SENATE BILL 147
49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009
INTRODUCED BY
Sue Wilson Beffort
AN ACT
RELATING TO BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE; AMENDING THE MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES CODE TO EXTEND EMERGENCY DETENTION FROM TWENTY-FOUR TO SEVENTY-TWO HOURS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. Section 43-1-10 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1977, Chapter 279, Section 9, as amended) is amended to read:
"43-1-10. EMERGENCY MENTAL HEALTH EVALUATION AND CARE.--
A. A peace officer may detain and transport a person for emergency mental health evaluation and care in the absence of a legally valid order from the court only if:
(1) the person is otherwise subject to lawful arrest;
(2) the peace officer has reasonable grounds to believe the person has just attempted suicide;
(3) the peace officer, based upon [his] the peace officer's own observation and investigation, has reasonable grounds to believe that the person, as a result of a mental disorder, presents a likelihood of serious harm to himself or herself or to others and that immediate detention is necessary to prevent such harm. Immediately upon arrival at the evaluation facility, the peace officer shall be interviewed by the admitting physician or [his] the admitting physician's designee; or
(4) a licensed physician or a certified psychologist has certified that the person, as a result of a mental disorder, presents a likelihood of serious harm to himself or herself or others and that immediate detention is necessary to prevent such harm. Such certification shall constitute authority to transport the person.
B. An emergency evaluation under this section shall be accomplished upon the request of a peace officer or jail or detention facility administrator or [his] that person's designee or upon the certification of a licensed physician or certified psychologist as described in Subsection C of this section. A court order is not required under this section. If an application is made to a court, the court's power to act in furtherance of an emergency admission shall be limited to ordering that:
(1) the client be seen by a certified psychologist or psychiatrist prior to transport to an evaluation facility; and
(2) a peace officer transport the person to an evaluation facility.
C. An evaluation facility may accept a person for an emergency-based admission [any person] when a licensed physician or certified psychologist certifies that [such] the person, as a result of a mental disorder, presents a likelihood of serious harm to himself or herself or to others and that immediate detention is necessary to prevent such harm. Such certification shall constitute authority to transport the person.
D. [Any] A person detained under this section shall, whenever possible, be taken immediately to an evaluation facility. Detention facilities shall be used as temporary shelter for such persons only in cases of extreme emergency for protective custody, and no person taken into custody under the provisions of the code shall remain in a detention facility longer than necessary and in no case longer than [twenty-four] seventy-two hours. If use of a detention facility is necessary, the proposed client:
(1) shall not be held in a cell with prisoners;
(2) shall not be identified on records used to record custody of prisoners;
(3) shall be provided adequate protection from possible suicide attempts; and
(4) shall be treated with the respect and dignity due every citizen who is neither accused nor convicted of a crime.
E. The admitting physician or certified psychologist shall evaluate whether reasonable grounds exist to detain the proposed client for evaluation and treatment, and, if [such] reasonable grounds are found, the proposed client shall be detained. If the admitting physician or certified psychologist determines that reasonable grounds do not exist to detain the proposed client for evaluation and treatment, the proposed client shall not be detained.
F. Upon arrival at an evaluation facility, the proposed client shall be informed orally and in writing by the evaluation facility of the purpose and possible consequences of the proceedings, the allegations in the petition, [his] the right to a hearing within seven days, [his] the right to counsel and [his] the right to communicate with an attorney and an independent mental health professional of [his] the proposed client's own choosing and shall have the right to receive necessary and appropriate treatment.
G. A peace officer who transports [any] a proposed client to an evaluation facility under the provisions of this section shall not require a court order to be reimbursed by the referring county."
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