S.B. 77

1

TASK FORCE ON INVOLUNTARY
2 COMMITMENT OF THE MENTALLY ILL
3 2002 GENERAL SESSION
4 STATE OF UTAH
5 Sponsor: Leonard M. Blackham
6 This act creates the Task Force on Involuntary Commitment of the Mentally Ill. The act
7 specifies membership, duties, and reporting requirements for the task force. The act
8 appropriates $39,500 from the General Fund for fiscal year 2002-03 to fund the task force.
9 The act repeals the task force on November 30, 2002.
10 This act enacts uncodified material.
11 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
12 Section 1. Task Force on Involuntary Commitment of the Mentally Ill -- Creation --
13 Membership -- Interim rules followed -- Compensation -- Staff.
14 (1) There is created the Task Force on Involuntary Commitment of the Mentally Ill
15 consisting of the following 12 members:
16 (a) five members of the Senate appointed by the president of the Senate, no more than
17 three of whom may be from the same political party; and
18 (b) seven members of the House of Representatives appointed by the speaker of the House
19 of Representatives, no more than four of whom may be from the same political party.
20 (2) (a) The president of the Senate shall designate a member of the Senate appointed under
21 Subsection (1)(a) as a cochair of the committee.
22 (b) The speaker of the House of Representatives shall designate a member of the House
23 of Representatives appointed under Subsection (1)(b) as a cochair of the committee.
24 (3) In conducting its business, the committee shall comply with the rules of legislative
25 interim committees.
26 (4) Salaries and expenses of the members of the committee shall be paid in accordance
27 with Section 36-2-2 and Legislative Joint Rule 15.03.

28 (5) The Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel shall provide staff support to
29 the committee.
30 Section 2. Duties -- Interim report.
31 (1) The committee shall review and make recommendations on the following issues:
32 (a) admissibility of evidence at hearings of historical information concerning patterns of
33 treatment compliance and decompensation;
34 (b) criteria for determining the need for involuntary commitment; and
35 (c) inclusion of involuntary medication decisions in conjunction with involuntary
36 commitment processes.
37 (2) A final report, including any proposed legislation shall be presented to the Health and
38 Human Services Interim Committee before November 30, 2002.
39 Section 3. Appropriation.
40 There is appropriated from the General Fund for fiscal year 2002-03, a one-time
41 appropriation of:
42 (1) $6,000 to the Senate to pay for the compensation and expenses of senators on the
43 committee;
44 (2) $8,500 to the House of Representatives to pay for the compensation and expenses of
45 representatives on the committee; and
46 (3) $25,000 to the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel to pay for staffing
47 the committee..
48 Section 4. Repeal date.
49 This act is repealed November 30, 2002.




Legislative Review Note
as of 1-22-02 3:44 PM

A limited legal review of this legislation raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel