Bill Text: CA AB1636 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Mental health services.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2024-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB1636 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB1636-Amended.html
|
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 09, 2023 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1636
| Introduced by Assembly Member Santiago |
February 17, 2023 |
An act to amend Section 5600.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, add Section 5899.3 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to mental health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1636, as amended, Santiago.
Mental health services.
Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, establishes the continuously appropriated Mental Health Services Fund to fund various county mental health programs. The MHSA also established the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission to oversee the administration of various parts of the act.
This bill would require the commission to develop, implement, and oversee a public and comprehensive framework for tracking and reporting spending on mental health programs and services from all major fund
sources and of program- and service-level and statewide outcome data, as specified. The bill would require counties to report to the commission their expenses in specific categories, including, but not limited to, inpatient care or intensive outpatient services, as well as their unspent funding from all major funding sources. By imposing new reporting requirements on counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the
Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law, the Bronzan-McCorquodale Act, provides that the mission of California’s mental health system is to enable persons experiencing severe and disabling mental illnesses and children with serious emotional disturbances to access services and programs that assist them, in a manner tailored to each individual, to better control their illness, to achieve their personal goals, and to develop skills and supports leading to their living the most constructive and satisfying lives possible in the least restrictive available settings.
This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to that provision.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee:Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 5899.3 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:5899.3.
(a) The Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission shall develop, implement, and oversee a public and comprehensive framework for tracking and reporting spending on mental health programs and services from all major fund sources and of program- and service-level and statewide outcome data. The framework shall, at minimum, do all of the following:(1) Include balances of all major, relevant funding sources, including balances of unspent MHSA funds. Funding shall include specificity about how counties spend funds within the broad MHSA categories, including, but not limited to, how funds support specific types of services such as crisis intervention or housing programs.
(2) Articulate information about the programs and services counties provide and the populations they serve, statewide and for each county, using those funds.
(3) Report broader outcomes that show the extent to which the state’s entire mental health system is helping people in need.
(b) To develop the framework required in subdivision (a), the commission shall do all of the following:
(1) Consult with state and local mental health authorities to develop and implement the framework.
(2) Consider utilizing available data and information when developing the reporting framework. The commission may
obtain relevant data and information from other state entities for this purpose.
(3) Develop categories of mental health programs and services that are tailored to inform assessments of spending patterns.
(4) Develop statewide measurements of mental health and report publicly about those measurements annually on the commission’s internet website.
(5) Work with counties and other state and local agencies, as necessary, to use the information the commission collects to improve mental health in California.
(c) Each county shall report to the commission its expenses in specific categories, including, but not limited to, inpatient care or intensive outpatient
services, as well as their unspent funding from all major funding sources. Reporting shall be done in a format prescribed by the commission.
SEC. 2.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.The mission of California’s mental health system is to enable persons experiencing severe and disabling mental illnesses and children with serious emotional disturbances to access services and programs that assist them, in a manner tailored to each individual, to better control their illness, to achieve their personal goals, and to develop skills and supports leading to their living the most constructive and satisfying lives possible in the least restrictive available settings.
