Newsom’s mental health proposal has lost a key mandate

Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a news conference announcing a proposed a 2024 ballot initiative to improve mental health services across the state, at Alvarado Hospital in San Diego, on March 19, 2023. | Adriana Heldiz/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP PhotoSACRAMENTO, Calif. — When he pitched the idea to reform the nearly 20-year-old Mental Health Services Act, Gov.

Tension between interest groups with competing goals has run high in recent weeks. Counties have been begging for relief from the measure’s strict spending categories, arguing that adding another population to be served — like people with substance use disorders — would lead to cuts without additional funding.

“I think the whole vision for this proposal, and the way that it was shared from the very beginning, is that we’re taking a really deep look at how we can actually ensure that people are getting access to care,” testified Andrea Rivera, Associate Director of Legislative Affairs, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, at a legislative hearing Tuesday. “And we’re making one of the core provisions, the substance use piece, optional.

The governor’s office didn’t provide a reason for making the benefit optional, instead directing questions to Ghaly’s testimony from an earlier hearing.

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