Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1815 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R9758 MPF-F
2	2	By: Johnson S.B. No. 1815
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to an application for emergency detention and procedures
8	8	regarding court-ordered mental health services.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 573.012(h), Health and Safety Code, is
11	11	amended to read as follows:
12	12	(h) A judge or magistrate shall [may] permit an applicant
13	13	who is a physician to present an application by:
14	14	(1) e-mail with the application attached as a secure
15	15	document in a portable document format (PDF); or
16	16	(2) secure electronic means, including:
17	17	(A) satellite transmission;
18	18	(B) closed-circuit television transmission; or
19	19	(C) any other method of two-way electronic
20	20	communication that:
21	21	(i) is secure;
22	22	(ii) is available to the judge or
23	23	magistrate; and
24	24	(iii) provides for a simultaneous,
25	25	compressed full-motion video and interactive communication of
26	26	image and sound between the judge or magistrate and the applicant.
27	27	SECTION 2. Section 574.001, Health and Safety Code, is
28	28	amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (g) and
29	29	(h) to read as follows:
30	30	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (f), the application
31	31	must be filed with the county clerk in the county in which the
32	32	proposed patient:
33	33	(1) resides;
34	34	(2) is located at the time the application is filed [is
35	35	found]; [or]
36	36	(3) was apprehended under Chapter 573; or
37	37	(4) is receiving mental health services by court order
38	38	or under Subchapter A, Chapter 573.
39	39	(g) A judge or magistrate shall accept an application filed
40	40	at any time that the judge or magistrate is on duty, regardless of
41	41	whether the application is filed after 5:00 p.m. on a weekday, on a
42	42	Saturday or Sunday, or on a state or national holiday.
43	43	(h) A court shall allow an application to be filed under
44	44	this section in the same manner as any other document filed with the
45	45	court, including through the use of an electronic filing system
46	46	established under Section 72.031, Government Code, if applicable.
47	47	SECTION 3. Section 574.021, Health and Safety Code, is
48	48	amended by adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
49	49	(f) A court shall allow the motion to be filed under this
50	50	section in the same manner as any other document filed with the
51	51	court, including through the use of an electronic filing system
52	52	established under Section 72.031, Government Code, if applicable.
53	53	SECTION 4. Section 574.022, Health and Safety Code, is
54	54	amended by adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
55	55	(f) The judge or magistrate may not deny a motion for a
56	56	protective custody order solely on the basis that the proposed
57	57	patient was not emergency detained under Chapter 573 at the time
58	58	that an application for court-ordered mental health services under
59	59	this chapter was filed.
60	60	SECTION 5. Section 574.031, Health and Safety Code, is
61	61	amended by adding Subsection (d-3) to read as follows:
62	62	(d-3) Notwithstanding Subchapter I, the court shall allow
63	63	the competent medical or psychiatric testimony under Subsection
64	64	(d-1) to be provided by closed-circuit video teleconferencing if:
65	65	(1) closed-circuit video teleconferencing is
66	66	available to the court for that purpose;
67	67	(2) the court has good cause to not conduct in-person
68	68	testimony, including that conducting the testimony through
69	69	closed-circuit video teleconferencing would minimize the
70	70	disruption of care to the testifying person's other patients; and
71	71	(3) the closed-circuit video teleconferencing system
72	72	provides for a simultaneous, compressed full-motion video and
73	73	interactive communication of image and sound between all persons
74	74	involved in the proceedings.
75	75	SECTION 6. The change in law made by this Act to Section
76	76	574.001, Health and Safety Code, applies only to an application for
77	77	court-ordered mental health services submitted on or after the
78	78	effective date of this Act.
79	79	SECTION 7. The change in law made by this Act to Section
80	80	573.012, Health and Safety Code, applies to an emergency detention
81	81	that begins on or after the effective date of this Act. An emergency
82	82	detention that begins before the effective date of this Act is
83	83	governed by the law as it existed immediately before that date, and
84	84	that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
85	85	SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter
86	86	574, Health and Safety Code, apply only to a proceeding for
87	87	court-ordered mental health services that occurs on or after the
88	88	effective date of this Act, regardless of when an offense with which
89	89	the defendant is charged was committed.
90	90	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.