|
|
ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES57th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session |
House: HHS DP 12-0-0-0 |
HB 2673: mental illness; prisoners; diagnosis; treatment.
Sponsor: Representative Hernandez C, LD 21
Caucus & COW
Overview
Requires sheriffs to ensure prisoners exhibiting symptoms of mental disorders are examined within 24-hours by a licensed physician, and if deemed a danger to themselves or others, or suffering from a persistent or acute disability or grave disability, a petition for evaluation must be filed, leading to transport to an appropriate evaluation agency.
History
Individuals who are taken into custody or confined in a county jail or state correctional facility are entitled to necessary medical care, including mental health care, during incarceration. The Arizona Department of Corrections (DOC) is responsible for providing medical and health services to prisoners committed to its custody, and correctional authorities must ensure access to evaluation and treatment for inmates with medical or mental health needs while incarcerated (A.R.S. §§ 31-201.01, 31-226).
Seriously mentally ill means persons who, as a result of a mental disorder, exhibit emotional or behavioral functioning that is so impaired as to interfere substantially with their capacity to remain in the community without supportive treatment or services of a long-term or indefinite duration. In these persons mental disability is severe and persistent, resulting in a longterm limitation of their functional capacities for primary activities of daily living such as interpersonal relationships, homemaking, self-care, employment and recreation (A.R.S. § 36-550)
Provisions
1. Requires a sheriff to cause a prisoner who appears to manifest symptoms of a mental disorder to be examined within 24-hours by a licensed physician. (Sec. 1)
2. Requires a sheriff to file a petition for a mental health evaluation and transport the prisoner to the appropriate evaluation agency, if in the judgement of the licensed physician the person is suffering from a mental disorder and as a result is:
a. a danger to self;
b. a danger to others; or
c. has a persistent or acute disability or grave disability. (Sec. 1)
3. Requires a person, on admission to the county jail, to be screened to determine whether:
a. the person has been diagnosed with a mental illness and has been receiving treatment for the illness; and
b. whether the person has been designated as seriously mentally ill (SMI). (Sec. 1)
4. Requires a sheriff, if a prior diagnosis of mental illness has been made, to determine what, if any, treatment was being provided to the prisoner before confinement in the county jail, including what medications the prisoner was taking. (Sec. 1)
5. Directs a sheriff to take immediate steps to ensure that the prisoner continues to receive prescribed medications within uninterrupted within 24-hours after arriving in the county jail and, to the extent practicable, that other treatments continue uninterrupted while the prisoner is in the county jail. (Sec. 1)
6. Requires a sheriff to submit a request for a SMI determination from the appropriate regional behavioral health authority or state DOC, as appropriate, within seven days after receiving a diagnosis, if the prisoner:
a. has previously been diagnosed with a mental illness; or
b. is discovered to have a mental illness on examination by a licensed physician but has not been designated as SMI. (Sec. 1)
7. Directs a sheriff to provide the SMI evaluation agency with all available medical and psychiatric evaluations and reports so that an accurate SMI determination can be made. (Sec. 1)
8. Requires, within 72-hours after a prisoner displays symptoms of a mental disorder in such a degree that a transfer to the state hospital or licensed behavioral health or mental health inpatient treatment facility is necessary, the psychiatrist or the physician of the facility to examine the prisoner and make a written report of their recommendations to the DOC Director. (Sec. 2)
9. Requires, rather than allows a petition for court-ordered evaluation to be filed within 120 days of the prisoner's scheduled release from prison or during any time that the prisoner is on release status appears to be as a result of a mental disorder, a danger to self or a danger to other, or has a persistent or acute disability or grave disability, and is either unable or unwilling to undergo a voluntary evaluation. (Sec. 2)
10. Requires the evaluation to take place within 72-hours within DOC if the court orders inpatient evaluation. (Sec. 2)
11. Specifies the evaluation must take place in a location that provides confidential communication and be done by a behavioral health professional who is qualified to make the evaluation. (Sec. 2)
12. Requires the DOC Medical Director to ensure all the following occur for any prisoner diagnosed with a mental disorder or shows symptoms of a mental disorder on conviction for a crime that requires serving a sentence in a facility:
a. the prisoner is evaluated by a psychiatrist to determine whether the prisoner suffers or continues to suffer from a mental disorder and determine a written treatment plan for the prisoner while incarcerated under the department's jurisdiction;
b. the prisoner is evaluated for a determination of a SMI designation and entitlement to additional benefits that come with this designation; and
c. the written treatment plan is approved by the court and accompanies the prisoner when transferred to the department to begin serving a sentence pursuant to an order of the court. (Sec. 3)
13. Outlines what should be included in the treatment plan. (Sec. 3)
14. Requires the DOC Medical Director, on transfer to DOC to begin serving a sentence of incarceration, to identify the prisoner in some easily recognizable manner indicating that the prisoner has been identified as a prisoner needing particular attention because of a medical, mental health or supervision need. (Sec. 3)
15. States that during the prisoner's term of incarceration:
a. the written treatment plan must be managed and amended, when necessary, in accordance with best evidence-based practices in order to stabilize or improve the prisoner's medical or mental health conditions; and
b. DOC must give the prisoner's medical records, including mental health records, to the prisoner's guardian or designee if the prisoner has a guardian or designates a person to access the records. (Sec. 3)
16. Defines terms. (Sec. 1, 3)
17. Makes technical and conforming changes. (Sec. 1,2,4)
---------- DOCUMENT FOOTER ---------
Initials AG HB 2673
2/13/2026 Page 0 Caucus & COW
---------- DOCUMENT FOOTER ---------