The Legislature has started its annual summer recess and will reconvene on Monday, August 3, for the final month of the 2025–26 Legislative Session. During the remainder of the session, lawmakers will consider fiscal and policy bills that advanced from the opposite house, negotiate remaining budget-related issues, and act on final legislation before the session adjourns.

This week was a very busy and successful week for CSAP at the Capitol. To stay alive, CSAP sponsored bills needed to pass out of various policy committees this week.

SB 1016 (Blakespear), the Bridge Act which seeks to create a more direct linkage between CARE Court and higher levels of care for those who need it, passed the Assembly Health Committee 15-0. Parents and family members played a big role in supporting the bill and getting it passed, even showing up in committee to testify. In the picture, that is outgoing Government Affairs Committee Chairman Dr. Aaron Meyer on the left, Senator Blakespear second from the left, and family members who came to Sacramento to lend their support.

Through negotiations with Assembly Health, the bill was significantly amended, but retains much of its core intentions. Specifically, as amended, SB 1016 will:

  • Require a written report by the county behavioral health agency (or petition) to include conclusions about whether the respondent is likely to need a higher level of care than is available under the CARE Act and, if so, recommendations about the appropriate level of care and the necessary steps to obtain that level of care for the respondent;
  • Permit the court to order the beginning of the 5200 prepetition process – current law is ambiguous about the ability to order this process;
  • Require the Judicial Council to amend the notice of dismissal form to indicate whether the court has ordered a county to begin the prepetition process under the LPS Act upon the dismissal;
  • Permit CARE Act reports, evaluations, diagnoses, and other information filed with the court relating to the respondent’s health to be transferred to a covered entity, as defined, for a prepetition screening for a court-ordered evaluation and requires the entity receiving the documentation to comply with all federal and state privacy protections;
  • Permit CARE parties and witnesses to appear through the use of remote technology unless otherwise ordered by the court or demanded by the respondent;
  • Require DHCS, as part of its required training and technical assistance to the counties, to include training and technical assistance regarding the court-ordered evaluation process under the LPS Act.
  • Require the trial courts, as part of their reports to Judicial Council for use in the annual CARE Act report, to report the total number of court-ordered prepetition reviews for mental health evaluations ordered upon dismissal of a CARE petition and the basis for dismissal in these cases.
  • Allow a judge to hold a petition/case open while the county conducts the 5200 prepetition screening.

SB 28 (Umberg), which makes several important changes to the CARE Act including the creation of a CARE Ombudsperson, passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee 11-0 and now heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

SB 561 (Blakespear), which creates a better structure of communication and determinations on public guardian/conservator cases, passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee 12-0 and is headed to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

SB 16 (Blakespear), which would require all 58 California counties to create and establish 5150 designation criteria, passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee 12-0 and is headed to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 1825 (Krell), which addresses important gaps in the management and release planning of individuals classified as offenders with mental health disorders (OMHDs) by establishing clear guidelines for violence risk assessments and requiring collaboration with county behavioral health departments through the creation of structured exit plans, passed the Senate Health Committee and is now headed to the Senate Appropriations Committee.