83R7631 EES-F
By: Uresti S.B. No. 1752
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to advance directives for persons with mental illness.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 166.002(1), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(1) "Advance directive" means:
(A) a directive, as that term is defined by
Section 166.031;
(B) an out-of-hospital DNR order, as that term is
defined by Section 166.081; [or]
(C) a medical power of attorney under Subchapter
D; or
(D) an advance directive for a person with mental
illness.
SECTION 2. Chapter 166, Health and Safety Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter E to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER E. ADVANCE DIRECTIVE FOR PERSON WITH MENTAL ILLNESS
Sec. 166.201. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Assisted outpatient treatment team" means a team
that assists a person with mental illness to:
(A) obtain outpatient services necessary to
treat the person's mental illness;
(B) maintain the person's independence;
(C) protect the person's autonomy;
(D) avoid court-ordered treatment; and
(E) avoid involvement with the criminal justice
system, including arrest and incarceration in jail.
(2) "Mental illness" has the meaning assigned by
Section 571.003.
Sec. 166.202. WRITTEN DIRECTIVE BY COMPETENT ADULT; NOTICE
TO PHYSICIAN. (a) A competent adult may at any time execute a
written directive under this subchapter.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the declarant must
sign the directive in the presence of two witnesses who qualify
under Section 166.003, at least one of whom must be a witness who
qualifies under Section 166.003(2). The witnesses must sign the
directive. A judge of a court with probate jurisdiction may not be
a witness.
(c) The declarant, in lieu of signing in the presence of
witnesses, may sign the directive and have the signature
acknowledged before a notary public.
(d) A declarant shall notify the declarant's physician of
the existence of a written directive. If the declarant is
incompetent or otherwise mentally or physically incapable of
communication, another person may notify the declarant's physician
of the existence of the written directive. The physician shall make
the directive a part of the declarant's medical record.
Sec. 166.203. FORM OF WRITTEN DIRECTIVE. A written
directive may be in the following form:
DIRECTIVE TO PHYSICIANS, FAMILY OR SURROGATES, AND MEMBERS OF THE
ASSISTED OUTPATIENT TREATMENT TEAM:
Instructions for completing this document:
This is an important legal document known as an Advance
Directive. It is designed to help you communicate your wishes about
treatment at some time in the future when you are unable to make
rational decisions because of mental illness. An assisted
outpatient treatment team, as defined by Section 166.201, Health
and Safety Code, will assist you on a course of action tailored to
your individual needs and circumstances. The directive must be in
your own words or ratified by you.
If you decide to execute this directive, you should provide a
copy of your directive to your physician, assisted outpatient
treatment team, usual hospital, family, and spokesperson. Consider
a periodic review of this document. By periodic review, you can best
assure that the directive reflects your preferences.
In addition to this Advance Directive, Texas law provides for
a Medical Power of Attorney.
DIRECTIVE
I, __________, recognize that the best health care is based
upon a partnership of trust and communication with people who care
about my mental health. As long as I am of sound mind and able to
make my wishes known, I will make decisions regarding my mental
health. If there comes a time that I am unable to make competent
decisions about myself because of mental illness, I direct that the
following treatment preferences be honored:
1. If, in the judgment of my physician, assisted outpatient
treatment team, usual hospital, or my designated spokesperson, my
judgment has become severely impaired from mental illness, as I
have determined that condition to be, I request that I be
transported, forcibly if necessary, to a safe place, which does not
include jail or inpatient hospitalization.
2. How to tell when my judgment is severely impaired from my
mental illness:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
3. Additional requests:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
If I do not have a Medical Power of Attorney, and I am unable
to make my wishes known, I designate the following person(s) to make
treatment decisions with my physician compatible with my personal
values:
1. ___________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________
(If a Medical Power of Attorney has been executed, then an
agent already has been named and you should not list additional
names in this document.)
If the above persons are not available, or if I have not
designated a spokesperson, I understand that a spokesperson will be
chosen for me following standards specified in the laws of Texas.
Signed__________ Date__________ City, County, State of
Residence__________
Two competent adult witnesses must sign below, acknowledging
the signature of the declarant. A witness designated as either
Witness 1 or 2 may not be a judge of a court with probate
jurisdiction:
Witness 1 __________________________________
Witness 2 __________________________________
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2013.