BILL NUMBER: AB 2531	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 7, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 30, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Allen

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2012

   An act to add Section 7295 to the Welfare and Institutions Code,
relating to mental health.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2531, as amended, Allen. State hospitals: prohibited items.
   Existing law provides for state mental hospitals for the treatment
of mentally disordered persons. Existing law places these hospitals
under the jurisdiction of the State Department of  Mental
Health   State Hospitals  , and authorizes the
department to adopt uniform rules and regulations regarding the
conduct and management of these facilities, including prohibiting
patients from possessing certain items. Existing law requires the
hospital director to be responsible for the overall management of the
hospital, and authorizes the hospital director to establish rules
and regulations, as specified, concerning the care and treatment of
patients, research, clinical training, and for the government of the
hospital buildings and grounds.
   This bill would authorize a state hospital under the jurisdiction
of the State Department of  Mental Health  
State Hospitals  to develop a list of items that are deemed
contraband and prohibited on hospital grounds. This bill would
require the hospital to form a contraband committee, as prescribed,
to develop the list of contraband items, and would require the list
 of contraband items developed by the state hospital  to be
subject to review and approval by the  director, 
 Director   of State Hospitals  or his or her
designee, and updated no less often than every 6 months.  This
bill would also require the State Department of State Hospi 
 tals to develop a list of items that shall be deemed contraband
at every state hospital, subject to review and approval by the
Director of State Hospitals.  This bill would require 
the   a state  hospital to post the  list
  lists developed pursuant to these provisions
throughout the hospital and  on its Internet Web site. This bill
would authorize  the   a  hospital and the
department to implement, interpret, and make specific these
provisions without taking regulatory action.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 7295 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
   7295.  (a) To ensure its safety and security, a state hospital
that is under the jurisdiction of the State Department of 
Mental Health   State Hospitals  , as listed in
Section 4100, may develop a list of items that are deemed contraband
and prohibited on hospital grounds, and control and eliminate
contraband on hospital grounds. 
   (b) The State Department of State Hospitals shall develop a list
of items that shall be deemed contraband at every state hospital.
 
   (b) The 
    (c)     A state  hospital shall form a
contraband committee, comprised of hospital management and employees
designated by the hospital's director, to develop the list of
contraband items. The committee shall develop the list with the
participation of patient representatives, or the patient government
of the hospital, if one is available, and the Office of Patients'
Rights. 
   (c) The 
    (d)     Each hospital  list of
contraband items  is   developed pursuant to
subdivision (a), and the statewide list of contraband items developed
pursuant to subdivision (b) are  subject to review and approval
by the Director of  Mental Health   State
Hospitals  or his or her designee. 
   (d) The 
    (e)     A  list of contraband items
 developed pursuant to subdivision (a)  shall be updated and
subject to review and approval by the director of the department, or
his or her designee, no less often than every six months. 
   (f) If an item presents an emergent danger to the safety and
security of a facility, the item may be placed immediately on a
contraband list by the Director of State Hospitals or the executive
director of the state hospital, but this placement shall be reviewed
by the contraband committee, if applicable, and approved by the
Director of State Hospitals or his or her designee within six weeks.
 
   (e) 
    (g)    The  list   lists
 of contraband items  developed pursuant to this section
 shall be posted prominently in every unit of the hospital and
throughout the hospital, and provided to a patient upon request.

   (f) 
    (   h)    The  list 
 lists  of contraband items  developed pursuant to this
section  shall be posted on the hospital's Internet Web site.

   (i) For the purposes of this section, "contraband" means
materials, articles, or goods that a patient is prohibited from
having in his or her possession because the materials, articles, or
goods present a risk to the safety and security of the facility.
 
   (g) 
    (   j)    Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code, the hospital and the department may implement,
interpret, or make specific this section without taking regulatory
action.