Assembly Health Committee advances Gibson bill to send psychiatric transports to closest appropriate hospital

Assemblymember Gibson asked the Assembly Health Committee to concur in senate amendments to AB 2405, a patient-safety measure that would require law-enforcement transports of people on 5150 holds to be taken to the closest appropriate designated facility. Gibson told the committee that "Data shows that there has been over 400 law enforcement transports to Martin Luther King Community Hospital over a 4 month period from November 2025 to February 2026," and that the hospital is serving patients in overflow conditions.

Christie Weese of Capital Advocacy, testifying on behalf of Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital, told the committee the bill had been significantly amended in the senate to remove reporting and penalty language and that the changes still ensure patients brought in on a 5150 reach an appropriate nearby hospital. Vanessa Gonzalez of the California Hospital Association also registered support on the record.

Gibson and counsel summarized the senate amendments: clarifying that a person brought by law enforcement must be taken to the closest appropriate designated facility; removing reporting requirements; and permitting flexibility for patient choice and for law enforcement to follow local written policies and agreements. Gibson said the bill is targeted to relieve particularly distressed hospitals and asked for the committee's concurrence.

A motion to concur in the senate amendments was moved and seconded and the committee conducted a roll call. The chair announced the bill was moved out of committee (concurrence in senate amendments). The motion on the record was "concur in senate amendments," moved by Aguirre Curry and seconded by Addis.

The committee transcript records strong concern from the bill's author about hospital capacity: "We are serving people in the parking lot in tents, and we're turning no one away," Gibson said, describing overflow at the South Los Angeles hospital. The committee did not record any primary witnesses in opposition on the day of the hearing.