Amendment 1

FILED ON: 2/25/2026

SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2974

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)

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An Act to provide more timely treatment of inpatient mental health care.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 2 of chapter 123 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 12, the word “and”.

SECTION 2. Said section 2 of said chapter 123, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “facilities”, in lines 13 to 14, the following words:- , and (4) shall be developed in a manner consistent with available physician resources and in accordance with national standards for providing evening and night coverage for hospitals.

SECTION 3. Said chapter 123, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out section 5 and inserting in place thereof the following section:

Section 5. Whenever the provisions of this chapter require that a hearing be conducted in any court for the commitment or further retention of a person to a facility or to the Bridgewater state hospital or for medical treatment including treatment with antipsychotic medication, it shall be held as hereinafter provided. Such person shall have the right to be represented by counsel and shall have the right to present independent testimony. The court shall appoint counsel for such person whom it finds to be indigent and who is not represented by counsel, unless such person refuses the appointment of counsel. The court may provide an independent medical examination for such indigent person upon request of his counsel or upon his request if he is not represented by counsel. Such independent medical examination, if requested by the indigent person or his counsel, shall be requested not more than 24 hours after the appointment of counsel and shall be completed within 3 business days after such request for the independent medical examination. The person shall be allowed not less than two days after the appearance of his counsel in which to prepare his case and a hearing shall be conducted forthwith after such period. The court shall schedule sufficient days and sessions to hear petitions filed under this chapter within the time required by this section. Notice of the time and place of hearing shall be furnished by the court to the department, the person, his counsel, and his nearest relative or guardian. The court may hold the hearing at the facility or said hospital.

SECTION 4. Section 7 of said chapter 123, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(c) Whenever a court receives a petition filed under any provisions of this chapter for an order of commitment of a person to a facility or to the Bridgewater state hospital, such court shall notify the person, and his nearest relative or guardian, of the receipt of such petition and of the date a hearing on such petition is to be held. The hearing on a petition brought for commitment pursuant to paragraph (e) of section 15, and sections 16 and 18, or for a subsequent commitment pursuant to paragraph (d) of section 8 shall be commenced within 14 days of the filing of the petition. For all other persons, the hearing shall be commenced within 5 days of the filing of the petition. The court shall schedule sufficient days and sessions to hear petitions filed under this chapter within the time required by this subsection. The periods of time prescribed or allowed under the provisions of this section shall be computed pursuant to Rule 6 of the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure.

SECTION 5. Section 8B of said chapter 123, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(c) Whenever a court receives a petition filed under the provisions of this section, such court shall notify the person, and his nearest relative or guardian of the receipt of such petition and of the date a hearing on such petition is to be held. The hearing shall be commenced within 5 days of the filing of the petition, provided that the commencement of such hearing shall not be delayed beyond the date of the hearing on the commitment petition if the petition was filed concurrently with a petition for commitment. The court shall schedule sufficient days and sessions to hear petitions filed under this section within the time required by this subsection.

SECTION 6. Section 12 of said chapter 123, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the twelfth sentence the following sentence:- The court shall schedule sufficient days and sessions to hear petitions filed under this section within the time required by this subsection.

SECTION 7. Section 36 of said chapter 123, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 5 to 7, the words “that the commissioner shall allow the attorney of a patient or resident to inspect records of said patient or resident if requested to do so by the patient, resident or attorney,” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- the attorney of a patient or resident shall be provided a copy of said patient or resident’s complete medical records within 24 hours of the request of the patient, resident or attorney.

SECTION 8. Subsection (d) of section 5-308 of chapter 190B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the words “as expeditiously as possible”, in line 55, the following words:- ; provided however, for patients in inpatient mental health facilities, said hearing shall be conducted within 7 days of the filing of the petition and the notice required under subsection (c) of this section shall be adjusted accordingly.

SECTION 9. Notwithstanding any general or special law, regulation or procedure to the contrary, the department of children and families, in conjunction with the office of the child advocate, shall develop a facilitated process and time frame for the administration of antipsychotic medication for children in their custody who are hospitalized in inpatient psychiatric facilities.