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Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher (Yuba City) issued a statement in response to Governor Newsom’s scheduled signing of Senate Bill 1338, legislation that establishes the CARE Court framework:
“The same Governor and Democrat super-majority that created California’s culture of lawlessness and human suffering on our streets is once again pre-maturely patting themselves on the back. Although better than nothing, CARE court essentially amounts to a new bureaucratic half-measure,” said Gallagher.
“It’s not the groundbreaking policy change we need. It will help some severely mentally ill people get treatment, but will not stop the explosion of homeless camps in our communities. If we’re really going to make a difference, we need to reform our conservatorship laws by changing the definition of “gravely disabled” to get people the mental health and drug addiction treatment they need. Yet again, the supermajority has missed the mark.”
The Newsom administration admits that even in the best-case scenario, less than 10% of California’s homeless population would qualify for CARE Court and only seven counties are expected to participate in CARE Court next year.Senate and Assembly Republicans introduced a variety of proposals to take real action on homelessness this legislative session that were ultimately rejected by the Democrat super-majority.
