Proposition 1, a statewide bond measure that Gov. Gavin Newsom championed as critical to solving the state's mental health and homelessness crisis, held a narrow lead Tuesday night in California's primary election, but the race was too close to be declared a winner and votes are still being counted everywhere. the state.
The measure redirects an existing tax on the wealthy under the state's 20-year-old Mental Health Services Act to fund services for people with substance abuse disorders and includes a $6.4 billion bond to build more of 10,000 treatment beds.
Newsom campaigned from San Francisco to San Diego in the run-up to the primary election, urging voters to pass the measure to address the most vexing problem of his governorship and the most visible challenge in his home state, where voters They have been alarmed by the number of people living in tents and under highways in cities large and small.
At rallies and announcements, Newsom presented Proposition 1 as an opportunity to correct past mistakes when the state closed state mental health hospitals in the 1960s without boosting local services, “leading to decades of neglect.”
“Short up. “I'm finally writing a new chapter,” Newsom said. “Support. “I am correcting a historical error.”
About 181,000 people statewide, including 75,000 in Los Angeles County, are homeless, according to 2023 counts. According to a recent survey by UC San Francisco, up to 82% of homeless people have experienced a serious mental health condition, and almost two-thirds have at some point regularly used illicit drugs.
Arguing that the status quo is not working, Newsom has pushed a number of policies since taking office to begin addressing the problem, such as expanding the criteria by which people can be detained against their will to include drug disorders. substance abuse, giving families and authorities the ability to petition courts to compel treatment for individuals and expand the availability of temporary and permanent shelters.
For the record:
19:50 March 5, 2024A previous version of this article said the Mental Health Services Act was approved by voters in 2023. Voters approved it in 2004.
Proposition 1 complements those efforts by renewing the Mental Health Services Act, which was approved by voters in 2004, to include treatment for those with substance use disorders, regardless of whether they have a mental health condition. The law imposes a 1% tax on income over $1 million to fund the expansion of mental health treatment options in California, which will be redirected under Proposition 1.
The measure also increases state oversight of county behavioral health spending at a time when Newsom has repeatedly questioned local governments' determination to fix the problem.
But every step Newsom takes receives pushback from the right and the left.
Liberal organizations are concerned that Newsom's policies, such as CARE Court and expanded guardianship, could infringe on civil rights, discourage people from seeking help for fear of being forced into care, and send people to of treatment harsher than necessary. Local governments have raised concerns about their ability to fund the governor's more ambitious policy directives and quickly train police and other personnel to comply with the new laws.
Meanwhile, voters are frustrated by the lack of progress and Republicans contend that unchecked liberal government in California caused the crisis.
Opponents of Proposition 1 pointed to the high price tag as one of the reasons they wanted voters to reject the measure.
“No matter what your political position, there is something about Proposition 1 to hate,” Paul Simmons, director of Californians Against Proposition 1, said in a statement issued before the election. “Whether it's the cost, or the history of failure, or the fact that Proposition 1 hurts people receiving mental health services now, there are flashing red lights everywhere.”
The California Department of Finance estimates that the Behavioral Health Infrastructure Bond within Proposition 1 would cost a total of $14 billion. The bonds, which investors buy, act as loans that the State repays with interest.
Two bills that sent the measure to the March ballot received rare bipartisan support in the state Legislature, with Republicans and Democrats abandoning their partisan corners to provide voters with a possible solution to a problem plaguing the state. But voters did not seem to share the bipartisan spirit on Election Day.
The measure faltered with only 50% support in a UC Berkeley Institute of Government Studies survey co-sponsored by The Times that was conducted in late February. A large majority of Republican voters opposed the measure, raising concerns about how Proposition 1 would fare in an election with higher Republican turnout.
