Amended in Assembly April 10, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 1, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1340


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 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 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,begin insert the patient is found guilty of a misdemeanor or a felony assault,end insert 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 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:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

This act may be known and cited as the State
2Hospital Employees Act.

3

SEC. 2.  

Section 4142 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
4Code
, to read:

5

4142.  

Commencing July 1, 2015, each state hospital shall
6establish and maintain an enhanced treatment unit as part of its
7facilities for the placement of patients described in Section 4143.
8The hospital administrator of each state hospital shall establish
9procedures to provide an increased level of security for the
10enhanced treatment unit.

11

SEC. 3.  

Section 4143 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
12Code
, to read:

13

4143.  

(a) Any case of assault by a patient of a state hospital
14that causes injury to or illness of, or has the potential to cause
15future illness of, a state hospital employee or another patient of
16the state hospitalbegin insert rising to the level of a misdemeanor or felonyend insert
17 shall be immediately referred to the local district attorney.

18(b) If, after referral to the local district attorney,begin insert the patient is
19found guilty of misdemeanor or felony assault,end insert
the local district
20attorney declines prosecution,begin delete orend delete the patient is found to be
21incompetent to stand trial, or the patient is found not guilty by
22reason of insanity, the patient shall be placed in the enhanced
23treatment unit of the state hospital untilbegin delete such time asend delete thebegin delete individualend delete
24begin insert patient end insert is deemed safe to return to the regular population of the
25hospital.

26(c) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2015.



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