CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1773
Chapter 210, Laws of 2022
67th Legislature
2022 Regular Session
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH DISORDERS—ASSISTED OUTPATIENT TREATMENT—VARIOUS
PROVISIONS
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 9, 2022—Except for sections 1 and 31, which
take effect July 1, 2022; sections 2 and 10, which are contingent;
sections 6, 13, 18, and 24, which take effect July 1, 2026; and
section 27, which takes effect October 1, 2022.
Passed by the House March 7, 2022 CERTIFICATE
Yeas 90 Nays 8
I, Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the
House of Representatives of the
LAURIE JINKINS State of Washington, do hereby
Speaker of the House of certify that the attached is
Representatives SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1773 as
passed by the House of
Representatives and the Senate on
the dates hereon set forth.
Passed by the Senate March 3, 2022
Yeas 47 Nays 1
BERNARD DEAN
DENNY HECK Chief Clerk
President of the Senate
Approved March 30, 2022 2:28 PM FILED
March 31, 2022
Secretary of State
JAY INSLEE State of Washington
Governor of the State of Washington
 SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1773
AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
Passed Legislature - 2022 Regular Session
State of Washington 67th Legislature 2022 Regular Session
By House Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives
Taylor, Davis, Leavitt, Callan, Cody, Macri, Ormsby, and Harris-
Talley)
READ FIRST TIME 02/07/22.
1 AN ACT Relating to assisted outpatient treatment for persons with
2 behavioral health disorders; amending RCW 71.05.148, 71.05.150,
3 71.05.150, 71.05.156, 71.05.212, 71.05.230, 71.05.240, 71.05.240,
4 71.05.245, 71.05.280, 71.05.290, 71.05.365, 71.05.585, 10.77.175,
5 71.05.590, 71.05.590, 71.05.595, 71.24.045, and 71.05.740; reenacting
6 and amending RCW 71.05.020, 71.05.020, 71.05.201, 71.05.212,
7 71.05.320, 71.05.320, 71.34.755, and 71.24.045; reenacting and
8 amending 2021 c 264 s 24 and 2021 c 263 s 21 (uncodified); adding a
9 new section to chapter 71.34 RCW; creating new sections; providing
10 effective dates; providing a contingent effective date; and providing
11 expiration dates.
12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
13 Sec. 1. RCW 71.05.020 and 2021 c 264 s 21 and 2021 c 263 s 12
14 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
15 The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter
16 unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
17 (1) "Admission" or "admit" means a decision by a physician,
18 physician assistant, or psychiatric advanced registered nurse
19 practitioner that a person should be examined or treated as a patient
20 in a hospital;
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 1 (2) "Alcoholism" means a disease, characterized by a dependency
2 on alcoholic beverages, loss of control over the amount and
3 circumstances of use, symptoms of tolerance, physiological or
4 psychological withdrawal, or both, if use is reduced or discontinued,
5 and impairment of health or disruption of social or economic
6 functioning;
7 (3) "Antipsychotic medications" means that class of drugs
8 primarily used to treat serious manifestations of mental illness
9 associated with thought disorders, which includes, but is not limited
10 to atypical antipsychotic medications;
11 (4) "Approved substance use disorder treatment program" means a
12 program for persons with a substance use disorder provided by a
13 treatment program certified by the department as meeting standards
14 adopted under chapter 71.24 RCW;
15 (5) "Attending staff" means any person on the staff of a public
16 or private agency having responsibility for the care and treatment of
17 a patient;
18 (6) "Authority" means the Washington state health care authority;
19 (7) "Behavioral health disorder" means either a mental disorder
20 as defined in this section, a substance use disorder as defined in
21 this section, or a co-occurring mental disorder and substance use
22 disorder;
23 (8) "Behavioral health service provider" means a public or
24 private agency that provides mental health, substance use disorder,
25 or co-occurring disorder services to persons with behavioral health
26 disorders as defined under this section and receives funding from
27 public sources. This includes, but is not limited to: Hospitals
28 licensed under chapter 70.41 RCW; evaluation and treatment facilities
29 as defined in this section; community mental health service delivery
30 systems or community behavioral health programs as defined in RCW
31 71.24.025; licensed or certified behavioral health agencies under RCW
32 71.24.037; facilities conducting competency evaluations and
33 restoration under chapter 10.77 RCW; approved substance use disorder
34 treatment programs as defined in this section; secure withdrawal
35 management and stabilization facilities as defined in this section;
36 and correctional facilities operated by state and local governments;
37 (9) "Co-occurring disorder specialist" means an individual
38 possessing an enhancement granted by the department of health under
39 chapter 18.205 RCW that certifies the individual to provide substance
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 1 use disorder counseling subject to the practice limitations under RCW
2 18.205.105;
3 (10) "Commitment" means the determination by a court that a
4 person should be detained for a period of either evaluation or
5 treatment, or both, in an inpatient or a less restrictive setting;
6 (11) "Community behavioral health agency" has the same meaning as
7 "licensed or certified behavioral health agency" defined in RCW
8 71.24.025;
9 (12) "Conditional release" means a revocable modification of a
10 commitment, which may be revoked upon violation of any of its terms;
11 (13) "Crisis stabilization unit" means a short-term facility or a
12 portion of a facility licensed or certified by the department, such
13 as an evaluation and treatment facility or a hospital, which has been
14 designed to assess, diagnose, and treat individuals experiencing an
15 acute crisis without the use of long-term hospitalization;
16 (14) "Custody" means involuntary detention under the provisions
17 of this chapter or chapter 10.77 RCW, uninterrupted by any period of
18 unconditional release from commitment from a facility providing
19 involuntary care and treatment;
20 (15) "Department" means the department of health;
21 (16) "Designated crisis responder" means a mental health
22 professional appointed by the county, by an entity appointed by the
23 county, or by the authority in consultation with a federally
24 recognized Indian tribe or after meeting and conferring with an
25 Indian health care provider, to perform the duties specified in this
26 chapter;
27 (17) "Detention" or "detain" means the lawful confinement of a
28 person, under the provisions of this chapter;
29 (18) "Developmental disabilities professional" means a person who
30 has specialized training and three years of experience in directly
31 treating or working with persons with developmental disabilities and
32 is a psychiatrist, physician assistant working with a supervising
33 psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric advanced registered nurse
34 practitioner, or social worker, and such other developmental
35 disabilities professionals as may be defined by rules adopted by the
36 secretary of the department of social and health services;
37 (19) "Developmental disability" means that condition defined in
38 RCW 71A.10.020(5);
39 (20) "Director" means the director of the authority;
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 1 (21) "Discharge" means the termination of hospital medical
2 authority. The commitment may remain in place, be terminated, or be
3 amended by court order;
4 (22) "Drug addiction" means a disease, characterized by a
5 dependency on psychoactive chemicals, loss of control over the amount
6 and circumstances of use, symptoms of tolerance, physiological or
7 psychological withdrawal, or both, if use is reduced or discontinued,
8 and impairment of health or disruption of social or economic
9 functioning;
10 (23) "Evaluation and treatment facility" means any facility which
11 can provide directly, or by direct arrangement with other public or
12 private agencies, emergency evaluation and treatment, outpatient
13 care, and timely and appropriate inpatient care to persons suffering
14 from a mental disorder, and which is licensed or certified as such by
15 the department. The authority may certify single beds as temporary
16 evaluation and treatment beds under RCW 71.05.745. A physically
17 separate and separately operated portion of a state hospital may be
18 designated as an evaluation and treatment facility. A facility which
19 is part of, or operated by, the department of social and health
20 services or any federal agency will not require certification. No
21 correctional institution or facility, or jail, shall be an evaluation
22 and treatment facility within the meaning of this chapter;
23 (24) "Gravely disabled" means a condition in which a person, as a
24 result of a behavioral health disorder: (a) Is in danger of serious
25 physical harm resulting from a failure to provide for his or her
26 essential human needs of health or safety; or (b) manifests severe
27 deterioration in routine functioning evidenced by repeated and
28 escalating loss of cognitive or volitional control over his or her
29 actions and is not receiving such care as is essential for his or her
30 health or safety;
31 (25) "Habilitative services" means those services provided by
32 program personnel to assist persons in acquiring and maintaining life
33 skills and in raising their levels of physical, mental, social, and
34 vocational functioning. Habilitative services include education,
35 training for employment, and therapy. The habilitative process shall
36 be undertaken with recognition of the risk to the public safety
37 presented by the person being assisted as manifested by prior charged
38 criminal conduct;
39 (26) "Hearing" means any proceeding conducted in open court that
40 conforms to the requirements of RCW 71.05.820;
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 1 (27) "History of one or more violent acts" refers to the period
2 of time ten years prior to the filing of a petition under this
3 chapter, excluding any time spent, but not any violent acts
4 committed, in a behavioral health facility, or in confinement as a
5 result of a criminal conviction;
6 (28) "Imminent" means the state or condition of being likely to
7 occur at any moment or near at hand, rather than distant or remote;
8 (29) "In need of assisted outpatient ((behavioral health))
9 treatment" ((means that a person, as a result of a behavioral health
10 disorder: (a) Has been committed by a court to detention for
11 involuntary behavioral health treatment during the preceding thirty-
12 six months; (b) is unlikely to voluntarily participate in outpatient
13 treatment without an order for less restrictive alternative
14 treatment, based on a history of nonadherence with treatment or in
15 view of the person's current behavior; (c) is likely to benefit from
16 less restrictive alternative treatment; and (d) requires less
17 restrictive alternative treatment to prevent a relapse,
18 decompensation, or deterioration that is likely to result in the
19 person presenting a likelihood of serious harm or the person becoming
20 gravely disabled within a reasonably short period of time)) refers to
21 a person who meets the criteria for assisted outpatient treatment
22 established under RCW 71.05.148;
23 (30) "Individualized service plan" means a plan prepared by a
24 developmental disabilities professional with other professionals as a
25 team, for a person with developmental disabilities, which shall
26 state:
27 (a) The nature of the person's specific problems, prior charged
28 criminal behavior, and habilitation needs;
29 (b) The conditions and strategies necessary to achieve the
30 purposes of habilitation;
31 (c) The intermediate and long-range goals of the habilitation
32 program, with a projected timetable for the attainment;
33 (d) The rationale for using this plan of habilitation to achieve
34 those intermediate and long-range goals;
35 (e) The staff responsible for carrying out the plan;
36 (f) Where relevant in light of past criminal behavior and due
37 consideration for public safety, the criteria for proposed movement
38 to less-restrictive settings, criteria for proposed eventual
39 discharge or release, and a projected possible date for discharge or
40 release; and
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 1 (g) The type of residence immediately anticipated for the person
2 and possible future types of residences;
3 (31) "Intoxicated person" means a person whose mental or physical
4 functioning is substantially impaired as a result of the use of
5 alcohol or other psychoactive chemicals;
6 (32) "Judicial commitment" means a commitment by a court pursuant
7 to the provisions of this chapter;
8 (33) "Legal counsel" means attorneys and staff employed by county
9 prosecutor offices or the state attorney general acting in their
10 capacity as legal representatives of public behavioral health service
11 providers under RCW 71.05.130;
12 (34) "Less restrictive alternative treatment" means a program of
13 individualized treatment in a less restrictive setting than inpatient
14 treatment that includes the services described in RCW 71.05.585. This
15 term includes: Treatment pursuant to a less restrictive alternative
16 treatment order under RCW 71.05.240 or 71.05.320; treatment pursuant
17 to a conditional release under RCW 71.05.340; and treatment pursuant
18 to an assisted outpatient ((behavioral health)) treatment order under
19 RCW 71.05.148;
20 (35) "Licensed physician" means a person licensed to practice
21 medicine or osteopathic medicine and surgery in the state of
22 Washington;
23 (36) "Likelihood of serious harm" means:
24 (a) A substantial risk that: (i) Physical harm will be inflicted
25 by a person upon his or her own person, as evidenced by threats or
26 attempts to commit suicide or inflict physical harm on oneself; (ii)
27 physical harm will be inflicted by a person upon another, as
28 evidenced by behavior which has caused such harm or which places
29 another person or persons in reasonable fear of sustaining such harm;
30 or (iii) physical harm will be inflicted by a person upon the
31 property of others, as evidenced by behavior which has caused
32 substantial loss or damage to the property of others; or
33 (b) The person has threatened the physical safety of another and
34 has a history of one or more violent acts;
35 (37) "Medical clearance" means a physician or other health care
36 provider has determined that a person is medically stable and ready
37 for referral to the designated crisis responder;
38 (38) "Mental disorder" means any organic, mental, or emotional
39 impairment which has substantial adverse effects on a person's
40 cognitive or volitional functions;
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 1 (39) "Mental health professional" means a psychiatrist,
2 psychologist, physician assistant working with a supervising
3 psychiatrist, psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioner,
4 psychiatric nurse, or social worker, and such other mental health
5 professionals as may be defined by rules adopted by the secretary
6 pursuant to the provisions of this chapter;
7 (40) "Peace officer" means a law enforcement official of a public
8 agency or governmental unit, and includes persons specifically given
9 peace officer powers by any state law, local ordinance, or judicial
10 order of appointment;
11 (41) "Physician assistant" means a person licensed as a physician
12 assistant under chapter 18.71A RCW;
13 (42) "Private agency" means any person, partnership, corporation,
14 or association that is not a public agency, whether or not financed
15 in whole or in part by public funds, which constitutes an evaluation
16 and treatment facility or private institution, or hospital, or
17 approved substance use disorder treatment program, which is conducted
18 for, or includes a department or ward conducted for, the care and
19 treatment of persons with behavioral health disorders;
20 (43) "Professional person" means a mental health professional,
21 substance use disorder professional, or designated crisis responder
22 and shall also mean a phy