Newsom Proposes Mental Health Ballot Initiative Paid For With Millionaire Tax

By Tom Joyce | The Center Square contributor, The Center Square California

March 22, 2023

(The Center Square) – California Gov. Gavin Newsom has a plan that he thinks will improve mental health while reducing homelessness and substance abuse in California, and he wants to leave it to the voters in 2024.

Newsom asked lawmakers to create a 2024 ballot question that will, among other things, build residential facilities where 12,000 people could live each year and receive treatment for mental health and substance abuse problems.

"We have to address and come to grips with the reality of mental health in this state and our nation," Newsom said at a news conference in San Diego on Sunday. "The question is, what can we do more and do better?"

The plan would use two different funding mechanisms. It would use general obligation bonds, raising between $3 billion to $5 billion to construct the housing and facilities necessary to complete the venture.

Additionally, it would reform the state's Mental Health Services Act – a 1% tax on income exceeding $1 million that funds mental health services in the state.

Under Newsom's proposal, he wants the measure to fund at least $1 billion each year in "local assistance for housing and residential services for people experiencing mental illness and substance use disorders and allowing MHSA funds to serve people with substance use disorders," according to a release from his office.

"This is the next step in our transformation of how California addresses mental illness, substance use disorders, and homelessness – creating thousands of new beds, building more housing, expanding services, and more," Newsom said in the release. "People who are struggling with these issues, especially those who are on the streets or in other vulnerable conditions, will have more resources to get the help they need."

State Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman, D-Stockton, will introduce the measure into the state Legislature.

California Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, criticized Newsom's plan, saying the state must require homeless people with mental illness and drug addiction to get treatment before it starts funding any new programs.

"And after that, he should reduce the taxes, fees, and regulations that have made it nearly impossible for Californians to afford housing, electricity, and all other everyday costs," Gallagher told Fox News. "Until then, no splashy announcement will actually change the failed status quo."

"California had 171,000 homeless people last year," according to federal estimates; "the state has 30% of the country's homeless population."

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