Earlier this week, the Legislature passed a budget trailer bill
that included a solution for the reversion of unused Prevention
and Early Intervention and Innovation funds under the Mental
Health Services Act (MHSA, or Proposition 63 of 2004). It will
now move to the Governor’s desk for his signature or veto.
The trailer bill,
AB 114 (Committee on Budget), includes language that will
ensure that MHSA funds are being used to provide critical
community mental health services. CSAC’s letter on AB 114 is
available
here. The resolution in the trailer bill would:
Forgive counties for retroactive unspent funds, but require
them to submit a plan for expending the funding consistent with
the MHSA by July 1, 2018, or risk reversion;
Assist small counties (those with under 200,000 residents)
with expending funds by lengthening the reversion period for
these counties from three to five years;
Clarify when the reversion period begins, which will also
help ensure better tracking of funds subject to reversion;
Clarify how reverted funds are returned to all counties and
ensuring that the original purpose for the funding is preserved,
i.e. if a county’s prevention and early intervention funding
reverts, the state would reallocate that funding across all
counties but specify that it can only be used for prevention and
early intervention activities.
Improve data sharing and reporting by requiring the
Department of Health Care Services to more closely monitor MHSA
funding subject to reversion and provide regular updates to the
Legislature and the public.
AB 114 also includes language that appropriates $100,000 from the
state Mental Health Services Fund to the Mental Health Services
Oversight and Accountability Commission to develop a statewide
suicide prevention plan.
