78R4965 JJT-D

By:  Rodriguez                                                    H.B. No. 811



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the detention of persons for mental health purposes.              
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 573.001, Health and Safety Code, is 
amended by amending Subsections (e) and (f) and by adding 
Subsection (g) to read as follows:
	(e)  A jail or other nonmedical [similar detention] facility  
used to detain persons who are charged with or convicted of a crime
may not be deemed suitable for purposes of Subsection (d)(2) except 
as a last resort and only if a hospital emergency room or other 
facility the local mental health authority deems suitable is not 
accessible to the apprehending officer within 75 miles.  A person 
may not be detained in such a facility for more than 12 hours.  The 
sheriff or other officeholder responsible for the facility shall 
document the time at which the person's detention begins, the 
duration of the detention, the reason for the detention, and the 
time a representative of the local mental health authority arrives 
at the facility [except in an extreme emergency].
	(f)  The sheriff or other officeholder responsible for [A 
person detained in] a jail or other [a] nonmedical facility used to 
detain persons who are charged with or convicted of a crime shall 
ensure that a person detained in the jail or facility under 
Subsection (e) is [be] kept separate from any person who is charged 
with or convicted of a crime.
	(g)  Each local mental health authority shall develop 
suitable alternatives for short-term detention of persons under 
this section.
	SECTION 2.  Section 573.012, Health and Safety Code, is 
amended by adding Subsections (h)-(j) to read as follows:
	(h)  A jail or other nonmedical facility used to detain 
persons who are charged with or convicted of a crime may not be 
deemed suitable for purposes of Subsection (e)(2) except as a last 
resort and only if a hospital emergency room or other facility the 
local mental health authority deems suitable is not accessible to 
the apprehending officer within 75 miles.  A person may not be 
detained in such a facility for more than 12 hours.  The sheriff or 
other officeholder responsible for the facility shall document the 
time at which the person's detention begins, the duration of the 
detention, the reason for the detention, and the time a 
representative of the local mental health authority arrives at the 
facility.
	(i)  The sheriff or other officeholder responsible for a jail 
or other nonmedical facility used to detain persons who are charged 
with or convicted of a crime shall ensure that a person detained in 
the jail or facility under Subsection (h) is kept separate from any 
person who is charged with or convicted of a crime.
	(j)  Each local mental health authority shall develop 
suitable alternatives for short-term detention of persons under 
this section.
	SECTION 3.  Section 574.027, Health and Safety Code, is 
amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (e) to 
read as follows:
	(c)  A person under a protective custody order may not be 
detained in a jail or other nonmedical facility used to detain 
persons who are charged with or convicted of a crime except as a 
last resort and only if a hospital emergency room or other facility 
the local mental health authority deems suitable is not accessible 
to the apprehending officer within 75 miles.  A person may not be 
detained in such a facility for more than 12 hours.  The sheriff or 
other officeholder responsible for the facility shall document the 
time at which the person's detention begins, the duration of the 
detention, the reason for the detention, and the time a 
representative of the local mental health authority arrives at the 
facility.  The sheriff or other officeholder responsible for a jail 
or other nonmedical facility used to detain persons who are charged 
with or convicted of a crime shall ensure that a person detained in 
the jail or facility under this subsection is kept separate
[because of and during an extreme emergency and in no case for 
longer than 72 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, legal holidays, 
and the period prescribed by Section 574.025(b) for an extreme 
emergency.  The person must be isolated] from any person who is 
charged with or convicted of a crime.
	(e)  Each local mental health authority shall develop 
suitable alternatives for short-term detention of persons under 
this section.
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives 
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as 
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this 
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this 
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.