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Supporters cite rising ED violence; advocates warn penal change could criminalize psychiatric crisis
Summary
Witnesses were sharply split over SB667: hospitals, security trainers and the Health Care Workplace Safety Commission urged tougher penalties and protections for emergency department staff; disability and mental‑health advocates cautioned the bill risks penalizing people in medical or psychiatric crisis and urged data collection and non‑criminal interventions.
A lengthy public hearing on SB667 produced sharply divergent views about how best to protect emergency department and other healthcare staff from violence.
Sponsor Senator Tim Mcu framed the bill as correcting a gap: EMS and prehospital responders have enhanced statutory protections, but equivalent safeguards for hospital emergency staff were narrower. The bill would raise penalties in some…
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