BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
AB 1847 (Chesbro)
As Amended June 4, 2014
Hearing Date: June 17, 2014
Fiscal: No
Urgency: No
TMW
SUBJECT
Mental Health Disorders: Language
DESCRIPTION
This bill would update numerous California Codes by removing
references to insane or mentally disordered or defective persons
and replacing those references with mental health disorder,
intellectual disability, or developmental disability.
BACKGROUND
Over the past several years, the Legislature has updated
California's Codes by removing offensive or stigmatizing
language referring to mental health disorders. AB 1640 (La
Malfa, Ch. 31, Stats. 2007) changed references to "idiot,"
"imbecility," and "lunatics" in various code sections to refer
instead to persons who are mentally incapacitated. AB 2370
(Mansoor, Ch. 448, Stats. 2012) and SB 1381 (Pavley, Ch. 457,
Stats. 2012) removed all references to "mental retardation" or
"mentally retarded person" and replaced them with "intellectual
disability" or "a person with an intellectual disability."
This bill would similarly remove references to "insane,"
"mentally disordered," and "mentally defective" persons and
replace those terms with "mental health disorder," "intellectual
disability," "developmental disability," or "persons who lack
legal capacity to make decisions," and make additional minor
technical revisions to those code sections. This bill would
also repeal the ability of the state to establish custody and
restraint of mentally ill persons, paupers, and minors and
remove outdated requirements for a state hospital to compile a
(more)
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roster of gravely disabled mentally ill patients and provide
those patients' names and records to conservatorship
investigation officers.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
1. Existing law refers to mentally disordered, mentally
defective persons, and insane persons throughout 14 different
California codes.
This bill would remove those references and replace them with
references to persons with a mental health disorder or persons
who lack legal capacity to make decisions.
This bill would also make technical revisions to those code
sections.
2. Existing law authorizes the state to establish custody and
restraint of:
mentally ill persons, insane persons, chronic
inebriates, and other persons of unsound mind;
paupers for the purposes of their maintenance; and
minors for the purposes of their education, reformation,
and maintenance. (Gov. Code Sec. 203.)
This bill would repeal that provision.
3. Existing law requires, on or before June 30, 1970, the
medical director of each state hospital for the mentally
disordered to compile a roster of those mentally disordered or
chronic alcoholic patients within the institution who are
gravely disabled. That roster must indicate the county from
which each such patient was admitted to the hospital or, if
the hospital records indicate that the county of residence of
the patient is a different county, the county of residence.
(Welf. & Inst. Code Sec. 5366.)
Existing law requires the officer providing conservatorship
investigation for each county to be given a copy of the names
and pertinent records of the patients from that county and to
investigate the need for conservatorship for those patients,
and each state hospital and State Department of State
Hospitals is required to make their records concerning those
patients available to the officer. After his or her
investigation and on or before July 1, 1972, the county
officer providing conservatorship investigation is required to
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file a petition of conservatorship for those patients that he
or she determines may need conservatorship. (Welf. & Inst.
Code Sec. 5366.)
Existing law provides that court commitments under the
provisions of law in effect prior to July 1, 1969, of those
patients for whom a petition of conservatorship is not filed
shall terminate and the patient shall be released unless he or
she agrees to accept treatment on a voluntary basis. (Welf. &
Inst. Code Sec. 5366.)
This bill would repeal those provisions.
COMMENT
1. Stated need for the bill
The author writes:
Some terminology still used today in California Law reflects
false beliefs about people with mental health life
experiences. These include: crazy, lunatic, insane,
feeble-minded, mentally defective, and abnormal.
This kind of terminology increases stigma by making
assumptions about the characteristics of people with
psychiatric disabilities. Some devalue them, distinguish them
as outsiders, perceive them as weak, or speak in terms that
focus on the person's disability, instead of the person. It
can also promote discrimination by promoting action based on
these preconceived notions. Statutes often reflect the times
in which they were created. As such, they do not always keep
up with anti-discrimination laws, new models of community
support services, and the terms that are used to describe
people with disabilities. It is important that the California
Code utilizes language that is respectful of persons with
disabilities.
AB 1847 would replace offensive and outdated terms concerning
people with mental health disabilities in California statutes.
California statutes should remove and replace stigmatizing
terms with contemporary terms that promote respect and dignity
of Californians with mental health disabilities.
2. Updating code references regarding mental health disorders,
intellectual disabilities, and developmental disabilities
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This bill would remove references to "insane," "mentally
disordered," and "mentally defective" persons and, instead,
refer to persons with a mental health disorder, intellectual
disability, developmental disability, or persons who lack legal
capacity to make decisions. As noted by Disability Rights
California, sponsor, terms like "lunatic, insane, feeble-minded,
mentally defective, and abnormal [increase] stigma by making
assumptions about the characteristics of people with psychiatric
disabilities. Some devalue them, distinguish them as outsiders,
perceive them as weak, or speak in terms that focus on the
person's disability, instead of the person. It can also promote
discrimination by promoting action based on these preconceived
notions."
The revisions made by this bill update California Codes to
properly reflect current terminology for individuals with mental
health issues. These changes continue the Legislature's efforts
to protect these individuals from discrimination and
stigmatization.
3. Repealing unused and outdated code sections
This bill would repeal the ability of the state to establish
custody and restraint of mentally ill and insane persons,
chronic inebriates, and other persons of unsound mind, paupers
(for the purposes of their maintenance), and minors (for the
purposes of their education, reformation, and maintenance).
Disability Rights California, sponsor, argues that this section
should be repealed because it is no longer used and is outdated.
Indeed, that section, enacted by SB 958 (Fletcher and Burns,
Ch. 134, Stats. 1943), refers to the rights of the state over
the persons in California. Since 1943, California law has
developed to instead require voluntary surrender for treatment,
a judicial conservatorship establishing the incapacity of the
adult, or an application for treatment by the parent or guardian
of a minor. These changes in state law reflect the due process
rights of all California citizens, including those who were
previously treated as not having these rights because of a
mental illness, deficiency, or incapacity. California's
criminal laws also authorize the state to establish custody and
restraint of persons intoxicated in violation of the law or
suspected to be a danger to themselves or others. Accordingly,
the repeal of the state's right to establish custody and
restraint of mentally ill, insane, inebriated, poor, and young
people would better reflect the state's protection of the rights
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of these California citizens.
This bill would also repeal outdated requirements for a state
hospital to compile a roster of gravely disabled mentally ill
patients and give patient names and records to a conservatorship
investigation officer. Additionally, this bill would remove the
reference for a patient to be released from involuntary
commitment. Since these provisions were all required to be
completed prior to 1972, these provisions are outdated and
therefore unnecessary.
4. "All-purpose" yielding clause avoids double jointing
problems
Proposed Section 135 on page 116 of this bill provides that any
other bill enacted by the Legislature during the 2014 calendar
year that takes effect on or before January 1, 2015, and that
amends, amends and renumbers, adds, repeals and adds, or repeals
a section that is amended, amended and renumbered, added,
repealed and added, or repealed by this act, shall prevail over
the provisions of this bill. This "all-purpose" yielding clause
avoids any double jointing problems that might otherwise occur.
Support : California Council of Community Mental Health
Agencies; California Psychological Association; National
Alliance on Mental Illness; National Association of Social
Workers - California Chapter
Opposition : None Known
HISTORY
Source : Disability Rights California
Related Pending Legislation : None Known
Prior Legislation :
SB 1381 (Pavley, Ch. 457, Stats. 2012) See Background.
AB 2370 (Mansoor, Ch. 448, Stats. 2012) See Background.
AB 1640 (La Malfa, Ch. 31, Stats. 2007) See Background.
SB 958 (Fletcher and Burns, Ch. 134, Stats. 1943) See Comment 2.
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Prior Vote :
Assembly Floor (Ayes 76, Noes 0)
Assembly Committee on Judiciary (Ayes 10, Noes 0)
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