S.B. No. 1507

	AN ACT
	relating to the statewide coordination and oversight of forensic
	mental health services overseen by the Department of State Health
	Services, including the appointment of a forensic director.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 532, Health and Safety Code, is amended
	by adding Sections 532.013 and 532.0131 to read as follows:
	Sec. 532.013.  FORENSIC DIRECTOR. (a)  In this section:
	(1)  "Forensic patient" means a person with mental
	illness who is:
	(A)  examined on the issue of competency to stand
	trial by an expert appointed under Subchapter B, Chapter 46B, Code
	of Criminal Procedure;
	(B)  found incompetent to stand trial under
	Subchapter C, Chapter 46B, Code of Criminal Procedure;
	(C)  committed to court-ordered mental health
	services under Subchapter E, Chapter 46B, Code of Criminal
	Procedure; or
	(D)  found not guilty by reason of insanity under
	Chapter 46C, Code of Criminal Procedure.
	(2)  "Forensic services" means a competency
	examination, competency restoration services, or mental health
	services provided to a current or former forensic patient in the
	community or at a department facility.
	(b)  The commissioner shall appoint a forensic director.
	(c)  To be qualified for appointment as forensic director, a
	person must have proven expertise in the social, health, and legal
	systems for forensic patients, and in the intersection of those
	systems.
	(d)  The forensic director reports to the commissioner and is
	responsible for:
	(1)  statewide coordination and oversight of forensic
	services;
	(2)  coordination of programs operated by the
	department relating to evaluation of forensic patients, transition
	of forensic patients from inpatient to outpatient or
	community-based services, community forensic monitoring, or
	forensic research and training; and
	(3)  addressing issues with the delivery of forensic
	services in the state, including:
	(A)  significant increases in populations with
	serious mental illness and criminal justice system involvement;
	(B)  adequate availability of department
	facilities for civilly committed forensic patients;
	(C)  wait times for forensic patients who require
	competency restoration services;
	(D)  interruption of mental health services of
	recently released forensic patients;
	(E)  coordination of services provided to
	forensic patients by state agencies;
	(F)  provision of input regarding the regional
	allocation of mental health beds for certain forensic patients and
	other patients with mental illness under Section 533.0515; and
	(G)  provision of input regarding the development
	and maintenance of a training curriculum for judges and attorneys
	for treatment alternatives to inpatient commitment to a state
	hospital for certain forensic patients under Section 1001.086.
	Sec. 532.0131.  FORENSIC WORK GROUP. (a)  In this section,
	"forensic patient" and "forensic services" have the meanings
	assigned by Section 532.013.
	(b)  The commissioner shall establish a work group of experts
	and stakeholders to make recommendations concerning the creation of
	a comprehensive plan for the effective coordination of forensic
	services.
	(c)  The work group must have not fewer than nine members,
	with the commissioner selecting the total number of members at the
	time the commissioner establishes the work group.
	(d)  The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
	Services Commission shall appoint as members of the work group:
	(1)  a representative of the department;
	(2)  a representative of the Texas Department of
	Criminal Justice;
	(3)  a representative of the Texas Juvenile Justice
	Department;
	(4)  a representative of the Texas Correctional Office
	on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments;
	(5)  a representative of the Sheriff's Association of
	Texas;
	(6)  a superintendent of a state hospital with a
	maximum security forensic unit;
	(7)  a representative of a local mental health
	authority;
	(8)  a representative of the protection and advocacy
	system of this state established in accordance with 42 U.S.C.
	Section 15043, appointed by the administrative head of that system;
	and
	(9)  additional members as needed to comply with the
	number of members selected by the commissioner, who must be
	recognized experts in forensic patients or persons who represent
	the interests of forensic patients, and who may be advocates,
	family members, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers,
	psychiatric nurses, or representatives of hospitals licensed under
	Chapter 241 or 577.
	(e)  In developing recommendations, the work group may use
	information compiled by other work groups in the state, especially
	work groups for which the focus is mental health issues.
	(f)  Not later than July 1, 2016, the work group established
	under this section shall send a report describing the work group's
	recommendations to the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the
	house of representatives, and the standing committees of the senate
	and the house of representatives with primary jurisdiction over
	forensic services.
	(g)  The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
	Services Commission may adopt rules as necessary to implement this
	section.
	(h)  The work group established under this section is
	dissolved and this section expires November 1, 2019.
	SECTION 2.  Subchapter B, Chapter 533, Health and Safety
	Code, is amended by adding Section 533.0515 to read as follows:
	Sec. 533.0515.  REGIONAL ALLOCATION OF MENTAL HEALTH BEDS.
	(a)  In this section, "inpatient mental health facility" has the
	meaning assigned by Section 571.003.
	(b)  The commission, with input from local mental health
	authorities, local behavioral health authorities, stakeholders,
	and the forensic director appointed under Section 532.013, and
	after considering any plan developed under Section 533.051, shall
	divide the state into regions for the purpose of allocating to each
	region state-funded beds in the state hospitals and other inpatient
	mental health facilities for patients who are:
	(1)  voluntarily admitted to a state hospital or other
	inpatient mental health facility under Subchapter B, Chapter 462,
	or Chapter 572;
	(2)  admitted to a state hospital or other inpatient
	mental health facility for emergency detention under Subchapter C,
	Chapter 462, or Chapter 573;
	(3)  ordered by a court to receive at a state hospital
	or other inpatient mental health facility inpatient chemical
	dependency treatment under Subchapter D, Chapter 462, or inpatient
	mental health services under Chapter 574;
	(4)  committed to a state hospital or other inpatient
	mental health facility to attain competency to stand trial under
	Chapter 46B, Code of Criminal Procedure; or
	(5)  committed to a state hospital or other inpatient
	mental health facility to receive inpatient mental health services
	following an acquittal by reason of insanity under Chapter 46C,
	Code of Criminal Procedure.
	(c)  The department, in conjunction with the commission,
	shall convene the advisory panel described by Section 533.051(c) at
	least quarterly in order for the advisory panel to:
	(1)  develop, make recommendations to the executive
	commissioner or department, as appropriate, and monitor the
	implementation of updates to:
	(A)  a bed day allocation methodology for
	allocating to each region designated under Subsection (b) a certain
	number of state-funded beds in state hospitals and other inpatient
	mental health facilities for the patients described by Subsection
	(b) based on the identification and evaluation of factors that
	impact the use of state-funded beds by patients in a region,
	including clinical acuity, the prevalence of serious mental
	illness, and the availability of resources in the region; and
	(B)  a bed day utilization review protocol that
	includes a peer review process to:
	(i)  evaluate:
	(a)  the use of state-funded beds in
	state hospitals and other inpatient mental health facilities by
	patients described by Subsection (b);
	(b)  alternatives to hospitalization
	for those patients;
	(c)  the readmission rate for those
	patients; and
	(d)  the average length of admission
	for those patients; and
	(ii)  conduct a review of the diagnostic and
	acuity profiles of patients described by Subsection (b) for the
	purpose of assisting the department, commission, and advisory panel
	in making informed decisions and using available resources
	efficiently and effectively; and
	(2)  receive and review status updates from the
	department regarding the implementation of the bed day allocation
	methodology and the bed day utilization review protocol.
	(d)  Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
	the advisory panel shall submit to the executive commissioner for
	consideration a proposal for an updated bed day allocation
	methodology and bed day utilization review protocol, and the
	executive commissioner shall adopt an updated bed day allocation
	methodology and bed day utilization review protocol.
	(e)  Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
	the department, in conjunction with the commission and the advisory
	panel, shall prepare and submit to the governor, the lieutenant
	governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the senate
	finance committee, the house appropriations committee, and the
	standing committees of the legislature having jurisdiction over
	mental health and human services a report that includes:
	(1)  a summary of the activities of the commission,
	department, and advisory panel to develop or update the bed day
	allocation methodology and bed day utilization review protocol;
	(2)  the outcomes of the implementation of the bed day
	allocation methodology by region, including an explanation of how
	the actual outcomes aligned with or differed from the expected
	outcomes;
	(3)  for planning purposes, for each region, the actual
	value of a bed day for the two years preceding the date of the report
	and the projected value of a bed day for the five years following
	the date of the report, as calculated by the department;
	(4)  for each region, an evaluation of the factors in
	Subsection (c)(1)(A), including the availability of resources in
	the region, that impact the use of state-funded beds in state
	hospitals and other inpatient mental health facilities by the
	patients described by Subsection (b);
	(5)  the outcomes of the implementation of the bed day
	utilization review protocol and the impact of the use of the
	protocol on the use of state-funded beds in state hospitals and
	other inpatient mental health facilities by the patients described
	by Subsection (b); and
	(6)  any recommendations of the department,
	commission, or advisory panel to enhance the effective and
	efficient allocation of state-funded beds in state hospitals and
	other inpatient mental health facilities for the patients described
	by Subsection (b).
	(f)  Notwithstanding Subsection (d), not later than March 1,
	2016, the advisory panel, with assistance from the department,
	shall submit to the executive commissioner an initial proposal for
	a bed day allocation methodology and bed day utilization review
	protocol for review.  The executive commissioner shall adopt an
	initial bed day allocation methodology and bed day utilization
	review protocol not later than June 1, 2016. Before the commission
	adopts the initial bed day allocation methodology, the department
	shall continue to allocate state-funded beds in the state hospitals
	and other inpatient mental health facilities according to the
	department's policy as it existed immediately before September 1,
	2015, and the policy is continued in effect for that purpose.  This
	subsection expires September 1, 2017.
	SECTION 3.  Subchapter D, Chapter 1001, Health and Safety
	Code, is amended by adding Sections 1001.086, 1001.087, and
	1001.088 to read as follows:
	Sec. 1001.086.  TREATMENT ALTERNATIVES TRAINING CURRICULUM
	FOR JUDGES AND ATTORNEYS. (a)  The department, with input from the
	court of criminal appeals and the forensic director appointed under
	Section 532.013, shall develop and maintain a training curriculum
	for judges and attorneys that provides information on inpatient and
	outpatient treatment alternatives to inpatient commitment to a
	state hospital for a patient whom a court is ordering to receive
	mental health services:
	(1)  to attain competency to stand trial under Chapter
	46B, Code of Criminal Procedure; or
	(2)  following an acquittal by reason of insanity under
	Chapter 46C, Code of Criminal Procedure.
	(b)  The training curriculum developed and maintained under
	Subsection (a) must include a guide to treatment alternatives,
	other than inpatient treatment at a state hospital, from which a
	patient described by Subsection (a) may receive mental health
	services.
	Sec. 1001.087.  CONTRACTING FOR AND ADMINISTRATION OF
	CERTAIN FUNCTIONS RELATING TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE. (a)  The department
	may contract only with local mental health authorities and local
	behavioral health authorities to administer outreach, screening,
	assessment, and referral functions relating to the provision of
	substance abuse services. A local mental health authority or local
	behavioral health authority may subcontract with a substance abuse
	or behavioral health service provider to provide those services.
	(b)  A local mental health authority or local behavioral
	health authority who contracts with the department to administer
	outreach, screening, assessment, and referral functions relating
	to the provision of substance abuse services shall develop an
	integrated service delivery model that, to the extent feasible,
	uses providers who have historically administered outreach,
	screening, assessment, and referral functions.
	Sec. 1001.088.  MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE HOTLINES.
	The department shall ensure that each local mental health authority
	and local behavioral health authority operates a toll-free
	telephone hotline that enables a person to call a single hotline
	number to obtain information from the authority about mental health
	services, substance abuse services, or both.
	SECTION 4.  (a)  Not later than November 1, 2015, the
	commissioner of state health services shall establish a forensic
	work group, and the executive commissioner of the Health and Human
	Services Commission shall appoint members of that work group, as
	required by Section 532.0131, Health and Safety Code, as added by
	this Act.
	(b)  Not later than November 1, 2015, the executive
	commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall
	adopt any rules necessary for the implementation of Section 532.013
	or 532.0131, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act.
	SECTION 5.  The commissioner of state health services shall
	appoint a forensic director as required by Section 532.013, Health
	and Safety Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
	the effective date of this Act.
	SECTION 6.  Not later than March 1, 2016, the Department of
	State Health Services shall develop the training curriculum
	required by Section 1001.086, Health and Safety Code, as added by
	this Act.
	SECTION 7.  Section 1001.087, Health and Safety Code, as
	added by this Act, applies only to a contract that is entered into
	or renewed on or after September 1, 2015. A contract that is
	entered into or renewed before that date is governed by the law as
	it existed immediately before September 1, 2015, and that law is
	continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 8.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1507 passed the Senate on
	April 15, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1; and that
	the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 18, 2015, by the
	following vote: Yeas 28, Nays 2.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1507 passed the House, with
	amendments, on May 11, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 127,
	Nays 5, one present not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	Approved:
	______________________________
	Date
	______________________________
	Governor