AB 1340, as introduced, Achadjian. State Hospital Employees Act.
Existing law provides for state hospitals for the care, treatment, and education of mentally disordered persons. These hospitals are under the jurisdiction of the State Department of State Hospitals, which is authorized by existing law to adopt regulations regarding the conduct and management of these facilities. Existing law requires each state hospital to develop an incident reporting procedure that can be used to, at a minimum, develop reports of patient assaults on employees and assist the hospital in identifying risks of patient assaults on employees.
This bill would require state hospitals to establish and maintain an enhanced treatment unit as part of its facilities. The bill would also require any case of assault by a patient of a state hospital, as specified, to be immediately referred to the local district attorney, and if after the referral, the local district attorney declines to prosecute, or the patient is found incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of insanity, the patient is required to be placed in the enhanced treatment unit of the hospital until the patient is deemed safe to return to the regular population of the hospital.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
This act may be known and cited as the State
2Hospital Employees Act.
Section 4142 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
4Code, to read:
Each state hospital shall establish and maintain an
6enhanced treatment unit as part of its facilities for the placement
7of patients described in Section 4143. The hospital administrator
8of each state hospital shall establish procedures to provide an
9increased level of security for the enhanced treatment unit.
Section 4143 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
11Code, to read:
(a) Any case of assault by a patient of a state hospital
13that causes injury to or illness of, or has the potential to cause
14future illness of, a state hospital employee or another patient of
15the state hospital shall be immediately referred to the local district
16attorney.
17(b) If, after referral to the local district attorney, the local district
18attorney declines prosecution, or the patient is found to be
19incompetent to stand trial, or the patient is found not guilty by
20reason of insanity, the patient shall be placed in the enhanced
21treatment unit of the state hospital until such time as the individual
22is deemed safe to return to the regular population of the hospital.
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