(a) The medical director of a state hospital may grant a leave of absence to a judicially committed patient, except as provided in Section 7350, under general conditions prescribed by the State Department of State Hospitals.
(b) The State Department of State Hospitals may continue to render services to patients placed on leave of absence prior to July 1, 1969, to the extent those services are authorized by law in effect immediately preceding July 1, 1969.