Honorable Charles Schwertner, Chair, Senate Committee on Health & Human Services
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB359 by West (relating to the authority of a peace officer to apprehend a person for emergency detention and the authority of certain facilities to temporarily detain a person with mental illness.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend Chapter 573 of the Health and Safety Code relating to the authority of a peace officer to apprehend a person for emergency detention and the authority of certain facilities to temporarily detain a person with mental illness.
Under the provisions of the bill, mental health facilities, hospitals and emergency rooms licensed under Chapter 241, and freestanding medical care facilities licensed under Chapter 254 would be allowed to temporarily detain a person who expresses a desire to leave that facility or attempts to leave before receiving a psychiatric examination or treatment under specific conditions. The bill would authorize a peace officer to take a person who has been admitted to a facility into custody in certain circumstances.
The Department of State Health Services indicates that the provisions of the bill can be implemented within existing resources.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.