House panel approves mental health bill prompted by Tech killings

RICHMOND

A slew of bills that would boost state funding for mental health services and change the way services are delivered took another step toward becoming law Monday.

In the House of Delegates, legislation targeting what some legislators have referred to as the "Tech moment" unanimously passed the Courts of Justice Committee.

HB499 lays out new regulations for what happens if a person who is ordered into outpatient mental health treatment doesn't receive it.

A companion bill, SB246, is being carried by Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, in the General Assembly's other chamber.

Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho, who shot and killed 32 people on April 16 before committing suicide, was ordered by a judge to undergo treatment but never received it.

Under the proposed law, a person like Cho would be monitored by mental health workers to see if he is following his treatment plan. If the person doesn't show up for a monitoring meeting, a judge would order the person have an evaluation.

If that fails, law enforcement officials would be ordered to find and bring in the person for an examination.

The bill also lowers the threshold for involuntary hospitalization by allowing a person to be committed if it's determined there is "substantial likelihood" he will harm himself or others in the "near future." Current law is based on an "imminent danger" standard that, critics say, is too high a threshold.

The bill passed the House Courts of Justice Committee 22-0.

Likewise, the Senate companion bill unanimously passed that chamber's Courts of Justice Committee.

"The most important thing we can do this winter is deal with mental health funding and mental health reform," said Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, who considers the bills "landmark legislation."

Both the House and Senate bills advanced to the General Assembly's money committees for consideration.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has proposed $42 million in new mental health spending in his proposed two-year budget; some mental health advocates say an extra $25 million above what Kaine proposed is needed.

Other mental health bills that advanced in the Senate Monday deal with the creation of mental health courts; time extensions for how long an individual can be involuntarily detained; and treatment for mentally ill minors and inmates.