Reynolds Detention Bill’s No-Court-Order Transfers Apply In A Few Counties

The text as introduced · 899 words

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.