Senate Study Bill 3053 - Introduced SENATE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES BILL BY CHAIRPERSON RAGAN) A BILL FOR An Act relating to the findings of an examining physician 1 assistant for a person believed to be seriously mentally 2 impaired in an emergency situation. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 5422XC (2) 85 rh/nh

S.F. _____ Section 1. Section 229.22, subsection 2, paragraph a, 1 subparagraph (4), Code 2014, is amended to read as follows: 2 (4) If the examining physician, examining physician 3 assistant, or examining psychiatric advanced registered 4 nurse practitioner finds that there is reason to believe that 5 the person is seriously mentally impaired, and because of 6 that impairment is likely to physically injure the person’s 7 self or others if not immediately detained, the examining 8 physician, examining physician assistant, or examining 9 psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioner shall at 10 once communicate with the nearest available magistrate as 11 defined in section 801.4, subsection 10 . For purposes of this 12 subparagraph, the findings of the examining physician assistant 13 must be approved by the examining physician assistant’s 14 supervising physician before the examining physician assistant 15 communicates with the nearest available magistrate. 16 EXPLANATION 17 Under existing law in Code section 229.22, if a person is 18 believed to have a mental illness, and due to that illness, 19 is believed likely to physically injure the person’s self or 20 others if not immediately detained, a peace officer or another 21 person may take the person without a warrant or court order to 22 a hospital or a community facility licensed to care for persons 23 with mental illness or a substance-related disorder. This 24 procedure is only used when it appears that the person should 25 be immediately detained due to serious mental impairment, 26 but an involuntary commitment application has not been filed 27 with the court and the person cannot be ordered into immediate 28 custody and detained. 29 Upon delivery of the person to the facility or hospital, 30 if the examining physician, examining physician assistant, or 31 examining psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioner 32 finds that there is reason to believe that the person is 33 seriously mentally impaired, and because of that impairment 34 is likely to physically injure the person’s self or others if 35 -1- LSB 5422XC (2) 85 rh/nh 1/ 2

S.F. _____ not immediately detained, the examining physician, examining 1 physician assistant, or examining psychiatric advanced 2 registered nurse practitioner is required to contact the 3 nearest available magistrate. The findings of the examining 4 physician assistant must be approved by the examining physician 5 assistant’s supervising physician before the examining 6 physician assistant communicates with the nearest available 7 magistrate. The bill eliminates the requirement that the 8 findings of the examining physician assistant be approved by 9 the examining physician assistant’s supervising physician 10 before the examining physician assistant communicates with the 11 nearest available magistrate in these circumstances. 12 -2- LSB 5422XC (2) 85 rh/nh 2/ 2