Bill Text: NY A07569 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to transfer of certain inmates to secure mental health facilities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2017-08-21 - signed chap.196 [A07569 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A07569-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          7569
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                       May 2, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. WEPRIN -- (at request of the Office of Mental
          Health) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Correction
        AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation  to  local  correctional
          facility  inmates  held in secure facilities operated by the office of
          mental health
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Subdivision  1  of  section 508 of the correction law, as
     2  amended by chapter 33 of the  laws  of  2009,  is  amended  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    1.  A  sheriff,  in his or her discretion, may by written order permit
     5  inmates confined in a local correctional  facility  to  receive  medical
     6  diagnosis  and  treatment  in  outside hospitals, upon the determination
     7  that such outside treatment and diagnosis  is  necessary  by  reason  of
     8  inadequate  facilities  within  the  local  correctional  facility. Such
     9  inmates shall remain under the jurisdiction and in the custody  of  said
    10  sheriff  while in a hospital, other than a secure facility, as such term
    11  is defined in paragraph b of subdivision two of this section,  and  said
    12  sheriff  shall  enforce  proper measures in each case to safely maintain
    13  such jurisdiction and custody.
    14    § 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section  508  of  the  correction
    15  law,  as amended by chapter 283 of the laws of 2002, such subdivision as
    16  renumbered by chapter 33 of the laws of 2009,  is  amended  to  read  as
    17  follows:
    18    a. If a physician to a jail or in case of a vacancy a physician acting
    19  as  such  and  the  warden  or jailer certify in writing that a prisoner
    20  confined in a jail, either in a civil cause or upon a  criminal  charge,
    21  is  in such a state of mental health that he or she is in need of invol-
    22  untary care and treatment and in their opinion should be  removed  to  a
    23  psychiatric  hospital  for  treatment,  the warden or jailer shall imme-
    24  diately notify the  director  who  shall  have  the  responsibility  for
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10128-01-7
        A. 7569                             2
     1  providing  treatment  for such prisoner. If such director after examina-
     2  tion of the prisoner by an examining physician designated by him or  her
     3  shall  determine  that  such prisoner is in need of involuntary care and
     4  treatment,  the  director  shall file an application for the involuntary
     5  hospitalization of such prisoner pursuant to article nine of the  mental
     6  hygiene  law in a hospital or secure facility, as defined in paragraph b
     7  of this subdivision, operated  by  the  [department]  office  of  mental
     8  [hygiene]  health  or  in the case of a prisoner confined in a jail in a
     9  city or county which maintains or operates a general hospital containing
    10  a psychiatric prison ward approved by the [department] office of  mental
    11  [hygiene]  health  to  such prison ward for care and treatment or to any
    12  other psychiatric hospital if such prison ward is  filled  to  capacity.
    13  Such application shall be supported by the certificate of two physicians
    14  in  accordance  with  the  requirements  of  section  9.27 of the mental
    15  hygiene law and thereupon such prisoner shall be admitted  forthwith  to
    16  the  hospital or secure facility in which such application is filed, and
    17  the procedures of the mental hygiene law governing  the  hospitalization
    18  of  such  prisoner.  The jailer or warden having custody of the prisoner
    19  shall deliver the prisoner to the hospital or secure facility with which
    20  the director has filed the application. If such jailer or  warden  shall
    21  certify  that  such  prisoner  has  a  mental illness which is likely to
    22  result in serious harm to himself or others and  for  which  care  in  a
    23  psychiatric  hospital  is appropriate such jailer or warden shall effect
    24  the admission of such prisoner to a hospital or secure  facility  forth-
    25  with  in  accordance  with the provisions of section 9.37 or 9.39 of the
    26  mental hygiene law and the hospital  shall  admit  such  prisoner.  Upon
    27  admission  of  the  prisoner,  pursuant  to  section 9.37 or 9.39 of the
    28  mental hygiene law, the jailer or warden shall notify the director,  the
    29  prisoner's  attorney, and his or her family, where information about the
    30  family is available. While the prisoner is in the hospital, other than a
    31  secure facility, he or she shall remain in the custody under  sufficient
    32  guard of the jailer or warden in charge of the jail from which he or she
    33  came.    When the prisoner is in a secure facility, the jailer or warden
    34  may transfer custody of the inmate to the commissioner of mental health,
    35  pursuant to an agreement between such jailer or warden and such  commis-
    36  sioner.  A  prisoner  admitted  to  a  psychiatric  hospital pursuant to
    37  section 9.27, 9.37 or 9.39 of the mental hygiene law may be retained  at
    38  the hospital or secure facility pursuant to the provisions of the mental
    39  hygiene  law  until  he  or  she has improved sufficiently in his or her
    40  mental illness so that hospitalization is no longer necessary  or  until
    41  ordered  by  the  court to be returned to the jail whichever comes first
    42  and in either event, the prisoner shall thereupon be returned  to  jail.
    43  The  cost of the care and treatment of such prisoners in the hospital or
    44  secure facility shall be defrayed in accordance with the  provisions  of
    45  the mental hygiene law in such cases provided.
    46    From  the  time  of  admission  of a prisoner to a hospital under this
    47  section the retention of such prisoner for care and treatment  shall  be
    48  subject  to  the  provisions  for  notice,  hearing, review and judicial
    49  approval of continued retention  or  transfer  and  continued  retention
    50  provided by article nine of the mental hygiene law for the admission and
    51  retention of involuntary patients.
    52    § 3. Paragraph b of subdivision 2 of section 508 of the correction law
    53  is amended by adding a new subparagraph (v) to read as follows:
    54    (v)  "Secure  facility"  shall mean a facility operated or licensed by
    55  the office of mental health that has been approved and designated by the
    56  commissioner of mental health to receive and retain  prisoners  pursuant
        A. 7569                             3
     1  to  this  section,  based upon a determination by such commissioner that
     2  the physical and internal security of the  facility  are  sufficient  to
     3  protect  the  safety  and  security  of  staff and persons served by the
     4  facility.
     5    § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
     6  it shall have become a law.