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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Mental illness is a critical underlying concept in | ||||||
3 | various areas of our law affecting mitigation of criminal | ||||||
4 | responsibility and fundamental rights to property, individual | ||||||
5 | liberty, and personal privacy; and
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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
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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
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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
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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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