BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 796|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 796
Author: Blakeslee (R), et al
Amended: 6/15/11
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/3/11
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Calderon, Harman, Liu, Price,
Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 38-0, 5/31/11
AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Blakeslee, Calderon, Cannella,
Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Dutton, Evans,
Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Harman, Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe,
La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod,
Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Runner, Simitian,
Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Walters, Wolk, Wright,
Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Emmerson
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 7/14/11 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : State hospitals: prohibited items:
misdemeanor penalty
SOURCE : California Statewide Law Enforcement
Association
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DIGEST : This bill provides (1) except as specified, a
person who possesses with the intent to deliver, or
delivers, to a patient in a state hospital a wireless
communication device, tobacco products or currency, except
as authorized, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a
fine not to exceed $1,000 for each item; (2)
notwithstanding the above provisions, if a person visiting
a patient in a state hospital, upon being searched or
subjected to a metal detector, is found to be in possession
of any of these items, the item shall be subject to
confiscation but shall be returned on the same day the
person visits the patient, unless the item is held as
evidence in a case where the person is cited for smuggling
contraband, as specified; and (3) notice of this provision
shall be posted in all areas where visitors are searched
prior to visitation with a patient.
Assembly Amendments provide for the notice to be displayed
outside of the facility as well as inside.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires the state Department of
Mental Health (DMH) to administer several public mental
health programs and manage the care and treatment of
severely mentally ill patients at California's five state
mental hospitals: Atascadero, Metropolitan, Napa, Coalinga,
and Patton State Hospitals. (Welfare & Institutions Code
Sections 4011, 4100.)
Existing law provides that DMH has general control and
direction of the property and concerns of each state
hospital specified in Section 4100. DMH shall:
Establish such bylaws, rules, and regulations as it
deems necessary and expedient for regulating the
duties of officers and employees of the hospital, and
for its internal government, discipline, and
management.
Take care of the interests of the hospital, and see
that its purpose and its bylaws, rules, and
regulations are carried into effect, according to law.
(Welfare & Institutions Code Section 4109.)
Existing law provides that, under the
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Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, persons who, by reason of
mental disorders, are "dangerous to others or to themselves
or who are gravely disabled" may be involuntarily held for
72 hours, treated for 14 additional days, and 180 days
following a judicial hearing. (Welfare & Institutions
Code Section 5000 et seq.)
Existing law provides that a prisoner found to be a
mentally disordered offender can be required to receive
mental treatment as a condition of parole and may be
civilly confined after his or her parole expires. (Welfare
& Institutions Code Section 7227 and Penal Code Section
2960 et seq.)
Existing law allows prisoners found to be sexually violent
predators (SVPs) to be civilly confined based on a judicial
commitment. An "SVP" is defined as a person who has been
convicted of a sexually violent offense, as specified,
against two or more victims for whom he or she received a
determinate sentence. An SVP must have a diagnosable
mental disorder that makes the person a danger to the
health and safety of others in that it is likely that he or
she will engage in sexually violent criminal behavior.
(Welfare & Institutions Code Section 6600 to 6608.)
Existing law provides that, upon receiving a request from
the director of a state hospital listed in Section 4100,
the Director of Mental Health may prohibit the possession
or use of tobacco products on the grounds of the requesting
facility, as specified. (Welfare & Institutions Code
Section 4138.)
Existing law prohibits wireless communication devices, as
specified, within a State Hospital. (9 Cal. Code of
Regulations Section 4350.)
This bill provides that, except as specified, a person who
possesses with the intent to deliver, or delivers, to a
patient in a state hospital a wireless communication
device, tobacco products or currency, except as authorized,
is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to
exceed $1,000 for each item.
This bill provides that, if a person visiting a patient in
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a state hospital, upon being searched or subjected to a
metal detector, is found to be in possession of a wireless
communication device, tobacco products or currency, except
as authorized, the item shall be subject to confiscation
but shall be returned on the same day the person visits the
patient, unless the item is held as evidence in a case
where the person is cited for smuggling contraband, as
specified. If, upon investigation, it is determined that
no prosecution will take place, the item shall be returned
to the owner at the owner's expense.
Notice of this provision shall be posted in all areas where
visitors are searched prior to visitation with a patient,
and outside the facility in a location easily visible to
visitors so that they can leave prohibited items in their
car prior to entering the visitor area.
Prior/Related Legislation
SB 26 (Padilla) - pending in Senate Appropriations
Committee.
SB 525 (Padilla) - passed the Senate with a vote of 35-0 on
8/9/10, vetoed
SB 434 (Benoit) - 2009, died on suspense in Assembly
Appropriations
SB 1730 (Padilla) - 2008, died on suspense in Senate
Appropriations
AB 3010 (Blakeslee) - Chapter 505, Statutes 2008
SB 1267 (Leslie) - 2006, died on suspense in Senate
Appropriations
SB 1831 (Margett) - 2006, died in Senate Public Safety
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/19/11)
California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (source)
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
the State mental hospital population is now 92 percent
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forensic. This means that at least 92 percent of these
patients have spent time in prison or county jail, thus
many of the learned behaviors are making their way into the
hospital system. DMH hospitals are ill equipped to handle
this change in clientele and have made little progress in
creating an environment where staff can work safely and
less functioning patients can receive the treatment they
need.
Currently, many items on the contraband list are being
smuggled into the mental health hospitals that are being
used as currency by patients and can create a dangerous
situation for staff and patients alike. For example, a can
of rolling tobacco that costs approximately $12, can go for
as much as $300 if smuggled inside one of the facilities.
Many of the malingering patients have set up operations
where they are often preying on the less functioning
individuals by loaning cigarettes on the promise to pay at
a later date. When those less functioning patients cannot
come up with the currency, they are often threatened and
assaulted, sometimes violently.
Furthermore, cell phones have become a problem inside the
facilities. As more and more hospitals receive patients
from prisons, the amount of smuggled cell phones has
increased. SB 26 (Padilla) would create a misdemeanor when
a nonemployee intends to deliver to an inmate a cell phone.
If it is harder for inmates to receive cell phones in
prison, many of them have learned that it is relatively
easy to game the system by faking a mental condition that
would result in a transfer to a mental hospital where it is
easier to access contraband items due to less stringent
regulations and greater staffing shortages. This bill
differs from SB 26 by holding accountable staff, as well as
visitors, for violations of smuggling contraband into
hospitals.
This bill represents a common-sense solution to help curb
the stream of contraband into the already dangerous working
environment at the mental hospitals while providing less
functioning patients that desperately need treatment and
staff with a more secure setting to work and treat these
individuals.
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 7/14/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall,
Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,
Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V.
Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams,
Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Beth Gaines, Garrick, Gorell, Mitchell
RJG:do 7/20/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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