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H0268......................................................by STATE AFFAIRS
MENTALLY ILL - Amends existing law relating to the hospitalization of
mentally ill persons to provide exceptions to the right of voluntary
patients to be released; and to revise provisions applicable to detentions
without hearings.
02/25 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/28 Rpt prt - to Health/Wel
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-eighth Legislature First Regular Session - 2005
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 268
BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO HOSPITALIZATION OF MENTALLY ILL PERSONS; AMENDING SECTION 66-320,
3 IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE EXCEPTIONS TO THE RIGHT OF VOLUNTARY PATIENTS TO BE
4 RELEASED AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; AND AMENDING SECTION 66-326,
5 IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO DETENTIONS WITHOUT HEARINGS
6 AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.
7 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
8 SECTION 1. That Section 66-320, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
9 amended to read as follows:
10 66-320. RIGHT TO RELEASE ON APPLICATION -- EXCEPTIONS. (a1) A voluntary
11 patient admitted in accordance with the procedure outlined in section 66-318,
12 Idaho Code, who requests his release or whose release is requested, in writ-
13 ing, by his legal guardian, parent, spouse, or adult next of kin shall be
14 released except that:
15 (1a) iIf the patient was admitted on his own application and the request
16 for release is made by a person other than the patient, release may be
17 conditioned upon the agreement of the patient thereto,; and
18 (2b) iIf the patient, by reason of his age, was admitted on the applica-
19 tion of another person, his release prior to becoming sixteen eighteen
20 (168) years of age may be conditioned upon the consent of his parent or
21 guardian,; or
22 (3c) iIf the administrative director or designee of the facility deter-
23 mines that the patient should be hospitalized under the provisions of this
24 chapter, the patient may be detained up to three (3) days, excluding Sat-
25 urdays, Sundays and legal holidays, for the purpose of examination by a
26 designated examiner and the filing of an application for continued care
27 and treatment. If a designated examiner finds that all of the criteria
28 listed in section 66-329(c)(i) through (iii), Idaho Code, are met, both
29 the application and the certificate of a designated examiner shall be
30 delivered to the office of the prosecuting attorney of the county in Idaho
31 in which the patient resides or, if a nonresident of the state of Idaho,
32 the county where the person is detained, and it shall be the responsibil-
33 ity of the prosecuting attorney to file the application and the certifi-
34 cate of the designated examiner with a court of competent jurisdiction
35 within twenty-four (24) hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal hol-
36 idays.
37 (b2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, judicial pro-
38 ceedings authorized by this chapter shall not be commenced with respect to a
39 voluntary patient unless release of the patient has been requested by himself
40 or the individual who applied for his admission.
41 (c3) The date and time of any request for release under this section
42 shall be entered in the patient's clinical record. If the request for release
43 is denied, the reasons for denial also shall be entered in the patient's clin-
2
1 ical record.
2 (d4) A patient admitted for examination pursuant to section 20-520 or
3 18-211, Idaho Code, may not be released except for purposes of transportation
4 back to the court ordering, or party authorizing, the examination.
5 SECTION 2. That Section 66-326, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
6 amended to read as follows:
7 66-326. DETENTION WITHOUT HEARING. (a1) No person shall be taken into
8 custody as an alleged emergency patient unless and until the court has ordered
9 such apprehension and custody under the provisions outlined in section 66-329,
10 Idaho Code; provided, however, that a person may be taken into custody by a
11 peace officer and placed in a facility, if the peace officer has reason to
12 believe, based upon the recommendation of a licensed physician, designated
13 examiner, mental health practitioner or registered psychiatric nurse, that the
14 person is gravely disabled due to mental illness or the person's continued
15 liberty poses an imminent danger to that person or others, as evidenced by a
16 threat of substantial physical harm. For purposes of this section, "mental
17 health practitioner" means at least a master's degree level mental health pro-
18 fessional including, but not limited to, psychologists and social workers. The
19 person shall be detained only in a facility equipped to assess and treat acute
20 psychiatric and other mental conditions; provided, that the person may be
21 detained in any hospital if no facility so equipped is available within the
22 state of Idaho and provided further that the hospital shall in those circum-
23 stances be a facility for the purposes of this chapter. Uunder no circum-
24 stances shall the proposed patient be detained in a nonmedical unit used for
25 the detention of individuals charged with or convicted of penal offenses.
26 Whenever a person is taken into custody under this section without court
27 order, the evidence supporting the claim of grave disability due to mental
28 illness or imminent danger must be presented submitted to the prosecuting
29 attorney of the county in Idaho in which the person resides or, if a nonresi-
30 dent of the state of Idaho, the county where the person is detained, and the
31 prosecuting attorney shall present such evidence to a duly authorized court
32 within twenty-four (24) hours from the time the individual was placed in cus-
33 tody, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays.
34 (b2) If the court finds the individual to be gravely disabled due to men-
35 tal illness or imminently dangerous under subsection (a1) of this section, the
36 court shall issue a temporary custody order requiring the person to be held in
37 a facility, and requiring an examination of the person by a designated exam-
38 iner within twenty-four (24) hours of the entry of the order of the court,
39 excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. Under no circumstances shall
40 tThe proposed patient shall be detained only in a facility equipped to assess
41 and treat acute psychiatric and other mental conditions; provided, that the
42 person may be detained in any hospital if no facility so equipped is available
43 within the state of Idaho and provided further that the hospital shall in
44 those circumstances be a facility for purposes of this chapter. Under no cir-
45 cumstances shall the person be detained in a nonmedical unit used for the
46 detention of individuals charged with or convicted of penal offenses.
47 (c3) Where an examination is required under subsection (b2) of this sec-
48 tion, the designated examiner shall make his findings and report to the court
49 within twenty-four (24) hours of the examination, excluding Saturdays, Sundays
50 and legal holidays.
51 (d4) If the designated examiner finds, in his examination under this sec-
52 tion, that the person is mentally ill, and either is likely to injure himself
53 or others or is gravely disabled due to mental illness, the prosecuting attor-
3
1 ney shall file, within twenty-four (24) hours of the examination of the per-
2 son, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, a petition with the
3 court requesting the patient's person's detention pending commitment proceed-
4 ings pursuant to the provisions of section 66-329, Idaho Code. Upon the
5 receipt of such a petition, the court shall order his the person's detention
6 to await hearing which shall be within five (5) days (including Saturdays,
7 Sundays and legal holidays) of the detention order. If no petition is filed
8 within twenty-four (24) hours of the designated examiner's examination of the
9 person, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, the person shall be
10 released.
11 (e5) Any person held in custody under the provisions of this section
12 shall have the same protection and rights which are guaranteed to a person
13 already committed to the department director. Upon taking a person into cus-
14 tody, notice shall be given to A facility detaining a person under the provi-
15 sions of this section shall attempt to notify the person's immediate relatives
16 of the person's physical whereabouts and the reasons for taking the person
17 into custody unless the administrative director or designee has reasonable
18 cause for concern that doing so would compromise the physical or mental health
19 of the person.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 15058
Adoption of this bill would amend Title 66, Chapter 3,
Idaho Code which deals with hospitalization of mentally ill
persons. The bill makes a technical correction to section
66-320 and clarifies who in a facility can make the
decision to detain a voluntary patient for the purpose of
examination by a designated examiner. In addition, it sets
forth in code a process whereby the designated examiner’s
application for continued care and treatment, which could
potentially lead to commitment, is adjudicated in a timely
manner.
The bill amends section 66-326 to assist peace officers,
who take persons into custody, determine whether such
persons are in need of detention due to mental health
issues. It also spells out who in a facility is qualified
to assist in that determination. The bill specifies that
such persons can be detained only in a facility equipped to
assess and treat acute psychiatric and other mental
conditions, with the exception that a person may be
detained in a facility not so equipped if no equipped
facility is available within the state. While this allows
unequipped facilities to hold patients for a short time
without treating the patients’ mental illness, it requires
them to find a facility that can provide treatment within a
short time frame. The bill also clarifies the process of
court orders for the commitment of such persons, and it
excludes Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays from the
time constraint for doing that.
The bill strengthens the language which prohibits jailing
of the mentally ill and requires the facility that detains
such person to attempt to report information to the
person’s immediate family unless contraindicated by the
circumstances.
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
There would be no impact to the state general fund.
Contacts:
Names: Steven A. Millard, Idaho Hospital Association
Bonnie Haines, Idaho Hospital Association
Representative Kathie Garrett
Phone: 338-5100, extensions 203 and 207
H 268