Lawmakers signed off on a major legislature overhaul of California’s Mental Health Services Act, which was first implemented in 2004 and is funded by a 1% tax on income over $1 million. The reforms would allow counties to provide treatment for substance abuse disorders and emphasize housing to stabilize patients. It would require county providers to spend roughly 30% of their budgets on housing or rent subsidies for their patients.
As part of the package, voters will have the opportunity to weigh in on a $6.4 billion bond to build infrastructure for 10,000 new behavioral health treatment slots across the state. Under AB 531, the bond will go before voters in March 2024.
“I just see this as a reasonable update — 20 years later — to how we spend our money, actually meeting the moment that we find ourselves in,” said Senator Susan Eggman (D-Stockton), who authored the reform bill, SB 326 .
Newsom first proposed the reforms in March and is expected to sign the package.
“These measures represent a key part of the solution to our homelessness crisis, and improving mental health for kids and families,” Newsom said in a statement after the measures passed. “Now, it will be up to voters to ratify the most significant changes to California’s mental health system in more than 50 years.”
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, the original author of California’s Mental Health Services Act, also supported the changes.
A separate measure, also authored by Eggman, will expand the use of involuntary commitment and conservatorships in California. The Stockton Democrat, a former social worker, argued SB 43 would allow first responses to get people living on the street with severe mental illnesses into treatment. It was supported by psychiatrists and groups including NAMI, but opposed by disability rights groups.
Those in mental health crisis will be able to call a hotline
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