Code Section

7295.  

(a) To ensure its safety and security, a state hospital that is under the jurisdiction of the State Department of State Hospitals, as listed in Section 4100, may develop a list of items that are deemed contraband and prohibited on hospital grounds and control and eliminate contraband on hospital grounds.

(b) The State Department of State Hospitals shall develop a list of items that shall be deemed contraband at every state hospital.

(c) A state hospital shall form a contraband committee, comprised of hospital management and employees designated by the hospital’s director, to develop the list of contraband items. The committee shall develop the list with the participation of patient representatives, or the patient government of the hospital, if one is available, and the Office of Patients’ Rights.

(d) Each hospital’s list of contraband items developed pursuant to subdivision (a), and the statewide list of contraband items developed pursuant to subdivision (b), are subject to review and approval by the Director of State Hospitals or his or her designee.

(e) A list of contraband items developed pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be updated and subject to review and approval by the director of the department, or the director’s designee, no less often than every six months.

(f) If an item presents an emergent danger to the safety and security of a facility, the item may be placed immediately on a contraband list by the Director of State Hospitals or the executive director of the state hospital, but this placement shall be reviewed by the contraband committee, if applicable, and approved by the Director of State Hospitals or the director’s designee within six weeks.

(g) The lists of contraband items developed pursuant to this section shall be posted prominently in every unit of the hospital and throughout the hospital, and provided to a patient upon request.

(h) The lists of contraband items developed pursuant to this section shall be posted on the hospital’s Internet Web site.

(i) For the purposes of this section, “contraband” means materials, articles, or goods that a patient is prohibited from having in his or her possession because the materials, articles, or goods present a risk to the safety and security of the facility.

(j) Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the hospital and the department may implement, interpret, or make specific this section without taking regulatory action.

(k) The State Department of State Hospitals may adopt emergency regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division of 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) related to the management, inspection, and disposition of contraband items that have been identified by the department pursuant to this section. The adoption of emergency regulations under this subdivision is deemed to address an emergency, for purposes of Sections 11346.1 and 11349.6 of the Government Code, and the Director of State Hospitals is hereby exempted for this purpose from the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 11346.1 of the Government Code. This subdivision shall become inoperative on June 30, 2026, unless a later enacted statute deletes or extends that date.