BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 602 (Yamada) - Residents of state hospitals and developmental
centers: peace officer training and mandated reporters.
Amended: August 12, 2013 Policy Vote: PS 6-0, HS 6-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: August 12, 2013
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 602 would require the Commission on Peace
Officer Standards and Training (POST) to, by July 1, 2015,
establish and maintain an updated training course relating to
law enforcement interaction with mentally disabled and
developmentally disabled residents of state mental hospitals and
developmental centers, as specified. In addition, this bill:
Provides that the course shall be required for law enforcement
personnel serving in law enforcement agencies with
jurisdiction over state mental hospitals and state
developmental centers as part of the agency's officer training
program.
Requires mandated reporters to report specified forms of
serious abuse or neglect in state mental hospitals or
developmental centers to both local law enforcement and state
investigators within two hours.
For reports of serious abuse or neglect, requires local law
enforcement agencies to coordinate efforts with the designated
investigators of the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) or
the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to provide the
most immediate and appropriate response warranted to
investigate the mandated report. The designated investigators
of the DSH or the DDS and local law enforcement agencies may
collaborate to develop protocols to implement this section.
Fiscal Impact:
One-time costs of $125,000 and ongoing minor costs of less
than $25,000 (Special Fund*) for POST to develop and
maintain the training course. The provisions of the bill
authorize video-based instruction, which POST has indicated
it intends to utilize.
Ongoing state-reimbursable costs potentially in the
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hundreds of thousands of dollars (General Fund) for mandated
training of local law enforcement officers serving in
agencies with geographic jurisdiction over state mental
hospitals and developmental centers.
One-time costs in the range of $62,000 to $125,000 (General
Fund) for 700 DSH officers to complete the training course.
This estimate assumes a two- to four-hour video-based
training course developed by POST. Estimated costs of
$45,000 to $90,000 (General Fund) for 500 DDS officers to
complete the same training course.
One-time minor costs (General Fund) for the DSH and DDS to
develop instructions to implement the revised reporting
requirements.
Ongoing potentially significant state-reimbursable costs
potentially in excess of $150,000 (General Fund) statewide,
for local law enforcement to coordinate efforts with
designated investigators of DSH and DDS.
Ongoing costs to the Judicial Branch, potentially in the
range of $25,000 to $50,000 (General Fund**) for additional
misdemeanor and felony court filings.
Non-reimbursable local enforcement costs offset to a degree
by fine revenue to the extent the provisions of this bill
result in additional violations of the misdemeanor offense
of failure to report
Potential ongoing increased local and state incarceration
costs in excess of $100,000 statewide to the extent the
provisions of this bill result in a significant increase in
reports to law enforcement and subsequent prosecutions.
*Peace Officers Training Fund
**Trial Court Trust Fund
Background: Under existing law, the DDS is responsible for
operating state-owned developmental centers (DCs) which house
and care for individuals with significant developmental
disabilities. DCs are staffed with nurses, psychiatric
technicians, and other health care professionals who support the
ongoing health and safety of the residents who live there.
Current law provides that a DC shall immediately report all
deaths and serious injuries of unknown origin to the appropriate
local law enforcement agency, which may, at its discretion,
conduct an independent investigation (regardless of whether the
Office of Protective Services (OPS) has investigated the
incident). These reporting requirements are in addition to the
reporting requirements of mandated reporters.
AB 602 (Yamada)
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On July 9, 2013, the Bureau of State Audits (BSA) released its
report on resident safety at the DDS DCs, highlighting that DDS
health care staff do not always provide timely notification of
incidents to its OPS, and that OPS did not routinely follow its
investigation procedures of alleged resident abuse. OPS law
enforcement officers are on-site at each DC, and in addition to
general patrol and traffic enforcement duties, respond to
alleged abuse of residents.
The Department of State Hospitals (DSH) operates five state
hospitals (Metropolitan, Patton, Napa, Atascadero, and Coalinga)
and three psychiatric programs statewide, providing in-patient
mental health treatment services to over 6,500 patients
annually. A federal Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons
Act (CRIPA) investigation and correction plan has been underway
at the state hospitals since 2006 due to reports of patient
abuse and neglect.
Existing law under the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil
Protection Act establishes procedures for the reporting,
investigation, and prosecution of elder and dependent adult
abuse. The act requires mandated reporters to report known or
suspected instances of elder or dependent adult abuse or neglect
that has occurred in a state DC or state mental health hospital
to either the designated investigators of the DSH or DDS or to
the local law enforcement agency. Failure to report physical
abuse or neglect or financial abuse of an elder or dependent
adult under the act, with specified exceptions, is a
misdemeanor.
In response to several incidents at DSH and DDS facilities,
proposals have been made to remove law enforcement officers
entirely from DDS and DSH facilities and instead rely on local
law enforcement agencies to conduct investigations. This bill
specifies reporting requirements for mandated reporters in DCs
and state hospitals intended to mirror those enacted under AB 40
(Yamada) Chapter 659/2012 that directed the actions of mandated
reporters in long-term care facilities to require that reporting
be done in specified cases "immediately, and no later than
within two hours."
Proposed Law: This bill would require the POST to, by July 1,
2015, establish and maintain an updated training course relating
AB 602 (Yamada)
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to law enforcement interaction with mentally disabled and
developmentally disabled residents of state mental hospitals and
developmental centers, as specified. In addition, this bill:
Provides that the course shall be required for law enforcement
personnel serving in law enforcement agencies with
jurisdiction over state mental hospitals and state
developmental centers as part of the agency's officer training
program.
Requires mandated reporters to report specified forms of
serious abuse or neglect in state mental hospitals or
developmental centers to both local law enforcement and state
investigators within two hours.
For reports of serious abuse or neglect, requires local law
enforcement agency to coordinate efforts with the designated
investigators of the DSH or the DDS to provide the most
immediate and appropriate response warranted to investigate
the mandated report. The designated investigators of the DSH
or the DDS and local law enforcement agencies may collaborate
to develop protocols to implement this clause.
Prior Legislation: SB 1051 (Liu) Chapter 660/2012 required
mandated reporters in the DDS to immediately report suspected
abuse to the Office of Protective Services or to the local law
enforcement agency.
SB 1522 (Leno) Chapter 666/2012 required a state developmental
center to report to local law enforcement all deaths, sexual
assaults with a deadly weapon or force likely to produce great
bodily injury, and other specified incidents.
AB 40 (Yamada) Chapter 659/2012 required mandated reporters of
elder or dependent adult abuse to report suspected or known
instances of physical abuse occurring in long-term care
facilities to both the long-term care ombudsman and local law
enforcement.
Staff Comments: The Commission on POST has indicated one-time
costs of $125,000 to develop the training course, and minor
ongoing costs to maintain the training course. The provisions of
the bill authorize video-based instruction, which POST has
indicated it intends to utilize.
By requiring the training course for law enforcement personnel
serving in law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction over state
AB 602 (Yamada)
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mental hospitals and state DCs as part of the agency's officer
training program, this bill could result in unknown but
potentially significant state-reimbursable costs in the hundreds
of thousands of dollars (General Fund) for mandated training of
the specified local law enforcement officers. Specific examples
of local costs for law enforcement training requirements that
the Commission on State Mandates has historically determined to
be state-reimbursable include sexual harassment ($2.5 million),
racial profiling ($9.2 million), and elder abuse ($1.6 million).
Assuming approximately 2,000 law enforcement officers would be
impacted by the training requirements of this bill, costs are
estimated to be in the range of $180,000 to $350,000 (General
Fund).
The DSH has estimated one-time costs in the range of $62,000 to
$125,000 (General Fund) for 700 DSH officers to complete the
training course. This estimate assumes overtime pay for officers
to complete a two- to four-hour video-based training course
developed by POST. The estimated cost for 500 DDS law
enforcement officers to complete the same video-based training
course is $40,000 to $90,000 (General Fund).
Both the DSH and DDS have indicates one-time minor costs
(General Fund) to develop instructions to implement the revised
reporting requirements for mandated reporters.
By mandating that local law enforcement, upon initial receipt
within two hours of an incident, coordinate efforts with the
designated investigators of the DSH or DDS to provide the most
immediate and appropriate response warranted, the provisions of
this bill could result in unknown, but potentially significant
state-reimbursable costs. Staff notes that existing statute
related to local law enforcement coordination with local
ombudsmen in response to incidents in long-term care facilities
is authorized but not mandated.
To the extent the provisions of this bill result in additional
violations of the misdemeanor offense of failure of a mandated
reporter to report, this bill could result in additional
non-reimbursable local enforcement costs offset to a degree by
fine revenue. In addition, ongoing costs to the Judicial Branch
in the range of $25,000 to $50,000 for additional court filings
could be incurred.
Because the provisions of this bill will likely increase the
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number of reports to local law enforcement, there will be
increased non-reimbursable costs for enforcement and
investigation. To the extent the provisions of this bill result
in additional criminal prosecutions could result in increased
state and local incarceration costs of an unknown amount, but
potentially in excess of $100,000 annually.