NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5185
SPONSOR: Tannousis TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to requiring certain
facilities to have a staff member specifically trained in filing
assisted outpatient treatment petitions
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Relates to requiring certain facilities to have a staff member specif-
ically trained in filing assisted outpatient treatment petitions.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one is amended by adding a new subdivision by having a staff
member specifically trained in filling assisted outpatient treatment
petitions.
Section two establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Unfortunately the criminal justice system and hospital system has become
revolving doors for individuals with mental illness who are not receiv-
ing the proper treatment for their illness. Sometimes they are homeless
individuals or individuals without family. Having no one in their lives
who can file a Kendra's Law petition to get them the help they need
through court ordered outpatient treatment, they go in and out of hospi-
tals or jail. This law would require that a staff member at hospitals
and jails Be trained to complete Kendra's law petitions on behalf of
those who need court-ordered outpatient treatment upon discharge.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021 A6927 Held for consideration in Mental Health
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
become a law
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5185
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 3, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. TANNOUSIS -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Mental Health
AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to requiring certain
facilities to have a staff member specifically trained in filing
assisted outpatient treatment petitions
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 9.60 of the mental hygiene law is amended by adding
2 a new subdivision (t) to read as follows:
3 (t) (1) The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of
4 health and the commissioner of corrections and community supervision,
5 shall require hospitals licensed or operated by the office of mental
6 health operating a program pursuant to subdivision (b) of this section,
7 hospitals subject to the provisions of article twenty-eight of the
8 public health law and correctional facilities as defined in section two
9 of the correction law to have a staff member specifically trained in
10 filing assisted outpatient treatment petitions.
11 (2) When an individual being released from a mental health hospital
12 under section 7.17 of this chapter, a hospital subject to the provisions
13 of article twenty-eight of the public health law, or a correctional
14 facility as defined in section two of the correction law, if such indi-
15 vidual is found to have a history of mental illness, or the individual
16 is determined during a court ordered mandatory evaluation to suffer from
17 mental illness, such individual shall not be released until he or she
18 has been counseled on and registered with services which shall be avail-
19 able to such individual once he or she is released.
20 § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
21 have become a law; provided, however the amendments made to section 9.60
22 of the mental hygiene law made by section one of this act shall not
23 affect the repeal of such section and shall be deemed repealed there-
24 with.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05199-01-3
