CS for SB 1844                                   First Engrossed
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       20221844e1
       
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to mental health and substance abuse;
    3         amending s. 394.4625, F.S.; revising provisions
    4         relating to the voluntary admission of minors to a
    5         facility for examination and treatment; requiring that
    6         a minor’s assent to voluntary care be verified through
    7         a clinical review; amending s. 394.463, F.S.;
    8         requiring law enforcement officers transporting
    9         individuals for involuntary treatment to take certain
   10         actions; creating s. 397.341, F.S.; requiring law
   11         enforcement officers transporting individuals for
   12         certain treatment to take certain actions; providing
   13         an effective date.
   14          
   15  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   16  
   17         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and subsection
   18  (4) of section 394.4625, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   19         394.4625 Voluntary admissions.—
   20         (1) AUTHORITY TO RECEIVE PATIENTS.—
   21         (a) A facility may receive for observation, diagnosis, or
   22  treatment any person 18 years of age or older who applies making
   23  application by express and informed consent for admission or any
   24  person age 17 or younger whose parent or legal guardian applies
   25  under for admission whom such application is made by his or her
   26  guardian. If found to show evidence of mental illness, to be
   27  competent to provide express and informed consent, and to be
   28  suitable for treatment, such person 18 years of age or older may
   29  be admitted to the facility. A person age 17 or younger under
   30  may be admitted only after a clinical review hearing to verify
   31  the voluntariness of the minor’s assent consent.
   32         (4) TRANSFER TO VOLUNTARY STATUS.—An involuntary patient
   33  who applies to be transferred to voluntary status shall be
   34  transferred to voluntary status immediately, unless the patient
   35  has been charged with a crime, or has been involuntarily placed
   36  for treatment by a court pursuant to s. 394.467 and continues to
   37  meet the criteria for involuntary placement. When transfer to
   38  voluntary status occurs, notice shall be given as provided in s.
   39  394.4599, and if the patient is a minor, the minor’s assent to
   40  voluntary care must be verified as provided in paragraph (1)(a).
   41         Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
   42  394.463, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   43         394.463 Involuntary examination.—
   44         (2) INVOLUNTARY EXAMINATION.—
   45         (a) An involuntary examination may be initiated by any one
   46  of the following means:
   47         1. A circuit or county court may enter an ex parte order
   48  stating that a person appears to meet the criteria for
   49  involuntary examination and specifying the findings on which
   50  that conclusion is based. The ex parte order for involuntary
   51  examination must be based on written or oral sworn testimony
   52  that includes specific facts that support the findings. If other
   53  less restrictive means are not available, such as voluntary
   54  appearance for outpatient evaluation, a law enforcement officer,
   55  or other designated agent of the court, shall take the person
   56  into custody and deliver him or her to an appropriate, or the
   57  nearest, facility within the designated receiving system
   58  pursuant to s. 394.462 for involuntary examination. The order of
   59  the court shall be made a part of the patient’s clinical record.
   60  A fee may not be charged for the filing of an order under this
   61  subsection. A facility accepting the patient based on this order
   62  must send a copy of the order to the department within 5 working
   63  days. The order may be submitted electronically through existing
   64  data systems, if available. The order shall be valid only until
   65  the person is delivered to the facility or for the period
   66  specified in the order itself, whichever comes first. If a time
   67  limit is not specified in the order, the order is valid for 7
   68  days after the date that the order was signed.
   69         2. A law enforcement officer shall take a person who
   70  appears to meet the criteria for involuntary examination into
   71  custody and deliver the person or have him or her delivered to
   72  an appropriate, or the nearest, facility within the designated
   73  receiving system pursuant to s. 394.462 for examination. A law
   74  enforcement officer transporting a person pursuant to this
   75  subparagraph shall restrain the person in the least restrictive
   76  manner available and appropriate under the circumstances. The
   77  officer shall execute a written report detailing the
   78  circumstances under which the person was taken into custody,
   79  which must be made a part of the patient’s clinical record. Any
   80  facility accepting the patient based on this report must send a
   81  copy of the report to the department within 5 working days.
   82         3. A physician, a physician assistant, a clinical
   83  psychologist, a psychiatric nurse, an advanced practice
   84  registered nurse registered under s. 464.0123, a mental health
   85  counselor, a marriage and family therapist, or a clinical social
   86  worker may execute a certificate stating that he or she has
   87  examined a person within the preceding 48 hours and finds that
   88  the person appears to meet the criteria for involuntary
   89  examination and stating the observations upon which that
   90  conclusion is based. If other less restrictive means, such as
   91  voluntary appearance for outpatient evaluation, are not
   92  available, a law enforcement officer shall take into custody the
   93  person named in the certificate and deliver him or her to the
   94  appropriate, or nearest, facility within the designated
   95  receiving system pursuant to s. 394.462 for involuntary
   96  examination. The law enforcement officer shall execute a written
   97  report detailing the circumstances under which the person was
   98  taken into custody. The report and certificate shall be made a
   99  part of the patient’s clinical record. Any facility accepting
  100  the patient based on this certificate must send a copy of the
  101  certificate to the department within 5 working days. The
  102  document may be submitted electronically through existing data
  103  systems, if applicable.
  104  
  105  When sending the order, report, or certificate to the
  106  department, a facility shall, at a minimum, provide information
  107  about which action was taken regarding the patient under
  108  paragraph (g), which information shall also be made a part of
  109  the patient’s clinical record.
  110         Section 3. Section 397.341, Florida Statutes, is created to
  111  read:
  112         397.341 Transportation of individuals by law enforcement
  113  officers.—A law enforcement officer transporting an individual
  114  pursuant to this chapter shall restrain that individual in the
  115  least restrictive manner available and appropriate under the
  116  circumstances.
  117         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.