Adopted
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO 1 PROPOSED TO
House Bill No. 1640
BY: Committee
Amend by striking all after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
SECTION 1. Section 41-21-67, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-21-67. (1) (a) Prior to filing an affidavit for commitment of an individual, the relative or interested person shall be directed to the community mental health center in the county of financial responsibility or the county where the proposed patient is present for conduct of preliminary investigation to determine the need to file an affidavit for involuntary commitment. If the community mental health center is unavailable, any reputable licensed physician, psychologist, nurse practitioner or physician assistant, as allowed in the discretion of the court, may conduct the pre-affidavit screening and examination as set forth in Section 41-21-69. The pre-affidavit screening shall be completed within twenty-four (24) hours of the community mental health center being notified or before noon of the next day that the chancery clerk's office is in fact open, whichever is later. The community mental health center shall appoint a screener to conduct an investigation. The prospective petitioner may not be the pre-affidavit screener. The investigation must include:
(i) An interview with the proposed patient and other individuals who appear to have knowledge of the condition of the proposed patient, if practicable. In-person interviews with the proposed patient are preferred. If the proposed patient is not interviewed, specific reasons must be documented;
(ii) Identification and investigation of specific alleged conduct that is the basis for application;
(iii) Identification, exploration, and listing of the specific reasons for rejecting or recommending alternatives to involuntary commitment; and
(iv) In the case of a commitment based on mental illness, information relevant to treatment.
(b) In conducting the investigation required by this subsection, the screener shall have access to all relevant medical records of proposed patients currently in treatment facilities, state-operated treatment programs, or community-based treatment programs. Data collected pursuant to this clause shall be considered private data on individuals. The pre-affidavit screening report is not admissible as evidence in court except by agreement of counsel or as permitted by the rules of court and is not admissible in any court proceedings unrelated to the commitment proceedings.
(c) The notice must inform the proposed patient that if an affidavit for involuntary commitment is filed, the patient has certain rights, including the right to a court-appointed attorney, the right to attend hearings, and the right to oppose the proceeding and to present and contest evidence.
(d) When the pre-affidavit screener recommends commitment, a written report shall be sent to the chancery clerk for the county in which the petition is to be filed. The statement of facts contained in the written report must meet the requirements of Section 41-21-65(5), specifically certifying that a less restrictive alternative treatment was considered and specifying why treatment less restrictive than involuntary commitment is not appropriate.
(e) The pre-affidavit screener shall refuse to support the filing of an affidavit if the investigation does not disclose evidence sufficient to support commitment. Notice of the pre-affidavit screener's decision shall be provided to the court.
(f) If the interested person wishes to proceed with a petition contrary to the recommendation of the pre-affidavit screener, application may be made directly to the chancellor, who shall determine whether or not to proceed with the petition. Notice of the chancellor's determination shall be provided to the interested party.
( * * *2) * * * After a pre-affidavit screener has attempted to complete an
in-person screening, if a person is actively violent or refuses to participate in
the pre-affidavit screening and the screening cannot be completed, then upon recommendation
of the community mental health center, the affidavit may be filed and a writ issued
for a sheriff to intervene. After completing the pre-affidavit screening required
by subsection (1) of this section, receiving the written report from the pre-affidavit
screener, and upon filing of an affidavit of commitment, the clerk, upon
direction of the chancellor of the court, shall issue a writ directed to the
sheriff of the proper county to take into custody the person alleged to be in
need of treatment and to take the person for pre-evaluation screening and
treatment by the appropriate community mental health center established under
Section 41-19-31. The community mental health center will be designated as the
first point of entry for * * * pre‑evaluation pre-affidavit screening and
treatment. * * * The * * * writ may provide where the person
shall be held before being taken for * * * examination
and treatment, which shall include any licensed medical facility or crisis
stabilization unit. * * * However, when the affidavit fails to set forth factual allegations and
witnesses sufficient to support the need for treatment, the chancellor shall
refuse to direct issuance of the writ. Reapplication may be made to
the chancellor. If a pauper's affidavit is filed by an affiant who is a
guardian or conservator of a person in need of treatment, the court shall determine
if either the affiant or the person in need of treatment is a pauper and if * * * the affiant or the person in need of
treatment is determined to be a pauper, the county of the residence of the respondent
shall bear the costs of commitment, unless funds for those purposes are made available
by the state.
In any county in which a Crisis Intervention Team has been established under the provisions of Sections 41-21-131 through 41-21-143, the clerk, upon the direction of the chancellor, may require that the person be referred to the Crisis Intervention Team for appropriate psychiatric or other medical services before the issuance of the writ.
( * * *3) Upon * * * receiving the pre-affidavit
screening and filing of an affidavit of commitment, the chancellor shall immediately
appoint and summon two (2) reputable, licensed physicians or one (1) reputable,
licensed physician and either one (1) psychologist, nurse practitioner or
physician assistant to conduct a physical and mental examination of the person
at a place to be designated by the clerk or chancellor and to report their
findings to the clerk or chancellor. However, if the pre-affidavit screening
recommends against commitment, the chancellor may refuse to appoint two (2)
physicians to conduct a physical and mental examination. However, any nurse
practitioner or physician assistant conducting the examination shall be
independent from, and not under the supervision of, the other physician conducting
the examination. A nurse practitioner or psychiatric nurse practitioner
conducting an examination under this chapter must be functioning within a
collaborative or consultative relationship with a physician as required under
Section 73-15-20(3). In all counties in which there is a county health
officer, the county health officer, if available, may be one (1) of the
physicians so appointed. If a licensed physician is not available to conduct
the physical and mental examination within forty-eight (48) hours of the * * * pre-affidavit screening,
the court, in its discretion and upon good cause shown, may permit the
examination to be conducted by the following: (a) two (2) nurse practitioners,
one (1) of whom must be a psychiatric nurse practitioner; or (b) one (1) psychiatric
nurse practitioner and one (1) psychologist or physician assistant. Neither of
the physicians nor the psychologist, nurse practitioner or physician assistant
selected shall be related to that person in any way, nor have any direct or
indirect interest in the estate of that person nor shall any full-time staff of
residential treatment facilities operated directly by the State Department of
Mental Health serve as examiner.
( * * *4) The clerk shall ascertain whether
the respondent is represented by an attorney, and if it is determined that the
respondent does not have an attorney, the clerk shall immediately notify the chancellor
of that fact. If the chancellor determines that the respondent for any reason does
not have the services of an attorney, the chancellor shall immediately appoint
an attorney for the respondent at the time the examiners are appointed.
( * * *5) (a) If the chancellor
determines that there is probable cause to believe that the respondent * * * has a mental illness and
that there is no reasonable alternative to detention, the chancellor may order
that the respondent be retained as an emergency patient at any licensed medical
facility, crisis stabilization unit, or any other available suitable location
for evaluation by a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant and
that a peace officer transport the respondent to the specified facility, unit
or location. If the community mental health center
serving the county has partnered with Crisis Intervention Teams under the
provisions of Sections 41-21-131 through 41-21-143, the order may specify that
the licensed medical facility be a designated single point of entry within the
county or within an adjacent county served by the community mental health center.
If the person evaluating the respondent finds that the respondent * * * has a mental illness and
in need of treatment, the chancellor may order that the respondent be retained at
the licensed medical facility, crisis stabilization unit, or any other
available suitable location as the court may so designate pending an admission
hearing. If necessary, the chancellor may order a peace officer or other person
to transport the respondent to that facility, or unit or suitable
location. Any respondent so retained may be given such treatment as is
indicated by standard medical practice. However, the respondent shall not be
held in a hospital operated directly by the State Department of Mental Health * * *.
(b) A jail or other detention center may not be used for custody unless the community mental health center has explored and exhausted the availability of other appropriate facilities, such as the crisis stabilization unit, the local hospital and any Department of Mental Health certified location; the chancellor specifically authorizes it; and the respondent is actively violent. The county of residence of any such person shall pay the cost of such interim treatment. The community mental health center shall provide documentation of the person's violent behavior and that no other appropriate facilities are available to the chancellor. Under these circumstances, no person may remain in a jail for longer than twenty-four (24) hours unless the community mental health center requests an additional twenty-four (24) hours from the chancellor. The community mental health center shall provide treatment during this timeframe pending placement at an appropriate facility. No peace officer or any other person shall place criminal charges against a person who has a mental illness and is in need of treatment pursuant to this chapter solely or primarily because the person has a mental illness or because of the unavailability of a state hospital bed.
For the purposes of this subsection (5), "actively violent" means that the behavior presents an immediate and serious danger to the safety of the individual or another, the individual has inflicted or attempted to inflict serious bodily harm on another, or has acted in such a way as to create a substantial risk of serious bodily harm to another, or has engaged in extreme destruction of property; and that there is a reasonable probability that this conduct will be repeated.
The provisions of this paragraph (b) shall not be construed to include jails that are designated as holding facilities under the requirement provided by Section 41-21-77.
( * * *6) (a) Whenever a licensed psychologist,
nurse practitioner or physician assistant who is certified to complete examinations
for the purpose of commitment or a licensed physician has reason to believe
that a person poses an immediate substantial likelihood of physical harm to
himself or others or is gravely disabled and unable to care for himself by virtue
of mental illness, as defined in Section 41-21-61(e), then the physician, psychologist,
nurse practitioner or physician assistant may hold the person or may admit the
person to and treat the person in a licensed medical facility, without a civil
order or warrant for a period not to exceed seventy-two (72) hours. However,
if the seventy-two-hour period begins or ends when the chancery clerk's office
is closed, or within three (3) hours of closing, and the chancery clerk's office
will be continuously closed for a time that exceeds seventy-two (72) hours,
then the seventy-two-hour period is extended until the end of the next business
day that the chancery clerk's office is open. The person may be held and
treated as an emergency patient at any licensed medical facility, available regional
mental health facility, or crisis * * * stabilization unit.
The physician or psychologist, nurse practitioner or physician assistant who holds
the person shall certify in writing the reasons for the need for holding.
If a person is being held and
treated in a licensed medical facility, and that person decides to continue
treatment by voluntarily signing consent for admission and treatment, the seventy-two-hour
hold may be discontinued without filing an affidavit for commitment. Any
respondent so held may be given such treatment as indicated by standard medical
practice. Persons acting in good faith in connection with the detention and
reporting of a person believed to * * * have a mental illness shall
incur no liability, civil or criminal, for those acts.
(b) Whenever an individual is held for purposes of receiving treatment as prescribed under paragraph (a) of this subsection, and it is communicated to the mental health professional holding the individual that the individual resides or has visitation rights with a minor child, and if the individual is considered to be a danger to the minor child, the mental health professional shall notify the Department of Child Protection Services prior to discharge if the threat of harm continues to exist, as is required under Section 43-21-353.
This paragraph (b) shall be known and may be cited as the "Andrew Lloyd Law."
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.
Further, amend by striking the title in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 41-21-67, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS TO CONDUCT A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION BEFORE AN AFFIDAVIT FOR COMMITMENT IS FILED; TO PROHIBIT A JAIL OR OTHER DETENTION CENTER FROM BEING USED FOR CUSTODY UNLESS THE COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTER HAS EXPLORED AND EXHAUSTED THE AVAILABILITY OF OTHER APPROPRIATE FACILITIES, SUCH AS THE CRISIS STABILIZATION UNIT, THE LOCAL HOSPITAL AND ANY DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH CERTIFIED LOCATION UNLESS THE CHANCELLOR SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZES IT AND THE RESPONDENT IS ACTIVELY VIOLENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.