CA SB 1016

in committee

Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court Program and court-ordered evaluations.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · upper

Description

Existing law, the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act (CARE Act) , authorizes specified persons, including a person with whom the respondent resides, family members, and first responders, among others, to petition a civil court to create a voluntary CARE agreement or a court-ordered CARE plan and implement services, to be provided by county behavioral health agencies, to provide behavioral health care, including stabilization medication, housing, and other enumerated services, to adults who are currently experiencing a severe mental illness and have a diagnosis identified in the disorder class schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, or bipolar I disorder with psychotic features, and who meet other specified criteria. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to develop a mandatory form for use to file a CARE process petition with the court and any other forms necessary for the CARE process, to be signed under the penalty of perjury, and requires the form to contain certain information, including either a specified affidavit of a licensed behavioral health professional or evidence the respondent was detained for a minimum of two intensive treatments pursuant to specified provisions of law. Existing law, the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (LPS Act) , generally provides for the evaluation, treatment, and civil commitment of persons with mental health disorders and other specified persons. Existing law authorizes, under a superior court order, an evaluation of a person alleged, as a result of mental disorder, to be a danger to themselves or others or to be gravely disabled, and provides the forms to use for these evaluations. The CARE Act authorizes a court to terminate a respondent's participation in the CARE process if the court determines that the respondent is not participating in the CARE process or is not adhering to their CARE plan, as specified, and authorizes the court to order the court-ordered evaluation under the LPS Act. If the court finds the petitioner has made a prima facie showing that the respondent is, or may be, a person eligible for the CARE program, the court is required to order the county behavioral health agency, or their designee, as specified, to submit a written report to the court with specified information, including, but not limited to, a determination whether the respondent meets, or is likely to meet, the criteria for the CARE process and conclusions and recommendations about the respondent's ability to voluntarily engage in services. Existing law requires the court to, within 5 days of receiving the report, take one of several actions, including dismissing the petition if the court determines that voluntary engagement with the respondent is effective and the individual has enrolled, or is likely to enroll, in behavioral health treatment. This bill would require the written report to include conclusions about whether the respondent is likely to need a higher level of care than is available under the CARE Act and, if so, recommendations about the appropriate level of care and the necessary steps to obtain that level of care for the respondent and remove the authorization for a court to dismiss the petition if the respondent is only likely to enroll in behavioral health treatment. If the court intends to dismiss a petition because the respondent needs a higher level of services, the bill would authorize the court to order the county to conduct a prepetition screening and hold the CARE petition open until the screening is complete. The bill would also make other technical and conforming changes. By requiring a higher level of service on the county, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires all hearings regarding these provisions to occur in person unless the court, in its discretion, allows a party or witness to appear remotely. This bill would require the court to allow the hearings to be held remotely, unless otherwise ordered by the court or demanded by the respondent. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Introduced: 2026-02-10
Status date: —
Latest action: 2026-07-02 — Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Bill type: bill
Last updated: —

Subjects

CommunityAssistance,Recovery,andEmpowerment(CARE)CourtProgramandcourt-orderedevaluations

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

2026-02-10
Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.
introduction,reading-1,referral-committee
2026-02-11
From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 13.
2026-02-18
Referred to Com. on RLS.
referral-committee
2026-03-25
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.
amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2026-03-26
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.
amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2026-04-08
Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
referral-committee
2026-04-09
Set for hearing April 21.
2026-04-27
From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 12. Noes 0. Page 3977.) (April 21).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2026-04-28
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2026-05-04
Set for hearing May 11.
2026-05-11
May 11 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
2026-05-12
Set for hearing May 14.
2026-05-14
From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 4261.) (May 14).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2026-05-14
Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2
2026-05-18
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2026-05-22
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 27. Noes 0. Page 4415.) Ordered to the Assembly.
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2026-05-22
In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
reading-1
2026-06-01
Referred to Coms. on JUD. and HEALTH.
referral-committee
2026-06-16
Coauthors revised.
2026-06-16
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on HEALTH. (Ayes 9. Noes 1.) (June 16). Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2026-07-01
From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (June 30).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2026-07-02
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

Versions

02/10/26 - Introduced — 2026-02-10Compare
03/25/26 - Amended Senate — 2026-03-25Compare
03/26/26 - Amended Senate — 2026-03-26Compare
04/28/26 - Amended Senate — 2026-04-28Compare
05/14/26 - Amended Senate — 2026-05-14Compare
07/02/26 - Amended Assembly — 2026-07-02Compare
SB1016Compare
(document, no version)Compare

Documents

Votes

Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2026-04-21 · pass · 12-0
Member-level votes (13)
- Reyes: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Durazo: yes
- Laird: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Allen: yes
- Stern: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Niello: yes
- Valladares: yes
- Weber Pierson: other
Placed on suspense file
2026-05-11 · pass · 7-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Cabaldon: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Cervantes: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Wahab: yes
Do pass as amended
2026-05-14 · pass · 7-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Cervantes: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Grayson: yes
3rd Reading SB1016 Blakespear et al.
2026-05-22 · pass · 27-0
Member-level votes (40)
- Durazo: yes
- Cortese: yes
- McNerney: yes
- Strickland: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Cervantes: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Blakespear: yes
- Archuleta: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Valladares: yes
- Reyes: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Jones: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Limón: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Choi: yes
- Richardson: yes
- McGuire: yes
- Laird: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Rubio: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Becker: other
- Hurtado: other
- Smallwood-Cuevas: other
- Padilla: other
- Alvarado-Gil: other
- Pérez: other
- Stern: other
- Grove: other
- Weber Pierson: other
- Niello: other
- Allen: other
- Ochoa Bogh: other
- Menjivar: other
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Health]
2026-06-16 · pass · 9-1
Member-level votes (12)
- Macedo: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Papan: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Kalra: no
- Bryan: other
- Connolly: other
Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2026-06-30 · pass · 15-0
Member-level votes (16)
- Schiavo: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Addis: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Patel: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Celeste Rodriguez: yes
- Johnson: other

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1016

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T01:34:27.960412Z

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