FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, September 27, 2018
Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, 415-554-6131

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GOVERNOR JERRY BROWN SIGNS SB 1045 INTO LAW ALLOWING SAN FRANCISCO TO STRENGTHEN CONSERVATORSHIP LAWS
Mayor Breed vows to move quickly to implement new legislation, help severely mentally ill and addicted San Franciscans receive the care they need

San Francisco, CA – Governor Jerry Brown today signed SB 1045 into law, which allows for strengthened conservatorship laws in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego counties in order to better treat individuals suffering from severe mental illness and addiction issues.

Following the signing, Mayor London N. Breed announced plans to move forward implementing the legislation in San Francisco.

“The status quo is unacceptable—it is not humane to allow San Franciscans struggling with severe mental illness and addiction to continue to suffer on our streets,” said Mayor Breed. “I have been a longtime supporter of strengthening our conservatorship laws and I look forward to moving quickly to implement this legislation at the local level so we can start providing care to those in need. I want to thank Senator Wiener for his steadfast leadership on this issue and Governor Brown for signing this important bill into law.”

SB 1045 creates a five-year pilot program allowing for strengthened conservatorship laws that focus on providing housing and wraparound services for people suffering from mental health and substance use issues. Individual counties can choose to vote to opt-in to the program. In order to be considered for conservatorship, an individual must be suffering from both mental health and substance use issues that have resulted in multiple 5150 holds, in which they are held for psychiatric evaluation.

“San Francisco needs every tool we can get to help people who can’t help themselves get off our streets and into care,” said Supervisor Rafael Mandelman. “I want to thank Governor Brown and our statewide leaders for pushing ahead with this important legislation, and I look forward to leading on local implementation with the Mayor and working with my colleagues on the Board to change our conservatorship laws here in San Francisco.”

Under SB 1045, County officials must go before a judge to prove that an individual is in need of conservatorship. Provided there are no other viable alternatives, the individual can be placed under conservatorship for up to one year, with the ability to petition monthly for a hearing for release.

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