BILL NUMBER: AB 1193 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Eggman
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to amend Sections 5346, 5348, 5349, 5349.1, and 5349.5 of
the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to mental health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1193, as introduced, Eggman. Mental health services: assisted
outpatient treatment.
Existing law, the Assisted Outpatient Treatment Demonstration
Project Act of 2002, known as Laura's Law, until January 1, 2017,
authorizes each county to elect to offer certain assisted outpatient
treatment services for their residents. Existing law authorizes
participating counties to pay for the services provided from moneys
distributed to the counties from various continuously appropriated
funds, including the Mental Health Services Fund when included in a
county plan, as specified.
This bill would delete the provisions that authorize a county to
elect to participate in the program, and instead would require each
county to implement the provisions of Laura's Law unless the county
elects not to participate in the program by enacting a resolution
passed by the county board of supervisors. The bill would extend the
January 1, 2017, repeal date of those provisions until January 1,
2022.
Existing law authorizes various persons to request the county
mental health director to file a petition in the superior court for
an order for assisted outpatient treatment for a person who meets
specified criteria. Existing law requires the county mental health
director to investigate the appropriateness of filing a petition.
This bill would additionally authorize a judge in a superior court
to request a petition for that order to be filed for a person who
appears before the judge. By imposing additional duties on county
mental health directors, this bill would impose a state-mandated
local program. The bill would make additional conforming changes.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 5346 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
5346. (a) In any county in which services are available as
provided in Section 5348, a court may order a person who is the
subject of a petition filed pursuant to this section to obtain
assisted outpatient treatment if the court finds, by clear and
convincing evidence, that the facts stated in the verified petition
filed in accordance with this section are true and establish that all
of the requisite criteria set forth in this section are met,
including, but not limited to, each of the following:
(1) The person is 18 years of age or older.
(2) The person is suffering from a mental illness as defined in
paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 5600.3.
(3) There has been a clinical determination that the person is
unlikely to survive safely in the community without supervision.
(4) The person has a history of lack of compliance with treatment
for his or her mental illness, in that at least one of the following
is true:
(A) The person's mental illness has, at least twice within the
last 36 months, been a substantial factor in necessitating
hospitalization, or receipt of services in a forensic or other mental
health unit of a state correctional facility or local correctional
facility, not including any period during which the person was
hospitalized or incarcerated immediately preceding the filing of the
petition.
(B) The person's mental illness has resulted in one or more acts
of serious and violent behavior toward himself or herself or another,
or threats, or attempts to cause serious physical harm to himself or
herself or another within the last 48 months, not including any
period in which the person was hospitalized or incarcerated
immediately preceding the filing of the petition.
(5) The person has been offered an opportunity to participate in a
treatment plan by the director of the local mental health
department, or his or her designee, provided the treatment plan
includes all of the services described in Section 5348, and the
person continues to fail to engage in treatment.
(6) The person's condition is substantially deteriorating.
(7) Participation in the assisted outpatient treatment program
would be the least restrictive placement necessary to ensure the
person's recovery and stability.
(8) In view of the person's treatment history and current
behavior, the person is in need of assisted outpatient treatment in
order to prevent a relapse or deterioration that would be likely to
result in grave disability or serious harm to himself or herself, or
to others, as defined in Section 5150.
(9) It is likely that the person will benefit from assisted
outpatient treatment.
(b) (1) A petition for an order authorizing assisted outpatient
treatment may be filed by the county mental health director, or his
or her designee, in the superior court in the county in which the
person who is the subject of the petition is present or reasonably
believed to be present.
(2) A request may be made only by any of the following persons to
the county mental health department for the filing of a petition to
obtain an order authorizing assisted outpatient treatment:
(A) Any person 18 years of age or older with whom the person who
is the subject of the petition resides.
(B) Any person who is the parent, spouse, or sibling or child 18
years of age or older of the person who is the subject of the
petition.
(C) The director of any public or private agency, treatment
facility, charitable organization, or licensed residential care
facility providing mental health services to the person who is the
subject of the petition in whose institution the subject of the
petition resides.
(D) The director of a hospital in which the person who is the
subject of the petition is hospitalized.
(E) A licensed mental health treatment provider who is either
supervising the treatment of, or treating for a mental illness, the
person who is the subject of the petition.
(F) A peace officer, parole officer, or probation officer assigned
to supervise the person who is the subject of the petition.
(G) A judge of a superior court before whom the person who is the
subject of the petition appears.
(3) Upon receiving a request pursuant to paragraph (2), the county
mental health director shall conduct an investigation into the
appropriateness of the filing of
the petition. The director shall file the petition only if
he or she determines that there is a reasonable likelihood that all
the necessary elements to sustain the petition can be proven in a
court of law by clear and convincing evidence.
(4) The petition shall state all of the following:
(A) Each of the criteria for assisted outpatient treatment as set
forth in subdivision (a).
(B) Facts that support the petitioner's belief that the person who
is the subject of the petition meets each criterion, provided that
the hearing on the petition shall be limited to the stated facts in
the verified petition, and the petition contains all the grounds on
which the petition is based, in order to ensure adequate notice to
the person who is the subject of the petition and his or her counsel.
(C) That the person who is the subject of the petition is present,
or is reasonably believed to be present, within the county where the
petition is filed.
(D) That the person who is the subject of the petition has the
right to be represented by counsel in all stages of the proceeding
under the petition, in accordance with subdivision (c).
(5) The petition shall be accompanied by an affidavit of a
licensed mental health treatment provider designated by the local
mental health director who shall state, if applicable, either of the
following:
(A) That the licensed mental health treatment provider has
personally examined the person who is the subject of the petition no
more than 10 days prior to the submission of the petition, the facts
and reasons why the person who is the subject of the petition meets
the criteria in subdivision (a), that the licensed mental health
treatment provider recommends assisted outpatient treatment for the
person who is the subject of the petition, and that the licensed
mental health treatment provider is willing and able to testify at
the hearing on the petition.
(B) That no more than 10 days prior to the filing of the petition,
the licensed mental health treatment provider, or his or her
designee, has made appropriate attempts to elicit the cooperation of
the person who is the subject of the petition, but has not been
successful in persuading that person to submit to an examination,
that the licensed mental health treatment provider has reason to
believe that the person who is the subject of the petition meets the
criteria for assisted outpatient treatment, and that the licensed
mental health treatment provider is willing and able to examine the
person who is the subject of the petition and testify at the hearing
on the petition.
(c) The person who is the subject of the petition shall have the
right to be represented by counsel at all stages of a proceeding
commenced under this section. If the person so elects, the court
shall immediately appoint the public defender or other attorney to
assist the person in all stages of the proceedings. The person shall
pay the cost of the legal services if he or she is able.
(d) (1) Upon receipt by the court of a petition submitted pursuant
to subdivision (b), the court shall fix the date for a hearing at a
time not later than five days from the date the petition is received
by the court, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. The
petitioner shall promptly cause service of a copy of the petition,
together with written notice of the hearing date, to be made
personally on the person who is the subject of the petition, and
shall send a copy of the petition and notice to the county office of
patient rights, and to the current health care provider appointed for
the person who is the subject of the petition, if any such
that provider is known to the petitioner.
Continuances shall be permitted only for good cause shown. In
granting continuances, the court shall consider the need for further
examination by a physician or the potential need to provide
expeditiously assisted outpatient treatment. Upon the hearing date,
or upon any other date or dates to which the proceeding may be
continued, the court shall hear testimony. If it is deemed advisable
by the court, and if the person who is the subject of the petition is
available and has received notice pursuant to this section, the
court may examine in or out of court the person who is the subject of
the petition who is alleged to be in need of assisted outpatient
treatment. If the person who is the subject of the petition does not
appear at the hearing, and appropriate attempts to elicit the
attendance of the person have failed, the court may conduct the
hearing in the person's absence. If the hearing is conducted without
the person present, the court shall set forth the factual basis for
conducting the hearing without the person's presence.
(2) The court shall not order assisted outpatient treatment unless
an examining licensed mental health treatment provider, who has
personally examined, and has reviewed the available treatment history
of, the person who is the subject of the petition within the time
period commencing 10 days before the filing of the petition,
testifies in person at the hearing.
(3) If the person who is the subject of the petition has refused
to be examined by a licensed mental health treatment provider, the
court may request that the person consent to an examination by a
licensed mental health treatment provider appointed by the court. If
the person who is the subject of the petition does not consent and
the court finds reasonable cause to believe that the allegations in
the petition are true, the court may order any person designated
under Section 5150 to take into custody the person who is the subject
of the petition and transport him or her, or cause him or her to be
transported, to a hospital for examination by a licensed mental
health treatment provider as soon as is practicable. Detention of the
person who is the subject of the petition under the order may not
exceed 72 hours. If the examination is performed by another licensed
mental health treatment provider, the examining licensed mental
health treatment provider may consult with the licensed mental health
treatment provider whose affirmation or affidavit accompanied the
petition regarding the issues of whether the allegations in the
petition are true and whether the person meets the criteria for
assisted outpatient treatment.
(4) The person who is the subject of the petition shall have all
of the following rights:
(A) To adequate notice of the hearings to the person who is the
subject of the petition, as well as to parties designated by the
person who is the subject of the petition.
(B) To receive a copy of the court-ordered evaluation.
(C) To counsel. If the person has not retained counsel, the court
shall appoint a public defender.
(D) To be informed of his or her right to judicial review by
habeas corpus.
(E) To be present at the hearing unless he or she waives the right
to be present.
(F) To present evidence.
(G) To call witnesses on his or her behalf.
(H) To cross-examine witnesses.
(I) To appeal decisions, and to be informed of his or her right to
appeal.
(5) (A) If after hearing all relevant evidence, the court finds
that the person who is the subject of the petition does not meet the
criteria for assisted outpatient treatment, the court shall dismiss
the petition.
(B) If after hearing all relevant evidence, the court finds that
the person who is the subject of the petition meets the criteria for
assisted outpatient treatment, and there is no appropriate and
feasible less restrictive alternative, the court may order the person
who is the subject of the petition to receive assisted outpatient
treatment for an initial period not to exceed six months. In
fashioning the order, the court shall specify that the proposed
treatment is the least restrictive treatment appropriate and feasible
for the person who is the subject of the petition. The order shall
state the categories of assisted outpatient treatment, as set forth
in Section 5348, that the person who is the subject of the petition
is to receive, and the court may not order treatment that has not
been recommended by the examining licensed mental health treatment
provider and included in the written treatment plan for assisted
outpatient treatment as required by subdivision (e). If the person
has executed an advance health care directive pursuant to Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 4650) of Part 1 of Division 4.7 of the
Probate Code, any directions included in the advance health care
directive shall be considered in formulating the written treatment
plan.
(6) If the person who is the subject of a petition for an order
for assisted outpatient treatment pursuant to subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (5) of subdivision (d) refuses to
participate in the assisted outpatient treatment program, the court
may order the person to meet with the assisted outpatient treatment
team designated by the director of the assisted outpatient treatment
program. The treatment team shall attempt to gain the person's
cooperation with treatment ordered by the court. The person may be
subject to a 72-hour hold pursuant to subdivision (f) only after the
treatment team has attempted to gain the person's cooperation with
treatment ordered by the court, and has been unable to do so.
(e) Assisted outpatient treatment shall not be ordered unless the
licensed mental health treatment provider recommending assisted
outpatient treatment to the court has submitted to the court a
written treatment plan that includes services as set forth in Section
5348, and the court finds, in consultation with the county mental
health director, or his or her designee, all of the following:
(1) That the services are available from the county, or a provider
approved by the county, for the duration of the court order.
(2) That the services have been offered to the person by the local
director of mental health, or his or her designee, and the person
has been given an opportunity to participate on a voluntary basis,
and the person has failed to engage in, or has refused, treatment.
(3) That all of the elements of the petition required by this
article have been met.
(4) That the treatment plan will be delivered to the county
director of mental health, or to his or her appropriate designee.
(f) If, in the clinical judgment of a licensed mental health
treatment provider, the person who is the subject of the petition has
failed or has refused to comply with the treatment ordered by the
court, and, in the clinical judgment of the licensed mental health
treatment provider, efforts were made to solicit compliance, and, in
the clinical judgment of the licensed mental health treatment
provider, the person may be in need of involuntary admission to a
hospital for evaluation, the provider may request that persons
designated under Section 5150 take into custody the person who is the
subject of the petition and transport him or her, or cause him or
her to be transported, to a hospital, to be held up to 72 hours for
examination by a licensed mental health treatment provider to
determine if the person is in need of treatment pursuant to Section
5150. Any continued involuntary retention in a hospital beyond the
initial 72-hour period shall be pursuant to Section 5150. If at any
time during the 72-hour period the person is determined not to meet
the criteria of Section 5150, and does not agree to stay in the
hospital as a voluntary patient, he or she shall be released and any
subsequent involuntary detention in a hospital shall be pursuant to
Section 5150. Failure to comply with an order of assisted outpatient
treatment alone may not be grounds for involuntary civil commitment
or a finding that the person who is the subject of the petition is in
contempt of court.
(g) If the director of the assisted outpatient treatment program
determines that the condition of the patient requires further
assisted outpatient treatment, the director shall apply to the court,
prior to the expiration of the period of the initial assisted
outpatient treatment order, for an order authorizing continued
assisted outpatient treatment for a period not to exceed 180 days
from the date of the order. The procedures for obtaining any
an order pursuant to this subdivision shall be
in accordance with subdivisions (a) to (f), inclusive. The period for
further involuntary outpatient treatment authorized by any
a subsequent order under this subdivision may
not exceed 180 days from the date of the order.
(h) At intervals of not less than 60 days during an assisted
outpatient treatment order, the director of the outpatient treatment
program shall file an affidavit with the court that ordered the
outpatient treatment affirming that the person who is the subject of
the order continues to meet the criteria for assisted outpatient
treatment. At these times, the person who is the subject of the order
shall have the right to a hearing on whether or not he or she still
meets the criteria for assisted outpatient treatment if he or she
disagrees with the director's affidavit. The burden of proof shall be
on the director.
(i) During each 60-day period specified in subdivision (h), if the
person who is the subject of the order believes that he or she is
being wrongfully retained in the assisted outpatient treatment
program against his or her wishes, he or she may file a petition for
a writ of habeas corpus, thus requiring the director of the assisted
outpatient treatment program to prove that the person who is the
subject of the order continues to meet the criteria for assisted
outpatient treatment.
(j) Any person ordered to undergo assisted outpatient treatment
pursuant to this article, who was not present at the hearing at which
the order was issued, may immediately petition the court for a writ
of habeas corpus. Treatment under the order for assisted outpatient
treatment may not commence until the resolution of that petition.
SEC. 2. Section 5348 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
5348. (a) For purposes of subdivision (e) of Section 5346, a
county that chooses to provide provides
assisted outpatient treatment services pursuant to this article
shall offer assisted outpatient treatment services including, but not
limited to, all of the following:
(1) Community-based, mobile, multidisciplinary, highly trained
mental health teams that use high staff-to-client ratios of no more
than 10 clients per team member for those subject to court-ordered
services pursuant to Section 5346.
(2) A service planning and delivery process that includes the
following:
(A) Determination of the numbers of persons to be served and the
programs and services that will be provided to meet their needs. The
local director of mental health shall consult with the sheriff, the
police chief, the probation officer, the mental health board,
contract agencies, and family, client, ethnic, and citizen
constituency groups as determined by the director.
(B) Plans for services, including outreach to families whose
severely mentally ill adult is living with them, design of mental
health services, coordination and access to medications, psychiatric
and psychological services, substance abuse services, supportive
housing or other housing assistance, vocational rehabilitation, and
veterans' services. Plans shall also contain evaluation strategies,
which shall consider cultural, linguistic, gender, age, and special
needs of minorities and those based on any characteristic listed or
defined in Section 11135 of the Government Code in the target
populations. Provision shall be made for staff with the cultural
background and linguistic skills necessary to remove barriers to
mental health services as a result of having limited-English-speaking
ability and cultural differences. Recipients of outreach services
may include families, the public, primary care physicians, and others
who are likely to come into contact with individuals who may be
suffering from an untreated severe mental illness who would be likely
to become homeless if the illness continued to be untreated for a
substantial period of time. Outreach to adults may include adults
voluntarily or involuntarily hospitalized as a result of a severe
mental illness.
(C) Provision for services to meet the needs of persons who are
physically disabled.
(D) Provision for services to meet the special needs of older
adults.
(E) Provision for family support and consultation services,
parenting support and consultation services, and peer support or
self-help group support, where appropriate.
(F) Provision for services to be client-directed and that employ
psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery principles.
(G) Provision for psychiatric and psychological services that are
integrated with other services and for psychiatric and psychological
collaboration in overall service planning.
(H) Provision for services specifically directed to seriously
mentally ill young adults 25 years of age or younger who are homeless
or at significant risk of becoming homeless. These provisions may
include continuation of services that still would be received through
other funds had eligibility not been terminated as a result of age.
(I) Services reflecting special needs of women from diverse
cultural backgrounds, including supportive housing that accepts
children, personal services coordinator therapeutic treatment, and
substance treatment programs that address gender-specific trauma and
abuse in the lives of persons with mental illness, and vocational
rehabilitation programs that offer job training programs free of
gender bias and sensitive to the needs of women.
(J) Provision for housing for clients that is immediate,
transitional, permanent, or all of these.
(K) Provision for clients who have been suffering from an
untreated severe mental illness for less than one year, and who do
not require the full range of services, but are at risk of becoming
homeless unless a comprehensive individual and family support
services plan is implemented. These clients shall be served in a
manner that is designed to meet their needs.
(3) Each client shall have a clearly designated mental health
personal services coordinator who may be part of a multidisciplinary
treatment team who is responsible for providing or assuring needed
services. Responsibilities include complete assessment of the client'
s needs, development of the client's personal services plan, linkage
with all appropriate community services, monitoring of the quality
and follow through of services, and necessary advocacy to
ensure each client receives those services that are agreed to in the
personal services plan. Each client shall participate in the
development of his or her personal services plan, and responsible
staff shall consult with the designated conservator, if one has been
appointed, and, with the consent of the client, shall consult with
the family and other significant persons as appropriate.
(4) The individual personal services plan shall ensure that
persons subject to assisted outpatient treatment programs receive
age-appropriate, gender-appropriate, and culturally appropriate
services, to the extent feasible, that are designed to enable
recipients to:
(A) Live in the most independent, least restrictive housing
feasible in the local community, and, for clients with children, to
live in a supportive housing environment that strives for
reunification with their children or assists clients in maintaining
custody of their children as is appropriate.
(B) Engage in the highest level of work or productive activity
appropriate to their abilities and experience.
(C) Create and maintain a support system consisting of friends,
family, and participation in community activities.
(D) Access an appropriate level of academic education or
vocational training.
(E) Obtain an adequate income.
(F) Self-manage their illnesses and exert as much control as
possible over both the day-to-day and long-term decisions that affect
their lives.
(G) Access necessary physical health care and maintain the best
possible physical health.
(H) Reduce or eliminate serious antisocial or criminal behavior,
and thereby reduce or eliminate their contact with the criminal
justice system.
(I) Reduce or eliminate the distress caused by the symptoms of
mental illness.
(J) Have freedom from dangerous addictive substances.
(5) The individual personal services plan shall describe the
service array that meets the requirements of paragraph (4), and to
the extent applicable to the individual, the requirements of
paragraph (2).
(b) A county that provides assisted outpatient treatment services
pursuant to this article also shall offer the same services on a
voluntary basis.
(c) Involuntary medication shall not be allowed absent a separate
order by the court pursuant to Sections 5332 to 5336, inclusive.
(d) A county that operates an assisted outpatient treatment
program pursuant to this article shall provide data to the State
Department of Health Care Services and, based on the data, the
department shall report to the Legislature on or before May 1 of each
year in which the county provides services pursuant to this article.
The report shall include, at a minimum, an evaluation of the
effectiveness of the strategies employed by each program operated
pursuant to this article in reducing homelessness and hospitalization
of persons in the program and in reducing involvement with local law
enforcement by persons in the program. The evaluation and report
shall also include any other measures identified by the department
regarding persons in the program and all of the following, based on
information that is available:
(1) The number of persons served by the program and, of those, the
number who are able to maintain housing and the number who maintain
contact with the treatment system.
(2) The number of persons in the program with contacts with local
law enforcement, and the extent to which local and state
incarceration of persons in the program has been reduced or avoided.
(3) The number of persons in the program participating in
employment services programs, including competitive employment.
(4) The days of
hospitalization of persons in the program that have been reduced or
avoided.
(5) Adherence to prescribed treatment by persons in the program.
(6) Other indicators of successful engagement, if any, by persons
in the program.
(7) Victimization of persons in the program.
(8) Violent behavior of persons in the program.
(9) Substance abuse by persons in the program.
(10) Type, intensity, and frequency of treatment of persons in the
program.
(11) Extent to which enforcement mechanisms are used by the
program, when applicable.
(12) Social functioning of persons in the program.
(13) Skills in independent living of persons in the program.
(14) Satisfaction with program services both by those receiving
them and by their families, when relevant.
SEC. 3. Section 5349 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
5349. This article shall be operative in those counties
in which the county board of supervisors, by resolution or through
the county budget process, authorizes its application and makes a
finding that no voluntary mental health program serving adults, and
no children's mental health program, may be reduced as a result of
the implementation of this article. A county that does
not wish to implement this article may opt out of the requirements
of this article by a resolution passed by the county board of
supervisors that states the reasons for opting out and any facts or
circumstances relied on in making that decision. To the extent
otherwise permitted under state and federal law, counties that
elect to implement this article may pay for the
provision of services under Sections 5347 and 5348 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 when included in county plans pursuant to
Section 5847, and any other funds from which the Controller makes
distributions to the counties for those purposes. Compliance with
this section shall be monitored by the State Department of Health
Care Services as part of its review and approval of county
performance contracts.
SEC. 4. Section 5349.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
5349.1. (a) Counties that elect to implement
this article, shall, in consultation with the State Department of
Health Care Services, client and family advocacy organizations, and
other stakeholders, develop a training and education program for
purposes of improving the delivery of services to mentally ill
individuals who are, or who are at risk of being, involuntarily
committed under this part. This training shall be provided to mental
health treatment providers contracting with participating counties
and to other individuals, including, but not limited to, mental
health professionals, law enforcement officials, and certification
hearing officers involved in making treatment and involuntary
commitment decisions.
(b) The training shall include both of the following:
(1) Information relative to legal requirements for detaining a
person for involuntary inpatient and outpatient treatment, including
criteria to be considered with respect to determining if a person is
considered to be gravely disabled.
(2) Methods for ensuring that decisions regarding involuntary
treatment as provided for in this part direct patients toward the
most effective treatment. Training shall include an emphasis on each
patient's right to provide informed consent to assistance.
SEC. 5. Section 5349.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
5349.5. (a) This article shall remain in effect only until
January 1, 2017, 2022, and as of that
date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted on
or before January 1, 2017, 2022,
deletes or extends that date.
(b) The State Department of Health Care Services shall submit a
report and evaluation of all counties implementing any component of
this article to the Governor and to the Legislature by July 1, 2015.
The evaluation shall include data described in subdivision (d) of
Section 5348.
SEC. 6. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.