Senate Bill S8508A

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  8508--A
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 8, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. SAVINO, BORRELLO, KAMINSKY -- read twice and ordered
   printed,  and  when printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental
   Health -- committee discharged, bill  amended,  ordered  reprinted  as
   amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to clarifying the
   standards for involuntary in-patient care and treatment

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.    Short  Title.  This act shall be known as the "New York
 State Mental Health Reform Act".
   § 2. Legislative findings. With the intent of  restoring  dignity  and
 transparency to our state's treatment and care of mentally ill patients,
 the  state  engaged in reforming procedures and policies in implementing
 preferred outpatient treatment through a structured outpatient treatment
 process commonly referred to as Kendra's Law.  The  law  was  to  ensure
 those  individuals  requiring  mental  health  treatment were afforded a
 dignified process in treatment while allowing the patient's  liberty  to
 be  free to pursue their daily lives without stigma or negative connota-
 tions attached to mental health.
   Unfortunately, the practical application of the state's mental hygiene
 laws has allowed thousands of people who require  more stringent  mental
 health  protocols  for  treatment to go without appropriate oversight to
 ensure their treatment is pursued thus, resulting in  severe  behavioral
 transgression to include a large degree of homelessness, criminal behav-
 ior,  toxic  drug use and alcoholism. The severity of abhorrent outcomes
 as the result of a failure to give medical  professionals,  as  well  as
 judicial direction in determining certain behavioral dysfunction(s) that
 display  a  need  for  in-patient  care, has severely impacted patient's
 health, welfare, and their ability to regularly function in society. All
 too often, we are seeing unsuspecting citizens killed or maimed  as  the
 result  of  violent  behavior by patients who have either disregarded or
 rejected available or mandated mental health services due to their dete-
 riorating mental state, which compounds the deleterious outcome for  the
 patient  as  well  as  society.    Although outpatient commitment is the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD14879-02-2
 S. 8508--A                          2
 
 preferred mode of treatment for patients seeking mental health services,
 the occasion arises  where  judicial  intervention  to  seek  immediate,
 mandated  treatment through court ordered in-patient treatment, in order
 to  facilitate  an  expedited pathway for seeking medical or psychiatric
 help is necessary to prevent on-going negative behavioral episodes  that
 places the patient or the public at risk of physical injury or death.
   §  3.  The second, third and fourth undesignated paragraphs of section
 9.01 of the mental hygiene law, as amended by chapter 723 of the laws of
 1989, are amended to read as follows:
   "in need of involuntary care and treatment" means that a person has  a
 mental  illness  for which care and treatment as a patient in a hospital
 is essential to such person's welfare and [whose] WHICH SO  IMPAIRS  THE
 PERSON'S  judgment [is so impaired that he] THAT THE PERSON is unable to
 understand the need for such care and treatment. CARE AND TREATMENT IN A
 HOSPITAL SHALL BE CONSIDERED ESSENTIAL TO A PERSON'S WELFARE IF, IN  THE
 ABSENCE OF SUCH CARE AND TREATMENT, THE PERSON'S MENTAL ILLNESS IS LIKE-
 LY TO RESULT IN SERIOUS HARM.
   ["likelihood to result in serious harm" or] "likely to result in seri-
 ous  harm"  means  PRESENTING  A SUBSTANTIAL RISK OF: (a) [a substantial
 risk of] physical OR MENTAL harm to the person as manifested by:
   (I) threats of or attempts at suicide or serious bodily harm;
   (II) SUBSTANTIAL INTERFERENCE WITH THE PERSON'S ABILITY  TO  MEET  THE
 PERSON'S NEEDS FOR FOOD, CLOTHING, SHELTER OR MEDICAL CARE; or
   (III)  other  conduct  demonstrating  that  the person is dangerous to
 himself or herself, or (b) [a substantial risk of physical harm to other
 persons as manifested by] homicidal or other violent behavior  by  which
 others  are  placed in reasonable fear of serious physical harm.  EVALU-
 ATION OF THE LIKELIHOOD THAT A PERSON'S MENTAL ILLNESS  WILL  RESULT  IN
 SERIOUS  HARM  SHALL  INCLUDE CONSIDERATION OF ALL RELEVANT INFORMATION,
 INCLUDING CREDIBLE REPORTS OF THE PERSON'S RECENT BEHAVIOR AND ANY KNOWN
 RELEVANT ASPECTS OF THE PERSON'S MEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL HISTORY.
   "need for retention" means [that] THE NEED OF a person  who  has  been
 admitted  to  a  hospital  pursuant  to  this article [is in need] FOR A
 FURTHER PERIOD of involuntary care and treatment in a  hospital  [for  a
 further  period]. EVALUATION OF NEED FOR RETENTION SHALL INCLUDE CONSID-
 ERATION OF THE PERSON'S PREPAREDNESS,  WITH  APPROPRIATE  AND  AVAILABLE
 SUPPORT, TO ADHERE TO ESSENTIAL OUTPATIENT TREATMENT.
   §  4.  Subdivision  (a)  of section 9.39 of the mental hygiene law, as
 amended by chapter 789 of the laws  of  1985,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   (a) The director of any hospital maintaining adequate staff and facil-
 ities  for  the observation, examination, care, and treatment of persons
 alleged to be mentally ill and approved by the commissioner  to  receive
 and  retain  patients  pursuant  to  this section may receive and retain
 therein as a patient for a period of fifteen days any person alleged  to
 have  a mental illness for which immediate observation, care, and treat-
 ment in a hospital is appropriate and which is likely to result in seri-
 ous harm to himself or others. ["Likelihood to result in  serious  harm"
 as used in this article shall mean:
   1.  substantial  risk  of  physical  harm  to himself as manifested by
 threats of or attempts at  suicide  or  serious  bodily  harm  or  other
 conduct demonstrating that he is dangerous to himself, or
   2.  a substantial risk of physical harm to other persons as manifested
 by homicidal or other violent behavior by which  others  are  placed  in
 reasonable fear of serious physical harm.]
 S. 8508--A                          3
 
   The  director  shall cause to be entered upon the hospital records the
 name of the person or persons, if any, who have brought such  person  to
 the  hospital and the details of the circumstances leading to the hospi-
 talization of such person.
   The  director  shall  admit  such person pursuant to the provisions of
 this section only if a staff physician of the hospital upon  examination
 of  such  person finds that such person qualifies under the requirements
 of this section. Such person shall not be retained for a period of  more
 than  forty-eight  hours  unless  within  such  period  such  finding is
 confirmed after examination by another physician who shall be  a  member
 of  the  psychiatric staff of the hospital. Such person shall be served,
 at the time of admission, with written notice of his status  and  rights
 as a patient under this section. Such notice shall contain the patient's
 name.  At  the  same time, such notice shall also be given to the mental
 hygiene legal service and personally  or  by  mail  to  such  person  or
 persons,  not to exceed three in number, as may be designated in writing
 to receive such notice by the person alleged to be mentally ill.  If  at
 any  time  after  admission,  the  patient, any relative, friend, or the
 mental hygiene legal service gives notice to the director in writing  of
 request for court hearing on the question of need for immediate observa-
 tion, care, and treatment, a hearing shall be held as herein provided as
 soon  as practicable but in any event not more than five days after such
 request is received, except that the commencement of such hearing may be
 adjourned at the request of the patient. It shall be  the  duty  of  the
 director  upon  receiving  notice of such request for hearing to forward
 forthwith a copy of such notice with a record  of  the  patient  to  the
 supreme  court  or  county  court  in  the county where such hospital is
 located. A copy of such notice and record shall also be given the mental
 hygiene legal service. The court which receives such  notice  shall  fix
 the  date of such hearing and cause the patient or other person request-
 ing the hearing, the director, the mental hygiene legal service and such
 other persons as the court may determine to be  advised  of  such  date.
 Upon  such  date, or upon such other date to which the proceeding may be
 adjourned, the court shall hear testimony and examine the person alleged
 to be mentally ill, if it be deemed advisable in or out  of  court,  and
 shall  render  a  decision  in writing that there is reasonable cause to
 believe that the patient has a mental illness for which immediate  inpa-
 tient care and treatment in a hospital is appropriate and which is like-
 ly  to  result in serious harm to himself or others. If it be determined
 that there is such reasonable cause, the court shall forthwith issue  an
 order  authorizing the retention of such patient for any such purpose or
 purposes in the hospital for a period not to exceed  fifteen  days  from
 the  date of admission. Any such order entered by the court shall not be
 deemed to be an adjudication that the patient is mentally ill, but  only
 a determination that there is reasonable cause to retain the patient for
 the purposes of this section.
   §  5.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
 have become a law.