(SACRAMENTO) – Senator Thomas J. Umberg (D-Santa Ana) announced that earlier today his measure to implement treatment courts as demanded by California’s Proposition 36 passed its first key hurdle.  Senate Bill 28 passed the Senate Public Safety Committee on a bipartisan, unanimous vote of 6-0.

“Proposition 36 addresses the desperate need to reinstate and revitalize drug courts,” said Senator Umberg. “Treatment courts and rehabilitation pathways – once shining examples of the promise of redemption in California – have been languishing or disappearing. Proposition 36 is a mandate to reinstate these tools to address addiction and crime related to addiction.”

SB 28 – The Proposition 36 Treatment Court Implementation Act – provides that defendants charged with treatment-mandated felonies attend treatment court instead of incarceration in all counties and requires that those courts follow best practices. Treatment courts, also known as ‘Collaborative Courts’, have a proven record of reducing recidivism and rehabilitating defendants. Currently, a patchwork of treatment courts exists varying wildly from county to county – with some counties having no treatment courts. 

To address this issue, in light of Proposition 36, SB 28 requires treatment courts to be available to all eligible defendants and for courts to use best practices that result in the most positive outcomes for defendants and their families. The measure is supported by the California State Association of Psychiatrists, the California District Attorneys Association, and others.

SB 28 is part of two key measures authored by the Senator to implement the voters’ will as passed in Proposition 36.  The other is contained in Senate Bill 38, which provides funding for implementation of the measure.

SB 28 will next be heard in Senate Appropriations Committee in the coming months. Its companion measure, SB 38, will be heard in the Senate Public Safety Committee, though a hearing date has not yet been set.

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Senator Thomas Umberg is the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and represents the 34th Senate District, which includes the cities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Fullerton, Garden Grove, La Habra, Orange, Placentia, and Santa Ana in Orange County as well as South and East Whittier in Los Angeles County. Umberg is a retired U.S. Army Colonel and former federal prosecutor. He and his wife, Brigadier General Robin Umberg, USA (ret.), live in Orange County.