82R29800 AJZ-D
 
  By: Zaffirini, et al. S.B. No. 44
 
  (Guillen)
 
  Substitute the following for S.B. No. 44:  No.
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the detention and transportation of a person with a
  mental illness.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Sections 573.001(e) and (f), Health and Safety
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (e)  A jail or similar detention facility may not be deemed
  suitable for detention of a person taken into custody under this
  section except in an extreme emergency that exists because of
  hazardous weather or the occurrence of a disaster that threatens
  the safety of the proposed patient or person transporting the
  proposed patient.  In the event of an extreme emergency, a person
  may be detained in a jail or similar detention facility under this
  subsection during the extreme emergency and for not longer than 12
  hours after the extreme emergency ends.  The sheriff or other
  officeholder responsible for the facility shall document and report
  the following to the Commission on Jail Standards on a monthly basis
  for each person detained in a jail or similar detention facility:
               (1)  the time the person's detention begins;
               (2)  the duration of the detention;
               (3)  the reason for the detention; and
               (4)  the time a representative of the local mental
  health authority is notified and arrives at the facility.
         (f)  The sheriff or officeholder responsible for [A person
  detained in] a jail or a similar detention [nonmedical] facility
  shall ensure that a person detained in the jail or similar detention
  facility is [be] kept separate from any person who is charged with
  or convicted of a crime.
         SECTION 2.  Section 574.023, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
         (e)  A person taken into custody under this section may be
  detained only in the manner provided by Section 574.027.
         SECTION 3.  Section 574.027, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by amending Subsections (c) and (d) and adding Subsection
  (c-1) to read as follows:
         (c)  A person under a protective custody order may not be
  detained in a jail or nonmedical facility used to detain persons who
  are charged with or convicted of a crime except because of and
  during an extreme emergency that exists because of hazardous
  weather or the occurrence of a disaster that threatens the safety of
  the proposed patient or the person transporting the proposed
  patient.  In the event of an extreme emergency, a person may be
  detained in a jail or nonmedical facility under this subsection
  during the extreme emergency and for not longer than 12 hours after
  the extreme emergency ends.  The sheriff or other officeholder
  responsible for the facility shall document and report the
  following to the Commission on Jail Standards on a monthly basis for
  each person detained in the jail or nonmedical facility:
               (1)  the time the person's detention begins;
               (2)  the duration of the detention;
               (3)  the reason for the detention; and
               (4)  the time a representative of the local mental
  health authority is notified and arrives at the facility [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].
         (c-1)  The sheriff or officeholder responsible for a jail or
  a nonmedical facility described by Subsection (c) shall ensure that
  a person detained in the jail or facility under Subsection (c) is
  kept separate from any person who is charged with or convicted of a
  crime.
         (d)  The county health authority shall ensure that proper
  care and medical attention are made available to a person who is
  detained in a jail or nonmedical facility under Subsection (c).
         SECTION 4.  Section 574.045, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by adding Subsection (l) to read as follows:
         (l)  A patient restrained under Subsection (g) may be
  restrained only during the apprehension, detention, or
  transportation of the patient.  The method of restraint must permit
  the patient to sit in an upright position without undue difficulty.
         SECTION 5.  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, 2011.