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Who
- South Bay Hospitals
What
In early October, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 43, which expands the definition of “gravely disabled” in the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act to include substance abuse. The legislation gave counties an option to delay implementation until January 2026.
Counties will need to do a significant amount of work to prepare for the implementation, including securing community investments, educating community stakeholders on the new law, and creating and building programs focused on treating individuals who meet the “gravely disabled” definition. In addition, the Public Guardian’s office, District Attorney’s office, and the court system in each county will need to expand their workforce efforts to keep up with the potential increase of individuals who qualify as “gravely disabled” and how the increase would impact the system.
Given the amount of work to be done, Hospital Council has submitted letters of support to each of the South Bay Area counties to delay the implementation of SB 43. In the letters, we have asked to be included in any stakeholder groups as each county works on its implementation plan. Counties must adopt a resolution to delay the implementation by the end of December or implement SB 43 by Jan. 1, 2024.
Takeaway / Next steps
Hospital Council has written letters in support of delayed implementation in individual counties.