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Senate Bill (SB) 42 amends provisions of the CARE Act in a number of ways. In summary, it:

• Permits facilities treating individuals under involuntary holds to refer those individuals to county BH agencies if they believe the individual meets or is likely to meet CARE criteria.
• Allows for communication between CARE courts and referring courts (juvenile, Lanterman-Petris-Short [LPS], Assisted Outpatient Treatment [AOT], Misdemeanor Incompetent to Stand Trial [MIST]) while both cases are pending.
• Requires that petitions for temporary conservatorships that are based on affidavits from a certain professional include an attestation that all available alternatives (including CARE) were considered and were found to be unavailable and unsuitable.
• Clarifies what kind of evidence may be used to support a CARE petition.
• Extends timeframes for counties to file their investigative reports and enables changes to CARE plans and CARE agreements.
• Provides that the court shall give ongoing notice of proceedings to a petitioner who is a family member of, or lives with, the respondent.

A more substantive summary, including citations, can be found in this brief.

SB 42 included an urgency clause that became effective immediately after signing, except as noted.