TRANSFER OF COURT-COMMITTED RESIDENT.

(a) The director may transfer a resident committed to a residential care facility under Subchapter C, Chapter 593, to a state mental hospital for mental health care if:

(1) an examination of the resident by a licensed physician indicates symptoms of mental illness to the extent that care, treatment, and rehabilitation in a state mental hospital is in the best interest of the resident;

(2) the hospital administrator of the state mental hospital to which the resident is to be transferred agrees to the transfer; and

(3) the director coordinates the transfer with the hospital administrator of the state mental hospital.

(b) A resident transferred from a residential care facility to a state mental hospital may not remain in the hospital for longer than 30 consecutive days unless the transfer is authorized by a court order under this subchapter.