Treatment

The bill will move forward to be heard in the Health Committee on April 27.

strike offenses would not be eligible for the program, according to a statement from the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office.

When the program was brought before the Board of Supervisors in December, it was marketed as a mandatory treatment facility. The bill that passed the committee makes treatment optional.

“Too many people who suffer from substance use disorder are going to jail or prison for crimes that are motivated by their addiction, and prisons and jails are not places where people who are sick go to get better,” Reisig stated at the Public Safety Committee meeting. “So instead, AB 1542 envisions creating a secure hospital-like treatment facility, without jails and bars and guards and guns, that can serve as a sanctuary for seriously addicted felony offenders who voluntarily choose to try local community-based treatment and wrap-around services, in a safe and secure setting right here at home instead of being shipped off and warehoused behind bars.”

Residents would need to be referred to the program by Yolo County Health and Human Services staff. The length of stay would be determined by a judge, and based on the recommendation of HHSA staff.

Treatment would need to be continued after a person leaves the secured facility, and a person would either go to an outpatient treatment facility or to a “step-down” residential facility, according to the text of the bill.

Successful completion of the program will expunge the crime from a participant’s record.

“I was pleased to see AB 1542 progress through the Public Safety Committee,” Sandy stated. “It faces a much tougher test in the upcoming Health Committee. Although I’m optimistic, we are up against an entrenched lobbying corp for whom ongoing burglaries, vandalism and public safety are too often secondary and too often dismissed. The recurring cycle of individuals who commit crime after crime only to be put back out on the street must be stopped. AB 1542 offers a way out of a life of crime for substance abusers and the mentally ill while protecting the community.”

The bill will move forward to be heard in the Health Committee on April 27. The Yolo County Board of Supervisors will again discuss the bill at their meeting on Tuesday. During the meeting, Yolo supervisors are expected to be updated on the draft of the bill, as well as view alternative options the county can implement to address substance use disorders that do not require state authority.

The meeting can be accessed via Zoom at yolocounty.zoom. us/j/112072974.