Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2405 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R5889 EAS-D
2	2	By: Reynolds H.B. No. 2405
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the emergency detention of a person with mental illness
10	10	at a mental health facility and certain best practices for courts
11	11	with jurisdiction over emergency mental health matters.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 573.001(d), Health and Safety Code, is
14	14	amended to read as follows:
15	15	(d) A peace officer who takes a person into custody under
16	16	Subsection (a) shall immediately[:
17	17	[(1)] transport the apprehended person to:
18	18	(1) [(A)] the nearest appropriate inpatient mental
19	19	health facility within 100 miles of the location where the person
20	20	was apprehended; or
21	21	(2) the nearest hospital emergency department, if the
22	22	person is in need of emergency medical care [(B) a mental health
23	23	facility deemed suitable by the local mental health authority, if
24	24	an appropriate inpatient mental health facility is not available;
25	25	or
26	26	[(2) transfer the apprehended person to emergency
27	27	medical services personnel of an emergency medical services
28	28	provider in accordance with a memorandum of understanding executed
29	29	under Section 573.005 for transport to a facility described by
30	30	Subdivision (1)(A) or (B)].
31	31	SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 573, Health and Safety
32	32	Code, is amended by adding Section 573.013 to read as follows:
33	33	Sec. 573.013. JUDICIAL BEST PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES. The
34	34	Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall
35	35	develop and provide to each court in this state with jurisdiction to
36	36	hear emergency mental health matters under this chapter best
37	37	practices and procedures for ensuring a judge or magistrate is
38	38	available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to respond to
39	39	applications for emergency detention under Section 573.012(h).
40	40	SECTION 3. Sections 573.021(a), (b), and (d), Health and
41	41	Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
42	42	(a) A mental health facility shall temporarily accept a
43	43	person for whom an application for detention is filed or for whom a
44	44	peace officer or emergency medical services personnel of an
45	45	emergency medical services provider transporting the person in
46	46	accordance with a memorandum of understanding executed under
47	47	Section 573.005 files a notification of detention completed by the
48	48	peace officer under Section 573.002(a).
49	49	(b) A person accepted for a preliminary examination may be
50	50	detained in custody for not longer than 48 hours after the time the
51	51	person is presented to the mental health facility unless a written
52	52	order for protective custody is obtained. The 48-hour period
53	53	allowed by this section includes any time the patient spends
54	54	waiting in the mental health facility for medical care before the
55	55	person receives the preliminary examination. If the 48-hour
56	56	period ends on a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or before 4 p.m.
57	57	on the first succeeding business day, the person may be detained
58	58	until 4 p.m. on the first succeeding business day. If the 48-hour
59	59	period ends at a different time, the person may be detained only
60	60	until 4 p.m. on the day the 48-hour period ends. If extremely
61	61	hazardous weather conditions exist or a disaster occurs, the
62	62	presiding judge or magistrate may, by written order made each day,
63	63	extend by an additional 24 hours the period during which the person
64	64	may be detained. The written order must declare that an emergency
65	65	exists because of the weather or the occurrence of a disaster.
66	66	(d) A mental health facility must comply with this section
67	67	only to the extent that the commissioner determines that a mental
68	68	health facility has sufficient resources to perform the necessary
69	69	services under this section.
70	70	SECTION 4. Section 573.022, Health and Safety Code, is
71	71	amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (d) and
72	72	(e) to read as follows:
73	73	(c) A facility that has admitted a person for emergency
74	74	detention under Subsection (a) or to which a person has been
75	75	transported under Subsection (b) may transfer the person to an
76	76	appropriate mental hospital with the written consent of the
77	77	treating physician or hospital administrator.
78	78	(d) A peace officer may transport a person approved for
79	79	transfer under Subsection (c) without a court order if the person is
80	80	subject to an unexpired notification of detention filed under
81	81	Section 573.002. A copy of the notification must accompany the
82	82	person to the receiving facility. This subsection applies only in a
83	83	county with a population of 550,000 or more that is adjacent to a
84	84	county with a population of 3.3 million or more.
85	85	(e) A treating physician or hospital administrator who
86	86	recommends the transfer of a person under Subsection (c) to a more
87	87	appropriate mental hospital is immune from civil liability if the
88	88	recommendation is based on a reasonable and prudent medical
89	89	decision to ensure care for the person.
90	90	SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply to an
91	91	emergency detention under Chapter 573, Health and Safety Code, that
92	92	begins on or after the effective date of this Act. An emergency
93	93	detention under Chapter 573, Health and Safety Code, that begins
94	94	before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law as it
95	95	existed immediately before that date, and that law is continued in
96	96	effect for that purpose.
97	97	SECTION 6. As soon as practicable after the effective date
98	98	of this Act, the Office of Court Administration of the Texas
99	99	Judicial System shall develop the best practices and procedures as
100	100	required by Section 573.013, Health and Safety Code, as added by
101	101	this Act.
102	102	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.