Both bills reopen the debate among families and advocates over when it’s appropriate to put someone into mental health treatment without their consent.

One bill would create a pathway for the most severely incapacitated people to go directly from Newsom’s voluntary mental health court into involuntary treatment in a hospital. The other would make it easier for EMTs and other first responders to refer people to mental health court. Both bills recently passed through the Senate Judiciary Committee, despite concerns from disability rights advocates that they would force more people into unwanted treatment.

“While early implementation shows promise,” Sen. Catherine Blakespear, a Democrat from Encinitas, said during a recent committee hearing, “barriers in the current petition process are preventing the program from reaching many of the individuals it was designed to serve.”

CARE Court launched in 2023 as a major piece of Newsom’s strategy to get people in the grip of psychosis off the streets. It allows family members of people with untreated schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders to refer them into the court-based program, where they can work with a judge, a public defender and a case worker on a plan for medication, therapy, housing, and whatever other help they may need.

But a CalMatters investigation found the program is falling short of expectations. As of January, California courts had received 3,817 petitions on behalf of prospective CARE Court participants and approved just 893 treatment agreements. At its outset, the Newsom administration estimated between 7,000 and 12,000 Californians would qualify for the program. 

Some families who attempted to use CARE Court to help their severely ill loved ones told CalMatters they were disappointed by the results. They thought a judge could order their family members into treatment. But that turned out not to be the case. If someone is too sick to realize they need treatment, CARE Court can’t help, which means that their case can be dismissed while the person continues to languish on the street.

That’s the problem Blakespear is attempting to tackle with Senate Bill 1016. It would allow anyone filing a CARE Court petition to request that a judge order a mental health assessment to determine if the subject of the petition is “gravely disabled” or a danger to themselves or others – if the subject can’t comply with voluntary treatment.  

Depending on the results of the assessment, a judge could order that person into a conservatorship, which would likely mean a stay in a locked psychiatric facility and mandatory medication. 

The idea is to create a formal bridge between voluntary treatment under CARE Court and involuntary treatment through a  conservatorship. 

Adding the specter of forced care will make people with mental illness less likely to accept help from CARE Court, Samuel Jain of Disability Rights California said during the committee hearing.

“SB 1016 adds an expensive, coercive and convoluted layer to CARE Court that will drive up costs and further erode the rights and trust of the Californians that our system is supposed to help,” he said. 

Family ‘frustrated’ by CARE Court

Jennifer Farrell, who filed a CARE Court petition in late 2024 for her brother in Alameda County, sees it differently. Farrell’s 59-year-old brother, who struggles with schizophrenia and meth use, had been homeless off and on since 2017. He was able to stay housed via CARE Court for a few months, but then he left his placement in September and disappeared into the streets.

It was clear he needed more help than CARE Court could provide, but the program had no way to elevate him to a higher level of care, Farrell said. 

“I was really frustrated at that point,” she told CalMatters.

Farrell’s brother spent three months deteriorating on the street before a case worker found him in December. He was hospitalized on a temporary psychiatric hold and eventually placed on a conservatorship. He’s still in a locked facility, where he’s medicated and seems to be doing much better, Farrell said. 

To Farrell, it’s “absurd” that there isn’t already a direct link between CARE Court and a conservatorship — a connection that she thinks could have saved her family some grief.

At CARE Court’s inception, Newsom said people who didn’t follow their CARE plans could be moved into a conservatorship. But Farrell and other families CalMatters spoke with said if their loved one couldn’t consent to treatment, there was no clear path forward.

Technically, CARE Court judges can order participants to follow mandatory “CARE plans” — something that happened just 32 times between late 2023 and January — but judges can’t force participants to comply.

Easier CARE Court petitions

Blakespear’s other bill, SB 989, addresses another CARE Court challenge: the low number of people participating. 

Filing a CARE Court petition is a complicated, time-consuming process. Whoever is filing the request needs the person’s medical records. Then, they need to appear at the first court hearing — something overworked first responders don’t always have time to do.

That’s a key reason that people who work in public safety, such as firefighters and EMTs, say they don’t file CARE Court petitions, said Meagan Subers of California Professional Firefighters, who spoke in support of the bill at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. 

SB 989 would create a framework for first responders to refer clients directly to their county behavioral health department, which could then file a CARE Court petition on their behalf. The county would have 30 days to decide whether to file.

Some counties already make an effort to train and support their first responders in filing CARE Court petitions. Stanislaus County allows first responders to refer CARE Court clients directly to the county.

But that collaboration isn’t happening in a systematic way across the state, Subers said. This bill could help fix a broken system where first responders are constantly cycling people with severe mental illnesses in and out of emergency rooms, she said.

“When our members have to run these calls repeatedly on individuals and take them to the hospital, knowing that they’re going to have to respond to that person again, my members tell me that they feel helpless,” she said. “We see this pathway as another option for them.”

Blakespear’s bills follow a similar effort last year by Sen. Tom Umberg of Santa Ana to make CARE Court more effective. His new law, which went into effect in January, expanded CARE Court to include people who experience psychosis as a result of bipolar disorder. The program initially was exclusively for people diagnosed with schizophrenia and other limited psychotic disorders.

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Assemblymember Carl DeMaio voiced strong opposition after his motion to stop AB 2624 — introduced by Attorney General Rob Bonta — failed to gain enough support. The bill has drawn attention from supporters of citizen journalism, who argue it could restrict the ability to share video evidence of alleged fraud online.

DeMaio said the measure could discourage individuals from documenting and publishing wrongdoing, particularly in publicly funded programs. He framed the proposal as a shift away from addressing fraud itself and toward penalizing those who bring it to light.

The legislation comes at a time when independent content creators, including online investigative figures like Nick Shirley, have gained large audiences by posting firsthand footage of suspected misuse of government resources.

According to DeMaio, the bill’s language could open the door for certain groups to request the removal of recorded material — even in cases where the footage appears to show misconduct. He warned that financial penalties could also be imposed on individuals who publish such content.

His attempt to stop the bill was intended to prevent it from advancing further this year. However, with that effort unsuccessful, AB 2624 remains under consideration as it moves through the legislative process.

DeMaio said he plans to continue opposing the measure, arguing it raises concerns about transparency and First Amendment protections.

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“That wasn’t my plan when I ran for office, I can assure you,” said Liccardo, the former mayor of San Jose.

But the president’s launch of a meme coin just before taking office last month needed some kind of response, said Liccardo. Those who bought the meme coin right after launch made out, but the price quickly dropped leaving others with big losses. Even Trump-supporting crypto enthusiasts found the launch distasteful.

“That behavior is so self-evidently unethical that it raises the question why isn’t there a clear enough prohibition,” he said, adding that Trump’s meme coin raises concerns about transparency, insider trading and improper foreign influence.

The bill is set to be called the Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement, or MEME act. According to a draft of the legislation, it would block the president, members of Congress, and other senior officials, as well as their spouses and children, from issuing or sponsoring securities, commodities and cryptocurrencies like meme coins. It would also force Trump to disgorge any profits he’s made from the sale of his meme coins.

Liccardo’s bill, which he plans to introduce Thursday, has no chance of passing in this Republican-controlled Congress. But the freshman lawmaker said it would serve as a placeholder if Democrats come to power as well an important symbolic gesture against what he called obvious corruption. His bill comes amid a fractured Democratic Party struggling to find its footing in the early weeks of the Trump presidency.

Meme coins are a strange and highly volatile corner of the crypto industry that often start as a joke with no real value but can surge in price if enough people are willing to buy them. Critics view them as nothing more than Ponzi schemes that enrich insiders and unethical celebrities. Supporters say meme coins could be early indicators of ways in which the internet could revolutionize financial and other transactions.

Trump has long defied presidential norms when it comes to endorsing and promoting products like branded Bibles and perfume. But he’s leaned in particularly hard with cryptocurrency-related projects that could significantly boost his personal wealth.

The Trump meme coin quickly soared in price to nearly $70 shortly after it was launched but has since fallen to about $12. Researchers have estimated that trading fees have generated tens of millions of dollars for entities that launched the coin, including a company owned by Trump.

Trump and his sons also helped launch a decentralized finance cryptocurrency platform last year, and the president has backed online stores that sell crypto-themed sneakers and $100,000 watches.

The Trump family business recently released an ethics agreement that prohibits Trump from “day-to-day” decision-making involving outside business deals and limits financial information shared with him.

Once a skeptic of cryptocurrencies, Trump changed course and promised last year to make the U.S. the world capital of digital assets. The cryptocurrency industry, which felt unfairly targeted by the Biden administration, embraced Trump and spent heavily to help him win last year’s election.

First Lady Melania Trump also launched a meme coin that spiked in value around the inauguration but has since cratered. A crypto developer who said he helped launch that meme coin was also involved in a disastrous meme coin launch that’s led to Argentine President Javier Milei facing a corruption probe.

That developer, Hayden Davis, has said meme coins are essentially a rigged game that benefit a small group of people at the expense of retail investors.

“It is an insiders’ game. This is an unregulated casino,” Davis said.

Besides a criminal prohibition, Liccardo’s bill would also allow private investors who lose money on a meme coin backed by a public official to sue. Liccardo said that’s a key part of the legislation, given what he sees as a lack of independence in the current Justice Department.

“You need to have some enforcement mechanism and a private right of action helps to keep everybody honest,” Liccardo said.

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gov.ca.gov | Contributed

Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he has signed several measures to advance animal welfare in California, including SB 879 by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), which ends unnecessary toxicological testing on dogs and cats.

“For many families, including my own, pets are beloved companions that enrich our lives every day,” said Governor Newsom. “I’m proud to sign this legislation to advance our state’s leadership on animal welfare by ending cruel and unnecessary testing on dogs and cats, among other measures to protect the health and safety of pets in California.”

SB 879, the PET (Prohibiting Extraneous Testing) Act prohibits toxicity testing on dogs and cats for pesticides, chemical substances and other products, which often does not advance scientific research on toxicity in humans. The bill includes exemptions for tests related to products intended for use in dogs or cats, including medical treatments. SB 879 does not impact federally required testing.

“As we celebrate California becoming the first state in the nation to prohibit certain testing on dogs and cats, we extend our gratitude to Governor Newsom for signing The PET Act, SB 879, into law,” said Kitty Block, President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. “Passing this bill shows California’s dedication to protecting animals from a life of suffering and isolation for the sake of unreliable tests. We appreciate Senator Wiener’s leadership on SB 879 and remain committed to ending all harmful toxicology testing on animals.”

Governor Newsom also signed AB 1648 by Assemblymember Brian Maienschein (D-San Diego), which requires kennel owners to create a natural disaster evacuation plan as one of the conditions for obtaining a kennel license or permit. AB 1290 by Assemblymember Alex Lee (D-San Jose) clarifies that stealing or taking someone else’s companion animal is theft.

In addition, the Governor signed SB 774 by Senator Robert Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) to facilitate the emotional support dog certification process for homeless individuals and AB 2723 by Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) which expands microchip registration requirements for dogs and cats to support the return of lost pets to their owners and deter theft.

The 2021-22 and 2020-21 state budgets included a total $50 million investment for a statewide Animal Shelter Assistance Program administered by UC Davis to give the state’s animal shelters the training and resources they need to work toward the state’s no-kill goal. Since taking office, Governor Newsom has signed several measures to end the retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in California, ban the sale of new fur products, prohibit the use of animals like elephants and bears in circus acts, ban hunting, trapping or killing bobcats, and require shelters to microchip all reclaimed or adopted cats and dogs.

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Legislation is now working its way through the state legislature that would make the standard workweek 32 hours for companies with more than 500 workers. There would be no cut in pay, and those who work more would be compensated at a rate of no less than 1.5 times the employee’s regular rate of pay.

“It doesn’t make sense that we are still holding onto a work schedule that served the Industrial Revolution,”

Democratic Assembly member Cristina Garcia, one of the bill’s sponsors, said in a statement.

While the shift is long overdue, the Covid-19 pandemic and “Great Resignation,” also known as the “Great Reshuffle,” have made it clear the time to make the change is now, she said.

Nearly 48 million Americans walked away from their jobs last year, and the trend is still going strong. Almost 4.4 million workers quit in February alone, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

“There has been no correlation between working more hours and better productivity,” Garcia said.

However, the California Chamber of Commerce opposes the bill, calling it a “job killer” because it will end up imposing more costs on businesses.

“Labor costs are often one of the highest costs a business faces,” Ashley Hoffman, public policy advocate at the California Chamber Commerce wrote in a letter to Assembly member Evan Low, another Democratic sponsor of the bill.

“Such a large increase in labor costs will reduce businesses’ ability to hire or create new positions and will therefore limit job growth in California.”

Four-day workweek

Proponents of the four-day workweek say the same work can get done in the shorter timeframe. More companies are now testing it out as a way address employee well-being.

Earlier this month, dozens of companies across the U.S. and Canada began a six-month pilot of a four-day workweek, which is being led by 4 Day Week Global.

The idea is that employees work 80% of the time for 100% of the pay and maintain 100% productivity. It comes down to working more efficiently, including cutting back on unnecessary meetings.

“More and more companies are recognizing that the new frontier for competition is quality of life, and that reduced-hour, productivity-focused working is the vehicle to give them that competitive edge,” said Joe O’Connor, CEO of 4 Day Week Global.

Among those participating in the North American trial is crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. Its CEO, Aziz Hasan, told CNBC in July it is a way for the company to become more powerful as a group.

“It’s really about — if our time and attention is focused as best as it can be in those four days — can we have a more potent impact on the things that we care about from a professional standpoint, so that it opens up so much more range for us personally?” he said.

For those who shortened the workweek during the pandemic, there are no plans to turn back.

“There are so many parts of the workweek that are just a waste of time,” said Banks Benitez, CEO of Denver-based Uncharted, which switched to a four-day workweek in 2020.

“It has been a great forcing function for us to think differently.”

Michelle Fox | Contributed

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On the final day of Women’s History Month, Acting Governor Eleni Kounalakis signed legislation that extends eviction protections for Californians participating in rental assistance programs, making her the first woman in California’s history to sign a piece of legislation into law.

“California’s nation-leading rent relief program has provided much needed relief for more than 220,000 households across the state. This action will provide additional time to thousands more who are in the process of acquiring emergency relief,” said Acting Governor Kounalakis. “I am deeply humbled to take this action and to be part of history as the first woman in state history to sign legislation into law. I remain more determined than ever to ensure that while I may be the first to do so, I will certainly not be the last.”

AB 2179 by Assemblymember Tim Grayson (D-Concord) and Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) extends eviction protections through June 30, 2022 to help ensure housing stability for eligible tenants who apply for assistance from state or local rental assistance programs by March 31, 2022.

“California is leading the nation’s economic recovery from the pandemic, and we’re committed to ensuring all of our communities can access the supports they need to get back on their feet,” said Governor Gavin Newsom last Thursday. “Today’s action preserves important protections so that struggling families can keep a roof over their heads as the state works to provide critical assistance to thousands of households across California.”

Acting Governor Kounalakis was joined by Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, Assemblymembers Grayson and Wicks, Senator Josh Becker, and Assemblymember Blanca Rubio.

California’s $5.5 billion COVID-19 Rent Relief program is the largest statewide renter assistance program in the country and covers 100 percent of past-due rent payments for qualified low-income Californians. The state program has to date assisted more than 220,000 low-income households, with thousands of additional households assisted by local rent relief programs. Under the state program, tenants can access rental funds directly if their landlord chooses not to participate, and landlords can receive compensation even if their otherwise income-qualified tenants have already vacated a unit. Additional program information is available at the Housing Is Key website.

Acting Governor Kounalakis also signed SB 504 by Senator Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park), which will allow military and overseas voters and voters with disabilities to complete a same day voter registration and cast a ballot. Additionally, it provides the Secretary of State more accurate voter rolls and streamlines the process for the state’s universal vote by mail system by removing a number of unnecessary provisions.

For full text of the bills, visit: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.

gov.ca.gov

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