REDDING, Calif. – Shasta County District Attorney Stephanie A. Bridgett is urging the California Legislature to pass Assembly Bill 46.
Bridgett says this bill aims to reform the state’s mental health diversion system by closing legal loopholes and enhancing judicial discretion to ensure community safety.
She says a recent case in Shasta County illustrates the need for this reform, where a parolee with a lengthy criminal record was placed on mental health diversion in May 2025 after breaking into a home and threatening a 16-year-old girl.
Since then, the defendant has been charged with multiple new offenses, including theft and resisting law enforcement, authorities say.
AB 46 seeks to address these issues by allowing courts to evaluate whether a defendant poses a substantial risk to others and if the treatment plan is appropriate. The bill is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Public Safety Committee on March 17.