Bill Text: NY A06396 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Provides an authorized police officer or peace officer the ability to request ambulance service for certain individuals who need emergency admission for immediate observation, care and treatment.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to codes [A06396 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A06396-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         6396--B

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     March 17, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on  Mental  Health  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended, ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- reported and
          referred to the Committee on Codes -- reported  and  referred  to  the
          Committee  on  Rules  --  Rules  Committee  discharged,  bill amended,
          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to the Committee on Rules

        AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law,  in  relation  to  providing  an
          authorized  police  officer  or  peace  officer the ability to request
          ambulance service

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

     1    Section 1. Section 9.45 of the mental hygiene law, as amended by chap-
     2  ter 723 of the laws of 1989, the opening paragraph as amended by chapter
     3  192 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
     4  § 9.45 Emergency  admissions for immediate observation, care, and treat-
     5             ment; powers of directors of community services.
     6    The director of community services or the  director's  designee  shall
     7  have  the  power  to direct the removal of any person, within his or her
     8  jurisdiction, to a hospital approved by  the  commissioner  pursuant  to
     9  subdivision  (a)  of section 9.39 of this article, or to a comprehensive
    10  psychiatric emergency program pursuant to  subdivision  (a)  of  section
    11  9.40  of  this article, if the parent, adult sibling, spouse or child of
    12  the person, the committee or legal guardian of the  person,  a  licensed
    13  psychologist,  registered  professional nurse or certified social worker
    14  currently responsible for providing treatment services to the person,  a
    15  supportive or intensive case manager currently assigned to the person by
    16  a  case  management  program  which program is approved by the office of
    17  mental health for  the  purpose  of  reporting  under  this  section,  a
    18  licensed  physician,  health  officer,  peace  officer or police officer
    19  reports to him or her that such person has a mental  illness  for  which
    20  immediate  care  and treatment in a hospital is appropriate and which is

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05339-05-1
        A. 6396--B                          2

     1  likely to result in serious harm to himself or  herself  or  others.  It
     2  shall  be  the  duty  of  peace  officers, when acting pursuant to their
     3  special duties, or police officers, who are  members  of  an  authorized
     4  police department or force or of a sheriff's department to assist repre-
     5  sentatives  of such director to take into custody and transport any such
     6  person. [Upon the request of a director of  community  services  or  the
     7  director's  designee an] An ambulance service, as defined in subdivision
     8  two of section three thousand one of the public health law,  is  author-
     9  ized to transport any such person upon request of a director of communi-
    10  ty services, the director's designee, a peace officer acting pursuant to
    11  their  special  duties  or an authorized police officer on behalf of the
    12  director of community services or the director's designee.  Such  person
    13  may then be retained in a hospital pursuant to the provisions of section
    14  9.39 of this article or in a comprehensive psychiatric emergency program
    15  pursuant to the provisions of section 9.40 of this article.
    16    §  2.  Section 9.45 of the mental hygiene law, as amended by section 6
    17  of part AA of chapter 57 of the laws of 2021,  is  amended  to  read  as
    18  follows:
    19  § 9.45 Emergency  assessment for immediate observation, care, and treat-
    20           ment; powers of directors of community services.
    21    (a) The director of community  services  or  the  director's  designee
    22  shall  have the power to direct the removal of any person, within his or
    23  her jurisdiction, to a hospital approved by the commissioner pursuant to
    24  subdivision (a) of section 9.39 of this article, or to  a  comprehensive
    25  psychiatric  emergency  program  pursuant  to subdivision (a) of section
    26  9.40 of this article, if the parent, adult sibling, spouse or  child  of
    27  the  person,  the  committee or legal guardian of the person, a licensed
    28  psychologist, registered professional nurse or certified  social  worker
    29  currently  responsible for providing treatment services to the person, a
    30  supportive or intensive case manager currently assigned to the person by
    31  a case management program which program is approved  by  the  office  of
    32  mental  health  for  the  purpose  of  reporting  under  this section, a
    33  licensed physician, health officer,  peace  officer  or  police  officer
    34  reports  to  him  or her that such person has a mental illness for which
    35  immediate care and treatment is  appropriate  and  which  is  likely  to
    36  result  in serious harm to himself or herself or others. It shall be the
    37  duty of peace officers, when acting pursuant to their special duties, or
    38  police officers, who are members of an authorized police  department  or
    39  force  or  of  a  sheriff's department to assist representatives of such
    40  director to take into custody and transport any such person.  [Upon  the
    41  request  of  a director of community services or the director's designee
    42  an] An ambulance service, as defined in subdivision two of section three
    43  thousand one of the public health law, is authorized  to  transport  any
    44  such person upon request of a director of community services, the direc-
    45  tor's  designee, a peace officer acting pursuant to their special duties
    46  or an authorized police officer on behalf of the director  of  community
    47  services or the director's designee. Such person may then be retained in
    48  a hospital pursuant to the provisions of section 9.39 of this article or
    49  in  a  comprehensive  psychiatric  emergency  program  pursuant  to  the
    50  provisions of section 9.40 of this article.
    51    (b) A person otherwise determined to meet the criteria for an emergen-
    52  cy assessment pursuant to this  section  may  voluntarily  agree  to  be
    53  transported to a crisis stabilization center under section 36.01 of this
    54  chapter  for care and treatment and, in accordance with this article, an
    55  assessment by the crisis stabilization center determines that  they  are
    56  able to meet the service needs of the person.
        A. 6396--B                          3

     1    § 3. Section 9.45 of the mental hygiene law, as amended by chapter 343
     2  of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows:
     3  § 9.45 Emergency  admissions for immediate observation, care, and treat-
     4             ment; powers of directors of community services.
     5    The director of community services or  his  designee  shall  have  the
     6  power to direct the removal of any person, within his jurisdiction, to a
     7  hospital  approved  by  the  commissioner pursuant to subdivision (a) of
     8  section 9.39 of this article if the parent,  spouse,  or  child  of  the
     9  person,  a  licensed  physician, health officer, peace officer or police
    10  officer reports to him that such person has a mental illness  for  which
    11  immediate  care  and treatment in a hospital is appropriate and which is
    12  likely to result in serious harm to himself or  others,  as  defined  in
    13  section  9.39  of  this article. It shall be the duty of peace officers,
    14  when acting pursuant to their special duties, or  police  officers,  who
    15  are  members  of  an authorized police department or force or of a sher-
    16  iff's department to assist representatives of such director to take into
    17  custody and transport any such person. [Upon the request of  a  director
    18  of  community  services  or  his  designee  an] An ambulance service, as
    19  defined in subdivision two of section three thousand one of  the  public
    20  health law, is authorized to transport any such person upon request of a
    21  director of community services, the director's designee, a peace officer
    22  acting  pursuant to their special duties or an authorized police officer
    23  on behalf of the director of community services or the director's desig-
    24  nee. Such person may then be retained  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of
    25  section 9.39 of this article.
    26    §  4.  This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that
    27  section two of this act shall take effect on the same date  and  in  the
    28  same  manner  as section 6 of part AA of chapter 57 of the laws of 2021.
    29  Provided further, that the amendments to  section  9.45  of  the  mental
    30  hygiene  law  made  by  section  two of this act shall be subject to the
    31  expiration and reversion of such section pursuant to chapter 723 of  the
    32  laws  of 1989, as amended, when upon such date the provisions of section
    33  three of this act shall take effect.