BILL NUMBER: AB 1424 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 127
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 16, 2015
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR JULY 16, 2015
PASSED THE SENATE JUNE 29, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY MAY 14, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 7, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 21, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Mullin
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to amend Section 5604 of the Welfare and Institutions Code,
relating to mental health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1424, Mullin. Mental health: community mental health board.
Existing law requires each community mental health service to have
a mental health board consisting of 10 to 15 members who are
appointed by the governing body, and encourages counties to appoint
individuals who have experience with and knowledge of the mental
health system. Existing law requires 50% of the board membership to
be consumers, or the parents, spouses, siblings, or adult children of
consumers, who are receiving or have received mental health
services. Existing law prohibits a member of the board, or his or her
spouse, from being a full-time or part-time county employee of a
county mental health service, an employee of the State Department of
Health Care Services, or an employee of, or a paid member of the
governing body of, a mental health contract agency.
This bill would exempt from this prohibition a consumer of mental
health services who obtained employment with an employer described
above and who holds a position in which he or she has no interest,
influence, or authority over any financial or contractual matter
concerning the employer, and would require that member to abstain
from voting on any financial or contractual issue concerning his or
her employer that may come before the board.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 5604 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
5604. (a) (1) Each community mental health service shall have a
mental health board consisting of 10 to 15 members, depending on the
preference of the county, appointed by the governing body, except
that boards in counties with a population of less than 80,000 may
have a minimum of five members. One member of the board shall be a
member of the local governing body. Any county with more than five
supervisors shall have at least the same number of members as the
size of its board of supervisors. Nothing in this section shall be
construed to limit the ability of the governing body to increase the
number of members above 15. Local mental health boards may recommend
appointees to the county supervisors. Counties are encouraged to
appoint individuals who have experience with and knowledge of the
mental health system. The board membership should reflect the ethnic
diversity of the client population in the county.
(2) Fifty percent of the board membership shall be consumers, or
the parents, spouses, siblings, or adult children of consumers, who
are receiving or have received mental health services. At least 20
percent of the total membership shall be consumers, and at least 20
percent shall be families of consumers.
(3) (A) In counties under 80,000 population, at least one member
shall be a consumer, and at least one member shall be a parent,
spouse, sibling, or adult child of a consumer, who is receiving, or
has received, mental health services.
(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a board in a county with a
population under 80,000 that elects to have the board exceed the
five-member minimum permitted under paragraph (1) shall be required
to comply with paragraph (2).
(b) The term of each member of the board shall be for three years.
The governing body shall equitably stagger the appointments so that
approximately one-third of the appointments expire in each year.
(c) If two or more local agencies jointly establish a community
mental health service under Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500)
of Chapter 5 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, the
mental health board for the community mental health service shall
consist of an additional two members for each additional agency, one
of whom shall be a consumer or a parent, spouse, sibling, or adult
child of a consumer who has received mental health services.
(d) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), no member of the
board or his or her spouse shall be a full-time or part-time county
employee of a county mental health service, an employee of the State
Department of Health Care Services, or an employee of, or a paid
member of the governing body of, a mental health contract agency.
(2) A consumer of mental health services who has obtained
employment with an employer described in paragraph (1) and who holds
a position in which he or she does not have any interest, influence,
or authority over any financial or contractual matter concerning the
employer may be appointed to the board. The member shall abstain from
voting on any financial or contractual issue concerning his or her
employer that may come before the board.
(e) Members of the board shall abstain from voting on any issue in
which the member has a financial interest as defined in Section
87103 of the Government Code.
(f) If it is not possible to secure membership as specified in
this section from among persons who reside in the county, the
governing body may substitute representatives of the public interest
in mental health who are not full-time or part-time employees of the
county mental health service, the State Department of Health Care
Services, or on the staff of, or a paid member of the governing body
of, a mental health contract agency.
(g) The mental health board may be established as an advisory
board or a commission, depending on the preference of the county.