CALIFORNIA, USA — On Super Tuesday, March 5, 2024, California voters decided on a statewide ballot measure that Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said would transform the outdated mental health system and address the ongoing homelessness crisis.
CA Prop 1 | Election Results
California voters were split in early returns over a statewide ballot measure touted by Gov. Gavin Newsom as a necessary step to tackle the state's ongoing homelessness crisis.
Proposition 1 would be the first major update to the state’s mental health system in 20 years. The measure needs a simple majority vote to pass. It was too early to call Tuesday night, and it could take days before the final results are tallied.
Newsom spent significant time and money campaigning on the measure's behalf, raising more than $13 million to promote it with the support of law enforcement, first responders, hospitals and mayors of major cities. Opponents raised just $1,000. He did not make any statements Tuesday as votes were counted.
“The status quo is not acceptable,” Newsom said Monday at a final campaign stop.
The Democratic governor says the proposition is needed to address the state’s homelessness crisis by boosting investments in housing and substance use programs, but social providers worry it would threaten programs that are keeping people from becoming homeless in the first place.
Republican Darlene Farnum, a retired salesperson from the Southern California suburban city of Fountain Valley, said Tuesday she voted for the proposition even though it was backed by Newsom, someone she said she disagrees with on just about everything else.
“We need to do something besides letting people die and be homeless,” she said.
Brian Frey, a programmer who lives in Sacramento, also voted for the proposition and said the issue is personal to him.
“My brother is actually homeless. He’s suffering from some mental health issues right now,” Frey said. “I think it’d be good to provide funding for treatment centers.”
The measure would restrict how counties use money from a voter-approved tax enacted in 2004 on millionaires that currently is earmarked for mental health services under broad guidelines. Revenue from the tax, now between $2 billion and $3 billion a year, provides about one-third of the state’s total mental health budget.
Counties would be required to spend about two-thirds of those funds on housing and programs for homeless people with serious mental illnesses or substance abuse problems.
Newsom wants to give the state more control over how that money is spent, but critics say it would apply one formula to all counties regardless of the size of the local homeless population and could pit programs for children against those for homeless people.
Proposition 1 also would authorize the state to borrow $6.38 billion to build 4,350 housing units, half of which would be reserved for veterans, and add 6,800 mental health and addiction treatment beds.
In an effort to ensure accurate, comprehensive tallies, counting ballots in California has become a weekslong drama that, in close contests, can transform Election Day into an election month. Mail ballots postmarked by Tuesday can arrive within seven days and are still valid. The heavy reliance on mail ballots — every voter receives one — also results in an extended tally, since each must be opened, validated and processed.
Homelessness has become one of the most frustrating issues in California and one sure to dog Newsom should he ever mount a national campaign. The state accounts for nearly a third of the homeless population in the United States; roughly 181,000 Californians are in need of housing. The state, with a current inventory of 5,500 beds, needs some 8,000 more units to treat mental health and addiction issues.
Newsom’s administration already has spent at least $22 billion on various programs to address the crisis, including $3.5 billion to convert rundown motels into homeless housing. California is also giving out $2 billion in grants to build more treatment facilities.
The proposition is touted as the final piece in Newsom's plan to reform California’s mental health system. He has already pushed for laws that make it easier to force people with behavioral health issues into treatment.
What is Proposition 1?
Proposition 1, the only statewide initiative on the March 5 ballot, is also one of the most complicated and lengthy measures in recent years. It takes up 68 pages of the 112-page voter information guide.
At the center of the proposition is the question of how counties could use funding that comes from a voter-approved tax on millionaires in 2004. Revenue from the tax, now between $2 billion and $3 billion a year, has mostly gone to counties to fund mental health services as they see fit under broad guidelines. It provides about one-third of the state's total mental health budget.
The ballot measure would give the state more power over how it's spent. It also would allow the state to borrow $6.38 billion to build 4,350 housing units, half of which would be reserved for veterans, and add 6,800 mental health and addiction treatment beds.
Here's a closer look at the details:
How is the money used now?
Under the current model, of the money going directly to the counties, 76% of the it funds mental health treatments, housing, outreach and crisis programs for people with mental health issues; 19% goes to prevention and intervention programs such as cultural centers and school-based mental health counseling; and 5% goes to innovative projects to increase treatment access.
The state keeps 5% of the tax revenues for administration costs.
How would it change under Proposition 1?
The state would more clearly specify how the money would be spent, with a greater focus on people with serious mental health disorders such as schizophrenia and major depression or substance use issues like excessive drug use or alcohol consumption. About a third would go toward housing and rental assistance for homeless people with serious mental health or addiction problems and 35% would go to mental health treatments and support for that population. Of the remaining roughly 35%, at least half would go to prevention services for youth and the rest would fund all other programs including workforce training, innovation projects and prevention services for adults.
Counties could shift up to 14% of funding between the categories, pending the state's approval. The state would keep 10% for administration and other initiatives.
What programs would be boosted?
Transitional and permanent housing for chronically homeless people with serious mental health or addiction issues would see more money. Mental health treatment programs and support services such as rental assistance and vocational programs for this population also would see a boost.
What programs are at risk?
County officials can't say which programs would face the biggest budget hit, but they anticipate some outreach services, homeless drop-in centers, and wellness programs run by peer-support groups would be impacted.
In Butte County, where officials would have to carve at least 28% of funding from existing programs toward housing, even the homeless outreach team that goes out to encampments to get people to sign up for housing and treatment is at risk of budget cuts. The program started more than a year ago and is funded with the mental health innovation money.
Diverting funding from services to housing also would mean less federal matching money, Butte County Behavioral Health Director Scott Kennelly said.
Who supports Proposition 1?
Newsom has taken the lead in boosting the proposition, fundraising more than $10 million and appearing in television ads to promote the plan.
He also has the support of law enforcement, firefighters, the state's hospital association, the National Alliance on Mental Illness California and a slew of big city mayors.
Who opposes Proposition 1?
Opponents of the proposition include mental health and disability rights groups, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and the League of Women Voters of California.
Several county officials have also expressed concerns with the measure. They worry that the change would threaten programs that keep people from becoming homeless in the first place.
WATCH: Super Tuesday 2024 | Breaking down the Presidential Primary a week before the election