United States | A fine balance

California considers taking custody of some street people

A bill before the state legislature must weigh legal rights against well-being

|SAN FRANCISCO

IN 1967 Ronald Reagan, then governor of California, signed into law the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, an ambitious reform of the state’s mental-health laws. It was part of a wave of changes that closed asylums in the state and around the country. Half a century later, the state legislature is reviewing those decisions.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “A fine balance”

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