Revision: March 31, 2017, 2:16 p.m.
HB 596-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2017 SESSION
17-0716
01/04
HOUSE BILL 596-FN
AN ACT relative to review hearings in involuntary admission cases.
SPONSORS: Rep. Hoell, Merr. 23; Rep. Itse, Rock. 10
COMMITTEE: Judiciary
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This bill permits a person who has been involuntarily committed to a treatment facility under RSA 135-C to request a review hearing every 2 years.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
17-0716
01/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seventeen
AN ACT relative to review hearings in involuntary admission cases.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Action for Discharge. Amend RSA 135-C:53 to read as follows:
135-C:53 Action for Discharge. Any person who has been involuntarily admitted to a receiving facility may file at the probate court of the county in which he or she was originally admitted, or where he or she resides, a petition setting forth his or her name, the underlying circumstances and date of the prior order of the court ordering his or her involuntary admission, a request for discharge from care and custody or admission to a receiving facility, and the reasons for such request. If the petition [shall be] is accompanied by the certificate of a psychiatrist stating that the patient is no longer in need of involuntary admission and setting forth the facts upon which such an opinion is based[. Upon receipt of the petition and the certificate], the court shall conduct a hearing pursuant to RSA 135-C:34-54. If the petition is not accompanied by the certificate of a psychiatrist, the court shall conduct a hearing pursuant to RSA 135-C:34-54 if 2 or more years have passed since the last such hearing.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
17-0716
Revised 3/31/17
HB 596-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to review hearings in involuntary admission cases.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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| Estimated Increase / (Decrease) | |||
STATE: | FY 2018 | FY 2019 | FY 2020 | FY 2021 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other | |||
METHODOLOGY:
This bill permits a person who has been involuntarily committed to a treatment facility under RSA 135-C to request a review hearing every two years. The Department of Health and Human Services states it is unable to know how many individuals will request a hearing, but notes for the five-year period from FY 2012 through FY 2016, the average number of commitments exceeding two years was 79. The Department further notes the average cost of a psychiatrist is $1,210 per hearing and the average cost for defense counsel is $232 per hearing, bringing the total per-hearing average cost to $1,442. Therefore, if everyone entitled to a review hearing exercised that right, the annual general fund cost to the Department would be $113,918. The Judicial Branch notes the average cost of processing an involuntary admission case is projected to be $192.11 in FY 2018 and $194.84 in FY 2019.
The Department of Justice and New Hampshire Association of Counties indicate this bill will have no impact on their expenditures.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Justice, Judicial Branch, and New Hampshire Association of Counties