BATON ROUGE, La. -- A package of bills sought by Gov. Bobby Jindal as a way to bolster Louisiana's mental health services and prompted by the strain on services in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina has received near-unanimous support from lawmakers.

The state estimates that about 30,000 adults and children statewide need some sort of mental health crisis services annually. Louisiana has been criticized as short of services, but the situation worsened after Katrina. Many services in the New Orleans area were shuttered by the storm's floodwaters while mental health needs are reportedly rising.

A plan to create regional crisis centers to treat the mentally ill, with a pilot program to begin in New Orleans, won House approval on Tuesday. Supporters said the centers would relieve hospital emergency rooms of caring for mental health patients and give police officers a place to bring people with mental health needs.

Already approved by the Senate, the bill by Sen. David Heitmeier, D-New Orleans, goes back to the Senate for approval of minor changes before heading to Jindal's desk.

A second measure, by Sen. Cheryl Gray, D-New Orleans, that would allow for mandatory involuntary outpatient treatment for mentally ill patients -- if a judge finds certain conditions apply -- received final passage with a vote of the Senate on Tuesday. It goes next to Jindal.

The bill, called "Nicola's Law," was motivated by the January killing of New Orleans police officer Nicola Cotton after she approached a mentally ill man who often refused to take his medication. It is modeled after a similar law in New York.

Before a judge can order a patient into mandatory outpatient treatment, patients must be at least 18 years old, deemed unlikely to voluntarily participate in a treatment program, considered unlikely to survive safely without supervision, and have either a history of violence or two instances within the past three years where a lack of compliance with mental health treatment led to hospitalization.

"This bill, combined with other legislation, takes an important step toward protecting the safety and welfare of both Louisiana communities and our citizens with mental health care needs," said state Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine.

Sent to Jindal last week for his signature was a third mental health bill sought by the governor that would allow psychiatrists to examine patients and recommend commitment using video conferencing technology.

The "telemedicine" measure by Rep. John LaBruzzo, R-Metairie, provides that while the psychiatrist may do the exam by video conference, a licensed health care professional must be in the room with the person being examined.