By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 1433
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to procedures for the emergency detention of certain
  persons with mental illness.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 573.001(a), Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  A peace officer, without a warrant, may take a person
  into custody, regardless of the age or location of the person, if
  the officer:
               (1)  has reason to believe and does believe that:
                     (A)  the person is a person with mental illness;
  and
                     (B)  because of that mental illness there is a
  substantial risk of serious harm to the person or to others unless
  the person is immediately restrained; and
               (2)  believes that there is not sufficient time to
  obtain a warrant before taking the person into custody.
         SECTION 2.  Section 573.012, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by amending Subsections (a), (e), and (h) and adding
  Subsection (h-2) to read as follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (h), an applicant for
  emergency detention must present the application personally to a
  judge or magistrate.  The judge or magistrate shall examine the
  application and may interview the applicant.  Except as provided by
  Subsections [Subsection] (g) and (h), the judge of a court with
  probate jurisdiction by administrative order may provide that the
  application must be:
               (1)  presented personally to the court; or
               (2)  retained by court staff and presented to another
  judge or magistrate as soon as is practicable if the judge of the
  court is not available at the time the application is presented.
         (e)  A person apprehended under this section who is not
  physically located in a mental health facility at the time the
  warrant is issued under Subsection (h-1) shall be transported for a
  preliminary examination in accordance with Section 573.021 to:
               (1)  the nearest appropriate inpatient mental health
  facility; or
               (2)  a mental health facility deemed suitable by the
  local mental health authority, if an appropriate inpatient mental
  health facility is not available.
         (h)  A judge or magistrate shall [may] permit an applicant
  who is a physician to present an application by:
               (1)  e-mail with the application attached as a secure
  document in a portable document format (PDF); or
               (2)  another secure electronic means, including:
                     (A)  satellite transmission;
                     (B)  closed-circuit television transmission; or
                     (C)  any other method of two-way electronic
  communication that:
                           (i)  is secure;
                           (ii)  is available to the judge or
  magistrate; and
                           (iii)  provides for a simultaneous,
  compressed full-motion video and interactive communication of
  image and sound between the judge or magistrate and the applicant.
         (h-2)  If a judge or magistrate transmits a warrant under
  Subsection (h-1) for the detention of a person who is physically
  located in a facility at the time the application is presented under
  Subsection (h), the facility may detain the person to perform a
  preliminary examination in accordance with Section 573.021.
         SECTION 3.  The changes in law made by this Act apply to an
  emergency detention under Chapter 573, Health and Safety Code, that
  begins on or after the effective date of this Act.  An emergency
  detention under Chapter 573, Health and Safety Code, that begins
  before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law as it
  existed immediately before that date, and that law is continued in
  effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.