HBA-NRS H.B. 1887 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1887
By: Janek
Public Health
3/23/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, the Texas Mental Health Code provides that a person is presumed
to be mentally competent unless there is a judicial finding to the contrary
but does not specify whether presumption is rebuttable or irrebuttable.
Also, current law does not specify if participation in a voluntary research
project constitutes a waiver of the rights of a person relating to
treatment. Both laws are ambiguous and need further clarification. House
Bill 1887 provides that a person is rebuttably competent to consent to
admission to an inpatient mental health facility, and irrebuttably presumed
not to have the capacity to consent to participation in a research program.
The bill prohibits a patient's rights relating to treatment from being
waived.  

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 1887 amends the Health and Safety Code to provide that a person
for whom a motion for court-ordered mental health services is filed, for
whom a final order on that motion has not been entered, and who requests
voluntary admission to an inpatient mental health facility while the person
is receiving involuntary inpatient services under protective custody or
emergency detention or before the 31st day after the date the person was
released from detention or emergency detention from that facility is
rebuttably presumed to have the capacity to consent to admission to an
inpatient mental health facility for voluntary inpatient mental health
services. 

The bill provides that such a person who is admitted to the inpatient
mental health facility for voluntary inpatient mental health services has
all of the rights of a person receiving voluntary or involuntary inpatient
mental health services. The bill provides that such a person is
irrebuttably presumed not to have the capacity to consent to participation
in a research program in which some or all of the participants will receive
a placebo or inert ingredient during any part of the time the participants
are receiving inpatient mental health services in the facility.  

The bill provides that there is a rebuttable presumption that a person is
mentally competent unless a judicial finding to the contrary is made under
the Texas Probate Code. The bill provides that participation in a research
project does not affect a patient's rights. The bill prohibits the general
rights relating to treatment from being waived by a patient, the patient's
attorney or guardian, or another person acting on behalf of the patient. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001.