SF 2352 (LSB 5010SV (5) 83)

SENATE FILE 2352

BY  COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

(SUCCESSOR TO SF 2050)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the emergency hospitalization of a person with a serious mental impairment.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 229.22, subsections 2 and 3, Code Supplement 2009, are amended to read as follows:
   2.  a.  In the circumstances described in subsection 1, any peace officer who has reasonable grounds to believe that a person is mentally ill, and because of that illness is likely to physically injure the person’s self or others if not immediately detained, may without a warrant take or cause that person to be taken to the nearest available facility or hospital as defined in section 229.11, subsection 1, paragraphs “b” and “c”. A person believed mentally ill, and likely to injure the person’s self or others if not immediately detained, may be delivered to a facility or hospital by someone other than a peace officer. Upon delivery of the person believed mentally ill to the hospital, the examining physician may order treatment of that person, including chemotherapy, but only to the extent necessary to preserve the person’s life or to appropriately control behavior by the person which is likely to result in physical injury to that person or others if allowed to continue. The peace officer who took the person into custody, or other party who brought the person to the facility or hospital, shall describe the circumstances of the matter to the examining physician. If the person is a peace officer, the peace officer may do so either in person or by written report. If the examining physician finds that there is reason to believe that the person is seriously mentally impaired, and because of that impairment is likely to physically injure the person’s self or others if not immediately detained, the examining physician shall at once communicate with the nearest available magistrate as defined in section 801.4, subsection 10. The magistrate shall, based upon the circumstances described by the examining physician, give the examining physician oral instructions either directing that the person be released forthwith or authorizing the person’s detention in an appropriate facility.  A peace officer from the law enforcement agency that took the person into custody, if available, during the communication with the magistrate, may inform the magistrate that an arrest warrant has been issued for or charges are pending against the person and request that any oral or written order issued under this subsection require the facility or hospital to notify the law enforcement agency about the discharge of the person prior to discharge. The magistrate may also give oral instructions and order that the detained person be transported to an appropriate facility.
   b.  If the magistrate orders that the person be detained, the magistrate shall, by the close of business on the next working day, file a written order with the clerk in the county where it is anticipated that an application may be filed under section 229.6. The order may be filed by facsimile if necessary.  A peace officer from the law enforcement agency that took the person into custody, if no request was made under paragraph “a”, may inform the magistrate that an arrest warrant has been issued for or charges are pending against the person and request that any written order issued under this paragraph require the facility or hospital to notify the law enforcement agency about the discharge of the person prior to discharge. The order shall state the circumstances under which the person was taken into custody or otherwise brought to a facility or hospital, and the grounds supporting the finding of probable cause to believe that the person is seriously mentally impaired and likely to injure the person’s self or others if not immediately detained.  The order shall also include any law enforcement agency notification requirements if applicable. The order shall confirm the oral order authorizing the person’s detention including any order given to transport the person to an appropriate facility. A peace officer from the law enforcement agency that took the person into custody may also request an order, separate from the written order, requiring the facility or hospital to notify the law enforcement agency about the discharge of the person prior to discharge.  The clerk shall provide a copy of that the written order or any separate order to the chief medical officer of the facility or hospital to which the person was originally taken, to any subsequent facility to which the person was transported, and to any law enforcement department or ambulance service that transported the person pursuant to the magistrate’s order.
   3.  The chief medical officer of the facility or hospital shall examine and may detain and care for the person taken into custody under the magistrate’s order for a period not to exceed forty-eight hours from the time such order is dated, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, unless the order is sooner dismissed by a magistrate, or the law enforcement agency has been notified of the discharge of the person as required by the order of the magistrate and the law enforcement agency has retrieved the person or is en route to retrieve the person. The facility or hospital may provide treatment which is necessary to preserve the person’s life, or to appropriately control behavior by the person which is likely to result in physical injury to the person’s self or others if allowed to continue, but may not otherwise provide treatment to the person without the person’s consent. The person shall be discharged from the facility or hospital and released from custody not later than the expiration of that period, unless an application for the person’s involuntary hospitalization is sooner filed with the clerk pursuant to section 229.6.  Prior to such discharge the facility or hospital shall, if required by the order of the magistrate, notify the law enforcement agency requesting such notification about the discharge of the person. The detention of any person by the procedure and not in excess of the period of time prescribed by this section shall not render the peace officer, physician, facility, or hospital so detaining that person liable in a criminal or civil action for false arrest or false imprisonment if the peace officer, physician, facility, or hospital had reasonable grounds to believe the person so detained was mentally ill and likely to physically injure the person’s self or others if not immediately detained, or if the law enforcement agency has been notified of the discharge of the person pursuant to the order of the magistrate and the law enforcement agency is en route to retrieve the person.
EXPLANATION
   This bill relates to the emergency hospitalization of a person with a serious mental impairment.
   The bill provides that a facility specified in Code section 229.22 also includes a hospital as provided in Code section 229.11(1).
   The bill provides that if a peace officer delivers a person to a facility for emergency hospitalization for a serious mental impairment, and an arrest warrant has been issued for or charges are pending against the person, the peace officer may request that any oral or written court order require a facility to notify the law enforcement agency about the discharge of the person prior to discharge of the person from the facility.
   Under the bill a peace officer from the law enforcement agency may make this request to the magistrate during the communication with the magistrate at the facility, prior to the magistrate issuing the written order by the close of business on the next working day, or may request an order that is separate from the written order, which requires the facility to notify the law enforcement agency about the discharge of the person prior to discharge.
   The bill requires the facility to notify the law enforcement agency about the discharge of the person prior to such discharge, if any order from a magistrate requires such notification.
   The bill provides that a person may be detained in excess of 48 hours from the time the magistrate’s order is dated, if the law enforcement agency is en route to retrieve the person.