S.B. No. 834
AN ACT
1-1 relating to treatment of chemically dependent persons and to
1-2 certain reporting requirements regarding minors and tobacco.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Subdivision (10), Section 462.001, Health and
1-5 Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
1-6 (10) "Treatment facility" means a public or private
1-7 hospital, a detoxification facility, a primary care facility, an
1-8 intensive care facility, a long-term care facility, an outpatient
1-9 care facility, a community mental health center, a health
1-10 maintenance organization, a recovery center, a halfway house, an
1-11 ambulatory care facility, another facility that is required to be
1-12 licensed and approved by the commission, <or> a facility licensed
1-13 <or operated> by the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental
1-14 Retardation, or a facility operated by the Texas Department of
1-15 Mental Health and Mental Retardation which has been designated by
1-16 the commission to provide chemical dependency treatment. The term
1-17 does not include an educational program for intoxicated drivers or
1-18 the individual office of a private, licensed health care
1-19 practitioner who personally renders private individual or group
1-20 services within the scope of the practitioner's license and in the
1-21 practitioner's office.
1-22 SECTION 2. Section 462.021, Health and Safety Code, is
1-23 amended to read as follows:
2-1 Sec. 462.021. VOLUNTARY ADMISSION OF ADULT. A facility may
2-2 admit an adult who requests admission for emergency or nonemergency
2-3 treatment or rehabilitation if:
2-4 (1) the facility is:
2-5 (A) a treatment facility licensed by the
2-6 commission to provide the necessary services; <or>
2-7 (B) a facility licensed <or operated> by the
2-8 Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation; or
2-9 (C) a facility operated by the Texas Department
2-10 of Mental Health and Mental Retardation which has been designated
2-11 by the commission to provide chemical dependency treatment; and
2-12 (2) the admission is appropriate under the facility's
2-13 admission policies.
2-14 SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Section 462.022, Health and
2-15 Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
2-16 (a) A facility may admit a minor for treatment and
2-17 rehabilitation if:
2-18 (1) the facility is:
2-19 (A) a treatment facility licensed by the
2-20 commission to provide the necessary services to minors; <or>
2-21 (B) a facility licensed <or operated> by the
2-22 Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation; or
2-23 (C) a facility operated by the Texas Department
2-24 of Mental Health and Mental Retardation which has been designated
2-25 by the commission to provide chemical dependency treatment;
3-1 (2) the admission is appropriate under the facility's
3-2 admission policies; and
3-3 (3) the admission is requested by:
3-4 (A) a parent or other person authorized to
3-5 consent to medical treatment of a minor under Section 35.01, Family
3-6 Code; or
3-7 (B) the minor, without parental consent, under
3-8 Section 35.03, Family Code.
3-9 SECTION 4. Subsection (a), Section 461.012, Health and
3-10 Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
3-11 (a) The commission shall:
3-12 (1) provide for research and study of the problems of
3-13 chemical dependency in this state and seek to focus public
3-14 attention on those problems through public information and
3-15 education programs;
3-16 (2) plan, develop, coordinate, evaluate, and implement
3-17 constructive methods and programs for the prevention, intervention,
3-18 treatment, and rehabilitation of chemical dependency in cooperation
3-19 with federal and state agencies, local governments, organizations,
3-20 and persons, and provide technical assistance, funds, and
3-21 consultation services for statewide and community-based services;
3-22 (3) cooperate with and enlist the assistance of:
3-23 (A) other state, federal, and local agencies;
3-24 (B) hospitals and clinics;
3-25 (C) public health, welfare, and criminal justice
4-1 system authorities;
4-2 (D) educational and medical agencies and
4-3 organizations; and
4-4 (E) other related public and private groups and
4-5 persons;
4-6 (4) expand chemical dependency services for children
4-7 when funds are available because of the long-term benefits of those
4-8 services to the state and its citizens;
4-9 (5) sponsor, promote, and conduct educational programs
4-10 on the prevention and treatment of chemical dependency, and
4-11 maintain a public information clearinghouse to purchase and provide
4-12 books, literature, audiovisuals, and other educational material for
4-13 the programs;
4-14 (6) sponsor, promote, and conduct training programs
4-15 for persons delivering prevention, intervention, treatment, and
4-16 rehabilitation services and for persons in the criminal justice
4-17 system or otherwise in a position to identify chemically dependent
4-18 persons and their families in need of service;
4-19 (7) require programs rendering services to chemically
4-20 dependent persons to safeguard those persons' legal rights of
4-21 citizenship and maintain the confidentiality of client records as
4-22 required by state and federal law;
4-23 (8) maximize the use of available funds for direct
4-24 services rather than administrative services;
4-25 (9) consistently monitor the expenditure of funds and
5-1 the provision of services by all grant and contract recipients to
5-2 assure that the services are effective and properly staffed and
5-3 meet the standards adopted under this chapter;
5-4 (10) make the monitoring reports prepared under
5-5 Subdivision (9) a matter of public record;
5-6 (11) license treatment facilities under Chapter 464;
5-7 (12) use funds appropriated to the commission to carry
5-8 out this chapter and maximize the overall state allotment of
5-9 federal funds;
5-10 (13) develop and implement policies that will provide
5-11 the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear before the
5-12 commission and to speak on any issue under the commission's
5-13 jurisdiction;
5-14 (14) establish minimum criteria that peer assistance
5-15 programs must meet to be governed by and entitled to the benefits
5-16 of a law that authorizes licensing and disciplinary authorities to
5-17 establish or approve peer assistance programs for impaired
5-18 professionals; <and>
5-19 (15) adopt rules governing the functions of the
5-20 commission, including rules that prescribe the policies and
5-21 procedures followed by the commission in administering any
5-22 commission programs; and
5-23 (16) submit to the federal government reports and
5-24 strategies necessary to comply with Section 1926 of the federal
5-25 Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration
6-1 Reorganization Act, Pub. L. 102-321 (42 U.S.C. Section 300x-26);
6-2 reports and strategies are to be coordinated with appropriate state
6-3 governmental entities.
6-4 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
6-5 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-6 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-7 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-8 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
6-9 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
6-10 passage, and it is so enacted.