(a) Whenever the department proposes the closure of a state hospital, it shall submit as part of the Governor’s proposed budget to the Legislature a complete program, to be developed jointly by the State Department of State Hospitals and the county in which the state hospital is located, for absorbing as many of the staff of the hospital into the local mental health programs as may be needed by the county. Those programs shall include a redefinition of occupational positions, if necessary, and a recognition by the counties of licensed psychiatric technicians for treatment of persons with developmental disabilities, persons with mental health disorders, drug abusers, and alcoholics.
(b) The Director of State Hospitals shall submit all plans for the closure of state hospitals as a report with the department’s budget. This report shall include all of the following:
(1) The land and buildings affected.
(2) The number of patients affected.
(3) Alternative plans for patients presently in the facilities.
(4) Alternative plans for patients who would have been served by the facility assuming it was not closed.
(5) A joint statement of the impact of the closure by the department and affected local treatment programs.
(c) These plans may be submitted to the Legislature until April 1 of each budget year. Plans submitted after that date shall not be considered until the fiscal year following that in which it was submitted.
(d) The plan shall not be placed into effect unless the Legislature specifically approves the plan.
(e) This section shall not apply to the proposed closure of a developmental center.
(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 144, Sec. 65. (AB 1847) Effective January 1, 2015.)