BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 745
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Date of Hearing: April 21, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Rob Bonta, Chair
AB 745
Chau - As Amended April 6, 2015
SUBJECT: Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability
Commission.
SUMMARY: Requires the Governor to appoint an additional member
to the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability
Commission (Commission) who has experience providing supportive
housing to persons with a severe mental illness.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), enacted by
voters in 2004 as Proposition 63, to provide funds to counties
to expand services, develop innovative programs, and
integrated service plans for mentally ill children, adults,
and seniors through a 1% income tax on personal income above
$1 million.
2)Establishes the Commission to oversee the implementation of
MHSA.
3)Establishes the following membership requirements for the
Commission, appointed by the Governor unless otherwise
specified:
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a) The Attorney General and his or her designee;
b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction or his or her
designee;
c) A member of the Senate selected by the President pro
Tempore of the Senate;
d) A member of the Assembly selected by the Speaker of the
Assembly;
e) Two persons with a severe mental illness;
f) A family member of an adult or senior with a severe
mental illness;
g) A family member of a child who has or has had a severe
mental illness;
h) A physician specializing in alcohol and drug treatment;
i) A mental health professional;
j) A county sheriff;
aa) A superintendent of a school district;
bb) A representative of a labor organization;
cc) A representative of an employer with less than 500
employees;
dd) A representative of an employer with more than 500
employees; and,
ee) A representative of a health care services plan or
insurer.
4)Specifies that the MHSA can only be amended by a two-thirds
vote of both houses of the Legislature and only as long as the
amendment is consistent with and furthers the intent of the
MHSA. Permits provisions clarifying the procedures and terms
of the MHSA to be added by majority vote.
FISCAL EFFECT: This bill has not yet been analyzed by a fiscal
committee.
COMMENTS:
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1)PURPOSE OF THIS BILL. According to the author, supportive
housing has proven to be an effective strategy for reducing
homelessness among people with mental illness. At any given
moment more than 133 thousand Californians are homeless. The
author states that of these Californians, roughly 33.8
thousand - or 25% - are considered chronically homeless.
According to researchers, at least one-third of chronically
homeless people are mentally ill. The Commission oversees the
implementation of the MHSA and may advise the Governor or the
Legislature on mental health policy. However, existing law
does not require the Commission to include any members with
experience providing supportive housing to persons with severe
mental illness.
2)BACKGROUND. MHSA requires each county mental health
department to prepare and submit a three-year plan to the
Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) that must be updated
each year and approved by DHCS after review and comment by the
Commission. DHCS is required to provide guidelines to
counties related to each component of the MHSA, including,
among other things, community services and support content to
provide integrated mental health and other support services to
those whose needs are not currently met through other funding
sources; prevention and early intervention content to provide
services to avert mental health crises; and, innovative
program content to improve access to mental health care. In
their three-year plans, counties are required to include a
list of all programs for which MHSA funding is being requested
and that identifies how the funds will be spent and which
populations will be served.
At the time it was created, the Commission acted as a division
within the Department Mental Health (DMH); however,
legislative changes, effective March 2009 specified that the
Commission is to administer its operations separately and
apart from DMH. Currently, counties must submit their plans
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for approval to the Commission before the counties may spend
certain categories of funding.
3)SUPPORT. The California Primary Care Association writes in
support of this bill that research has clearly demonstrated
the positive effects that supportive housing can have on an
individual's employment, mental health, physical health, and
school attendance, leading to decreased use of hospitals,
emergency rooms, jails, and prisons. Stable housing is a
critical component of engaging their patients in physical and
behavioral health care management. The requirement to include
a voting member on Commission with experience with supportive
housing services ensures that programs and funding targeting
individuals with behavioral health conditions takes the unique
needs of those individuals experiencing homelessness into
consideration.
According to the National Association of Social Workers -
California Chapter (NASW), Proposition 63 established the
Commission for the purposes of overseeing the implementation
of the MHSA. The NASW states in support that providing a
person with experience in supportive housing to the Commission
is also consistent with improving the delivery of mental
health services to those in need.
4)RELATED LEGISLATION. AB 253 (Roger Hernández) makes specified
changes to the MHSA, the Veterans Housing and Homeless
Prevention Bond Act of 2014, and mental health plan
requirements. AB 253 is pending a hearing in the Assembly
Health Committee.
5)PREVIOUS LEGISLATION. SB 82 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal
Review), Chapter 34, Statutes 2013, establishes the Investment
in Mental Health Wellness Act of 2013 and authorized the
California Health Facilities Financing Authority to administer
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a program to increase capacity for mobile crisis support,
crisis intervention, crisis stabilization services, crisis
residential treatment, and specified personnel resources.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Primary Care Association
National Association of Social Workers - California Chapter
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Paula Villescaz / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097
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