authorized transporters; minimum standards; registration

SB1223 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
authorized transporters; minimum standards; registration

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SB 1223

Introduced by

Senator
Fernandez

AN
ACT

Amending sections 36-501 and 36-540,
Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to mental health services.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 36-501, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
36-501.

Definitions

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Administration" means the Arizona
health care cost containment system administration.

2. "Admitting officer" means a
psychiatrist or other physician or psychiatric and mental health nurse
practitioner with experience in performing psychiatric examinations who has
been designated as an admitting officer of the evaluation agency by the person
in charge of the evaluation agency.

3. "Authorized transporter" means
either:

(
a
)
A
transportation entity that is

contracted with a city,
town or county to provide services pursuant to this chapter and that is either:

(a)
(
i
)
An ambulance service that holds a valid
certificate of necessity.

(b)
(
ii
)
A transportation provider authorized by this state
to provide safe behavioral health transportation for individuals requiring
transportation pursuant to this chapter.

(
b
) A secure
behavioral health transport provider.

4. "Chief medical officer" means the chief
medical officer under the supervision of the superintendent of the state
hospital.

5. "Contraindicated" means that access is
reasonably likely to endanger the life or physical safety of the patient or
another person.

6. "Court" means the superior court in the
county in this state in which the patient resides or was found before screening
or emergency admission under this title.

7. "Criminal history" means police
reports, lists of prior arrests and convictions, criminal case pleadings and
court orders, including a determination that the person has been found
incompetent to stand trial pursuant to section 13-4510.

8. "Danger to others" means that the
judgment of a person who has a mental disorder is so impaired that the person
is unable to understand the person's need for treatment and as a result of the
person's mental disorder the person's continued behavior can reasonably be
expected, on the basis of competent medical opinion, to result in serious
physical harm.

9. "Danger to self":

(a) Means behavior that, as a result of a mental
disorder:

(i) Constitutes a danger of inflicting serious
physical harm on oneself, including attempted suicide or the serious threat
thereof, if the threat is such that, when considered in the light of its
context and in light of the individual's previous acts, it is substantially
supportive of an expectation that the threat will be carried out.

(ii) Without hospitalization will result in serious
physical harm or serious illness to the person.

(b) Does not include behavior that establishes only
the condition of having a grave disability.

10. "Department" means the department of
health services.

11. "Detention" means the taking into
custody of a patient or proposed patient.

12. "Director" means the director of the
administration.

13. "Evaluation" means:

(a) A professional multidisciplinary analysis that
may include firsthand observations or remote observations by interactive
audiovisual media and that is based on data describing the person's identity,
biography and medical, psychological and social conditions carried out by a
group of persons consisting of at least the following:

(i) Two licensed physicians who are qualified
psychiatrists, if possible, or at least experienced in psychiatric matters, who
shall examine and report their findings independently.� The person against whom
a petition has been filed shall be notified that the person may select one of
the physicians. A psychiatric resident in a training program
approved by the American medical association or by the American osteopathic
association may examine the person in place of one of the psychiatrists if the
resident is supervised in the examination and preparation of the affidavit and
testimony in court by a qualified psychiatrist appointed to assist in the
resident's training, and if the supervising psychiatrist is available for
discussion with the attorneys for all parties and for court appearance and
testimony if requested by the court or any of the attorneys.

(ii) Two other individuals, one of whom, if
available, is a psychologist and in any event a social worker familiar with
mental health and human services that may be available placement alternatives
appropriate for treatment. An evaluation may be conducted on an
inpatient basis, an outpatient basis or a combination of both, and every
reasonable attempt shall be made to conduct the evaluation in any language
preferred by the person.

(b) A physical examination that is consistent with
the existing standards of care and that is performed by one of the evaluating
physicians or by or under the supervision of a physician who is licensed
pursuant to title 32, chapter 13 or 17 or a registered nurse practitioner who
is licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 15 if the results of that examination
are reviewed or augmented by one of the evaluating physicians.

14. "Evaluation agency" means either of
the following:

(a) A health care agency that is licensed by the
department and that has been approved pursuant to this title to provide the
services required of that agency by this chapter.

(b) A facility that is exempt from licensure
pursuant to section 36-402, that possesses an accreditation from either a
national commission on correctional health care or an American correctional
association and that has been approved pursuant to this title to provide the
services required of that facility by this chapter.

15. "Family member" means a spouse,
parent, adult child, adult sibling or other blood relative of a person
undergoing treatment or evaluation pursuant to this chapter.

16. "Grave disability" means a condition
evidenced by behavior in which a person, as a result of a mental disorder, is
likely to come to serious physical harm or serious illness because the person
is unable to provide for the person's own basic physical needs.

17. "Health care decision maker" has the
same meaning prescribed in section 12-2801.

18. "Health care entity" means a health
care provider, the department, the administration or a regional behavioral
health authority that is under contract with the administration.

19. "Health care provider" means a health
care institution as defined in section 36-401 that is licensed as a
behavioral health provider pursuant to department rules or a mental health
provider.

20. "Independent evaluator" means a
licensed physician, psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioner or
psychologist who is selected by the person to be evaluated or by the person's
attorney.

21. "Informed consent" means a voluntary
decision following
the
presentation of all facts
necessary to form the basis of an intelligent consent by the patient or
guardian with no minimizing of known dangers of any procedures.

22. "Least restrictive treatment
alternative" means the treatment plan and setting that infringe in the
least possible degree with the patient's right to liberty and that are
consistent with providing needed treatment in a safe and humane manner.

23. "Licensed physician" means any medical
doctor or doctor of osteopathy who is either:

(a) Licensed in this state.

(b) A full-time hospital physician licensed in
another state and serving on the staff of a hospital operated or licensed by
the United States government.

24. "Medical director of an evaluation
agency" means a psychiatrist, or other licensed physician experienced in
psychiatric matters, who is designated in writing by the governing body of the
agency as the person in charge of the medical services of the agency for the
purposes of this chapter and may include the chief medical officer of the state
hospital.

25. "Medical director of a mental health
treatment agency" means a psychiatrist, or other licensed physician
experienced in psychiatric matters, who is designated in writing by the
governing body of the agency as the person in charge of the medical services of
the agency for the purposes of this chapter and includes the chief medical
officer of the state hospital.

26. "Mental disorder" means a substantial
disorder of the person's emotional processes, thought, cognition or
memory. Mental disorder is distinguished from:

(a) Conditions that are primarily those of drug
abuse, alcoholism or intellectual disability, unless, in addition to one or
more of these conditions, the person has a mental disorder.

(b) The declining mental abilities that directly
accompany impending death.

(c) Character and personality disorders
characterized by lifelong and deeply ingrained antisocial behavior patterns,
including sexual behaviors that are abnormal and prohibited by statute unless
the behavior results from a mental disorder.

27. "Mental health provider" means any
physician or provider of mental health or behavioral health services who is
involved in evaluating, caring for, treating or rehabilitating a patient.

28. "Mental health treatment agency" means
any of the following:

(a) The state hospital.

(b) A health care agency that is licensed by the
department and that provides the services that are required of the agency by
this chapter.

(c) A facility that is exempt from licensure
pursuant to section 36-402, that possesses an accreditation from either a
national commission on correctional health care or an American correctional
association and that provides the services that are required of the facility by
this chapter.

29. "Outpatient treatment" or
"combined inpatient and outpatient treatment" means any treatment
program
that does
not
requiring

require
continuous inpatient hospitalization.

30. "Outpatient treatment plan" means a
treatment plan that does not require continuous inpatient hospitalization.

31. "Patient" means any person who is
undergoing examination, evaluation or behavioral or mental health treatment
under this chapter.

32. "Peace officers" means sheriffs of
counties, constables, marshals and policemen of cities and towns.

33. "Persistent or acute disability" means
a severe mental disorder that meets all the following criteria:

(a) Significantly impairs judgment, reason, behavior
or capacity to recognize reality.

(b) If not treated, has a substantial probability of
causing the person to suffer or continue to suffer severe and abnormal mental,
emotional or physical harm.

(c) Substantially impairs the person's capacity to
make an informed decision regarding treatment, and this impairment causes the
person to be incapable of understanding and expressing an understanding of the
advantages and disadvantages of accepting treatment and understanding and
expressing an understanding of the alternatives to the particular treatment
offered after the advantages, disadvantages and alternatives are explained to
that person.

(d) Has a reasonable prospect of being treatable by
outpatient, inpatient or combined inpatient and outpatient treatment.

34. "Prepetition screening" means the
review of each application requesting court-ordered evaluation, including
an investigation of facts alleged in the application, an interview with each
applicant and an interview, if possible, with the proposed
patient. The purpose of the interview with the proposed patient is
to assess the problem, explain the application and, when indicated, attempt to
persuade the proposed patient to receive, on a voluntary basis, evaluation or
other services.

35. "Prescribed form" means a form
established by a court or the rules of the administration in accordance with
the laws of this state.

36. "Professional" means a physician who
is licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 13 or 17, a psychologist who is
licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 19.1 or a psychiatric and mental health
nurse practitioner who is certified pursuant to title 32, chapter 15.

37. "Proposed patient" means a person for
whom an application for evaluation has been made or a petition for court-ordered
evaluation has been filed.

38. "Prosecuting agency" means the county
attorney, attorney general or city attorney who applied or petitioned for an
evaluation or treatment pursuant to this chapter.

39. "Psychiatric and mental health nurse
practitioner" means a registered nurse practitioner as defined in section
32-1601 who has completed an adult or family psychiatric and mental
health nurse practitioner program and who is certified as an adult or family
psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioner by the state board of nursing.

40. "Psychiatrist" means a licensed
physician who has completed three years of graduate training in psychiatry in a
program approved by the American medical association or the American
osteopathic association.

41. "Psychologist" means a person who is
licensed under title 32, chapter 19.1 and who is experienced in the practice of
clinical psychology.

42. "Records" means all communications
that are recorded in any form or medium and that relate to patient examination,
evaluation or behavioral or mental health treatment.� Records include medical
records that are prepared by a health care provider or other providers.�
Records do not include:

(a) Materials that are prepared in connection with
utilization review, peer review or quality assurance activities, including
records that a health care provider prepares pursuant to section 36-441,
36-445, 36-2402 or 36-2917.

(b) Recorded telephone and radio calls to and from a
publicly operated emergency dispatch office relating to requests for emergency
services or reports of suspected criminal activity.

43. "Regional behavioral health authority"
has the same meaning prescribed in section 36-3401.

44. "Screening agency" means a health care
agency that is licensed by the department and that provides those services
required of the agency by this chapter.

45. "Secure behavioral health
transport provider" means an entity that is registered with the DEPARTMENT
to provide secure transportation services for individuals who are subject to
court-ordered evaluation or court-ordered treatment pursuant to
this chapter and that meets the training and equipment standards established by
the department.

45.
46.
"Social
worker" means a person who has completed two years of graduate training in
social work in a program approved by the council of social work education and
who has experience in mental health.

46.
47.
"State
hospital" means the Arizona state hospital.

47.
48.
"Superintendent"
means the superintendent of the state hospital.

48.
49.
"Voluntary
evaluation" means the ongoing collection and analysis of a person's
medical, psychological, psychiatric and social conditions in order to initially
determine if a health disorder exists and if there is a need for behavioral
health services and, on an ongoing basis, to ensure that the person's service
plan is designed to meet the person's and the person's family's current needs
and long-term goals.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 36-540, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
36-540.

Court options; immunity; rules

A. If the court finds by clear and convincing
evidence that the proposed patient, as a result of mental disorder, is a danger
to self, is a danger to others or has a persistent or acute disability or a
grave disability and is in need of treatment, and is either unwilling or unable
to accept voluntary treatment, the court shall order the patient to undergo one
of the following:

1. Treatment in a program of outpatient treatment.

2. Treatment in a program consisting of combined
inpatient and outpatient treatment.

3. Inpatient treatment in a mental health treatment
agency, in a hospital operated by or under contract with the United States
department of veterans affairs to provide treatment to eligible veterans
pursuant to article 9 of this chapter, in the state hospital or in a private
hospital, if the private hospital agrees, subject to the limitations of section
36-541.

B. The court shall consider all available and
appropriate alternatives for the treatment and care of the patient.� The court
shall order the least restrictive treatment alternative available.

C. The court may order the proposed patient to
undergo outpatient or combined inpatient and outpatient treatment pursuant to
subsection A, paragraph 1 or 2 of this section if the court:

1. Determines that all of the following apply:

(a) The patient does not require continuous
inpatient hospitalization.

(b) The patient will be more appropriately treated
in an outpatient treatment program or in a combined inpatient and outpatient
treatment program.

(c) The patient will follow a prescribed outpatient
treatment plan.

(d) The patient will not likely become dangerous or
suffer more serious physical harm or serious illness or further deterioration
if the patient follows a prescribed outpatient treatment plan.

2. Is presented with and approves a written
treatment plan that conforms with the requirements of section 36-540.01,
subsection B. If the court determines that the patient meets the
requirements of section 36-550.09, the court may order the patient to be
placed in a secure behavioral health residential facility that is licensed by
the department pursuant to section 36-425.06. If the treatment
plan presented to the court pursuant to this subsection provides for
supervision of the patient under court order by a mental health agency that is
other than the mental health agency that petitioned or requested the county
attorney to petition the court for treatment pursuant to section 36-531,
the treatment plan must be approved by the medical director of the mental
health agency that will supervise the treatment pursuant to subsection E of
this section.

D. An order to receive treatment pursuant to
subsection A, paragraph 1 or 2 of this section shall not exceed three hundred
sixty-five days. The period of inpatient treatment under a
combined treatment order pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 2 of this section
shall not exceed the maximum period allowed for an order for inpatient
treatment pursuant to subsection F of this section.

E. If the court enters an order for treatment
pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 1 or 2 of this section, all of the
following apply:

1. The court shall designate the medical director of
the mental health treatment agency that will supervise and administer the
patient's treatment program.

2. The medical director shall not use the services
of any person, agency or organization to supervise a patient's outpatient
treatment program unless the person, agency or organization has agreed to
provide these services in the individual patient's case and unless the
department has determined that the person, agency or organization is capable
and competent to do so.

3. The person, agency or organization assigned to
supervise an outpatient treatment program or the outpatient portion of a
combined treatment program shall be notified at least three days before a
referral.� The medical director making the referral and the person, agency or
organization assigned to supervise the treatment program shall share relevant
information about the patient to provide continuity of treatment.

4. The court may order the medical director to
provide notice to the court of any noncompliance with the terms of a treatment
order.

5. During any period of outpatient treatment under
subsection A, paragraph 2 of this section, if the court, on its own motion, on
request of a guardian pursuant to paragraph 7 of this subsection or on motion
by the medical director of the patient's outpatient mental health treatment
facility, determines that the patient is not complying with the terms of the
order or that the outpatient treatment plan is no longer appropriate and the
patient needs inpatient treatment, the court, without a hearing and based on
the court record, the patient's medical record, the affidavits and
recommendations of the medical director, and the advice of staff and physicians
or the psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioner familiar with the
treatment of the patient, may enter an order amending its original
order. The amended order may alter the outpatient treatment plan or
order the patient to inpatient treatment pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 3
of this section.� The amended order shall not increase the total period of
commitment originally ordered by the court or, when added to the period of
inpatient treatment provided by the original order and any other amended
orders, exceed the maximum period allowed for an order for inpatient treatment
pursuant to subsection F of this section. If the patient refuses to
comply with an amended order for inpatient treatment, the court, on its own
motion or on the request of the medical director, may authorize and direct a
peace officer to take the patient into protective custody and transport the
patient to the agency for inpatient treatment. Any authorization,
directive or order issued to a peace officer to take the patient into
protective custody shall include the patient's criminal history and the name
and telephone numbers of the patient's case manager, guardian, spouse, next of
kin or significant other, as applicable.� When reporting to or being returned
to a treatment agency for inpatient treatment pursuant to an amended order, the
patient shall be informed of the patient's right to judicial review and the
patient's right to consult with counsel pursuant to section 36-546.

6. During any period of outpatient treatment under
subsection A, paragraph 2 of this section, if the medical director of the
outpatient treatment facility in charge of the patient's care determines, in
concert with the medical director of an inpatient mental health treatment
facility who has agreed to accept the patient, that the patient is in need of
immediate acute inpatient psychiatric care because of behavior that is
dangerous to self or to others, the medical director of the outpatient treatment
facility may order a peace officer
or authorized transporter
to
apprehend and transport the patient to the inpatient treatment facility pending
a court determination on an amended order under paragraph 5 of this
subsection.� The patient may be detained and treated at the inpatient treatment
facility for a period of not more than forty-eight hours, exclusive of
weekends and holidays, from the time that the patient is taken to the inpatient
treatment facility. The medical director of the outpatient treatment
facility shall file the motion for an amended court order requesting inpatient
treatment not later than the next working day following the patient being taken
to the inpatient treatment facility.� Any period of detention within the
inpatient treatment facility pending issuance of an amended order shall not
increase the total period of commitment originally ordered by the court or,
when added to the period of inpatient treatment provided by the original order
and any other amended orders, exceed the maximum period allowed for an order
for inpatient treatment pursuant to subsection F of this section. If
a patient is ordered to undergo inpatient treatment pursuant to an amended
order, the medical director of the outpatient treatment facility shall inform
the patient of the patient's right to judicial review and to consult with an
attorney pursuant to section 36-546.

7. If there is a court order for treatment and a
guardianship with additional mental health authority pursuant to section 14-5312.01
existing at the same time, the treatment and placement decisions made by the
treatment agency assigned by the court to supervise and administer the
patient's treatment program pursuant to the court order for treatment are
controlling unless the court orders otherwise. During any period of
outpatient treatment, the guardian of a patient may file a report with the
court that addresses whether the patient is complying with the terms of the
order, whether the outpatient treatment plan is still appropriate and whether
the patient needs inpatient treatment.� The report shall state in detail the
facts on which the guardian relies and may include other supporting
documents. A copy of the report and other supporting documents shall
be given to the patient's attorney and the outpatient treatment
agency. After reviewing the report and any supporting documents filed
with the report, if the court determines that there is reasonable cause to
believe that the patient is not complying with the terms of the order, that the
outpatient treatment plan is no longer appropriate or that the patient needs
inpatient treatment, the court must set a conference or a hearing or take other
action described in paragraph 5 of this subsection.

F. The maximum periods of inpatient treatment that
the court may order, subject to the limitations of section 36-541,
subsection D, are as follows:

1. Ninety days for a person found to be a danger to
self.

2. One hundred eighty days for a person found to be
a danger to others.

3. One hundred eighty days for a person found to
have a persistent or acute disability.

4. Three hundred sixty-five days for a person
found to have a grave disability.

G. If, on finding that the patient meets the
criteria for court-ordered treatment pursuant to subsection A of this
section, the court also finds that there is reasonable cause to believe that
the patient is an incapacitated person as defined in section 14-5101 or
is a person in need of protection pursuant to section 14-5401 and that
the patient is or may be in need of guardianship or conservatorship, or both,
the court may order an investigation concerning the need for a guardian or
conservator, or both, and may appoint a suitable person or agency to conduct
the investigation. The appointee may include a court-appointed
guardian ad litem, an investigator appointed pursuant to section 14-5308
or the public fiduciary if there is no person willing and qualified to act in
that capacity.� The court shall give notice of the appointment to the appointee
within three days after the appointment. The appointee shall submit
the report of the investigation to the court within twenty-one
days. The report shall include recommendations as to who should be
guardian or who should be conservator, or both, and a report of the findings
and reasons for the recommendation. If the investigation and report
so indicate, the court shall order the appropriate person to submit a petition
to become the guardian or conservator, or both, of the patient.

H. In any proceeding for court-ordered
treatment in which the petition alleges that the patient is in need of a
guardian or conservator and states the grounds for that allegation, the court
may appoint an emergency temporary guardian or conservator, or both, for a
specific purpose or purposes identified in its order and for a specific period
of time not to exceed thirty days if the court finds that all of the following
are true:

1. The patient meets the criteria for court-ordered
treatment pursuant to subsection A of this section.

2. There is reasonable cause to believe that the
patient is an incapacitated person as defined in section 14-5101 or is in
need of protection pursuant to section 14-5401, paragraph 2.

3. The patient does not have a guardian or
conservator and the welfare of the patient requires immediate action to protect
the patient or the ward's property.

4. The conditions prescribed pursuant to section 14-5310,
subsection B or section 14-5401.01, subsection B have been met.

I. The court may appoint as a temporary guardian or
conservator pursuant to subsection H of this section a suitable person or the
public fiduciary if there is no person qualified and willing to act in that
capacity. The court shall issue an order for an investigation as
prescribed pursuant to subsection G of this section and, unless the patient is
represented by independent counsel, the court shall appoint an attorney to
represent the patient in further proceedings regarding the appointment of a
guardian or conservator. The court shall schedule a further hearing
within fourteen days on the appropriate court calendar of a court that has
authority over guardianship or conservatorship matters pursuant to this title
to consider the continued need for an emergency temporary guardian or
conservator and the appropriateness of the temporary guardian or conservator
appointed, and shall order the appointed guardian or conservator to give notice
to persons entitled to notice pursuant to section 14-5309, subsection A or
section 14-5405, subsection A. The court shall authorize
certified letters of temporary emergency guardianship or conservatorship to be
issued on presentation of a copy of the court's order. If a
temporary emergency conservator other than the public fiduciary is appointed
pursuant to this subsection, the court shall order that the use of the monies
and property of the patient by the conservator be restricted and not be sold,
used, transferred or encumbered, except that the court may authorize the conservator
to use monies or property of the patient specifically identified as needed to
pay an expense to provide for the care, treatment or welfare of the patient
pending further hearing.� This subsection and subsection H of this section do
not:

1. Prevent the evaluation or treatment agency from
seeking guardianship and conservatorship in any other manner allowed by law at
any time during the period of court-ordered evaluation and treatment.

2. Relieve the evaluation or treatment agency from
its obligations concerning the suspected abuse of a vulnerable adult pursuant
to title 46, chapter 4.

J. If, on finding that a patient meets the criteria
for court-ordered treatment pursuant to subsection A of this section, the
court also learns that the patient has a guardian appointed under title 14, the
court with notice may impose on the existing guardian additional duties
pursuant to section 14-5312.01. If the court imposes
additional duties on an existing guardian as prescribed in this subsection, the
court may determine that the patient needs to continue treatment under a court
order for treatment and may issue the order or determine that the patient's
needs can be adequately met by the guardian with the additional duties pursuant
to section 14-5312.01 and decline to issue the court order for
treatment. If at any time after the issuance of a court order for
treatment the court finds that the patient's needs can be adequately met by the
guardian with the additional duties pursuant to section 14-5312.01 and
that a court order for treatment is no longer necessary to ensure compliance
with necessary treatment, the court may terminate the court order for
treatment.

K. The court shall file a report as part of the
court record on its findings of alternatives for treatment.

L. Treatment shall not include psychosurgery,
lobotomy or any other brain surgery without specific informed consent of the
patient or the patient's legal guardian and an order of the superior court in
the county in which the treatment is proposed, approving with specificity the
use of the treatment.

M. The medical director or any person, agency or
organization used by the medical director to supervise the terms of an
outpatient treatment plan is not civilly liable for any acts committed by a
patient while on outpatient treatment if the medical director, person, agency
or organization has in good faith followed the requirements of this section.

N. A peace officer
or authorized
transporter
who in good faith apprehends and transports a patient to an
inpatient treatment facility on the order of the medical director of the
outpatient treatment facility pursuant to subsection E, paragraph 6 of this
section is not subject to civil liability.

O. If a person has been found, as a result of a
mental disorder, to constitute a danger to self or others or to have a
persistent or acute disability or a grave disability and the court enters an
order for treatment pursuant to subsection A of this section, the court shall
transmit the person's name, sex, date of birth, social security number, if
available, and date of the order for treatment to the supreme court.� The
supreme court shall transmit the information to the department of public safety
to comply with the requirements of title 13, chapter 31 and title 32, chapter
26. The department of public safety shall transmit the information
to the national instant criminal background check system.� The superior court
may access the information of a person who is ordered into treatment to enforce
or facilitate a treatment order.

P. On request, the clerk of the court shall provide certified
copies of the commitment order to a law enforcement or prosecuting agency that
is investigating or prosecuting a prohibited possessor as defined in section 13-3101.

Q. If the court does not find a person to be in need
of treatment and a prosecutor filed a petition pursuant to section 13-4517,
the evaluation agency, within twenty-four hours, shall notify the
prosecuting agency of its finding. The court shall order the medical
director to detain the person for an additional twenty-four hours to
allow the prosecuting agency to be notified. If the court has
retained jurisdiction pursuant to section 13-4517, subsection C, the
court may remand the person to the custody of the sheriff for further
disposition pursuant to section 13-4517, subsection A, paragraph 2 or 3.

R. After an order for treatment has been issued
pursuant to this section, the superior court in a county where a patient under
a court order for treatment is found or resides has concurrent jurisdiction
with the court in the county that issued the court order for treatment for the
purposes of enforcing the court order for treatment, ordering changes to the
treatment plan or amending the order to require the patient to undergo further
inpatient treatment. If the court in which proceedings are commenced
to enforce or administer the order for treatment is not the court that
originally entered the order for treatment, unless prevented by an emergency,
the court in which the proceedings are pending shall consult with the court of
original entry and determine whether to hold hearings and enter orders to
facilitate enforcement or administration of the court order, whether to refer
the case back to the court of original entry for further proceedings or whether
to transfer the entire case to the court of original entry in that county for
all further proceedings.� The supreme court may adopt rules to govern the
procedures to be used in enforcing and administering court orders for treatment
in the various counties of this state and the transfer of cases between counties
involving court orders for treatment.

S. Pursuant to the authority granted in subsection R
of this section, for the purpose of enforcing or facilitating treatment of a
patient under an active order for treatment, the supreme court shall adopt a
rule to establish a program to enable the judges of the superior court, county
attorneys, patients' attorneys, health care institutions as defined in section
36-401 that provide services subject to the emergency medical treatment
and labor act (P.L. 99-272; 100 Stat. 164; 42 United States Code section
1395dd),

the regional behavioral health
authority and behavioral health service providers in any county to determine
the existence of an active court order for treatment and the history of court
orders for treatment entered for a patient by a superior court in any county in
this state.� The program shall ensure that the information shared with other
persons or entities is necessary only for the purposes stated in this
subsection and shall require that the information shared be maintained as
confidential by the receiving person or entity.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 3.
Department of
health services; rulemaking; secure behavioral health transport providers;
registration

On or before January 1, 2027, the
department of health services shall adopt rules establishing the following:

1. Minimum training
standards for staff of secure behavioral health transport providers, including
de-escalation techniques, mental health first aid and safe restraint
protocols.

2. Vehicle safety and
equipment requirements for secure behavioral health transport providers.

3. A registration process
for secure behavioral health transport providers.