The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to delay the implementation of Senate Bill 43, the landmark legislation that expands the criteria by which people can be detained against their wills by police, crisis teams and mental health providers.
The motion to delay, proposed by Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, was passed on a 4-1 vote. L.A. County now joins 45 other counties that have formally declared their intention to hold off implementation. Supervisor Janice Hahn cast the lone dissenting vote.
“I know there are people on our streets who are not going to survive and maybe would have a chance if we implemented this sooner to help them get the treatment that they need,” Hahn said to her colleagues.
SB 43 gave counties the option to implement the law either at the start of 2024 or not until Jan. 1, 2026. In her motion, Horvath cited “the immense amount of work” required to implement the law, which adds severe substance use disorder to the longstanding definition of gravely disabled.
“We cannot afford the liability cases and the risk of civil right violations and risk getting this wrong,” Horvath said at the board meeting.
Passed by state legislators in September and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October, SB 43 represents the first major revision of the state’s 1967 conservatorship law, the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act.
It is intended to address not only the epidemic of mental illness among homeless populations in the state but also the proliferation of highly addictive drugs, such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, which researchers say exacerbate psychotic disorders.
However, according to the motion, the size of the crisis presents logistical problems for counties responsible for administering involuntary holds that proceed conservatorship hearings. Adding severe substance use disorder to the definition of gravely disabled could lead to a 10% increase of those involuntarily detained, according to the supervisor’s motion.
Los Angeles County…