More Californians can be placed in conservatorships after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 43 Oct. 10. The bill expands the qualifications for people to be placed in conservatorships, and loosens rules around hearsay evidence.
Now, a person who is unable to care for their personal safety or necessary medical care because of a severe substance abuse disorder, including alcoholism, will be found qualified to be placed in a conservatorship.
Previously, only people with mental health disorders were found qualified to be placed in conservatorships, and only if that disorder made them unable to provide for food, clothing or shelter.
“SB 43 maintains the strong due process protections provided in the (Lanterman-Petris-Short) Act, while expanding the criteria for making a ‘gravely disabled’ determination, so that the most severely ill can get the help they need and the dignity they deserve,” said the bill’s author, Sen. Susan Eggman (D-Stockton).
The term “severe substance use disorder” will be any substance-related disorder that meets the “severe” criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
The term “personal safety” is defined as “the ability the survive safely in the community without involuntary detention or treatment pursuant to this part.”
“Necessary medical care” is defined as care that a licensed health care practitioner determines to be necessary to prevent a condition that would result in serious bodily injury if left untreated.
The bill also allows health practitioners’ statements included in medical records held by the public conservator or public guardian to be used as evidence in conservatorship proceedings if a judge, without a jury present, determines the statement is reliable.
Counties can opt out of the new law until 2026.
“The mental health crisis affects us all, and people who need the most help have been too often overlooked. We are working to ensure no one falls through the cracks, and that people get the help they need and the respect they deserve,” Newsom said in a press release.
The bill was supported by Jurupa Valley, Murrieta and Riverside.
It was opposed by ACLU California Action, the California Public Defenders Association, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, Disability Rights California, San Bernardino Free Them All and the Western Center on Law and Poverty.
“(Disability Rights California) strongly opposes Senate Bill 43, which will significantly expand the government’s power to lock up people with mental health disabilities and substance use disorders. SB 43 takes resources away from community-based services and housing to fund locked institutions, disproportionately impacts communities of color, and makes it harder to fight conservatorship,” Disability Rights California said in a statement.
A Senate floor summary said that an opposition coalition claimed the state should improve voluntary treatment and affordable housing, which they claim are evidence-backed solutions.
A 2019 state audit of California’s conservatorship law said there should be no change in qualifications for conservatorships. Instead, the audit said, the state needed to improve care.
