BILL NUMBER: AB 1340	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 10, 2013
	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 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,
 the patient is found guilty of a misdemeanor or a felony
assault,  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:

  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.  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  rising to the level of a misdemeanor or
felony  shall be immediately referred to the local district
attorney.
   (b) If, after referral to the local district attorney,  the
patient is found guilty of misdemeanor or felony assault,  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 
patient  is deemed safe to return to the regular population of
the hospital.
   (c) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2015.