South Carolina General Assembly
115th Session, 2003-2004

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H. 4444

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Lucas and Altman
Document Path: l:\council\bills\ms\7016ahb04.doc

Introduced in the House on January 13, 2004
Currently residing in the House Committee on Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs

Summary: Interstate Compact on Mental Health, terms

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   12/3/2003  House   Prefiled
   12/3/2003  House   Referred to Committee on Medical, Military, Public and 
                        Municipal Affairs
   1/13/2004  House   Introduced and read first time HJ-75
   1/13/2004  House   Referred to Committee on Medical, Military, Public and 
                        Municipal Affairs HJ-75

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

12/3/2003

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTIONS 44-25-20, 44-25-40, 44-25-50, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, ALL RELATING TO THE INTERSTATE COMPACT ON MENTAL HEALTH, SO AS TO REPLACE THE TERM "INSTITUTION" WITH THE TERM "MENTAL HEALTHCARE FACILITY".

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Section 44-25-20, Article II(c) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(c)    "Institution" 'Mental healthcare facility' shall mean any hospital or other facility maintained by a party state or political subdivision thereof for the care and treatment of mental illness or mental deficiency."

SECTION    2.    Section 44-25-20, Article III(a) and (b) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(a)    Whenever a person physically present in any party state shall be in need of institutionalization by reason of mental illness or mental deficiency, he shall be eligible for care and treatment in an institution a mental healthcare facility in that state irrespective of his residence, settlement or citizenship qualifications.

(b)    The provisions of paragraph (a) of this article to the contrary notwithstanding, any patient may be transferred to an institution a mental healthcare facility in another state whenever there are factors based upon clinical determinations indicating that the care and treatment of said patient would be facilitated or improved thereby. Any such institutionalization may be for the entire period of care and treatment or for any portion or portions thereof. The factors referred to in this paragraph shall include the patient's full record with due regard for the location of the patient's family, character of the illness and probable duration thereof and such other factors as shall be considered appropriate."

SECTION    3.    Section 44-25-20, Article V of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Article V.

Whenever a dangerous or potentially dangerous patient escapes from an institution a mental healthcare facility in any party state, that state shall promptly notify all appropriate authorities within and without the jurisdiction of the escape in a manner reasonably calculated to facilitate the speedy apprehension of the escapee. Immediately upon the apprehension and identification of any such dangerous or potentially dangerous patient, he shall be detained in the state where found pending disposition in accordance with law."

SECTION    4.    Section 44-25-20, Article VII(a) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(a)    No person shall be deemed a patient of more than one institution mental healthcare facility at any given time. Completion of transfer of any patient to an institution a mental healthcare facility in a receiving state shall have the effect of making the person a patient of the institution mental healthcare facility in the receiving state."

SECTION    5.    Section 44-25-20, Article IX(b) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(b)    To every extent possible, it shall be the policy of states party to this compact that no patient shall be placed or detained in any prison, jail or lockup, but such patient shall, with all expedition, be taken to a suitable institutional mental healthcare facility for mental illness or mental deficiency."

SECTION    6.    Section 44-25-20, Article XI of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Article XI.

The duly constituted administrative authorities of any two or more party states may enter into supplementary agreements for the provision of any service or facility or for the maintenance of any institution mental healthcare facility on a joint or cooperative basis whenever the states concerned shall find that such agreements will improve services, facilities or institutional care and treatment in the fields of mental illness or mental deficiency. No such supplementary agreement shall be construed so as to relieve any party state of any obligation which it otherwise would have under other provisions of this compact."

SECTION    7.    Section 44-25-40 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"The compact administrator may enter into supplementary agreements with appropriate officials of other states pursuant to articles VII and XI of the compact. In the event that such supplementary agreements shall require or contemplate the use of any institution or mental healthcare facility of this State or require or contemplate the provision of any service by this State, no such agreement shall have force or effect until approved by the head of the department or agency under whose jurisdiction such institution or mental healthcare facility is operated or whose department or agency will be charged with the rendering of such service."

SECTION    8.    Section 44-25-50 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"The compact administrator shall consult with the immediate family of any proposed transferee and, in the case of a proposed transferee from an institution a mental healthcare facility in this State to an institution a mental healthcare facility in another party state, shall take no final action without approval of the probate court having jurisdiction of such transferee. Provided, that no person, a legal resident of this State, shall be transferred to another state without written consent of at least one of the following: His or her adult next of kin, committee, custodian or legal guardian; provided, further, that if there is no adult next of kin, committee, custodian or legal guardian, the compact administrator is authorized to initiate transfer proceedings."

SECTION    9.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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