SRC-JEC S.B. 1588 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research CenterS.B. 1588
77R6015 CBH-DBy: Moncrief
Health & Human Services
4/10/2001
Committee Report (Amended)

DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Currently, a person taken into police custody is only retained for 24
hours.  During that time, the person is required to receive both a medical
and psychiatric evaluation.  Often, the medical evaluation and treatment
takes up a considerable portion of the time, leaving insufficient time for
the psychiatric evaluation.  S.B. 1588 extends the period of time in which
an individual in police custody can obtain a psychiatric evaluation. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a
state officer, institution, or agency.  

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 573.021(b), Health and Safety Code, to provide
that the 24-hour period allowed by this section includes any time the
patient spends waiting in the facility for medical care before the person
receives the preliminary examination.  Provides that the period does not
include any time during which the person is actually receiving necessary
medical care in the facility's emergency room or emergency care in another
area of the facility. 

SECTION 2.  Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2001.

SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE CHANGES

Differs from the original by inserting the words "emergency care" between
"room or" and "in another" in SECTION 1.