A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO CLARIFY THE TRANSPORTATION AND CUSTODY REQUIREMENTS WHEN LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFicers TRANSPORT AN INDIVIDUAL PURSUANT TO INVOLUNTARY commitment PROCEEDINGS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 122C‑251 reads as rewritten:
"§ 122C‑251.  Transportation and custody.
(a)	Except as provided in subsections (f) and (g), transportation of a respondent within a county under the involuntary commitment proceedings of this Article, including admission and discharge, shall be provided by the city or county. The city has the duty to provide transportation of a respondent who is a resident of the city or who is taken into custody in the city limits. The county has the duty to provide transportation for a respondent who resides in the county outside city limits or who is taken into custody outside of city limits. However, cities and counties may contract with each other to provide transportation.
(b)	Except as provided in subsections (f) and (g) or in G.S. 122C‑408(b), transportation between counties under the involuntary commitment proceedings of this Article for admission to a 24‑hour facility shall be provided by the county where the respondent is taken into custody. Transportation between counties under the involuntary commitment proceedings of this Article for respondents held in 24‑hour facilities who have requested a change of venue for the district court hearing shall be provided by the county where the petition for involuntary commitment was initiated. Transportation between counties under the involuntary commitment proceedings of this Article for discharge of a respondent from a 24‑hour facility shall be provided by the county of residence of the respondent. However, a respondent being discharged from a facility may use his own transportation at his own expense.
(c)	Transportation of a respondent may be by city‑ or county‑owned vehicles or by private vehicle by contract with the city or county. To the extent feasible, law enforcement officers transporting respondents shall dress in plain clothes and shall travel in unmarked vehicles. Further, law enforcement officers, to the extent possible, shall advise respondents when taking them into custody that they are not under arrest and have not committed a crime, but are being taken into custody and transported to receive treatment and for their own safety and that of others.
(d)	In providing transportation of a respondent, a city or county shall provide a driver or attendant who is the same sex as the respondent, unless the law‑enforcement officer allows a family member of the respondent to accompany the respondent in lieu of an attendant of the same sex as the respondent.
(e)	In providing the transportation and custody required by this section, the law‑enforcement officer may use reasonable force to restrain the respondent if it appears necessary to protect himself, the respondent, or others. No law‑enforcement officer may be held criminally or civilly liable for assault, false imprisonment, or other torts or crimes on account of reasonable measures taken under the authority of this Article.
(f)	Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this section, a clerk, a magistrate, or a district court judge, where applicable, may authorize the family or immediate friends of the respondent, if they so request, to transport the respondent in accordance with the procedures of this Article. This authorization shall only be granted in cases where the danger to the public, the family or friends of the respondent, or the respondent himself is not substantial. The family or immediate friends of the respondent shall bear the costs of providing this transportation.
(g)	The governing body of a city or county may adopt a plan for the transportation and custody of respondents in involuntary commitment proceedings in this Article. Law‑enforcement personnel, volunteers, or other public or private agency personnel may be designated to provide all or parts of the transportation and custody required by involuntary commitment proceedings. Persons so designated shall be trained and the plan shall assure adequate safety and protections for both the public and the respondent. Law enforcement, other affected agencies, and the area authority shall participate in the planning. If any person other than a law‑enforcement agency is designated by a city or county, the person so designated shall provide the transportation and follow the procedures in this Article. References in this Article to a law‑enforcement officer apply to this person.
(h)	The cost and expenses of transporting a respondent to or from a 24‑hour facility is the responsibility of the county of residence of the respondent. The State (when providing transportation under G.S. 122C‑408(b)), a city, or a county is entitled to recover the reasonable cost of transportation from the county of residence of the respondent. The county of residence of the respondent shall reimburse the State, another county, or a city the reasonable transportation costs incurred as authorized by this subsection. The county of residence of the respondent is entitled to recover the reasonable cost of transportation it has paid to the State, a city, or a county. Provided that the county of residence provides the respondent or other individual liable for the respondent's support a reasonable notice and opportunity to object to the reimbursement, the county of residence of the respondent may recover that cost from:
(1)	The respondent, if the respondent is not indigent;
(2)	Any person or entity that is legally liable for the resident's support and maintenance provided there is sufficient property to pay the cost;
(3)	Any person or entity that is contractually responsible for the cost; or
(4)	Any person or entity that otherwise is liable under federal, State, or local law for the cost."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 122C‑263(d) reads as rewritten:
"§ 122C‑263.  Duties of law‑enforcement officer; first examination by physician or eligible psychologist.
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(d)	After the conclusion of the examination the physician or eligible psychologist shall make the following determinations:
(1)	If the physician or eligible psychologist finds that:
a.	The respondent is mentally ill;
b.	The respondent is capable of surviving safely in the community with available supervision from family, friends, or others;
c.	Based on the respondent's psychiatric history, the respondent is in need of treatment in order to prevent further disability or deterioration that would predictably result in dangerousness as defined by G.S. 122C‑3(11); and
d.	The respondent's current mental status or the nature of the respondent's illness limits or negates the respondent's ability to make an informed decision to seek voluntarily or comply with recommended treatment.
The physician or eligible psychologist shall so show on the examination report and shall recommend outpatient commitment. In addition the examining physician or eligible psychologist shall show the name, address, and telephone number of the proposed outpatient treatment physician or center. The person designated in the order to provide transportation shall return the respondent to the respondent's regular residence or, with the respondent's consent, to the home of a consenting individual located in the originating county, and the respondent shall be released from custody.
(2)	If the physician or eligible psychologist finds that the respondent is mentally ill and is dangerous to self, as defined in G.S. 122C‑3(11)a., or others, as defined in G.S. 122C‑3(11)b., the physician or eligible psychologist shall recommend inpatient commitment, and shall so show on the examination report. If, in addition to mental illness and dangerousness, the physician or eligible psychologist also finds that the respondent is known or reasonably believed to be mentally retarded, this finding shall be shown on the report. The law enforcement officer or other designated person shall take the respondent to a 24‑hour facility described in G.S. 122C‑252 pending a district court hearing. If there is no area 24‑hour facility and if the respondent is indigent and unable to pay for care at a private 24‑hour facility, the law enforcement officer or other designated person shall take the respondent to a State facility for the mentally ill designated by the Commission in accordance with G.S. 143B‑147(a)(1)a. for custody, observation, and treatment and immediately notify the clerk of superior court of this action.
In the event an individual known or reasonably believed to be mentally retarded is transported to a State facility for the mentally ill, in no event shall that individual be admitted to that facility except as follows:
a.	Persons described in G.S. 122C‑266(b);
b.	Persons admitted pursuant to G.S. 15A‑1321;
c.	Respondents who are so extremely dangerous as to pose a serious threat to the community and to other patients committed to non‑State hospital psychiatric inpatient units, as determined by the Director of the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services or his designee; and
d.	Respondents who are so gravely disabled by both multiple disorders and medical fragility or multiple disorders and deafness that alternative care is inappropriate, as determined by the Director of the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services or his designee.
Individuals transported to a State facility for the mentally ill who are not admitted by the facility may be transported by law enforcement officers or designated staff of the State facility in State‑owned vehicles to an appropriate 24‑hour facility that provides psychiatric inpatient care.
No later than 24 hours after the transfer, the responsible professional at the original facility shall notify the petitioner, the clerk of court, and, if consent is granted by the respondent, the next of kin, that the transfer has been completed.
(3)	If the physician or eligible psychologist finds that neither condition described in subdivisions (1) or (2) of this subsection exists, the proceedings shall be terminated. The person designated in the order to provide transportation shall return the respondent to the respondent's regular residence or, with the respondent's consent, to the home of a consenting individual located in the originating county and the respondent shall be released from custody.
(4)	If, in addition to recommending inpatient commitment, the physician or eligible psychologist also finds that the respondent is in need of medical evaluation or treatment prior to transport to a 24‑hour facility described in G.S. 122C‑252, the law enforcement officer or other person authorized under G.S. 122C‑251(g) shall take the respondent to a licensed medical hospital for evaluation and treatment not to exceed five days. This hospital may be the same hospital where the first commitment examination is performed. During the five‑day period, the custody order remains in effect, custody shall be maintained pursuant to a plan adopted in accordance with G.S. 122C‑251(g), and the respondent shall be transported to a 24‑hour facility described in G.S. 122C‑252 as soon as the respondent can be safely transported to and received by the 24‑hour facility. If the attending physician at the licensed medical hospital determines that the respondent's need for medical evaluation or treatment will exceed five days, the physician shall notify the clerk of court, and the commitment proceedings shall be terminated. If, during or following the administration of medical evaluation or treatment, a physician or eligible psychologist determines that the respondent no longer meets the criteria for inpatient commitment, the physician or eligible psychologist shall notify the clerk of superior court in accordance with subsection (e) of this section that either the commitment proceedings should be terminated or that a hearing should be scheduled to determine whether an outpatient commitment order should be issued. This physician shall not be the same physician who completed the first examination recommending commitment.
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SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2009.