HB359 Alabama 2024 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Russell BedsoleRepresentative

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2024

Title

Department of Mental Health; expand category for involuntary commitment to include individuals with co-occurring substance use disorder, authorize service of petition in county of respondent's location when original petition was filed, authorize judge to determine when to bring respondent before court for hearing on restriction of liberty pending final hearing, authorize judge of probate to petition district or municipal court for suspension of criminal confinement for commitment; bill does not require providers to expand services unless additional funding provided

Summary

HB359 expands involuntary commitment to include those with a co-occurring substance use disorder and updates how petitions, hearings, and temporary liberty limits are handled in Alabama probate courts.

What This Bill Does

It allows people with mental illness who also have a secondary substance use disorder to be involuntarily committed. It changes petitioning rules so filings occur in the respondent’s county and sheriffs serve the petition with hearing notices. It gives probate judges authority to place temporary limits on liberty and arrange evaluations before final hearings, and to decide, as the least restrictive option, whether the respondent should receive outpatient or inpatient treatment; it also creates mechanisms to suspend criminal confinement to fulfill a commitment and to modify orders with limited extensions.

Who It Affects

• Respondents: individuals with mental illness who also have a co-occurring substance use disorder; they could be subject to involuntary commitment, constrained liberty, and treatment orders (outpatient or inpatient).
• Probate court, sheriffs, designated mental health facilities, and related courts: they implement petition service, hearings, liberty restrictions, treatment determinations, and discharge or suspension actions under the modified procedures.

Key Provisions

• Expands involuntary commitment to include individuals with a co-occurring substance use disorder secondary to a mental illness.
• Petitions must be filed in the probate court of the county where the respondent is located; the sheriff serves a copy of the petition and hearing notice to the respondent.
• Probate judges may place temporary limits on the respondent's liberty pending final hearing and may order interviews or evaluations by licensed physicians or qualified mental health professionals.
• Final commitment can be outpatient or inpatient, with the least restrictive, available option chosen and immediate reporting to firearms/NICS databases when ordered.
• Outpatient commitment criteria require a mental illness with risk of deterioration and inability to engage consistently in voluntary outpatient treatment, with potential renewal of outpatient orders.
• Inpatient commitment requires a real and present threat of substantial harm and inability to make rational decisions, with treatment to be provided as available and consideration of the respondent’s history.
• Transfers from inpatient to outpatient near the end of the commitment term can be recommended, with hearings for modification and a 60-day maximum extension on modified orders.
• Section 15-16-26 adds a process for temporarily suspending criminal confinement to fulfill a commitment order, including opportunity for objection by the prosecutor.
• Mental health providers are not required to expand services beyond current funding.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Mental Health