Bill Text: NY A05287 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Enacts "Jesse's law" to provide that a person subject to involuntary emergency admission for immediate observation, care, and treatment of mental illness shall have the right to select the hospital they are admitted to.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to mental health [A05287 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A05287-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5287

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      March 7, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. GUNTHER -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Mental Health

        AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to involuntary emer-
          gency admission of persons alleged to be mentally ill

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
     2  "Jesse's law".
     3    § 2.  The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new  section  9.42
     4  to read as follows:
     5  § 9.42 Patient's  right  to  choose a qualified hospital for involuntary
     6           emergency admission.
     7    In the event that a police officer or peace officer  is  involuntarily
     8  removing  a person to a hospital under the provisions of section 9.41 of
     9  this article, that person may choose the hospital to which he or she  is
    10  admitted  as long as the hospital meets the criteria specified in subdi-
    11  vision (a) of section 9.39 of  this  article,  has  adequate  space  and
    12  staffing, and is no more than fifty miles from the location at which the
    13  person is taken into custody.
    14    §  3. Within 60 days of the effective date of this act, the department
    15  of mental hygiene shall distribute to each county sheriff a list of  all
    16  hospitals that meet the criteria specified in subdivision (a) of section
    17  9.39  of  the  mental  hygiene  law.  The department shall distribute an
    18  updated list any time a hospital gains or loses 9.39 certification.
    19    § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    20  have become a law.


         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09132-01-3