REDDING, Calif — Shasta County District Attorney Stephanie A. Bridgett is urging California lawmakers to pass Assembly Bill 46, calling it a needed fix to the state’s mental health diversion system that she says has left courts with too little power to protect public safety.
Bridgett announced she is joining the California District Attorneys Association in a statewide push for the Legislature to approve AB 46, which would close what she described as legal loopholes in California’s mental health diversion law by restoring judicial discretion and ensuring the program provides treatment while protecting the community.
A recent Shasta County case was cited as an example of why prosecutors want judges to have more authority in diversion decisions. In that case, a defendant described as a parolee with two strikes and a lengthy criminal history was placed on mental health diversion in May 2025 after breaking into a home where a 16-year-old female victim was inside. The defendant then threatened the victim’s life and threw a softball-sized rock at her feet.
Since being placed on mental health diversion, the defendant has been charged in three new cases, including two felony cases in 2025 and one misdemeanor case in 2026. The listed charges include theft of a vehicle with a prior; two counts of receiving a stolen motor vehicle with a prior; resisting, delaying or obstructing a public officer, peace officer or emergency medical technician; fleeing a pursuing peace officer’s motor vehicle while driving recklessly; possession, manufacture, alteration or repair of burglar’s tools; recklessly causing fire to an inhabited structure; possession of flammable material; attempt to burn; vandalism less than $400; possessing or purchasing tear gas after conviction for a felony; assault or misuse of tear gas; possession of a controlled substance; and possession of an injection/ingestion device.
The defendant’s conduct was described as particularly concerning because of his criminal history, with prosecutors saying he has repeatedly proven to be an ongoing threat to public safety and has failed to use the program as designed.
Mental health diversion, created under Penal Code 1001.36, was intended to steer people suffering from mental illness into treatment instead of incarceration. But Bridgett’s office said recent court rulings and statutory limitations have significantly restricted judges’ ability to deny diversion, even in serious and violent cases, limiting courts’ authority to evaluate whether diversion is appropriate.
Under current law, prosecutors say that once a defendant meets certain statutory criteria, judges have very limited discretion to deny diversion. Courts have also been forced to approve diversion in cases where no clear treatment plan exists, where community safety is at risk, or where defendants have failed prior treatment efforts, due to how the statute is written and interpreted by appellate courts.
Prosecutors also raised concerns about what happens after diversion is completed, saying that once a defendant completes mental health diversion, the crime is removed from the defendant’s criminal history, “removing accountability for dangerous crimes as if the crime was never committed,” and putting victims, law enforcement and communities at risk if the program is not implemented properly.
AB 46 would allow courts to consider whether a defendant poses a substantial and undue risk to the physical safety of another person and whether the proposed treatment plan is clinically appropriate to address the mental health condition that contributed to the crime.
“Mental Health Diversion shouldn’t be used as loophole for dangerous offenders to avoid accountability,” Bridgett said. “Assembly Bill 46 closes the legal loopholes and empowers judges to thoroughly assess mental health treatment plans, ensuring that they address the root causes of criminal behavior while safeguarding public safety.”
AB 46 is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Public Safety Committee on March 17. The public can watch the hearing live at 8:30 a.m. at https://spsf.senate.ca.gov/committeehome.
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