Full Text of HR0155 98th General Assembly
HR0155 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Mental illness is a critical underlying concept in | 3 | | various areas of law affecting mitigation of criminal | 4 | | responsibility and fundamental rights to property, individual | 5 | | liberty, and personal privacy; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, For at least 2 generations, mental illness has | 7 | | been presumed to be brain disease which is best confronted as a | 8 | | treatable medical problem; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Vast amounts of State resources and tax monies, | 10 | | not to mention the creative energies and work of our citizens | 11 | | and civil servants, are continuously expended in accordance | 12 | | with Illinois laws and regulations dependent upon derived | 13 | | psychiatric definitions, formulations, and diagnostic criteria | 14 | | for mental disorders, in particular upon those definitions, | 15 | | formulations, and criteria which are found in the American | 16 | | Psychiatric Association's nearly 20-year-old Diagnostic and | 17 | | Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition | 18 | | (DSM-IV); and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Some experts in the field of mental health are | 20 | | currently in major and substantial disagreement about methods | 21 | | and standards of psychiatric diagnosis; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Despite explicit admonitions in DSM-IV against | 2 | | the use of psychiatric diagnosis for legal purposes such as | 3 | | establishing competence, criminal responsibility or | 4 | | disability, Illinois courts and agencies have nonetheless | 5 | | habitually relied upon the formulations and criteria in the DSM | 6 | | for the precise expertise which the text itself disclaims; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, A new edition of the American Psychiatric | 8 | | Association's manual, DSM-5, is scheduled for publication in | 9 | | May of 2013, but proposed changes for this upcoming DSM are | 10 | | provoking intense criticism from a diverse range of mental | 11 | | health experts; therefore, be it
| 12 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 13 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 14 | | the Task Force on Mental Health Diagnosis within Illinois Law | 15 | | be created to: | 16 | | (1) thoroughly survey the Illinois Compiled Statutes and | 17 | | Administrative Code to identify all instances where our | 18 | | laws and government functions depend upon purported | 19 | | understanding of mental illness or disorder, mental | 20 | | capacity, mental health, behavior or psychology, which may | 21 | | have been recently discredited or found to be incorrect or | 22 | | seriously called into question; | 23 | | (2) forward initial recommendations of urgent legislative | 24 | | actions which may be needed to avoid gross injustice or |
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| 1 | | waste of public resources to the General Assembly as soon | 2 | | as possible; and | 3 | | (3) produce a final report summarizing the task force's | 4 | | findings and detailing recommended statutory or | 5 | | constitutional strategies to recognize best practices and | 6 | | highlight any areas of major disagreement within the | 7 | | profession; and be it further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That the task force shall consist of the | 9 | | following members: 5 task force members appointed by the | 10 | | Speaker of the House, 2 of whom are State representatives (one | 11 | | who will serve as co-chairperson), and 3 of whom are | 12 | | professionals in the mental health field;
5 task force members | 13 | | appointed by the minority leader of the House, 2 of whom are | 14 | | State representatives (one who will serve as co-chairperson), | 15 | | and 3 of whom are professionals
in the mental health field; one | 16 | | task force member appointed by the Governor under the Division | 17 | | of Mental Health under the Department of Human Services;
and | 18 | | one task force member appointed by the Attorney General as a | 19 | | representative of her office and trained in a related field; | 20 | | and be it further | 21 | | RESOLVED, That the task force be appointed and hold its | 22 | | first meeting by March 1, 2014; and be it further | 23 | | RESOLVED, That in appointing members of the task force, the |
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| 1 | | Speaker and minority leader shall consider that professional | 2 | | experience in diverse mental health-related fields may be a | 3 | | positive qualification; and be it further | 4 | | RESOLVED, That the task force shall take voluntary | 5 | | assistance and testimony from individuals and professional | 6 | | organizations and institutions; and be it further | 7 | | RESOLVED, That the members of the task force shall serve | 8 | | without compensation; and be it further | 9 | | RESOLVED, That the Department of Human Services shall | 10 | | provide staffing and administrative support services to the | 11 | | task force upon request; and be it further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That the task force shall submit its final report | 13 | | to the General Assembly, the Governor, and the Attorney General | 14 | | no later than December 31, 2014.
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