FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
December 4, 2023

CONTACT:
MayorPress@sandiego.gov

SAN DIEGO – Mayor Todd Gloria will hold a media availability on Tuesday to comment on a proposal by San Diego County officials to delay implementation of Senate Bill 43.

Signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom this fall, SB 43 modernizes California’s conservatorship laws to extend this life-saving intervention to people with severe substance-use disorders and those who cannot provide for their own basic personal safety or medical needs.

With so many among San Diego’s homeless population suffering from severe mental illness and at risk of dying on our streets, Mayor Gloria believes any delay would be inhumane. He is urging the County Board of Supervisors to begin implementation of the law on Jan. 1, 2024, when the new law takes effect.

Last year, the City of San Diego’s police officers and firefighters spent more than 130,000 hours responding to more than 53,000 behavioral health-related emergency calls. This equates to 38 first responders spending their entire 10-hour shifts every day responding to behavioral health emergencies in San Diego alone.

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