1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to civil commitment; clarifying the authority 
  1.3             of a peace or health officer to transport intoxicated 
  1.4             persons to a treatment facility; amending Minnesota 
  1.5             Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 253B.05, subdivision 
  1.6             2. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 
  1.9   253B.05, subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 2.  [PEACE OR HEALTH OFFICER HOLD.] (a) A peace or 
  1.11  health officer may take a person into custody and transport the 
  1.12  person to a licensed physician or treatment facility if the 
  1.13  officer has reason to believe, either through direct observation 
  1.14  of the person's behavior, or upon reliable information of the 
  1.15  person's recent behavior and knowledge of the person's past 
  1.16  behavior or psychiatric treatment, that the person is mentally 
  1.17  ill or mentally retarded and in imminent danger of injuring self 
  1.18  or others if not immediately restrained.  A peace or health 
  1.19  officer or a person working under such officer's supervision, 
  1.20  may take a person who is believed to be chemically dependent or 
  1.21  is intoxicated by alcohol or controlled substances in public 
  1.22  into custody and transport the person to a treatment 
  1.23  facility.  Alternatively, if the person is intoxicated in public 
  1.24  or is believed to be chemically dependent and is not in danger 
  1.25  of causing self-harm or harm to any person or property, the 
  1.26  peace or health officer may transport the person home.  Written 
  2.1   application for admission of the person to a treatment facility 
  2.2   shall be made by the peace or health officer.  The application 
  2.3   shall contain a statement given by the peace or health officer 
  2.4   specifying the reasons for and circumstances under which the 
  2.5   person was taken into custody.  If imminent danger to specific 
  2.6   individuals is a basis for the emergency hold, the statement 
  2.7   must include identifying information on those individuals, to 
  2.8   the extent practicable.  A copy of the statement shall be made 
  2.9   available to the person taken into custody.  
  2.10     (b) A person may be admitted to a treatment facility for 
  2.11  emergency care and treatment under this subdivision with the 
  2.12  consent of the head of the facility under the following 
  2.13  circumstances:  a written statement is made by the medical 
  2.14  officer on duty at the facility that after preliminary 
  2.15  examination the person has symptoms of mental illness or mental 
  2.16  retardation and appears to be in imminent danger of harming self 
  2.17  or others; or, a written statement is made by the institution 
  2.18  program director or the director's designee on duty at the 
  2.19  facility that after preliminary examination the person has 
  2.20  symptoms of chemical dependency and appears to be in imminent 
  2.21  danger of harming self or others or is intoxicated in public.