AB 860: Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission: factfinding tour.

Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act, an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, establishes the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission to oversee the administration of various parts of the act. The act may be amended by the Legislature by a ²/₃ vote of both houses and only so long as the amendment is consistent with and furthers the intent of the act. The Legislature may clarify procedures and terms of the act by majority vote.

Existing law, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, requires all meetings of a state body to be open and public and requires that all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting of a state body, except as otherwise specified. For purposes of the act, state body includes, among other entities, every state board, or commission, or similar multimember body of the state that is created by statute or required by law to conduct official meetings and every commission created by executive order. As a state commission created by statute, the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission is a state body for purposes of the act.

This bill, notwithstanding the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Bagley-Keene Act) or any other law, would authorize the commission to conduct a factfinding tour of a facility or location that either is not open to the public, or for which opening the facility or location to the public would compromise or impede the safety or security of the facility or location, including, but not limited to, locked mental health facilities, prisons, jails, schools, or other facilities in furtherance of the commissions duties, for the purpose of supporting those duties. The bill would require the commission to comply with specified notice provisions required by the Bagley-Keene Act prior to the factfinding tour. The bill would require the commission to provide specified notice to members of the media of the proposed site tour and allow at least one member of the media to attend the site tour, as specified. The bill would prohibit the commission from taking any action, as described, during the site tour and from discussing among themselves any business of a specific nature that does not fall within the scope or purpose of the tour. The bill would require the commission to post a summary of the factfinding tour on its Internet Web site within 10 days after its completion.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

This bill would declare that it clarifies procedures and terms of the Mental Health Services Act.