACE OFFICER WITHOUT
WARRANT ON CERTAIN REPORT BY MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL. A peace
officer, without a warrant, may take a person into custody in the
manner provided in Section 573.001 if the officer receives from a
mental health professional a report in accordance with Section
611.004(e) of the professional's belief that the person is mentally
ill and intends to attempt an action described by that subsection.
SECTION 3. Title 1, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended
by adding Chapter 5A to read as follows:
CHAPTER 5A. PREVENTION OF SUICIDE AND PHYSICAL VIOLENCE BY
MENTALLY ILL PERSONS
Art. 5A.01. REPORT OF APPREHENSION OF CERTAIN PERSONS
BELIEVED TO BE MENTALLY ILL AND DANGEROUS REQUIRED. (a) A peace
officer who takes a person into custody in accordance with Section
573.0015, Health and Safety Code, shall make a written report that
includes:
(1) the name of the person taken into custody;
(2) the name of the mental health professional who
reported to law enforcement personnel in accordance with Section
611.004(e), Health and Safety Code, the professional's belief that
the person is mentally ill and intends to attempt an action
described by that subsection;
(3) a description of the action the professional
believes the person intended to take; and
(4) the name of the government official or other
individual to whom the person intended to cause serious bodily
injury, if applicable.
(b) A peace officer shall provide a copy of the report
described by Subsection (a) to the bureau of identification and
records of the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas for
the bureau's recordkeeping function under Section 411.042,
Government Code.
Art. 5A.02. CERTAIN RECORDKEEPING REQUIRED. (a) Each local
law enforcement agency shall establish a departmental code for
identifying and retrieving reports received under Article 5A.01.
(b) In order to ensure that an officer investigating an
incident or responding to a disturbance call that involves or may
involve a person who is mentally ill is aware of the existence of a
report made under Article 5A.01(a), each local law enforcement
agency shall establish procedures within the agency to provide to
officers adequate information or access to information concerning
the identity of a person identified in a report as a person who has
been taken into custody because of a report by a mental health
professional under Section 611.004(e), Health and Safety Code, and
the action the professional believes the person intended to take.
(c) The district or county attorney exercising authority in
the county in which the law enforcement agency has jurisdiction is
entitled to access the records created under this chapter.
SECTION 4. Section 411.042(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The bureau of identification and records shall:
(1) procure and file for record photographs, pictures,
descriptions, fingerprints, measurements, and other pertinent
information of all persons arrested for or charged with a criminal
offense or convicted of a criminal offense, regardless of whether
the conviction is probated;
(2) collect information concerning the number and
nature of offenses reported or known to have been committed in the
state and the legal steps taken in connection with the offenses, and
other information useful in the study of crime and the
administration of justice, including information that enables the
bureau to create a statistical breakdown of offenses in which
family violence was involved and a statistical breakdown of
offenses under Sections 22.011 and 22.021, Penal Code;
(3) make ballistic tests of bullets and firearms and
chemical analyses of bloodstains, cloth, materials, and other
substances for law enforcement officers of the state;
(4) cooperate with identification and crime records
bureaus in other states and the United States Department of
Justice;
(5) maintain a list of all previous background checks
for applicants for any position regulated under Chapter 1702,
Occupations Code, who have undergone a criminal history background
check under Section 411.119, if the check indicates a Class B
misdemeanor or equivalent offense or a greater offense;
(6) collect information concerning the number and
nature of protective orders and all other pertinent information
about all persons on active protective orders. Information in the
law enforcement information system relating to an active protective
order shall include:
(A) the name, sex, race, date of birth, personal
descriptors, address, and county of residence of the person to whom
the order is directed;
(B) any known identifying number of the person to
whom the order is directed, including the person's social security
number or driver's license number;
(C) the name and county of residence of the
person protected by the order;
(D) the residence address and place of employment
or business of the person protected by the order, unless that
information is excluded from the order under Section 85.007, Family
Code;
(E) the child-care facility or school where a
child protected by the order normally resides or which the child
normally attends, unless that information is excluded from the
order under Section 85.007, Family Code;
(F) the relationship or former relationship
between the person who is protected by the order and the person to
whom the order is directed; and
(G) the date the order expires;
(7) grant access to criminal history record
information in the manner authorized under Subchapter F;
(8) collect and disseminate information regarding
offenders with mental impairments in compliance with Chapter 614,
Health and Safety Code; [and]
(9) record data and maintain a state database for a
computerized criminal history record system and computerized
juvenile justice information system that serves:
(A) as the record creation point for criminal
history record information and juvenile justice information
maintained by the state; and
(B) as the control terminal for the entry of
records, in accordance with federal law and regulations, federal
executive orders, and federal policy, into the federal database
maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
(10) procure and file for record fingerprints and
other pertinent information of each person:
(A) ordered by a court to receive inpatient
mental health services under Chapter 574, Health and Safety Code;
or
(B) acquitted in a criminal case by reason of
insanity or lack of mental responsibility, regardless of whether
the person is ordered by a court to receive inpatient treatment or
residential care under Chapter 46C, Code of Criminal Procedure; and
(11) collect and disseminate information regarding
the apprehension of certain persons because of a report by a mental
health professional under Section 611.004(e), Health and Safety
Code.
SECTION 5. Section 574.045(e), Health and Safety Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 6. Section 611.004(f), Health and Safety Code, as
added by this Act, applies only to a disclosure of confidential
information made on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 7. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas
shall procure and file the fingerprints and information required by
Section 411.042(b)(10), Government Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.