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Public Education & Policy :: Archive CNMHC News Alert, May 17, 2001 AB 1421 Passes the Assembly Judicial Committee AB 1421, the Involuntary Outpatient Commitment bill, passed the Assembly Judicial Committee with amendments. The amendments changed the criteria of who could get court ordered and added some safeguards to the court hearing. Most of the objectionable components of the bill remain; it remains vague, overbroad, and, in its procedures, a violation of due process and rights protections. With or without amendments, the bill remains an outpatient commitment bill, which expands involuntary treatment and widens the criteria of who can be forced. The bill was named "Laura's Law", after one of the victims of a shooting at a mental health clinic in Nevada City. The shooter was a voluntary client of the clinic reportedly receiving 15 minutes of a psychiatrists' time every 6 weeks. Assemblymenber Helen Thomson, the author of AB 1421, is following the directive of the Treatment Advocacy Center for passing bills. "Take the debate out of the mental health arena, and put it in the criminal justice/public safety arena". (From D.J.Jaffe's speech at the 1999 NAMI Conference.) By exploiting stories about violence, she is whipping up a mob mentality of fear about people with mental disabilities to pass her legislation. AB 1421 goes to the Assembly Appropriations Committee AB 1421 now goes to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. It will be heard Wednesday, May 30. The Appropriations Committee meets at 9 AM in Room 4202. Contact the CNMHC for more information. Your letters are important. Please write letters to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. To be registered as pro or con, the letter usually must be received 5 days before the hearing. Assemblywoman Carole Migden, Chair | ||||||||||
