(a) Subject to reasonable rules regarding hours of visitation which the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services may adopt, patients in any treatment facility or hospital shall be granted opportunities for adequate consultation with counsel, and for continuing contact with family and friends consistent with an effective treatment program.

(b) Neither mail nor other communication to or from a patient in any treatment facility or hospital may be intercepted, read or censored. The commissioner may adopt reasonable rules regarding the use of telephones by patients in such facilities.

(P.A. 74-280, S. 17, 25; P.A. 75-528, S. 13, 15; 75-569, S. 10; P.A. 86-371, S. 9, 45; P.A. 90-209, S. 9; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; 93-435, S. 59, 95; P.A. 95-257, S. 5, 58.)

History: P.A. 75-528 substituted “licensed” facilities for “approved” facilities and included other medical facilities in Subsecs. (b) and (c); P.A. 75-569 deleted Subsec. (a) re records and information retained in cases where criminal charge not lodged and redesignated remaining Subsecs. accordingly; P.A. 86-371 substituted reference to the executive director for references to the commissioner; P.A. 90-209 substituted “treatment facility or hospital” for “licensed treatment facility or other medical facility”; Sec. 17-155aa transferred to Sec. 17a-629 in 1991; P.A. 93-381 and P.A. 93-435 replaced executive director with commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; Sec. 17a-629 transferred to Sec. 19a-126g in 1995; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, effective July 1, 1995; Sec. 19a-126g transferred to Sec. 17a-687 in 1997.