A new California Senate bill aims to give cities more power to get the severely mentally ill and drug addicted off the streets. Senate Bill 1045 would allow cities to put individuals identified as "gravely disabled" into long term conservatorships and assign them advocates who could get them into housing, treatment and other support services.
Current law limits that authority to three-day holds and only for people considered a danger to themselves or others. Authors San Francisco's Scott Weiner and Canoga Park's Henry Stern say the measure is intended to help the most vulnerable residents and keep them out of the criminal justice system, but it leaves the details up to cities.
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