HBA-NRS H.B. 1887 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1887 By: Janek Public Health 77/19/2001 Enrolled BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Prior to the 77th Legislature, the Texas Mental Health Code provided that a person is presumed to be mentally competent unless there is a judicial finding to the contrary but had not specified whether presumption was rebuttable or irrebuttable. Also, state law did not specify if participation in a voluntary research project constituted a waiver of the rights of a person relating to treatment. These laws were ambiguous and needed further clarification. House Bill 1887 provides that a person is rebuttably competent to consent to admission to an inpatient mental health facility, prohibits a patient's rights relating to treatment from being waived, and prohibits a patient from participating in a research program without approved written consent. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 1887 amends the Health and Safety Code to provide that a person for whom a motion for court-ordered mental health services is filed, for whom a final order on that motion has not been entered, and who requests voluntary admission to an inpatient mental health facility while the person is receiving involuntary inpatient services under protective custody or emergency detention or before the 31st day after the date the person was released from detention or emergency detention from that facility is rebuttably presumed to have the capacity to consent to admission to an inpatient mental health facility for voluntary inpatient mental health services. The bill provides that such a person who is admitted to the inpatient mental health facility for voluntary inpatient mental health services has all of the rights of a person receiving voluntary or involuntary inpatient mental health services. The bill prohibits such a person from participating in a research program in the inpatient mental health facility unless the patient provides written consent to participate in the research program under a protocol that has been approved by the facility's institutional review board and the institutional review board specifically reviews the patient's consent under the approved protocol. The bill provides that there is a rebuttable presumption that a person is mentally competent unless a judicial finding to the contrary is made under the Texas Probate Code. The bill provides that participation in a research project does not affect a patient's rights. The bill prohibits the general rights relating to treatment from being waived by a patient, the patient's attorney or guardian, or another person acting on behalf of the patient. EFFECTIVE DATE June 16, 2001.