Tell your State Senator and Assemblymember: Stop SB 1373!
Call your State Senator.
Call ONE of the Assemblymembers. Note: only one of these Assemblymembers represents you. Find out which one here.
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Call Script
My name is __________. I am a constituent, and my zip code is _______. I am a member of Indivisible SF.
For State Senator Scott Wiener:
I am disappointed that you voted for SB 1373 while you were in the Public Safety Committee. I’m calling to ask you to vote against SB 1373 if it comes to the floor, or at least abstain, because access to treatment for people with mental illness is a better public safety solution than jail time, and a more effective use of our tax dollars. Thank you.
For Assemblymember Haney:
In your position as a member of the Assembly Public Safety Committee, I’m calling to ask you to vote against SB 1373. Access to treatment for people with mental illness is a better public safety solution than jail time, and a more effective use of our tax dollars. Thank you.
For Assemblymember Stefani:
I’m calling to ask you to vote against SB 1373 if it comes to the floor. Access to treatment for people with mental illness is a better public safety solution than jail time, and a more effective use of our tax dollars. Thank you.
Background
Under California law, mental health diversion provides a path to treatment rather than jail when a person with serious mental illness is arrested for a crime. Specific offenses like murder, rape, and sexual abuse of a child already disqualify a defendant from access to diversion, and judges already have the ability to deny eligibility if there are public safety concerns. But claiming you’re tough on crime is a political catchphrase that garners votes, and a new bill, SB 1373, restricts access to mental health diversion by adding to the list of crimes that make a person ineligible, prohibiting a defendant with prior felonies from being granted diversion, and specifying that only people who have been diagnosed within 5 years of a current offense qualify for diversion.
The bill’s sponsor, State Senator Shannon Grove, has garnered media attention by claiming her bill will boot “violent repeat offenders” from diversion programs–yet the law already provides for this. Co-sponsor and Assemblymember Maggie Krell inadvertently let slip that “we don’t have enough money or enough placements for all the cases that could qualify for diversion,” and so “narrowing the class and … increasing the court’s discretion” nicely solves this problem.
If this bill became law, a person in the throes of psychosis could conceivably be jailed for a minor crime, such as theft of a bike, simply because their illness was first diagnosed more than 5 years ago. Once in jail, a person with serious mental illness is extremely vulnerable to being preyed on by others, is at risk of harm from guards because of difficulty complying with regulations, and will certainly continue to deteriorate without treatment. After release, a criminal record makes it even more difficult for them to reintegrate into society. Without treatment, these people are then more likely to be rearrested and trapped in a vicious cycle.
For people with mental illness, diversion programs provide access to treatment that improves public safety by addressing the root causes of harmful behavior and supporting recovery and long-term stability. Instead of spending money on jailing people, we should be ensuring that mental health diversion is adequately funded for all the people who qualify.
SB 1373 has been passed by the Senate Public Safety Committee [Commission]; disappointingly, State Senator Scott Wiener voted for this measure in committee. The bill will now be considered by the Assembly Public Safety Committee in early June, and it is likely to become law if it passes out of committee. Our local Assemblymember Matt Haney sits on this committee. To stop this bill, it is crucial to let Assemblymember Haney know that access to treatment is a far better public safety solution than jail time for people with mental illness. You can also urge Assemblymember Catherine Stefani to oppose this bill if it comes to the floor and encourage Senator Wiener to abstain from voting on the floor.
Resources
California Legislative Information
NAMI California: Priority Legislation
Madeline Shannon, “WATCH: Bill Would Boot Violent Criminals from Mental Health Programs,” The Center Square, Feb. 26, 2026