BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                           2199 (Lowenthal)
          
          Hearing Date:  07/15/2010           Amended: 04/14/2010
          Consultant:  Dan Troy           Policy Vote: Health 7-0
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          BILL SUMMARY:  AB 2199 would delete a statutory requirement for  
          the Department of Mental Health (DMH) to plan, conduct, and  
          cause to be conducted scientific research into the causes and  
          cures of sexual deviation, including deviations conducive to sex  
          crimes against children, and the "causes and cures of  
          homosexuality."  

          This bill would add a requirement for the Department to conduct  
          research into the prevention of sex crimes against children and  
          into methods of identifying those who commit sexual offenses.
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                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2010-11      2011-12       2012-13     Fund
           
          Sex crimes research    $1,800 over three years          General
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          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the  
          Suspense File.
          
          The requirement for DMH to research the "causes and cures of  
          homosexuality" has been in code since 1950.  In 1973, the  
          American Psychological Association's (APA) Board of Trustees  
          voted to remove homosexuality from its official Diagnostic and  
          Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), after a review of  
          scientific literature found that homosexuality did not meet the  
          criteria to be considered a mental illness.  The APA has  
          indicated that all major professional mental health  
          organizations are in agreement on this issue.  As DMH reports  
          that it does not currently conduct research into this issue,  
          deleting the outdated requirement would have no fiscal impact.

          The bill would also require DMH to conduct research into the  
          prevention of sex crimes against children and into methods of  










          identifying those who commit sexual offenses.  Using the  
          experience of a current clinical study regarding forensic  
          psychology issues, DMH believes cost for this new activity would  
          be approximately $1.8 million over three years.