Outpatient treatment orders; changes criteria therefor. (SB763)

Introduced By

Sen. Ken Cuccinelli (R-Fairfax) with support from co-patrons Del. Dave Albo (R-Springfield), Del. Vivian Watts (D-Annandale), Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), and Sen. Patsy Ticer (D-Alexandria)

Progress

Introduced
Passed Committee
Passed House
Passed Senate
Signed by Governor
Became Law

Description

Mental health; outpatient treatment orders. Changes the criteria for ordering outpatient mental health treatment rather than involuntary inpatient treatment. Strikes the requirement that a person be found to be a danger to himself or others and instead requires a finding that assisted outpatient treatment will be sufficient to prevent him from harming himself or others. Read the Bill »

Outcome

Bill Has Failed

History

DateAction
12/11/2006Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor
12/11/2006Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/10/07 072417720
12/11/2006Referred to Committee on Education and Health
01/10/2007Introduced bill reprinted 072417720
01/11/2007Rereferred to Courts of Justice
01/15/2007Assigned Courts sub: Involuntary Commitment
01/16/2007Impact statement from DPB (SB763)

Duplicate Bills

The following bills are identical to this one: SB309.

Comments

Alison Hymes writes:

LIS doesn't show that this bill even made it into a committee yet, let alone passed one. What's up?

Waldo Jaquith writes:

This bill was carried over from last year's session and, on December 11, the Education & Health committee decided to let it die.

We'll need to find out some way to more clearly indicate a) when a bill is from last year and b) when a bill is dead.

Alison Hymes writes:

Why stop here? Why not force drugs (which is what all outpatient treatment orders are) on everyone who doesn't take their medicine as prescribed by their doctors? What about all the people who have strokes because they don't take their blood pressure pills? They are dangerous behind the wheel and a danger to themselves. And sheesh, look at all the folks who don't finish their course of antibiotics making them less effective for the next time and for all of us, clearly a danger to self and others. What's next, orders from the state on what diabetics can eat in their own homes????

At least the drugs hypertensives take and most antibioticsa are safe when taken as prescribed, unlike the majority of psychotropic medications which are killing people with psychiatric illness in this country at an alarmingly high rate.

Alison Hymes writes:

Impact statement on LIS website estimates this bill would cost 25 million a year to implement at a minimum and would displace existing voluntary clients of public mental health services.