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Committee backs AB 416 to let emergency physicians initiate 5150 holds, supporters say it will ease ER overcrowding
Summary
AB 416 would authorize emergency room physicians to initiate 72‑hour psychiatric holds under Welfare & Institutions Code 5150 in counties that choose to designate them; supporters argued it will speed care and free beds, while counties and behavioral health directors expressed concerns.
AB 416, sponsored by Assemblymember Krell, would allow emergency department physicians to initiate 72‑hour psychiatric holds (commonly known as “5150” holds under state law) in counties that designate them as authorized professionals. The Assembly Judiciary Committee passed the measure after testimony from emergency-medicine groups, psychiatric physicians and county behavioral-health officials.
Krell told the committee that emergency…
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