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HR 955 - Jt St Comm; Emerg Transp of Cert Persons for Invol Trmt; create

Henson, Michele (65th)	Hudson, Sistie G (120th)	Powell, Alan T (23rd)
Twiggs, Ralph (8th)	Manning, Judith H (32nd)

Status Summary	HC:	H&E	SC:		FR:	02/07/00	LA:	03/01/00	H - Favorably Reported (Sub)

First Reader Summary

A RESOLUTION creating the Joint Study Committee on Emergency Transportation of Persons for Evaluation for Involuntary Treatment for Mental Illness or Substance Abuse; and for other purposes.

HR 955                                            LC 11 0036S 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                             A RESOLUTION 
 
  1- 1  Creating the House Study Committee on Emergency 
  1- 2  Transportation of Persons for Evaluation for Involuntary 
  1- 3  Treatment for Mental Illness or Substance Abuse; and for 
  1- 4  other purposes. 
 
  1- 5  WHEREAS, Chapters 3 and 7 of Title 37 of the Official Code 
  1- 6  of Georgia Annotated contain provisions for the emergency 
  1- 7  transportation of persons for evaluation of the need for 
  1- 8  treatment of such persons for mental illness or substance 
  1- 9  abuse; and 
 
  1-10  WHEREAS, Georgia law provides that physicians and certain 
  1-11  other mental health professionals may examine a person and 
  1-12  authorize his or her emergency transportation for evaluation 
  1-13  of the need for involuntary treatment for mental illness or 
  1-14  substance abuse, while it does not provide the same 
  1-15  authority to other similarly trained and qualified mental 
  1-16  health professionals; and 
 
  1-17  WHEREAS, Georgia law allows for the authorization under some 
  1-18  circumstances for a patient to be transported to an 
  1-19  emergency receiving facility for evaluation for involuntary 
  1-20  treatment by persons who are not trained in mental health 
  1-21  based upon observations cited in affidavits by at least two 
  1-22  lay persons; and 
 
  1-23  WHEREAS, in many areas of Georgia there are clinics, private 
  1-24  offices, counseling centers, and day programs that employ 
  1-25  licensed mental health professionals who cannot exercise the 
  1-26  above cited authority; and 
 
  1-27  WHEREAS, in such instances a patient may be a danger to 
  1-28  himself or herself, family members, or others and a licensed 
  1-29  mental health professional lacking the authority cited above 
  1-30  must locate and wait for a physician or another mental 
  1-31  health professional to arrive in order to determine and 
  1-32  authorize the need for the patient to be transported on an 
  1-33  emergency basis to an emergency receiving facility 
  1-34  designated by the Department of Human Resources, thus 
  1-35  placing many persons in jeopardy of potential harm or 
  1-36  injury; and 
 
 
 
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  2- 1  WHEREAS, changes in current law with regard to the emergency 
  2- 2  transportation of patients for evaluation for involuntary 
  2- 3  treatment could potentially affect the Department of Human 
  2- 4  Resources and the delivery system for mental health and 
  2- 5  substance abuse services; and 
 
  2- 6  WHEREAS, under Georgia law, peace officers are required to, 
  2- 7  upon authorization, transport persons to emergency receiving 
  2- 8  facilities for evaluation for the need for involuntary 
  2- 9  treatment for mental illness or substance abuse; and 
 
  2-10  WHEREAS, representatives of the law enforcement community 
  2-11  have expressed concerns about the current system of 
  2-12  transportation authorized by Chapters 3 and 7 of Title 37 of 
  2-13  the Official Code of Georgia Annotated; and 
 
  2-14  WHEREAS, the present system of emergency transportation 
  2-15  authorized by Georgia law sometimes results in the 
  2-16  transportation of patients in law enforcement vehicles when 
  2-17  such persons are not a real danger to self or others and 
  2-18  such means of transportation imposes an unnecessary stigma 
  2-19  upon a patient. 
 
  2-20  NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF 
  2-21  REPRESENTATIVES that there is created the House Study 
  2-22  Committee on Emergency Transportation of Persons for 
  2-23  Evaluation for Involuntary Treatment for Mental Illness or 
  2-24  Substance Abuse.  The committee shall be composed of five 
  2-25  members of the House of Representatives appointed by the 
  2-26  Speaker of the House; the director of the Department of 
  2-27  Human Resources' Division of Mental Health, Mental 
  2-28  Retardation, and Substance Abuse, or the designee of that 
  2-29  director; one law enforcement officer appointed by the 
  2-30  Georgia Sheriffs' Association; one person appointed by the 
  2-31  Georgia Hospital Association; one person licensed to 
  2-32  practice professional counseling in this state, who shall be 
  2-33  appointed by the Licensed Professional Counselors 
  2-34  Associations of Georgia; one person licensed to practice 
  2-35  psychology in this state, who shall be appointed by the 
  2-36  Georgia Psychological Association; one person licensed to 
  2-37  practice marriage and family therapy in this state, who 
  2-38  shall be appointed by the Georgia Association for Marriage 
  2-39  and Family Therapy; one person appointed by the Association 
  2-40  County Commissioners of Georgia; one person licensed in this 
  2-41  state to practice social work, who shall be appointed by the 
  2-42  Georgia Chapter of the National Association of Social 
  2-43  Workers; one person licensed in this state to practice 
  2-44  advanced nursing practice as a clinical nurse specialist in 
 
 
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  3- 1  psychiatric/mental health, who shall be appointed by the 
  3- 2  Georgia Nurses Association; and one physician having board 
  3- 3  certification as a psychiatrist, who shall be appointed by 
  3- 4  the Georgia Psychiatric Physicians Association.  One of the 
  3- 5  members of the committee appointed by the Speaker shall be 
  3- 6  designated by the Speaker to serve as chair of the 
  3- 7  committee.  The committee shall meet upon the call of the 
  3- 8  chair. 
 
  3- 9  BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the committee shall undertake a 
  3-10  study of the conditions, needs, issues, and problems 
  3-11  mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any actions 
  3-12  or legislation which the committee deems necessary or 
  3-13  appropriate.  The committee may conduct such meetings at 
  3-14  such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or 
  3-15  convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively 
  3-16  its powers, perform its duties, and accomplish the 
  3-17  objectives and purposes of this resolution.  The legislative 
  3-18  members of the committee shall receive the allowances 
  3-19  authorized for legislative members of interim legislative 
  3-20  committees.  Members of the committee who are state 
  3-21  officials, other than legislative members, and state 
  3-22  employees shall receive no compensation for their services 
  3-23  on the committee, but they shall be reimbursed for travel 
  3-24  and other expenses incurred by them in the performance of 
  3-25  their duties as members of the committee in the same manner 
  3-26  as state employees.  The expenses and allowances so 
  3-27  authorized shall not be received by any member of the 
  3-28  committee for more than five days unless additional days are 
  3-29  authorized.  The funds necessary for the reimbursement of 
  3-30  the expenses of state officials, other than legislative 
  3-31  members, and state employees shall come from funds 
  3-32  appropriated to or otherwise available to their respective 
  3-33  departments.  All other funds necessary to carry out the 
  3-34  provisions of this resolution shall come from the funds 
  3-35  appropriated to the House of Representatives.  In the event 
  3-36  the committee makes a report of its findings and 
  3-37  recommendations, with suggestions for proposed legislation, 
  3-38  if any, such report shall be made on or before December 15, 
  3-39  2000.  The committee shall stand abolished on December 15, 
  3-40  2000. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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