Sec. 1. 34-B MRSA §3864, sub-§5, ¶B, as amended by PL 1997, c. 422, §17; PL 2001, c. 354, §3; and PL 2003, c. 689, Pt. B, §6, is further amended to read:

B. The hearing must be conducted in as informal a manner as may be consistent with orderly procedure and in a physical setting not likely to have harmful effect on the mental health of the person. If the setting is outside the hospital to which the patient is currently admitted, the Department of Health and Human Services shall bear the responsibility and expense of transporting the patient to and from the hearing. If the person has been admitted to a hospital the hearing must be held in that hospital. If the patient person is to be admitted to a hospital following the hearing, then the responsible hospital shall transport the patient person to the admitting hospital. If the patient person is to be released following the hearing, then the responsible hospital shall return the patient person to the hospital or, at the patient's person's request, return the patient person to the patient's person's place of residence.

SUMMARY

This bill requires that an involuntary commitment hearing for a person who has been admitted to a hospital must be held in that hospital.