SF 2881

as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to human services; providing for interstate contracts for chemical health
services; amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 245.50, subdivisions 1, 2, 5.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 245.50, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Definitions.

For purposes of this section, the following terms have
the meanings given them.

(a) "Bordering state" means Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, or Wisconsin.

(b) "Receiving agency" means a public or private hospital, mental health center,
new text begin chemical health treatment facility, new text end or other person or organization which provides mental
health new text begin or chemical health new text end services under this section to individuals from a state other than
the state in which the agency is located.

(c) "Receiving state" means the state in which a receiving agency is located.

(d) "Sending agency" means a state or county agency which sends an individual to a
bordering state for treatment under this section.

(e) "Sending state" means the state in which the sending agency is located.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 245.50, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Purpose and authority.

(a) The purpose of this section is to enable
appropriate treatment to be provided to individuals, across state lines from the individual's
state of residence, in qualified facilities that are closer to the homes of individuals than are
facilities available in the individual's home state.

(b) Unless prohibited by another law and subject to the exceptions listed in
subdivision 3, a county board or the commissioner of human services may contract with
an agency or facility in a bordering state for mental health new text begin or chemical health new text end services
for residents of Minnesota, and a Minnesota mental health new text begin or chemical health new text end agency
or facility may contract to provide services to residents of bordering states. Except as
provided in subdivision 5, a person who receives services in another state under this
section is subject to the laws of the state in which services are provided. A person who will
receive services in another state under this section must be informed of the consequences
of receiving services in another state, including the implications of the differences in state
laws, to the extent the individual will be subject to the laws of the receiving state.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 245.50, subdivision 5, is amended to read:

Subd. 5.

Special contracts; bordering states.

(a) An individual who is detained,
committed, or placed on an involuntary basis under chapter 253B may be confined or
treated in a bordering state pursuant to a contract under this section. An individual who is
detained, committed, or placed on an involuntary basis under the civil law of a bordering
state may be confined or treated in Minnesota pursuant to a contract under this section. A
peace or health officer who is acting under the authority of the sending state may transport
an individual to a receiving agency that provides services pursuant to a contract under
this section and may transport the individual back to the sending state under the laws
of the sending state. Court orders valid under the law of the sending state are granted
recognition and reciprocity in the receiving state for individuals covered by a contract
under this section to the extent that the court orders relate to confinement for treatment
or care of mental illness new text begin or chemical dependency new text end . Such treatment or care may address
other conditions that may be co-occurring with the mental illness new text begin or chemical dependency new text end .
These court orders are not subject to legal challenge in the courts of the receiving state.
Individuals who are detained, committed, or placed under the law of a sending state and
who are transferred to a receiving state under this section continue to be in the legal
custody of the authority responsible for them under the law of the sending state. Except
in emergencies, those individuals may not be transferred, removed, or furloughed from
a receiving agency without the specific approval of the authority responsible for them
under the law of the sending state.

(b) While in the receiving state pursuant to a contract under this section, an
individual shall be subject to the sending state's laws and rules relating to length of
confinement, reexaminations, and extensions of confinement. No individual may be sent
to another state pursuant to a contract under this section until the receiving state has
enacted a law recognizing the validity and applicability of this section.

(c) If an individual receiving services pursuant to a contract under this section leaves
the receiving agency without permission and the individual is subject to involuntary
confinement under the law of the sending state, the receiving agency shall use all
reasonable means to return the individual to the receiving agency. The receiving agency
shall immediately report the absence to the sending agency. The receiving state has the
primary responsibility for, and the authority to direct, the return of these individuals
within its borders and is liable for the cost of the action to the extent that it would be
liable for costs of its own resident.

(d) Responsibility for payment for the cost of care remains with the sending agency.

(e) This subdivision also applies to county contracts under subdivision 2 which
include emergency care and treatment provided to a county resident in a bordering state.