Improve Involuntary Commitment Process and Enhance Public Safety.

Added Section 4 requiring DHHS to evaluate and improve training for involuntary commitment examiners, with a specific focus on providers assessing individuals in county jails.

Removed all committee substitute dates, edition numbers, and placeholder text (e.g., 'Short Title', 'Sponsors', 'Referred to') to finalize the bill as a Ratified Bill.

Adjusted the document header to reflect the final 'Ratified' status instead of 'Fifth Edition Engrossed' and removed specific committee adoption dates.

The bill version number was updated from Edition 4 to Edition 5, and committee adoption dates were added to the header.

The text 'Inc.' was added to the definition of the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association in Section 2(a).

A line break was adjusted in the list of community-based services to separate the mention of FACT teams from the description of their purpose.

The deadline for the final study report was changed from February 1, 2027, to March 1, 2027, and a new progress report deadline of December 1, 2026, was added.

The study was reassigned from the DHHS, DIT, and AOC to the 'North Carolina Collaboratory,' and the requirement to collaborate with UNC School of Government was updated to develop 'proposed' workflows instead of finalized ones.

The telehealth pilot program in jails was changed from requiring a full implementation plan with funding details to requiring only a proposal identifying participating jails and state funding needs.

The mobile crisis unit plan was expanded to require an analysis of necessary funding, including costs for training and technology.

The telehealth proposal submission deadline was moved from October 1, 2026, to March 1, 2027, and the receiving committees were changed from Health oversight to Justice and Public Safety oversight.

The bill title was updated to explicitly include 'to implement an inpatient capacity restoration program.'

Added a mandate for the Department of Health and Human Services to collaborate with the University of North Carolina School of Government to create clinical workflows, transport guidance, and bench cards to ensure successful referrals across all agencies.

Updated the document header to reflect Edition 3 and added the Senate Health Care Committee adoption date of 6/17/26.

Minor formatting adjustments were made to the line numbering and spacing throughout the document.

The bill title and short title were updated to explicitly state the goal of improving the involuntary commitment process and increasing public safety.

The list of required study items was reorganized and expanded to include specific details on data sharing, public dashboards, and law enforcement access to court records.

A new requirement was added directing DHHS and the Sheriffs' Association to create a plan for using telehealth to conduct first involuntary commitment examinations in county jails.

A new requirement was added directing Local Management Entities and DHHS to create a plan for using mobile crisis units to conduct first involuntary commitment examinations.

A specific deadline of October 1, 2026, was added for submitting the telehealth plan report.

Added a mandate for the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Information Technology, and the Administrative Office of the Courts to conduct a study on involuntary commitment improvements.

Required the study to evaluate legal frameworks, train judges on community-based services, and update electronic forms for consistent data collection.

Set a specific deadline of February 1, 2027, for agencies to submit their study results to the Joint Legislative Committee on Health and Human Services.

Removed draft amendment markup, signatures, and specific line-by-line editing instructions that were present in the previous version.

The document format changed from a standard bill to an amendment sheet containing instructions for the clerk to rewrite specific lines in the original bill.

Amendment instructions require updating several legal citations and references to specific statutes regarding outpatient commitment and capacity restoration programs.

Amendment instructions require adding the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association as a required stakeholder for consultation in the study.