| 1 | 1 | | By: West S.B. No. 937 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Filed February 28, 2013; March 12, 2013, |
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| 3 | 3 | | read first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human |
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| 4 | 4 | | Services; April 23, 2013, reported adversely, with favorable |
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| 5 | 5 | | Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; |
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| 6 | 6 | | April 23, 2013, sent to printer.) |
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| 7 | 7 | | COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 937 By: West |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | |
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| 10 | 10 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 11 | 11 | | AN ACT |
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| 12 | 12 | | relating to the authority of a peace officer to apprehend a person |
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| 13 | 13 | | for emergency detention and the authority of certain facilities to |
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| 14 | 14 | | temporarily detain a person with mental illness. |
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| 15 | 15 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 16 | 16 | | SECTION 1. The heading to Subchapter A, Chapter 573, Health |
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| 17 | 17 | | and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows: |
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| 18 | 18 | | SUBCHAPTER A. APPREHENSION, [BY PEACE OFFICER OR] |
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| 19 | 19 | | TRANSPORTATION, OR DETENTION WITHOUT JUDGE'S OR MAGISTRATE'S ORDER |
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| 20 | 20 | | [FOR EMERGENCY DETENTION BY GUARDIAN] |
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| 21 | 21 | | SECTION 2. Section 573.001, Health and Safety Code, is |
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| 22 | 22 | | amended by adding Subsection (g) to read as follows: |
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| 23 | 23 | | (g) A peace officer may take a person who has been admitted |
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| 24 | 24 | | to a facility into custody under this section. For purposes of this |
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| 25 | 25 | | subsection, "facility" has the meaning assigned by Section 573.005. |
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| 26 | 26 | | SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 573, Health and Safety |
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| 27 | 27 | | Code, is amended by adding Section 573.005 to read as follows: |
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| 28 | 28 | | Sec. 573.005. TEMPORARY DETENTION BY CERTAIN FACILITIES. |
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| 29 | 29 | | (a) In this section, "facility" means: |
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| 30 | 30 | | (1) a mental health facility; |
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| 31 | 31 | | (2) a hospital, or the emergency department of a |
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| 32 | 32 | | hospital, licensed under Chapter 241; and |
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| 33 | 33 | | (3) a freestanding emergency medical care facility |
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| 34 | 34 | | licensed under Chapter 254. |
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| 35 | 35 | | (b) This section does not apply to a person who has been |
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| 36 | 36 | | transported to a facility for emergency detention under this |
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| 37 | 37 | | chapter. |
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| 38 | 38 | | (c) A facility may detain a person who voluntarily requested |
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| 39 | 39 | | treatment from the facility or who lacks the capacity to consent to |
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| 40 | 40 | | treatment, as provided by this section, if: |
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| 41 | 41 | | (1) the person expresses a desire to leave the |
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| 42 | 42 | | facility or attempts to leave the facility before the examination |
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| 43 | 43 | | or treatment is completed; and |
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| 44 | 44 | | (2) a physician at the facility: |
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| 45 | 45 | | (A) has reason to believe and does believe that: |
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| 46 | 46 | | (i) the person has a mental illness; and |
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| 47 | 47 | | (ii) because of that mental illness there |
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| 48 | 48 | | is a substantial risk of serious harm to the person or to others |
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| 49 | 49 | | unless the person is immediately restrained; and |
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| 50 | 50 | | (B) believes that there is not sufficient time to |
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| 51 | 51 | | file an application for emergency detention or for an order of |
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| 52 | 52 | | protective custody. |
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| 53 | 53 | | (d) The facility staff or physician shall notify the person |
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| 54 | 54 | | if the facility intends to detain the person under this section. |
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| 55 | 55 | | (e) The facility staff or physician shall document a |
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| 56 | 56 | | decision to detain a person under this section and the reasons for |
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| 57 | 57 | | that decision in the person's medical record. |
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| 58 | 58 | | (f) The period of a person's detention authorized by this |
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| 59 | 59 | | section may not exceed four hours following the time the person |
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| 60 | 60 | | first expressed a desire to leave, or attempted to leave, the |
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| 61 | 61 | | facility. The facility shall release the person not later than the |
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| 62 | 62 | | end of the four-hour period unless the facility arranges for a peace |
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| 63 | 63 | | officer to take the person into custody under Section 573.001 or an |
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| 64 | 64 | | order of protective custody is issued. |
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| 65 | 65 | | SECTION 4. Subsection (a), Section 571.019, Health and |
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| 66 | 66 | | Safety Code, is amended as follows: |
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| 67 | 67 | | (a) A person who participates in the examination, |
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| 68 | 68 | | certification, apprehension, custody, transportation, failure to |
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| 69 | 69 | | detain, detention, treatment, or discharge of any person or in the |
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| 70 | 70 | | performance of any other act required or authorized by this |
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| 71 | 71 | | subtitle and who acts in good faith, reasonably, and without |
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| 72 | 72 | | negligence is not criminally or civilly liable for that action. A |
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| 73 | 73 | | person who is not criminally or civilly liable under this section is |
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| 74 | 74 | | not subject to disciplinary action by the appropriate licensing |
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| 75 | 75 | | authority. |
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| 76 | 76 | | SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |
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| 77 | 77 | | * * * * * |
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