Senate Bill S1159

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S1159

SPONSOR: RITCHIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to fees for services
rendered to patients held in state inpatient facilities pursuant to
court orders

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To relieve counties of fiscal responsibility for services rendered to
patients held in state inpatient facilities pursuant to court order in
excess of thirty days.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends subdivision (c) of section 43.03 of the mental hygiene
law by placing a 30 day limit on the fiscal responsibility of county
governments for Department of Mental Health (DMH) services to certain
persons being held pursuant to the order of a criminal court.
              

Section 2 is the effective date.

 
EXISTING LAW:

Currently, Section 43.03 (c) of the Mental Hygiene Law provides that
persons receiving mental hygiene services while being held pursuant to
the order of a criminal court shall not be liable to DMH for such
services. Fees due to DMH for such services shall be paid by the county
in which the court is located. Counties are not responsible, however,
for services to persons committed to DMH pursuant to Section 330.20 of
the Criminal Procedure Law or for examination pursuant to an order of
the Family Court.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Court ordered confinement for a mental health examination does not
exceed 30 days except upon application of the Commissioner of Mental
Health. When this occurs the court may authorize confinement for an
additional period, not exceeding 30 days, if it is satisfied that a
longer period is necessary to complete the examination. Except in
certain rare cases, the majority of court ordered confinements for exam-
ination are, in fact, completed within 33 days. Those exceptions usually
result in a determination that the individual being examined is unfit to
proceed to trial and may as in the case of a murder charge spend the
rest of his or her life in a DMH facility at local government expense.
At a time when local governments are already overburdened by State
mandates it is clearly inappropriate to charge them for services in
excess of 30 days over which they have no control. This is especially
true in cases where the individual being examined would, under other
ordinary circumstances, be committed to a DMH facility on an involuntary
basis as harmful to self or others at no cost to the local government.
For these reasons this bill must be enacted into law.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-2018: S.1912/A.3254
2019-2020: S.1218/A.3116
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

Estimated $11 million to $12 million cost to the state annually.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act would take effect on the first of January after it has become a
law.