Lanterman–Petris–Short Act  From Wikipedia, the free
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Lanterman–Petris–Short (LPS) Act (Cal. Welf & Inst. Code, sec.
5000 et seq.) concerns the involuntary civil commitment to a
mental health institution in the State of California. The act
set the precedent for modern mental health commitment procedures
in the United States. It was co-authored by California State
Assemblyman Frank Lanterman (R) and California State Senators
Nicholas C. Petris (D) and Alan Short (D), and signed into law
in 1967 by Governor Ronald Reagan. The Act went into full effect
on July 1, 1972. It cited seven articles of intent:    • To
guarantee and protect public safety;  The Act in effect ended
all hospital commitments by the judiciary system, except in the
case of criminal sentencing, e.g., convicted sexual offenders,
and those who were "gravely disabled", defined as unable to
obtain food, clothing, or housing [Conservatorship of Susan T.,
8 Cal. 4th 1005 (1994)]. It did not, however, impe