BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 253
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Date of Hearing: April 15, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Ed Chau, Chair
AB 253
(Roger Hernández) - As Amended March 26, 2015
SUBJECT: Mental health
SUMMARY: Makes specified changes to the Mental Health Services
Act (MHSA), the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention (VHHP)
Bond Act of 2014, and mental health plan requirements.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Expands the Mental Health Services Oversight and
Accountability Commission (MHSOAC) by requiring the Governor
to appoint two additional members:
a) A person with knowledge and experience in reducing
mental health disparities; and
b) A veteran with knowledge about veteran's mental
health issues.
2)Requires the departments administering the VHHP to give a
preference to applicants for supportive housing projects who
can demonstrate a multiyear commitment of MHSA funding for the
applicant's housing project funding plan.
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3)Requires the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to
submit the cultural competence plan component of each mental
health plan for Medi-Cal beneficiaries to the Legislature
within 30 days of DHCS receiving the plan.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Imposes a tax of 1% on personal earnings over $1 million for
the purpose of financing new or expanded mental health
services, pursuant to Proposition 63, the MHSA (Revenue and
Taxation Code Sections 17043 and 19602.5).
2)Establishes the MHSOAC to, among other things, oversee the
implementation of the MHSA and advise the Governor or the
Legislature on mental health policy (Welfare and Institutions
Code Section 5845).
3)Requires the MHSOAC to have 16 voting members with specified
mental health knowledge and experience (Welfare and
Institutions Code Section 5845).
4)Establishes the VHHP, an initiative measure enacted by the
voters as Proposition 41 at the June 3, 2014, primary
election, authorizing $600 million in bonds for the
acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of
affordable multifamily supportive housing, affordable
multifamily transitional housing, or related facilities for
veterans and their families (Military and Veterans Code
Section 998.540, et seq.).
5)Requires the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA), the
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Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), and the
Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet), to work
collaboratively to carry out the duties and functions of the
VHHP (Military and Veterans Code Section 987.002).
6)Provides that DHCS is responsible for the development and
implementation of mental health plans for Medi-Cal
beneficiaries (Welfare and Institutions Code Section 14682.1).
7)Requires mental health plans, whether administered by public
or private entities, to be governed by specified guidelines,
including providing for culturally competent and
age-appropriate services, to the extent feasible (Welfare and
Institutions Code Section 14684).
8)Requires a mental health plan to assess the cultural
competency needs of the program and to include a process to
accommodate the significant needs with reasonable timeliness
(Welfare and Institutions Code Section 14684).
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS:
Purpose of this bill:
According to the author, ""The veteran population continues to
experience high levels of mental health issues. It is important
that every effort is made to better understand how to provide
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services to this population. As California's demographics
continue to change, it's clear that mental health outreach must
be done in culturally knowledgeable ways to be effective."
AB 253 "adds expertise to the MHSOAC in the areas of veterans'
mental health issues and reducing mental health disparities.
The bill also requires the departments administering Proposition
41 funds to give a preference to applicants when the applicant
can demonstrate a multiyear commitment of Mental Health Services
Act funding." The author points out that "[f]inancing for
housing projects are a compilation of various funding sources.
Many times the housing projects require gap financing
opportunities. While the state has traditionally provided bond
funds for the construction and rehabilitation of housing
projects, the search for service funds has remained a
challenge." To that end, the author notes that currently no
state mechanism exists for Proposition 41 funding to leverage
Proposition 63 funding. This bill "remedies that issue by
requiring some type of priority for this type of leveraging
between these two fund sources."
According to the author, it is also "important that the data and
plans submitted by counties to the state regarding their efforts
to plan and deliver culturally competent services are shared
with the Legislature and currently there is no requirement for
the plans to be shared."
MHSOAC:
In 2004, California voters approved Proposition 63: the MHSA.
The MHSA imposes a 1% tax on personal earnings over $1 million
to fund county-run mental health programs. The MHSA also
established the MHSOAC to oversee the implementation of the MHSA
and advise the Governor or the Legislature on mental health
policy. The MHSA consists of 16 voting members with specified
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mental health knowledge and experience.
AB 253 would add two additional members to the MHSOAC: a person
with knowledge and experience in reducing mental health
disparities and a veteran with knowledge about veteran's mental
health issues. Both of these members would be appointed by the
Governor.
Mental Health Plans:
DHCS is responsible for the development and implementation of
mental health plans for Medi-Cal beneficiaries. Mental health
plans, whether administered by public or private entities, are
governed by specified guidelines, including, among other things,
providing for culturally competent and age-appropriate services,
to the extent feasible. Mental health plans must also assess the
cultural competency needs of the program, and must include a
process to accommodate the significant needs with reasonable
timeliness.
AB 253 would require DHCS to submit the cultural competence plan
component of each mental health plan to the Legislature within
30 days of receipt.
The VHHP:
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AB 639 (Perez), Chapter 727, Statutes of 2013, established the
VHHP, an initiative enacted by the voters as Proposition 41 at
the June 3, 2014 primary election. The VHHP restructures $600
million of the $900 million in bonds approved by the voters for
the CalVet Home Loan Program in 2008 and uses them instead to
fund the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, and
preservation of affordable multifamily supportive housing,
affordable multifamily transitional housing, or related
facilities for veterans and their families.
The VHHP tasks HCD with administering the new funding program in
collaboration with CalVet and explicitly restricts the use of
bond proceeds to those housing units designated for veterans and
their families. The focus of the program is on housing for
veterans who are homeless or at risk for homelessness and in
need of services such as mental health counseling, substance
abuse treatment, job training, and physical therapy to address
injuries. HCD released the first VHHP Program Notice of Funding
Availability on February 20, 2015, announcing the availability
of approximately $75 million in VHHP funding. The anticipated
award date will be in June 2015.
AB 253 would require the departments administering the VHHP to
give a preference to applicants for supportive housing projects
who can demonstrate a multiyear commitment of MHSA funding for
the applicant's housing project funding plan. While encouraging
the use of MHSA funds for VHHP supportive housing services is
understandable, this method is problematic in that it would
allow VHHP projects with MHSA funding to jump the line in front
of all other project applicants, even though other projects may
score higher.
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MHSA funds are generally limited to funding programs that
provide assistance to people with mental illness, whereas VHHP
funds are for veterans. If a project is funded by both MHSA and
VHHP funds, it serves a narrower population of veterans than it
would under VHHP alone. While MHSA and VHHP eligible populations
can and do overlap, counties are generally in a better position
to determine the needs of their veteran population. Nothing in
the VHHP prevents a project from also being funded by the MHSA,
and the VHHP already prioritizes projects that combine housing
and supportive services, including mental health. This
prioritization is reflected in the existing scoring criteria.
The Committee may wish to consider amending the bill by
replacing this provision with a clarification within the VHHP
that MHSA funds may be used to provide services in conjunction
with VHHP projects, consistent with existing law.
Double-referred: AB 253 was also referred to the Committee on
Health, where it will be heard should it pass out of this
committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
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Support
California Association of Veteran Service Agencies- Co-Sponsor
Steinberg Institute - Co-Sponsor
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Rebecca Rabovsky / H. & C.D. / (916)
319-2085