SB 1015: Assisted Outpatient Treatment
Sponsor: Maggie Nurrenbern
STRONGLY OPPOSE
Violates due process and medical privacy.
SB 1015 creates a new court process to place adults with certain mental-health conditions under court-ordered "assisted outpatient treatment" (AOT)—meaning involuntary outpatient services like medication management, therapy, and case management, supervised by a court-assigned case manager from a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (ССВНС). If the person doesn't comply, the court can order evaluation or hospitalization without a hearing (with a later hearing only if the person objects).
What Does This Bill Do?
- Broad Involuntary Treatment Scope: Defines "assisted outpatient treatment" as court-ordered involuntary mental health services, including medication management and therapy, representing a major liberty intrusion.
- Expanded Petition Powers: Allows petitions to be filed by state and local public health agencies without notarization and mandates that the prosecuting attorney represent the petitioner.
- Ongoing Court Supervision: Requires a court-assigned case manager from a clinic to report on the individual's compliance at least every 90 days, setting up a quasi-probation structure for medical care.
Constitutional or Critical Context
The most severe constitutional pressure point is the bill's authorization for confinement "without a hearing" if noncompliance is reported. Even if a hearing is available later, authorizing the deprivation of liberty first flips due process on its head. Furthermore, the bill explicitly waives physician/patient and psychologist/patient privilege, creating a pathway to weaponize private medical records in coercive court proceedings.
Red Flags & Recommended Amendments
Hospitalization "Without a Hearing"
Authorizes confinement first, process later. If "noncompliance" is reported, the court can order evaluation or hospitalization up to 10 days (or longer) without an initial hearing.
Forced Medical Privilege Waiver
Waives medical and psychological privilege for these proceedings, chilling care and creating a legal pathway to exploit personal records.
Act for Missouri Recommendation:
Act for Missouri STRONGLY OPPOSES SB 1015. While it includes some procedural rights, the bill's core enforcement mechanism authorizes confinement without a hearing for "noncompliance" and forces a medical-privacy waiver, creating an expansive, coercive government pipeline with significant "unknown" fiscal exposure.