LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                          Austin, Texas

                           FISCAL NOTE
                       74th Regular Session

                          April 10, 1995



 TO:     Honorable Hugo Berlanga, Chair         IN RE:  Senate BillNo. 572,
         Committee on Public Health                          as engrossed
         House of Representatives                       By: Moncrief
         Austin, Texas








FROM: John Keel, Director

In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on Senate Bill No.
572 (Relating to court-ordered mental health services.) this
office has determined the following:

The bill would clarify which county has jurisdiction and/or
responsibility in various proceedings under the mental health
code.  It allows a medication capacity hearing to be held the
same day as a mental health commitment hearing.  It also changes
the time frame for a hearing on a physician's application for an
order to authorize psychoactive medication from not later than 7
days after the application is filed to not later than 30 days
after the application is filed, allows the hearing to to be
transferred to another county if the patient has been transferred
to a facility in that county, and limits the time for a hearing
de novo for an appeal of a master's or magistrate's report to
within 30 days of the application for an order to authorize
psychoactive medication.  The bill could result in some shifting
of costs among counties.  Streamlining of procedures may slightly
reduce county court costs.


No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The fiscal implication to units of local government cannot be
determined.
        




    

 





Source:   LBB Staff: JK, GT, SM, RR
                        Office of Court Administration, Texas
Department of Mental Health and
                        Mental Retardation