BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 585
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 585 (Steinberg and Correa)
As Amended May 13, 2013
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :36-0
HEALTH 15-3 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Pan, Logue, Atkins, |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, |
| |Rendon, Bonta, Gomez, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Roger Hernández, | |Calderon, Campos, |
| |Lowenthal, Maienschein, | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| |Mansoor, Mitchell, | |Hall, Holden, Linder, |
| |Nazarian, V. Manuel | |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber |
| |Pérez, Wagner, Wilk | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Ammiano, Chesbro, | | |
| |Wieckowski | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Clarifies that Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) funds
and various County Realignment accounts may be used to provide
mental health services under the Assisted Outpatient Treatment
(AOT) Demonstration Project Act of 2002, or Laura's Law, and
allows counties to opt to implement Laura's Law through the
county budget process. Specifically, this bill :
1)Allows counties to implement Laura's Law through the county
budget process, rather than a resolution of the board of
supervisors.
2)Clarifies that counties that elect to implement Laura's Law
are authorized to pay for the provision of AOT services using
funds distributed to the counties from the Mental Health
Subaccount, the Mental Health Equity Subaccount, and the
Vehicle License Collection Account of the Local Revenue Fund,
funds from the Mental Health Account and the Behavioral Health
Subaccount within the Support Services Account of the Local
Revenue Fund 2011, funds from the Mental Health Services Fund,
as specified, and any other funds from which the Controller
makes distributions to the counties for those purposes.
SB 585
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FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill has a negligible state fiscal effect. This
bill makes an appropriation by authorizing a previously
unspecified use for continuously appropriated MHSA funds.
However, this bill does not result in any increased funding or
costs.
COMMENTS : Approved by voters through Proposition 63 of 2004,
MHSA provides over $1 billion annually for local mental health
services. As a funding source for mental health programs, MHSA
imposes a 1% income tax on personal income in excess of $1
million to expand mental health services for individuals with
severe mental health disorders. Under MHSA, counties that
receive funds must have a three-year plan developed with
significant local stakeholder input and involvement.
In 2002, the Legislature passed AB 1421 (Thomson), Chapter 1017,
Statutes of 2002, also known as Laura's Law, in memory of Laura
Wilcox, a 19-year-old college student who was killed by a
severely mentally ill man who was not adhering to prescribed
mental health treatment. Laura's Law gives counties the option
to implement involuntary AOT programs for individuals who have
difficulty maintaining their mental health stability in the
community and have frequent hospitalizations and contact with
law enforcement related to untreated or undertreated mental
illness. Laura's Law requires a county board of supervisors to
authorize implementation by resolution and to make a finding
that access to voluntary mental health programs would not be
reduced as a result of implementation.
In 2008, the Board of Supervisors of Nevada County passed a
resolution implementing AOT. In a 2011 report, the state
Department of Mental Health found that Nevada County's AOT
program had served a total of four court-ordered individuals
over two years, with two individuals served each year. The
report indicated that the program had succeeded primarily in
assisting clients to significantly reduce hospitalization days,
with total hospitalization days for all participants decreased
from 239 to 97, a 59% reduction. The report noted that, as of
2011, Nevada County's AOT was the only county in the state that
had fully implemented Laura's Law.
MHSA emphasizes the philosophy, principles, and practices of
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recovery for mental health clients, including personal
empowerment, self-responsibility, and self-determination.
Despite the Department of Mental Health's 2007 approval of the
use of MHSA funds to provide services under Laura's Law, the
author notes that there has historically been some confusion
about whether the involuntary nature of AOT under Laura's Law is
incompatible with the guiding principles of MHSA. The author
argues that this bill will serve to mitigate these
misconceptions and that support for Laura's Law through MHSA
funding, in fact, ensures that the full continuum of needs for
mental health client recovery and wellness is supported. In
addition, the author argues that, by allowing counties to
implement Laura's Law through their county budget process, this
bill provides flexibility without taking away the requirement
that voluntary services be maintained.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness, California and the
California Mental Health Directors Association support the
clarification of fund sources available to implement Laura's
Law, but request that the bill be amended to delete the
provision allowing implementation through the county budget
process. Both groups are concerned that authorization through
the budget process will reduce transparency and community
involvement in the decision to implement Laura's Law.
The California Psychological Association opposes the expansion
of Laura's Law as well as the county budget provision. The
Citizens Commission on Human Rights, which opposes drug-based
treatments for mental health disorders broadly, opposes this
bill, citing their belief that it will result in human rights
abuses.
Analysis Prepared by : Ben Russell / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097
FN: 0001692