AN ACT relating to court-ordered transports.

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AN ACT relating to court-ordered transports. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 70.280 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) A certified court security officer shall be charged with the following duties: 4
(a) Attending sessions of any court of the Court of Justice in the county in which 5
he or she is sworn; 6
(b) Keeping order in the courts; 7
(c) Providing security services to the courts within the court facility or immediate 8
area of the court facility; 9
(d) Guarding prisoners during court appearances; 10
(e) Serving warrants and other court papers on individuals physically present in 11
the courtroom or in the court facility; 12
(f) Transporting prisoners or other individuals being detained or in custody as 13
ordered by the court; 14
(g) Arresting and taking individuals into custody who are in the court facility or 15
immediate area of the court facility, or while transporting , monitoring, or 16
supervising prisoners or other individuals ordered transported by the court ; 17
and 18
(h) Service of process and other papers relating to c ivil matters on individuals 19
physically present in the courtroom or in the court facility. 20
(2) A certified court security officer shall not: 21
(a) Go outside the immediate area of the court facility in which he or she is 22
providing security services to make an arrest or take an individual into 23
custody, except as provided in subsection (1) of this section [when 24
transporting prisoners]; 25
(b) Patrol the roads, streets, or highways; 26
(c) Issue traffic citations, except to enforce parking regulations around the court 27
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facility; or 1
(d) Perform general law enforcement duties outside that of providing court 2
security. 3
Section 2. KRS 202A.028 is amended to read as follows: 4
(1) Following an examination by a qualified mental health profession al and a 5
certification by that professional that the person meets the criteria for involuntary 6
hospitalization, a judge may order the person hospitalized for a period not to exceed 7
seventy-two (72) hours, excluding weekends and holidays. For the purposes o f this 8
section, the qualified mental health professional shall be: 9
(a) A staff member of a regional community program for mental health or 10
individuals with an intellectual disability; 11
(b) An individual qualified and licensed to perform the examination thro ugh the 12
use of telehealth services; or 13
(c) The psychiatrist ordered, subject to the court's discretion, to perform the 14
required examination. 15
(2) Any person who has been admitted to a hospital under subsection (1) of this section 16
shall be released from the hospital within seventy -two (72) hours, excluding 17
weekends and holidays, unless further held under the applicable provisions of this 18
chapter. 19
(3) Any person admitted to a hospital under subsection (1) of this section or transferred 20
to a hospital while ordered hospitalized under subsection (1) of this section shall be 21
transported from the person's home county by the sheriff of that county , certified 22
court security officer, or other peace officer as ordered by the court. The sheriff or 23
other peace officer may , upon agreement of a person authorized by the peace 24
officer, authorize the cabinet, a private agency on contract with the cabinet, or an 25
ambulance service designated by the cabinet to transport the person to the hospital. 26
The transportation costs of the s heriff, certified court security officer, other peace 27
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officer, ambulance service, or other private agency on contract with the cabinet 1
shall be paid by the cabinet in accordance with an administrative regulation 2
promulgated by the cabinet[,] in accordance with[pursuant to] KRS Chapter 13A. 3
(4) Any person released from the hospital under subsection (2) of this section shall be 4
transported to the person's county of discharge by a sheriff , certified court security 5
officer, or other peace officer, by an ambulan ce service designated by the cabinet, 6
or by other appropriate means of transportation which is consistent with the 7
treatment plan of that person. The transportation cost of transporting the patient to 8
the patient's county of discharge when performed by a sheriff, certified court 9
security officer, peace officer, ambulance service, or other private agency on 10
contract with the cabinet shall be paid by the cabinet in accordance with an 11
administrative regulation promulgated[issued] by the cabinet in accordance 12
with[pursuant to] KRS Chapter 13A. 13
(5) A[No] person who has been held under subsection (1) of this section shall not be 14
held in jail pending evaluation and transportation to the hospital. 15
Section 3. KRS 202A.101 is amended to read as follows: 16
(1) The court which orders any person to the receiving hospital or psychiatric facility, 17
under the provisions of this chapter, shall immediately[at once] notify the receiving 18
hospital or psychiatric facility that the[such] order has b een made, advising of the 19
sex and condition of the person. 20
(2) After the facility has been[ so] notified of the order, the court shall order the sheriff 21
of the county or other peace officer to transport the patient within forty -eight (48) 22
hours, [(]excluding weekends and holidays ,[)] from the county in which the person 23
is located to the hospital or psychiatric facility designated by the cabinet. The 24
sheriff or other peace officer may, upon agreement of a person authorized by the 25
peace officer, author ize the cabinet, a private agency on contract with the cabinet, 26
or an ambulance service designated by the cabinet to transport the person to the 27
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hospital. 1
(3) The transportation costs of transporting a person to a hospital or psychiatric facility, 2
when per formed by a sheriff, certified court security officer, peace officer, an 3
ambulance service, or other private agency on contract with the cabinet shall be 4
paid by the cabinet in accordance with an administrative regulation promulgated by 5
the cabinet in accordance with[under the provisions of] KRS Chapter 13A. 6
(4) In returning any patient to the county from which the patient is sent, the 7
transportation cost of the sheriff , certified court security officer, [ or] other peace 8
officer, the ambulance service, or t he other agency on contract with the cabinet 9
transporting the patient shall be paid as provided in KRS 202A.028(4), when 10
necessary. 11
(5) Whenever an individual is involuntarily hospitalized by a court order , the patient 12
shall be transported to the hospital designated by the cabinet and accompanied by 13
the following documents: 14
(a) A copy of the petition for involuntary hospitalization, unless hospitalization 15
takes place pursuant to KRS 202A.041; 16
(b) The certificate of qualified mental health professionals; and 17
(c) The order of involuntary hospitalization. 18
(6) The hospital may refuse to receive any person who has been ordered to be 19
involuntarily hospitalized by a court order if the papers presented with the[such] 20
person at the hospital do not comply with the provisions of this chapter or if the 21
hospital[it] does not receive notification of the order of involuntary hospitalization 22
as required by this chapter. 23