H. B. 2163
(By Delegate Stalnaker)
[Introduced January 13, 2003; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article five, chapter
twenty-seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to authorizing
certified municipal law-enforcement officers to transport and
present mentally incompetent persons to mental health care
facilities upon the order of a circuit court or mental hygiene
commissioner; and "certified municipal law-enforcement
officer" defined.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article five, chapter twenty-seven of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. INVOLUNTARY HOSPITALIZATION.
§27-5-1. Appointment of mental hygiene commissioner; duties of
mental hygiene commissioner; duties of prosecuting attorney; duties of sheriff; duties of supreme court
of appeals; use of certified municipal law-enforcement
officers.
(a) Appointment of mental hygiene commissioners. -- The chief
judge in each judicial circuit of this state shall appoint a
competent attorney and may, if necessary, appoint additional
attorneys to serve as mental hygiene commissioners to preside over
involuntary hospitalization hearings. Mental hygiene commissioners
shall be persons of good moral character and of standing in their
profession and they shall, before assuming the duties of such
commissioner, take the oath required of other special commissioners
as provided in article one, chapter six of this code.
All persons newly appointed to serve as mental hygiene
commissioners shall attend and complete an orientation course,
within one year of their appointment, consisting of at least three
days of training provided annually by the supreme court of appeals.
In addition, existing mental hygiene commissioners and any
magistrates designated by the chief judge of a judicial circuit to
hold probable cause and emergency detention hearings involving
involuntary hospitalization shall attend and complete a course
provided by the supreme court of appeals, which course shall
include, but not be limited to, instruction on the manifestations
of mental illness and addiction. Persons attending such courses
outside the county of their residence shall be reimbursed out of the budget of the supreme court -- general judicial for reasonable
expenses incurred. The supreme court shall establish rules for
such courses, including rules providing for the reimbursement of
reasonable expenses as authorized herein.
(b) Duties of mental hygiene commissioners. --
(1) Mental hygiene commissioners may sign and issue summonses
for the attendance, at any hearing held pursuant to section four,
article five of this chapter, of the individual sought to be
committed; may sign and issue subpoenas for witnesses, including
subpoenas duces tecum; may place any witness under oath; may elicit
testimony from applicants, respondents and witnesses regarding
factual issues raised in the petition; and may make findings of
fact on evidence and may make conclusions of law, but such findings
and conclusions shall not be binding on the circuit court. The
circuit court, by order entered of record, shall allow the
commissioner a reasonable fee for services rendered in connection
with each case. Mental hygiene commissioners shall discharge their
duties and hold their offices at the pleasure of the chief judge of
the judicial circuit in which he or she is appointed and may be
removed at any time by such chief judge. It shall be the duty of
A mental hygiene commissioner to shall conduct orderly inquiries
into the mental health of the individual sought to be committed
concerning the advisability of committing the individual to a
mental health facility. The mental hygiene commissioner shall safeguard, at all times, the rights and interests of the individual
as well as the interests of the state. The mental hygiene
commissioner shall make a written report of his or her findings to
the circuit court. In any proceedings before any court of record
as set forth in this article, the court of record shall appoint an
interpreter for any individual who is deaf or cannot speak or who
speaks a foreign language and who may be subject to involuntary
commitment to a mental health facility.
(2) A mental hygiene commissioner appointed by the circuit
court of one county or multiple county circuit may serve in such
that capacity in a jurisdiction other than that of his or her
original appointment if such be agreed upon by the terms of a
cooperative agreement between the circuit courts and county
commissions of two or more counties entered into to provide prompt
resolution of mental hygiene matters during noncourt hours or on
nonjudicial days.
(c) Duties of prosecuting attorney. -- It shall be the duty of
The prosecuting attorney or one of his or her assistants to shall
represent the applicants in all final commitment proceedings filed
pursuant to the provisions of this article. The prosecuting
attorney may appear in any proceeding held pursuant to the
provisions of this article if he or she deems it to be in the
public interest.
(d) Duties of sheriff or certified municipal law-enforcement officer. -- Upon written order of the circuit court, mental hygiene
commissioner or magistrate in the county where the individual
formally accused of being mentally ill or addicted is a resident or
is found, the sheriff of that county or a certified municipal
law-enforcement officer shall take said the individual into custody
and transport him or her to and from the place of hearing and the
mental health facility. The sheriff or a certified municipal
law-enforcement officer shall also maintain custody and control of
the accused individual during the period of time in which the
individual is waiting for the involuntary commitment hearing to be
convened and while such the hearing is being conducted: Provided,
That an individual who is a resident of a state other than West
Virginia shall, upon a finding of probable cause, be transferred to
his or her state of residence for treatment pursuant to the
provisions of subsection (p), section four of this article:
Provided, however, That where an individual is a resident of West
Virginia but not a resident of the county in which he or she is
found and there is a finding of probable cause, the county in which
the hearing is held may seek reimbursement from the county of
residence for reasonable costs incurred by the county attendant to
the mental hygiene proceeding. Notwithstanding any provision of
this code to the contrary, sheriffs may enter into cooperative
agreements with sheriffs of one or more other counties, with the
concurrence of their respective circuit courts and county commissions, whereby transportation and security responsibilities
for hearings held pursuant to the provisions of this article during
noncourt hours or on nonjudicial days may be shared in order to
facilitate prompt hearings and to effectuate transportation of
persons found in need of treatment. For purposes of this
subsection and subsection (e), "certified municipal law-enforcement
officer" means any duly authorized member of a municipal
law-enforcement agency who is empowered to maintain public peace
and order, make arrests and enforce the laws of this state or any
political subdivision thereof, other than parking ordinances, and
who is currently certified as a law-enforcement officer pursuant to
article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code.
(e) Duty of sheriff or certified municipal law-enforcement
officer upon presentment to mental health care facility. -- Where
a person is brought to a mental health care facility for purposes
of evaluation for commitment under the provisions of this article,
if he or she is violent or combative, the sheriff or his or her
designee or certified municipal law-enforcement officer shall
maintain custody of the person in the facility until the evaluation
is completed or the county commission shall reimburse reimburses
the mental health care facility at a reasonable rate for security
services provided by the mental health care facility for the period
of time the person is at the hospital prior to the determination of
mental competence or incompetence.
(f) Duties of supreme court of appeals. -- The supreme court
of appeals shall provide uniform petition, procedure and order
forms which shall be used in all involuntary hospitalization
proceedings brought in this state.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize certified
municipal law-enforcement officers to transport and present
mentally incompetent persons to mental health care facilities upon
the order of a circuit court or mental hygiene commissioner.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.