Bill > S1784

Introduced Session

An act relating to mental health and substance abuse; amending s. 394.455, F.S.; conforming a cross reference to changes made by the act; amending s. 394.4572, F.S.; providing an exception to background screening requirements for certain licensed physicians and nurses; amending s. 394.459, F.S.; specifying a timeframe for recording restrictions in a patient’s clinical file; requiring that such recorded restriction be immediately served on certain parties; conforming a provision to changes made by the act; amending s. 394.4598, F.S.; authorizing certain psychiatric nurses to consult with guardian advocates for purposes of obtaining consent for treatment; amending s. 394.4599, F.S.; revising written notice requirements relating to filing petitions for involuntary services; amending s. 394.461, F.S.; authorizing the state to establish that a transfer evaluation was performed by providing the court with a copy of the evaluation before the close of the state’s case-in-chief; prohibiting the court from considering substantive information in the transfer evaluation; providing an exception; revising reporting requirements; amending s. 394.4615, F.S.; allowing a patient’s legal custodian to authorize release of the patient’s clinical records; conforming provisions to changes made by the act; amending s. 394.462, F.S.; authorizing a county to include alternative funding arrangements for transporting individuals to designated receiving facilities in the county’s transportation plan; conforming provisions to changes made by the act; amending s. 394.4625, F.S.; revising requirements relating to voluntary admissions to a facility for examination and treatment; requiring certain treating psychiatric nurses to document specified information in a patient’s clinical record within a specified timeframe of his or her voluntary admission for mental health treatment; requiring clinical psychologists who make determinations of involuntary placement at certain mental health facilities to have specified clinical experience; authorizing certain psychiatric nurses to order emergency treatment for certain patients; conforming provisions to changes made by the act; amending s. 394.463, F.S.; authorizing, rather than requiring, law enforcement officers to take certain persons into custody for involuntary examinations; requiring a law enforcement officer to provide a parent or legal guardian of a minor being transported to certain facilities with specified facility information; providing an exception; requiring that written reports by law enforcement officers contain certain information; requiring a certain institute to collect and analyze certain documents and use them to prepare annual reports; providing requirements for such reports; requiring the institute to post such reports on its website; providing a due date for the annual reports; requiring the Department of Children and Families to post a specified report on its website; revising requirements for patient examinations at receiving facilities; revising requirements for petitions for involuntary services; revising requirements for releasing a patient from a receiving facility; requiring the department and the Agency for Health Care Administration to provide certain collected data to a specified institute; requiring the institute to analyze the collected data, identify patterns and trends, and make recommendations to decrease avoidable admissions; authorizing recommendations to be addressed in a specified manner; requiring the institute to publish a specified report on its website and submit the report to the Governor, Legislature, department, and agency by a certain date; amending s. 394.4655, F.S.; defining the term “involuntary outpatient placement”; authorizing a specified court to order an individual to involuntary outpatient placement; deleting provisions relating to criteria, retention of a patient, and petition for involuntary outpatient services and court proceedings relating to involuntary outpatient services; amending s. 394.467, F.S.; defining terms; revising requirements for ordering a person for involuntary services and treatment, petitions for involuntary service, appointment of counsel, and continuances of hearings, respectively; requiring clinical psychologists to have specified clinical experience in order to recommend involuntary services; authorizing certain psychiatric nurses to recommend involuntary services for mental health treatment; revising the conditions under which a court may waive the requirement for a patient to be present at an involuntary inpatient placement hearing; authorizing the court to permit witnesses to attend and testify remotely at the hearing through specified means; providing requirements for a witness to attend and testify remotely; requiring facilities to make certain clinical records available to a state attorney within a specified timeframe; specifying that such records remain confidential and may not be used for certain purposes; requiring the court to allow certain testimony from specified persons; providing requirements for certain parties and limitations on the court’s order if specified services or funding is not available; revising the length of time a court may require a patient to receive services; prohibiting courts from ordering individuals with developmental disabilities to be involuntarily placed in a state treatment facility; requiring courts to refer such individuals, and authorizing courts to refer certain other individuals, to specified agencies for evaluation and services; providing requirements for service plan modifications, noncompliance with involuntary outpatient services, and discharge, respectively; revising requirements for the procedure for continued involuntary services and return to facilities, respectively; amending s. 394.468, F.S.; revising requirements for discharge planning and procedures; providing requirements for the discharge transition process; creating s. 394.4915, F.S.; establishing the Office of Children’s Behavioral Health Ombudsman within the Department of Children and Families for a specified purpose; providing responsibilities of the office; requiring the department and managing entities to include specified information in a specified manner on their websites; amending ss. 394.495 and 394.496, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the act; amending s. 394.499, F.S.; revising eligibility requirements for children’s crisis stabilization unit/juvenile addictions receiving facility services; amending s. 394.875, F.S.; deleting a limitation on the size of a crisis stabilization unit; deleting a requirement for the department to implement a certain demonstration project; creating s. 394.90826, F.S.; requiring the Department of Children and Families and the Agency for Health Care Administration to jointly establish regional behavioral health interagency collaboratives for certain purposes; providing objectives the collaboratives are to meet; specifying collaborative membership; requiring each collaborative to define objectives based on the needs of its region; requiring the department to define the regions served and to facilitate meetings; requiring the entities represented in a collaborative to provide certain assistance; amending s. 394.9085, F.S.; conforming a cross-reference to changes made by the act; amending s. 397.305, F.S.; revising the purpose of ch. 397, F.S., to include the most appropriate environment for substance abuse services; amending s. 397.311, F.S.; revising definitions; amending s. 397.401, F.S.; prohibiting certain service providers from exceeding their licensed capacity by more than a specified percentage or for more than a specified number of days; amending s. 397.4073, F.S.; providing an exception to background screening requirements for certain licensed physicians and nurses; amending s. 397.501, F.S.; revising notice requirements for the right to counsel for certain individuals; amending s. 397.581, F.S.; revising actions that constitute unlawful activities relating to assessment and treatment; providing penalties; amending s. 397.675, F.S.; revising the criteria for involuntary admissions for purposes of assessment and stabilization and for involuntary treatment; amending s. 397.6751, F.S.; revising service provider responsibilities relating to involuntary admissions; amending s. 397.681, F.S.; revising the jurisdiction of the courts with regard to certain petitions; specifying requirements for the court to allow a waiver of the respondent’s right to counsel relating to petitions for involuntary treatment; revising the circumstances under which courts are required to appoint counsel for respondents without regard to respondents’ wishes; renumbering and amending s. 397.693, F.S.; revising the circumstances under which a person may be the subject of a petition for court-ordered involuntary treatment; renumbering and amending s. 397.695, F.S.; authorizing the court to prohibit or a law enforcement agency to waive any service of process fees for petitioners determined to be indigent; renumbering and amending s. 397.6951, F.S.; revising the information required to be included in a petition for involuntary treatment services; authorizing a petitioner to include a certificate or report of a qualified professional with such petition; requiring such certificate or report to contain certain information; requiring that certain additional information be included if an emergency exists; renumbering and amending s. 397.6955, F.S.; revising when the office of criminal conflict and civil regional counsel represents a person in the filing of a petition for involuntary services and when a hearing must be held on such petition; requiring a law enforcement agency to effect service for initial treatment hearings; providing an exception; amending s. 397.6818, F.S.; authorizing the court to take certain actions and issue certain orders regarding a respondent’s involuntary assessment if emergency circumstances exist; providing a specified timeframe for taking such actions; prohibiting the service provider from holding the respondent for observation longer than a certain amount of time; providing exceptions; authorizing the court to issue or reissue a specified order under certain circumstances;, continue the case, and order a law enforcement officer or other agent to take the respondent into custody and deliver him or her to the service provider; providing that a case be dismissed under certain circumstances; amending s. 397.6957, F.S.; expanding the exemption from the requirement that a respondent be present at a hearing on a petition for involuntary treatment services; authorizing the court to order drug tests and to permit witnesses to attend and testify remotely at the hearing through certain means; deleting a provision requiring the court to appoint a guardian advocate under certain circumstances; prohibiting a respondent from being involuntarily ordered into treatment unless certain requirements are met; providing requirements relating to involuntary assessment and stabilization orders; providing requirements relating to involuntary treatment hearings; requiring that the assessment of a respondent occur before a specified time unless certain requirements are met; authorizing service providers to petition the court in writing for an extension of the observation period; providing service requirements for such petitions; authorizing the service provider to continue to hold the respondent if the court grants the petition; requiring a qualified professional to transmit his or her report to the clerk of the court within a specified timeframe; requiring the clerk of the court to enter the report into the court file; providing requirements for the report; providing that the report’s filing satisfies the requirements for release of certain individuals if it contains admission and discharge information; providing for the petition’s dismissal under certain circumstances; authorizing the court to initiate involuntary proceedings; requiring that, if a treatment order is issued, it must include certain findings; amending s. 397.697, F.S.; requiring that an individual meet certain requirements to qualify for involuntary outpatient treatment; revising the jurisdiction of the court with respect to certain orders entered in a case; specifying that certain hearings may be set by either the motion of a party or under the court’s own authority; requiring a certain institute to receive and maintain copies of certain documents and use them to prepare annual reports; providing requirements for such reports; requiring the institute to post such reports on its website and provide copies to the department and the Legislature; amending s. 397.6971, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the act; amending s. 397.6975, F.S.; authorizing certain entities to file a petition for renewal of an involuntary treatment services order; revising the timeframe during which the court is required to schedule a hearing; deleting obsolete provisions; amending s. 397.6977, F.S.; providing requirements for discharge planning and procedures for a respondent’s release from involuntary treatment services; repealing ss. 397.6811, 397.6814, 397.6815, 397.6819, 397.6821, 397.6822, and 397.6978, F.S., relating to involuntary assessment and stabilization, contents of petitions, procedure, licensed service provider responsibilities, extension of time for completion of involuntary assessment and stabilization, disposition of the individual after involuntary assessment, and the appointment of guardian advocates, respectively; amending s. 916.13, F.S.; requiring the Department of Children and Families to complete and submit a competency evaluation report to the circuit court to determine whether a defendant adjudicated incompetent to proceed meets the criteria for involuntary civil commitment if it is determined that the defendant will not or is unlikely to regain competency; defining the term “competency evaluation report to the circuit court”; requiring a qualified professional to sign such report under penalty of perjury; providing requirements for such report; requiring a defendant who meets the criteria for involuntary examination to appear remotely for a hearing; authorizing court witnesses to appear remotely for the hearing; amending ss. 40.29, 394.492, 409.972, 744.2007, and 916.107, F.S.; conforming cross-references and provisions to changes made by the act; providing an appropriation; providing an effective date.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Erin Grall (R)*, 

Other Sponsors (1)

Laid on Table, refer to CS/CS/HB 7021 (on 03/07/2024)

Official Document