Brief⁽¹⁾

Sub. for H.B. 2630 amends one of the statutes in the Care and Treatment Act for Mentally Ill Persons. The amendment to subsection (j) of K.S.A. 1997 Supp. 59-2946 adds licensed marriage and family therapists and licensed professional counselors to the definition of qualified mental health professional as used in the Act. Under the Care and Treatment Act for Mentally Ill Persons, a qualified mental health professional who is employed by a mental health center that contracts with the Secretary of Social and Rehabilitation Services screens persons seeking admission to a treatment facility under either voluntary or involuntary procedures to determine whether admission to a state psychiatric hospital is authorized. Qualified mental health professionals, except physicians and psychologists, act under the direction of a physician or psychologist who is employed by or who contracts with the mental health center.

Sub. for H.B. 2630 was amended in the House Committee of the Whole by the addition of Sections 2, 3, and 4 which amend K.S.A. 76-1305, 76-1306, and 76-1307, respectively. The amendments concern patients committed or transferred to the State Security Hospital at Larned State Hospital. K.S.A. 76-1305 is amended to delete a reference to "person" and to delete the prohibition on the transfer of a voluntary patient from a state institution under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Social and Rehabilitation Services to the State Security Hospital. Amendments to K.S.A. 76-1306 also delete references to persons and voluntary patient and add a new criteria for transfer of a patient from a state institution to the State Security Hospital, i.e., the patient is charged with or convicted of a felony crime. Amendments to K.S.A. 76-1307 delete a reference to person and clarify the provision that concerns notice of a transfer to the committing court if the patient had been committed for care and treatment by a court.

Background

Sub. for H.B. 2630 is one of several new and amendatory sections that made up H.B. 2630 in its original form. The original bill also would have authorized the diagnosis of mental disorders by several professions licensed by the Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board. A subcommittee appointed to look at the issues raised by the bill recommended the section appearing as Sub. for H.B. 2630 be a substitute bill, along with a recommendation for the creation of a task force to study the issue of who should be allowed to diagnose mental disorders and a number of other issues relating to the professions licensed and regulated by the Board and the Board's administrative functions. The Health and Human Services Committee recommendations relating to a task force are contained in a concurrent resolution introduced by the Committee.

The House Committee of the Whole amendments embody the provisions of H.B. 2859.

1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/fulltext-bill.html.