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H0578.................................................by HEALTH AND WELFARE MENTALLY ILL - INVOLUNTARY COMMITMENT - Repeals and adds to existing law to provide procedures for the involuntary temporary commitment of an adult to a local mental health authority or mental health facility. 02/07 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing 02/08 Rpt prt - to Health/Wel
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-sixth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2002IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 578 BY HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO THE HOSPITALIZATION OF THE MENTALLY ILL; REPEALING SECTION 66-326, 3 IDAHO CODE; AMENDING CHAPTER 3, TITLE 66, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A 4 NEW SECTION 66-326, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE PROCEDURES WHERE AN ADULT MAY 5 BE INVOLUNTARILY COMMITTED TEMPORARILY TO A LOCAL MENTAL HEALTH AUTHORITY 6 OR MENTAL HEALTH FACILITY. 7 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 8 SECTION 1. That Section 66-326, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 9 repealed. 10 SECTION 2. That Chapter 3, Title 66, Idaho Code, be, and the same is 11 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des- 12 ignated as Section 66-326, Idaho Code, and to read as follows: 13 66-326. TEMPORARY COMMITMENT. (1) An adult may be involuntarily committed 14 temporarily to a local mental health authority upon: 15 (a) Written application by a responsible person who has reason to know, 16 stating a belief that the individual is likely to cause serious injury to 17 himself or others if not immediately restrained and stating the personal 18 knowledge of the individual's condition or circumstances which lead to 19 that belief; and 20 (b) A certification by a licensed physician or a designated examiner 21 stating that the physician or designated examiner has examined the indi- 22 vidual within a three (3) day period immediately preceding that certifica- 23 tion and that he is of the opinion that the individual is mentally ill and 24 because of his mental illness is likely to injure himself or others if not 25 immediately restrained. 26 (2) Application and certification as described in subsection (1) of this 27 section authorizes any peace officer to take the individual into the custody 28 of a local mental health authority and transport the individual to that 29 authority's designated facility. 30 (3) If a duly authorized peace officer observes a person involved in con- 31 duct that gives the peace officer probable cause to believe that the person is 32 mentally ill as defined in subsection (l) of section 66-317, Idaho Code, and 33 because of that apparent mental illness and conduct there is a substantial 34 likelihood of serious harm to that person or others pending proceedings for 35 examination and certification under this chapter, the officer may take that 36 person into protective custody. The peace officer shall either transport or 37 cause the person to be transported to the designated facility or the appropri- 38 ate mental health authority pursuant to this section, either on the basis of 39 his own observation or on the basis of a licensed physician's or designated 40 examiner's observation that has been reported to the peace officer by the 41 licensed physician or designated examiner. Immediately thereafter the officer 42 shall place the person in the custody of the local mental health authority and 2 1 make application for commitment of that person to the local mental health 2 authority. The application shall be on a prescribed form and shall include the 3 following: 4 (a) A statement by the peace officer that he believes, on the basis of 5 personal observation or on the basis of a licensed physician's or desig- 6 nated examiner's observation reported to him by the licensed physician or 7 designated examiner, that the person is, as a result of mental illness, of 8 substantial and immediate danger to himself or others. 9 (b) The specific nature of the danger. 10 (c) A summary of the observation upon which the statement of danger is 11 based. 12 (d) A summary of facts which called the person to the attention of the 13 officer. 14 (4) A person committed under this section may be held for a maximum of 15 twenty-four (24) hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. At 16 the expiration of that time period, the person shall be released unless appli- 17 cation for involuntary commitment has been commenced pursuant to section 18 66-329, Idaho Code. If that application has been made, an order of detention 19 may be entered under section 66-329, Idaho Code. If no order of detention is 20 issued, the patient shall be released unless he has made a voluntary applica- 21 tion for admission. 22 (5) Transportation of mentally ill persons pursuant to subsections (1), 23 (2) and (3) of this section shall be conducted by the appropriate municipal or 24 city police or county sheriff or under the appropriate law enforcement 25 entity's authority by ambulance to the extent that such transportation by 26 ambulance is necessary.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE RS 11586 This legislation provides for a mechanism to hold mental patients for proper evaluation if there is a reason to believe they could cause harm to themselves or others. FISCAL IMPACT No fiscal impact Contact Name: Representative Loertscher Phone: 208-332-1184 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 578