HB5254 S JUD AMT #1 3-4

Smith  7883

The Committee on Judiciary moved to amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting therefor a new title, to read as follows:

Eng. Com. Sub. for House Bill 5254 -- A Bill to amend and reenact §27-5-1 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §27-5-1b and §27-5-2 of said code; to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §27-5-2b; to amend and reenact §27-5-4 of said code; to amend said code by adding a new article, designated §27-5A-1, §27-5A-2; and §27-5A-3; all relating generally to the creation of mental hygiene regions by the Supreme Court of Appeals; clarifying that mental hygiene evaluations and proceedings may be conducted by video technology; granting civil immunity for mental health service providers who do involuntary commitment proceedings and setting out exceptions; creating a temporary observation release for mental hygiene respondents; clarifying that chief medical officer releases requiring approval of circuit court only apply to forensic patients; requiring hearings for any commitment period of longer than 90 days and prohibiting any person from being civilly committed to longer than 120 days without a hearing to determine whether the individual continues to meet commitment criteria; removing obsolete language regarding transcripts of proceedings to circuit court of county of residence; restructuring the mental hygiene commissioner system by authorizing new mental hygiene regions and full-time mental hygiene commissioners employed by the Supreme Court of Appeals; authorizing mental hygiene proceedings and evaluations by video and requiring facilities to provide technology that meets Supreme Court of Appeals specifications; authorizing statewide coverage for mental hygiene evaluations and permitting a mental hygiene commissioner to exclude evaluator testimony based on the West Virginia Rules of Evidence; and requiring each Certified Community Mental Health Center to ensure that at least one examiner is available to provide uniform and continuous coverage in each region, including afterhours, weekends, and holidays.        

Adopted

Rejected