BILL NUMBER: AB 1340	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 1, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Achadjian

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2013

   An act to add Sections 4142 and 4143 to the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to mental health.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1340, as amended, Achadjian. State Hospital Employees Act.
   Existing law  provides for   establishes
 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  each  state  hospitals
  hospital, beginning July 1, 2015,  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
 bill would require 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:

  SECTION 1.  This act may be known and cited as the State Hospital
Employees Act.
  SEC. 2.  Section 4142 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
   4142.   Each   Commencing   July 1,
2015, each  state hospital shall establish and maintain an
enhanced treatment unit as part of its facilities for the placement
of patients described in Section 4143. The hospital administrator of
each state hospital shall establish procedures to provide an
increased level of security for the enhanced treatment unit.
  SEC. 3.  Section 4143 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
   4143.  (a) Any case of assault by a patient of a state hospital
that causes injury to or illness of, or has the potential to cause
future illness of, a state hospital employee or another patient of
the state hospital shall be immediately referred to the local
district attorney.
   (b) If, after referral to the local district attorney, the local
district attorney declines prosecution, or the patient is found to be
incompetent to stand trial, or the patient is found not guilty by
reason of insanity, the patient shall be placed in the enhanced
treatment unit of the state hospital until such time as the
individual is deemed safe to return to the regular population of the
hospital. 
   (c) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2015.