89R5889 EAS-D
By: Reynolds H.B. No. 2405
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the emergency detention of a person with mental illness
at a mental health facility and certain best practices for courts
with jurisdiction over emergency mental health matters.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 573.001(d), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) A peace officer who takes a person into custody under
Subsection (a) shall immediately[:
[(1)] transport the apprehended person to:
(1) [(A)] the nearest appropriate inpatient mental
health facility within 100 miles of the location where the person
was apprehended; or
(2) the nearest hospital emergency department, if the
person is in need of emergency medical care [(B) a mental health
facility deemed suitable by the local mental health authority, if
an appropriate inpatient mental health facility is not available;
or
[(2) transfer the apprehended person to emergency
medical services personnel of an emergency medical services
provider in accordance with a memorandum of understanding executed
under Section 573.005 for transport to a facility described by
Subdivision (1)(A) or (B)].
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 573, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 573.013 to read as follows:
Sec. 573.013. JUDICIAL BEST PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES. The
Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall
develop and provide to each court in this state with jurisdiction to
hear emergency mental health matters under this chapter best
practices and procedures for ensuring a judge or magistrate is
available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to respond to
applications for emergency detention under Section 573.012(h).
SECTION 3. Sections 573.021(a), (b), and (d), Health and
Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A mental health facility shall temporarily accept a
person for whom an application for detention is filed or for whom a
peace officer or emergency medical services personnel of an
emergency medical services provider transporting the person in
accordance with a memorandum of understanding executed under
Section 573.005 files a notification of detention completed by the
peace officer under Section 573.002(a).
(b) A person accepted for a preliminary examination may be
detained in custody for not longer than 48 hours after the time the
person is presented to the mental health facility unless a written
order for protective custody is obtained. The 48-hour period
allowed by this section includes any time the patient spends
waiting in the mental health facility for medical care before the
person receives the preliminary examination. If the 48-hour
period ends on a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or before 4 p.m.
on the first succeeding business day, the person may be detained
until 4 p.m. on the first succeeding business day. If the 48-hour
period ends at a different time, the person may be detained only
until 4 p.m. on the day the 48-hour period ends. If extremely
hazardous weather conditions exist or a disaster occurs, the
presiding judge or magistrate may, by written order made each day,
extend by an additional 24 hours the period during which the person
may be detained. The written order must declare that an emergency
exists because of the weather or the occurrence of a disaster.
(d) A mental health facility must comply with this section
only to the extent that the commissioner determines that a mental
health facility has sufficient resources to perform the necessary
services under this section.
SECTION 4. Section 573.022, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (d) and
(e) to read as follows:
(c) A facility that has admitted a person for emergency
detention under Subsection (a) or to which a person has been
transported under Subsection (b) may transfer the person to an
appropriate mental hospital with the written consent of the
treating physician or hospital administrator.
(d) A peace officer may transport a person approved for
transfer under Subsection (c) without a court order if the person is
subject to an unexpired notification of detention filed under
Section 573.002. A copy of the notification must accompany the
person to the receiving facility. This subsection applies only in a
county with a population of 550,000 or more that is adjacent to a
county with a population of 3.3 million or more.
(e) A treating physician or hospital administrator who
recommends the transfer of a person under Subsection (c) to a more
appropriate mental hospital is immune from civil liability if the
recommendation is based on a reasonable and prudent medical
decision to ensure care for the person.
SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply to an
emergency detention under Chapter 573, Health and Safety Code, that
begins on or after the effective date of this Act. An emergency
detention under Chapter 573, Health and Safety Code, that begins
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law as it
existed immediately before that date, and that law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 6. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the Office of Court Administration of the Texas
Judicial System shall develop the best practices and procedures as
required by Section 573.013, Health and Safety Code, as added by
this Act.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.