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Read. Follow. Verify.Texas House Bill 1938 extends emergency mental health detention periods to 72 hours and modifies court-ordered service criteria
Last action · March 26, 2025: Left pending in committeeSponsors: Liz Campos and 1 other
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What This Bill Proposed
Relating to preliminary examination periods for mental health protective custody and the criteria for and duration of certain court-ordered mental health services.
Patients awaiting mental health evaluations face longer pre-hearing detention windows while courts gain expanded duration limits for ordering involuntary outpatient and inpatient treatments.
- Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 573 governs emergency detention procedures, and Chapter 574 governs court-ordered mental health services. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Individuals evaluated for mental health protective custody
Patients may be held in custody for up to 72 hours before a protective custody order is obtained, compared to the prior 48-hour limit.
Patients receiving court-ordered temporary outpatient mental health services
Outpatient treatment orders are authorized for up to 90 days instead of the previous 45-day maximum.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can a person be detained for a preliminary mental health examination under the bill?
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
7 actions- Mar 26, 2025HouseLeft pending in committee
- Mar 26, 2025HouseTestimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
- Mar 26, 2025HouseConsidered in public hearing
- Mar 26, 2025HouseScheduled for public hearing on . . .
- Mar 14, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
- Mar 14, 2025HouseIntroducedRead first time
Show 1 earlier action
- Jan 17, 2025HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of Mental Health Detention and Treatment Windows
The bill uniformly increases time limits across preliminary examinations and temporary outpatient mental health orders, expanding the maximum duration for state intervention.
Connected Entities
Sources
capitol.texas.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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