By Rachel Bluth February 19,
2020
SACRAMENTO,
Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom made a bold move Wednesday. In his second State of
the State address, an annual speech that usually focuses on political wins or
the state’s booming economy, Newsom dedicated 35 of 42 minutes to the urgent
but unsexy issue of homelessness.
By
proclaiming homelessness the most “pernicious crisis in our midst,” the
first-term Democratic governor staked his political reputation on his ability
to solve it.
That
means his reputation also rides on his ability to fix mental health care in
California.
“Health
care and housing can no longer be divorced,” Newsom declared in the ornate,
mint-chip-ice-cream-hued state Assembly chambers. In attendance were the
state’s other executive officers, legislators from both houses, and their
families and guests.
During
the speech, Newsom outlined several mental health proposals he plans to push
this year.
He
touted his ambitious “once-in-a-generation reform” plan for Medi-Cal,
California’s public insurance program for low-income people. Newsom wants to
invest $695 million to help the
state’s most vulnerable residents, including homeless people and those with
mental health problems, in unconventional ways, such as housing aid.
He also
raised the controversial issue of involuntary treatment for people with
behavioral health problems.
While
he criticized the historic practice of confining patients with mental illness
to asylums, he said the state needs to make it easier for law enforcement,
health care providers and families to get people into treatment. “All within the
bounds of deep respect for civil liberties and personal freedoms,” he added.
One of
the impassioned parts of Newsom’s speech was his call to reform the Mental Health Services Act, or Proposition 63.
Adopted by voters in 2004, the law imposes a 1% tax on personal income over $1
million to help counties expand mental health care.
Newsom
said the problem is that counties aren’t held accountable for how the money is
spent.
“The
money is used in 58 counties in 58 different ways,” said Tom Insel, chair of
the board of the Steinberg Institute, a nonprofit that focuses on mental health
and homelessness, whom Newsom calls his “mental health czar.”
That’s
not going to work for Newsom, who said in his speech that he wants the money to
be spent primarily on three populations: children, homeless people and formerly
incarcerated people.
And, he
demanded, the money has to be spent.
Newsom
said counties are hoarding $160 million in funding that could be used to get
people off the streets and into treatment.
“My
message is this: Spend your mental health dollars by June 30th, or we’ll make
sure they get spent for you,” Newsom said.
State
Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco, has made mental health and
housing reform signature issues. He said Newsom’s speech has created “political
space” to accomplish some controversial housing reform that has stalled in the
legislature.
“Impactful
housing bills are controversial, impactful homelessness bills are
controversial, and impactful mental health and addiction bills are
controversial,” Wiener said.
It’s
not the first time Newsom has taken responsibility for an intractable issue. A
month before the State of the State address, he promised $105 million in new spending to fix
the wildfire crisis, saying he would dedicate “emphasis, energy and sense of
urgency” to the issue.
Now,
he’ll also be judged on how he tackles homelessness, a problem that worries 85% of Californians.
“The
governor has a very full plate,” said Mike Gatto, a former Democratic state
Assembly member from Los Angeles who is trying to put a November ballot measure
before voters that would increase involuntary treatment.
“We saw
him take ownership of the wildfire issue and now he has boldly taken ownership
of this issue, too. The state has to be ready to help him with these tremendous
endeavors.”
This KHN story first published on California
Healthline, a service of the California Health Care Foundation.
Rachel
Bluth: rbluth@kff.org,
@RachelHBluth
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