| 5 | 2 | | |
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| 6 | 3 | | |
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| 7 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 6 | | relating to the authority of certain courts to employ attorneys as |
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| 10 | 7 | | mental health public defenders and to the reimbursement of an |
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| 11 | 8 | | attorney who represents an indigent proposed patient in certain |
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| 12 | 9 | | mental health proceedings. |
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| 13 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 14 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 571, Health and Safety Code, is amended |
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| 15 | 12 | | by adding Sections 571.0168 and 571.0169 to read as follows: |
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| 16 | 13 | | Sec. 571.0168. MENTAL HEALTH PUBLIC DEFENDERS. (a) This |
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| 17 | 14 | | section applies only to a county with a population of 800,000 or |
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| 18 | 15 | | more. |
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| 19 | 16 | | (b) A court with primary responsibility for mental illness |
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| 20 | | - | proceedings in a county to which this section applies, with the |
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| 21 | | - | permission of the commissioners court of that county, may employ |
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| 22 | | - | attorneys as mental health public defenders to provide proposed |
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| 23 | | - | patients with legal representation in a proceeding under Chapter |
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| 24 | | - | 574. |
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| 25 | | - | Sec. 571.0169. REPRESENTATION OF PROPOSED PATIENT. (a) |
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| 26 | | - | Subject to Subsection (b), the court shall appoint an attorney |
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| 27 | | - | employed as a mental health public defender described by Section |
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| 28 | | - | 571.0168, a public defender other than a mental health public |
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| 29 | | - | defender, or a private attorney to represent a proposed patient in |
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| 30 | | - | any proceeding under Chapter 574. |
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| 31 | | - | (b) If the county employs a public defender other than a |
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| 32 | | - | mental health public defender that is assigned to a court with |
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| 33 | | - | primary responsibility for mental illness proceedings for that |
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| 34 | | - | county, the court must appoint that public defender to represent a |
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| 35 | | - | proposed patient in a proceeding under Chapter 574 unless the court |
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| 36 | | - | enters in the record a statement of the reason the court is unable |
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| 37 | | - | to appoint that public defender. |
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| 17 | + | proceedings for that county, subject to an appropriation from the |
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| 18 | + | commissioners court of the county in which the court is located, may |
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| 19 | + | employ attorneys as mental health public defenders to provide |
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| 20 | + | proposed patients with legal representation in a proceeding under |
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| 21 | + | Chapter 574. |
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| 22 | + | Sec. 571.0169. REPRESENTATION OF PROPOSED PATIENT. The |
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| 23 | + | court shall appoint an attorney employed as a mental health public |
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| 24 | + | defender described by Section 571.0168, a public defender other |
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| 25 | + | than a mental health public defender, or a private attorney to |
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| 26 | + | represent a proposed patient in any proceeding under Chapter 574. |
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| 38 | 27 | | SECTION 2. Section 574.010(b), Health and Safety Code, is |
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| 39 | 28 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 40 | 29 | | (b) If the court determines that the proposed patient is |
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| 41 | 30 | | indigent, the court may authorize reimbursement to the attorney |
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| 42 | 31 | | representing the proposed patient [ad litem] for court-approved |
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| 43 | 32 | | expenses incurred in obtaining expert testimony and may order the |
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| 44 | 33 | | proposed patient's county of residence to pay the expenses. |
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| 45 | 34 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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