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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
mental illness; prisoners; diagnosis; treatment.
Purpose
Establishes, and modifies existing, mental disorder and illness screening, evaluation and treatment requirements for prisoners confined in county jails and facilities run by the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR). Establishes the Study Committee on Inmate Mental Health Services (Study Committee) and prescribes membership and reporting requirements.
Background
When a person is
confined in a county jail, upon an arrest for or conviction of a misdemeanor
manifests symptoms of a mental disorder, the county sheriff must notify a
licensed physician who must examine the person. If the physician determines
that the person is suffering from a mental disorder, proceedings must be taken
for a court-ordered evaluation. Evaluation proceedings must be separate from
court proceedings relating to the misdemeanor charge (A.R.S.
§ 31-126). On receiving an application for evaluation, a screening agency
must provide prepetition screening within 48 hours. If the screening agency
determines that there is reasonable cause to believe that the proposed patient
is a danger to self or others as a result of mental disorder or has a
persistent or acute disability or a grave disability and is unable or unwilling
to voluntarily receive evaluation, the agency must prepare a petition for
court-ordered evaluation (A.R.S.
§ 36-521). A person admitted to an evaluation agency must receive an
evaluation as soon as possible after the court's order and receive care and
treatment as required by the person's condition for the full period that the
person is hospitalized. An inpatient evaluation must be completed in less than
72 hours, during which time the person receiving the evaluation must remain in
the facility (A.R.S.
§ 36-530).
If a prisoner who is confined in any facility operated by ADCRR displays symptoms of mental disorder to such a degree that transfer to the Arizona State Hospital or a mental health inpatient treatment facility operated by ADCRR is necessary to ensure adequate treatment, the psychiatrist or physician at the facility must examine the prisoner and make a written report containing recommendations to the Director of ADCRR. If, within 120 days of the prisoner's scheduled release from prison or during any time that the prisoner is on release status, the prisoner appears to be a danger to self or others or has a grave disability and is unwilling to undergo a voluntary evaluation, a court-ordered evaluation may be filed as prescribed. If the court orders inpatient evaluation, the order must take effect on the day of the prisoner's scheduled release, or on a date determined by the court, if the prisoner is on release status. ADCRR must deliver the prisoner to the evaluation agency (A.R.S. § 31-226).
A mental disorder is a substantial disorder of a person's emotional processes, thought, cognition or memory and is distinguished from: 1) conditions that are primarily those of drug abuse, alcoholism or intellectual disability, unless the condition is in addition to a mental disorder; 2) the declining mental abilities that directly accompany impending death; and 3) character and personality disorders characterized by lifelong and deeply ingrained antisocial behavior patterns, including abnormal and prohibited sexual behaviors, unless the behavior results from a mental disorder. A grave disability is a condition evidenced by behavior in which a person, as a result of a mental disorder, is likely to come to serious physical harm or serious illness because the person is unable to provide for the person's own basic physical needs (A.R.S. § 36-501).
Seriously mentally ill (SMI) refers to a person who, as a result of a mental disorder, exhibits emotional or behavioral functioning that is so impaired as to interfere substantially with the person's capacity to remain in the community without supportive treatment or services of a long-term or indefinite duration. In an SMI person, mental disability is severe and persistent, resulting in a long-term limitation of functional capacities for primary activities of daily living, such as interpersonal relationships, homemaking, self-care, employment and recreation (A.R.S. § 36-550).
The Joint Legislative Budget Committee estimates that H.B. 2673 may result in increased administrative and employee costs to ADCRR but cannot estimate the magnitude of the costs without ADCRR's input (JLBC fiscal note).
Provisions
County Jail Screening and Treatment
1. Applies the requirement for a licensed physician to examine a person who is confined in a county jail and manifests symptoms of a mental disorder to a person arrested for or convicted of any crime, rather than a misdemeanor, within 24 hours.
2. Requires the county sheriff to file a petition for court-ordered evaluation if the licensed physician determines that the person suffers from a mental disorder and, as a result of the disorder, is a danger to others or has a persistent or acute disability or grave disability.
3. Requires the county sheriff to transport the prisoner to the appropriate evaluation agency if the petition for evaluation is granted.
4. Requires a person, on admission to a 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) the person has been designated as SMI.
5. Directs the county sheriff, if a prior diagnosis of mental illness has been made, to:
a) determine what treatment, if any, was being provided to the prisoner before confinement, including specifically what medications the prisoner was taking; and
b) take immediate steps to ensure that the prisoner continues to receive prescribed medications 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 jail.
6. Requires the county sheriff, if a prisoner has previously been diagnosed with a mental illness or is discovered to have a mental illness on examination by a licensed physician but has not been designated as SMI, to:
a) submit a request for an SMI determination from the appropriate regional behavioral health authority (RHBA) or ADCRR, as appropriate, within seven days after receiving the diagnosis; and
b) provide the SMI evaluation agency with all available medical and psychiatric evaluations and reports so that an accurate SMI determination can be made.
ADCRR Facility Screening and Treatment
7. Stipulates that the examination of a prisoner who is confined in an ADCRR facility and displays sufficient symptoms of mental disorder to necessitate hospitalization must occur within 72 hours after the prisoner displays symptoms.
8. 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, if certain conditions apply.
9. Modifies the conditions under which a petition for court-ordered evaluations must be filed to include if the prisoner:
a) has a persistent or acute disability or grave disability, rather than with a grave disability; and
b) is either unable or unwilling, rather than unwilling, to undergo a voluntary evaluation.
10. Modifies the requirements for a court-ordered inpatient evaluation by:
a) requiring the evaluation to take place within 72 hours within ADCRR, rather than the court order taking effect on the day of the prisoner's scheduled release; and
b) removing the requirement that the court must determine a date to transport a prisoner to the evaluation agency if the prisoner is on release status.
11. Requires a court-ordered inpatient evaluation to:
a) take place in a location that provides confidential communication; and
b) be done by a behavioral health professional who is qualified to make the evaluation.
12. Requires the Medical Director of ADCRR, before a prisoner is delivered into the custody of ADCRR who has been diagnosed with a mental disorder or is manifesting the symptoms of a mental disorder and who is convicted for a crime that requires serving a sentence in an ADCRR facility, to ensure that:
a) the prisoner is evaluated by a psychiatrist to determine whether the prisoner suffers or continues to suffer from a mental disorder and to determine a written treatment plan for the prisoner while incarcerated under ADCRR's jurisdiction;
b) the prisoner is evaluated for a determination of an SMI designation and entitlement to additional benefits that come with the designation; and
c) the written plan is approved by the court and accompanies the prisoner when transferred to ADCRR to begin serving a court-ordered sentence.
13. Requires the written treatment plan to include, at a minimum:
a) the identification of any medications the prisoner is currently prescribed or should be prescribed to stabilize or improve the mental disorder and whether the medications need to be administered under certain conditions or requirements, such as a watch swallow instruction, to ensure adherence to the treatment regimen;
b) the identification of any other chronic medical condition, including diabetes, epilepsy or cardiovascular disorder, and any medication necessary to address any chronic medical condition;
c) an assessment of the appropriate placement for the prisoner in ADCRR's system, including the need to be separated from the general prison population in order to avoid harm to the prisoner, other prisoners or staff; and
d) any other provisions that the Medical Director of ADCRR or the court believes are necessary to adequately address the prisoner's mental disorder or to protect the well-being of the prisoner and other persons while the prisoner is incarcerated.
14. Directs the Medical Director of ADCRR to identify a prisoner, on transfer to ADCRR to begin serving a sentence of incarceration, in some easily recognizable manner indicating that the prisoner has been identified as needing particular attention because of a medical, mental health or supervision need.
15. Stipulates 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) ADCRR 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.
Study Committee
16. Establishes the Study Committee which consists of:
a) two members of the House of Representatives (House) who are from different political parties and are appointed by the Speaker of the House (Speaker), one of whom the Speaker must designate as cochairperson of the Study Committee;
b) two members of the Senate who are from different political parties and are appointed by the President of the Senate (President), one of whom the President must designate as cochairperson of the Study Committee;
c) the Director of ADCRR or the Director's designee;
d) the Director of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System or the Director's designee;
e) four members appointed by the Speaker, one of whom:
i. represents the RHBA;
ii. has a family member who is currently in jail or prison and who has a mental health diagnosis;
iii. is a state, city, town or county prosecutor who prosecutes defendants with mental illness; and
iv. represents a law enforcement agency from a county with a population of fewer than 1,000,000 persons; and
f) three members appointed by the President, one of whom:
i. is employed by a special health care district;
ii. is an attorney with experience representing mentally ill defendants who are in jail or are sentenced to prison; and
iii. represents a law enforcement agency from a county with a population of 1,000,000 persons or more.
17. Requires the Study Committee to:
a) examine ways to improve the screening process for individuals who are arrested and taken to jail or prison;
b) study and recommend ways to improve access to adequate mental health screenings for individuals who are in jail or prison;
c) study and address ways to improve screenings for mental health risks, including dangers to the individual and others, for individuals who are in jail or prison; and
d) submit, by December 31, 2026, and December 31, 2027, a report regarding the Study Committee's activities and recommendations to the Governor, President and Speaker and provide a copy of the report to the Secretary of State.
18. Requires the Study Committee to meet at least once each year at a date and time determined by the Study Committee.
19. Specifies that Study Committee members are not eligible to receive compensation but are eligible for reimbursement of expenses.
20. Repeals the Study Committee on January 1, 2028.
Miscellaneous
21. Defines terms.
22. Makes technical and conforming changes.
23. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action
PSLE 2/9/26 W/D
HHS 2/16/26 DP 12-0-0-0
3rd Read 3/5/26 45-5-9-0-1
Prepared by Senate Research
March 16, 2026
KJA/SDR/hk