Senate Bill 43: Expanding Involuntary Behavioral Health Treatment
Overview
Senate Bill (SB) 43 makes changes to the Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Act – a California law governing involuntary detention, treatment, and conservatorship of people with behavioral health conditions.
This new statute significantly updates California’s civil detention and conservatorship laws for the first time in more than 50 years by establishing new diagnostic criteria and by broadening the definition of “grave disability.” The criteria by which people may be civilly detained under the LPS Act includes:
- Danger to self,
- Danger to others, or
- Grave disability.
Existing law, for purposes of involuntary commitment, defines “gravely disabled” as either a condition in which a person, as a result of a mental health disorder, is unable to provide for their basic personal needs for food, clothing, or shelter.
New law as indicated by bold text, SB 43 expands the definition “gravely disabled” to include:
- people with a mental health disorder, a severe substance use disorder, or a co-occurring mental health disorder and a severe substance use disorder,
- and, who are unable to provide for their basic needs for food OR clothing OR shelter OR access to necessary medical care OR personal safety.
SB 43 also makes the following changes:
- Expands the array of testimony that can be submitted into conservatorship proceedings without requiring in-person cross examination.
- Requires counties consider less restrictive alternatives in conducting conservatorship investigation.
- Expands State reporting requirements.
Critical Actions in Ventura County
- In October 2023, the Governor signed SB 43 into law effective January 1, 2024, with the option for counties to delay implementation, via a Board Resolution, until January 1, 2026.
- On December 2023, the County Board of Supervisors adopted a Resolution to delay implementation of SB 43 to January 1, 2026 to ensure adequate time to partner with community members, providers, and stakeholders to identify infrastructure and resource needs, assess service and financial impacts, and to develop an action plan to support successful implementation of the new requirement.
- In October 2024, the Ventura County Behavioral Health hosted a SB 43 “Kickoff” Meeting attended by a wide array of leaders and staff from Ventura County Superior Court, County Counsel’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, Public Guardian’s Office, Ventura County Medical Center, local private hospitals, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, and other area law enforcement agencies. An SB 43 Steering Committee was established to guide and review the efforts of two workgroups: (1) the Law Enforcement Workgroup and (2) the Hospital Workgroup. The following five priority areas were identified and became the focus of ongoing preparations:
- Education and training,
- Placement and facility readiness
- Coordination and communication
- Patient navigation and Support
- Data collection and reporting
- January through August 2025, the SB 43 Steering Committee is overseeing the efforts the Law Enforcement and Hospital Workgroups. The workgroups’ objectives include the development and revision of existing curriculum for staff training, informational resources for the general public, inventory of existing mental health/substance use resources in use in medical hospitals, workflows associated with the 5150 process, identifying staff resources to serve as patient navigators, and improved data reporting methods.
- January 1, 2026, Ventura County with collaboration across multiple agency/facilities, both private and public, will launch SB 43.
Learn More
About SB 43
