Florida Senate - 2016 SB 862
By Senator Legg
17-00963-16 2016862__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to mental health treatment; amending
3 s. 916.107, F.S.; authorizing forensic and civil
4 facilities to order the continuation of psychotropic
5 medications for clients receiving such medication in
6 the jail before admission to those facilities under
7 certain circumstances; requiring a jail physician to
8 provide a current psychotropic medication order under
9 certain circumstances; amending s. 916.13, F.S.;
10 requiring that a competency hearing be held within a
11 specified time; amending s. 916.15, F.S.; requiring
12 that a commitment hearing be held within a specified
13 time; reenacting s. 916.106(9), F.S., relating to the
14 definition of the terms “forensic client” or “client,”
15 to incorporate the amendments made to ss. 916.13 and
16 916.15, F.S., in references thereto; reenacting s.
17 394.467(7)(a), F.S., relating to involuntary inpatient
18 placement, to incorporate the amendments made to s.
19 916.15, F.S., in a reference thereto; providing an
20 effective date.
21
22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
25 916.107, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
26 916.107 Rights of forensic clients.—
27 (3) RIGHT TO EXPRESS AND INFORMED CONSENT.—
28 (a) A forensic client shall be asked to give express and
29 informed written consent for treatment. If a client refuses such
30 treatment as is deemed necessary and essential by the client’s
31 multidisciplinary treatment team for the appropriate care of the
32 client, such treatment may be provided under the following
33 circumstances:
34 1. In an emergency situation in which there is immediate
35 danger to the safety of the client or others, such treatment may
36 be provided upon the written order of a physician for up to a
37 period not to exceed 48 hours, excluding weekends and legal
38 holidays. If, after the 48-hour period, the client has not given
39 express and informed consent to the treatment initially refused,
40 the administrator or designee of the civil or forensic facility
41 shall, within 48 hours, excluding weekends and legal holidays,
42 petition the committing court or the circuit court serving the
43 county in which the facility is located, at the option of the
44 facility administrator or designee, for an order authorizing the
45 continued treatment of the client. In the interim, the need for
46 treatment shall be reviewed every 48 hours and may be continued
47 without the consent of the client upon the continued written
48 order of a physician who has determined that the emergency
49 situation continues to present a danger to the safety of the
50 client or others.
51 2. In a situation other than an emergency situation, the
52 administrator or designee of the facility shall petition the
53 court for an order authorizing necessary and essential treatment
54 for the client.
55 a. If the client has been receiving psychotropic medication
56 while incarcerated at the time of transfer to the forensic or
57 civil facility and lacks the capacity to make an informed
58 decision regarding mental health treatment at the time of
59 admission, the admitting physician may order continued
60 administration of psychotropic medication if, in the clinical
61 judgment of the physician, abrupt cessation of psychotropic
62 medication could pose a risk to the health or safety of the
63 client while a court order to medicate is pursued. The
64 administrator or designee of the civil or forensic facility may,
65 within 5 days after admission, excluding weekends and legal
66 holidays, petition the committing court or the circuit court
67 serving the county in which the facility is located, at the
68 option of the facility administrator or designee, for an order
69 authorizing the continued treatment of a client using the
70 psychotropic medication. The jail physician shall provide a
71 current psychotropic medication order at the time of transfer to
72 the forensic or civil facility or upon request of the admitting
73 physician after the client is evaluated.
74 b. The court order shall allow such treatment for up to a
75 period not to exceed 90 days after following the date that of
76 the entry of the order was entered. Unless the court is notified
77 in writing that the client has provided express and informed
78 written consent in writing or that the client has been
79 discharged by the committing court, the administrator or
80 designee of the facility shall, before the expiration of the
81 initial 90-day order, petition the court for an order
82 authorizing the continuation of treatment for an additional 90
83 days another 90-day period. This procedure shall be repeated
84 until the client provides consent or is discharged by the
85 committing court.
86 3. At the hearing on the issue of whether the court should
87 enter an order authorizing treatment for which a client was
88 unable to or refused to give express and informed consent, the
89 court shall determine by clear and convincing evidence that the
90 client has mental illness, intellectual disability, or autism,
91 that the treatment not consented to is essential to the care of
92 the client, and that the treatment not consented to is not
93 experimental and does not present an unreasonable risk of
94 serious, hazardous, or irreversible side effects. In arriving at
95 the substitute judgment decision, the court must consider at
96 least the following factors:
97 a. The client’s expressed preference regarding treatment;
98 b. The probability of adverse side effects;
99 c. The prognosis without treatment; and
100 d. The prognosis with treatment.
101
102 The hearing shall be as convenient to the client as may be
103 consistent with orderly procedure and shall be conducted in
104 physical settings not likely to be injurious to the client’s
105 condition. The court may appoint a general or special magistrate
106 to preside at the hearing. The client or the client’s guardian,
107 and the representative, shall be provided with a copy of the
108 petition and the date, time, and location of the hearing. The
109 client has the right to have an attorney represent him or her at
110 the hearing, and, if the client is indigent, the court shall
111 appoint the office of the public defender to represent the
112 client at the hearing. The client may testify or not, as he or
113 she chooses, and has the right to cross-examine witnesses and
114 may present his or her own witnesses.
115 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 916.13, Florida
116 Statutes, is amended to read:
117 916.13 Involuntary commitment of defendant adjudicated
118 incompetent.—
119 (2) A defendant who has been charged with a felony and who
120 has been adjudicated incompetent to proceed due to mental
121 illness, and who meets the criteria for involuntary commitment
122 to the department under the provisions of this chapter, may be
123 committed to the department, and the department shall retain and
124 treat the defendant.
125 (a) Within No later than 6 months after the date of
126 admission and at the end of any period of extended commitment,
127 or at any time the administrator or designee determines shall
128 have determined that the defendant has regained competency to
129 proceed or no longer meets the criteria for continued
130 commitment, the administrator or designee shall file a report
131 with the court pursuant to the applicable Florida Rules of
132 Criminal Procedure.
133 (b) A competency hearing shall be held within 30 days after
134 the court receives notification that the defendant is competent
135 to proceed or no longer meets the criteria for continued
136 commitment. The defendant must be transported back to the
137 committing court’s jurisdiction for the hearing.
138 Section 3. Subsection (5) is added to section 916.15,
139 Florida Statutes, to read:
140 916.15 Involuntary commitment of defendant adjudicated not
141 guilty by reason of insanity.—
142 (5) The commitment hearing shall be held within 30 days
143 after the court receives notification that the defendant is
144 competent to proceed and no longer meets the criteria for
145 continued commitment. The defendant must be transported back to
146 the committing court’s jurisdiction for the hearing.
147 Section 4. For the purpose of incorporating the amendments
148 made by this act to sections 916.13 and 916.15, Florida
149 Statutes, in reference theretos, subsection (9) of section
150 916.106, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:
151 916.106 Definitions.—For the purposes of this chapter, the
152 term:
153 (9) “Forensic client” or “client” means any defendant who
154 has been committed to the department or agency pursuant to s.
155 916.13, s. 916.15, or s. 916.302.
156 Section 5. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
157 made by this act to section 916.15, Florida Statutes, in a
158 reference thereto, paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section
159 394.467, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:
160 394.467 Involuntary inpatient placement.—
161 (7) PROCEDURE FOR CONTINUED INVOLUNTARY INPATIENT
162 PLACEMENT.—
163 (a) Hearings on petitions for continued involuntary
164 inpatient placement shall be administrative hearings and shall
165 be conducted in accordance with the provisions of s. 120.57(1),
166 except that any order entered by the administrative law judge
167 shall be final and subject to judicial review in accordance with
168 s. 120.68. Orders concerning patients committed after
169 successfully pleading not guilty by reason of insanity shall be
170 governed by the provisions of s. 916.15.
171 Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.