Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills co-authored by Encinitas state Sen. Catherine Blakespear that expand who can refer people into California's CARE Court mental health program.

Newsom signed SB 989 and SB 1242 on Sunday, Sept. 27. State Sen. Steve Choi, a Republican from Irvine, co-authored both measures, KPBS reported, in a story first reported by CalMatters.

CARE Court launched in 2023 to connect Californians suffering from psychosis with court-supervised treatment plans run through their county. Family members, first responders and mental health professionals can petition to get someone into the program.

SB 989 lets firefighters, EMTs and other first responders ask their county to refer someone into CARE Court. The county then has 30 days to decide whether to file a petition.

SB 1242 allows the person who filed a CARE Court petition, often a family member, to submit one-way information about a participant's location, condition or status to the care team. The petitioner cannot receive information back without the participant's consent. The bill was amended before reaching Newsom's desk after concerns about patient privacy.

Blakespear called the new laws "incremental improvement" and said she does not want to overstate their impact. "We are improving the system for people who need help the most," she told CalMatters.

The two signed bills were not the only CARE Court measures Blakespear pushed this session. Two more ambitious bills she championed died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee in August without reaching Newsom's desk.

SB 1016, authored by Blakespear, would have created a path for people too sick for voluntary CARE Court to be referred to a conservatorship. SB 28, authored by state Sen. Tom Umberg and co-authored by Blakespear, also would have strengthened the link between CARE Court and conservatorships.

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, a Democrat from Oakland who chairs the Appropriations Committee, blamed the cost and said the Legislature did not yet have enough data on what is and is not working about CARE Court.

Opponents including Disability Rights California argued the bills would have made CARE Court more coercive. Supporters, including families of people with severe mental illness, said the program lacks teeth when participants are too sick to accept voluntary care.

State data shows the program's limited reach. Of 2,216 petitions filed between Oct. 1, 2023, and June 30, 2025, courts approved 500 CARE agreements and 17 court-ordered CARE plans, according to the 2026 CARE Act Annual Report from the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). Courts dismissed 984 petitions during that period. Only 130 of 1,960 unique participants, about 6.6 percent, were petitioned by a first responder or outreach worker.

Blakespear said she plans to try again next year to strengthen the connection between CARE Court and conservatorships. An independent evaluation of the CARE Act is underway, with preliminary results expected in December 2026.