HB485
Log in to followAN ACT relating to the care and treatment of individuals with mental illness.
Amend KRS 202A.011 to define "benefit from treatment," "individual with a mental illness," and "severe mental illness"; remove "mentally ill person" and redefine "danger"; amend KRS 202A.028 to allow the Commonwealth to file an emergency motion to be heard within 48 hours regarding the hospitalization of an individual with a mental illness who has been found by a qualified mental health professional to not meet the criteria for involuntary hospitalization; amend KRS 202A.051 to allow…
Introduced: January 23, 2026
Last action: February 20, 2026
Plain-language summary
This bill updates Kentucky's laws on the care and treatment of people with mental illness, particularly around when and how courts can order someone to be hospitalized or receive outpatient psychiatric treatment. It gives courts and the state more tools to respond when a person may need mental health care, including emergency court hearings, required monitoring of outpatient treatment, and review hearings before someone is released from a hospital. It also updates legal definitions and…
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Legislative History
Primary Sponsor
Co-sponsors (7)
Roll calls
House: 3rd reading, passed 95-0 with Committee Substitute (1) and Floor Amendments (1) and (2)
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