BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 2017 (McCarty) - College Mental Health Services Program
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|Version: May 27, 2016 |Policy Vote: HEALTH 8 - 0, ED. |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 8, 2016 |Consultant: Brendan McCarthy |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 2017 would appropriate $40 million per year from
the Mental Health Services Act Fund to provide grant funds to
public postsecondary schools for mental health services.
Fiscal
Impact:
Ongoing costs of $40 million per year to provide grant funds
to public college campuses (Mental Health Services Act Fund).
One-time costs of $240,000 and ongoing costs of $365,000 per
year for the Department of Health Care Services to provide
technical assistance to grantees and to oversee the operation
of the program (Mental Health Services Act Fund).
Ongoing costs likely between $1 million and $2 million per
year for the California Mental Health Services Authority to
develop grant guidelines, review grant applications, and
provide technical assistance to college campuses (Mental
Health Service Act Fund).
AB 2017 (McCarty) Page 1 of
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Unknown costs to public college campuses to put up matching
funds to receive grants under the bill (General Fund or
special funds). The bill would require public college campuses
that apply for funding to agree to provide a dollar-for-dollar
match or another match determined by the California Mental
Health Services Authority. Depending on the match requirement
required by the Authority, and the extent to which colleges
could count existing program funds for the match requirement,
the bill could impose additional costs on public college
campuses.
Background: The Mental Health Services Act (Proposition 63 of 2004)
imposes an additional 1% personal income tax on incomes over $1
million. Most of the funding from the Mental Health Services Act
is transferred to counties to provide support for mental health
services. The Mental Health Services Act limits state
administrative spending to 5% of revenues. Counties are required
to prepare three-year program and expenditure plans (with annual
updates) and to submit those plans to the state. In addition,
under direction from the Department of Health Care Services,
counties are required to develop annual revenue and expenditure
reports. In 2015-16, projected Mental Health Services Act
revenues are $1.8 billion.
In 2007, the Mental Health Services Act Oversight and
Accountability Commission approved $60 million in statewide
initiative funds for the Student Mental Health Initiative for
prevention and early invention programs at K-12 schools and
colleges.
The California Mental Health Services Authority is a
county-created joint powers authority created to fund mental
health programs, including implementation the Student Mental
Health Initiative.
Proposed Law:
AB 2017 would appropriate $40 million per year from the Mental
Health Services Act Fund in order to provide grant funds to
public postsecondary schools for mental health services.
AB 2017 (McCarty) Page 2 of
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Specific provisions of the bill would:
Make a legislative finding that the bill is consistent with
the Mental Health Services Act, amongst other findings;
Establish the College Mental Health Services Trust Account and
continuously appropriate funds in that account for the
purposes of the bill;
Beginning on July 1, 2017, require that $40 million be
transferred from the Mental Health Services Act fund to the
new special fund each year;
Require the Department of Health Care Services and the
California Mental Health Services Authority to create a grant
program for public colleges and universities to improve mental
health programs;
Require the California Mental Health Services Authority to
create grant guidelines for the program, with specified
requirements;
Require applying colleges to submit grant applications to the
California Mental Health Services Authority;
Give the California Mental Health Services Authority the
authority to approve grant applications and require the
Department to provide grant funding in accordance with the
Authority's determinations;
Require grant funding to be proportional to student
populations in each segment and limit total grant amounts for
any campus to $5 million;
Require campuses to provide dollar-for-dollar matching funds
or a matching requirement approved by the California Mental
Health Services Authority;
Limit administrative costs to 5% of a grant amount and limit
Department of Health Care Services administrative costs to 5%
of total program funds;
Prohibit grant funds from being used to supplant existing
funds for mental health services;
Require grantees to provide specified reports;
Require the Department to develop an evaluation plan and
submit a report to the Legislature by February 1, 2021;
Sunset the bill on January 1, 2022.
Related
Legislation:
AB (Cooley) 2279 would require the Department of Health Care
Services to collect and publicly report specified information
regarding Mental Health Services Act revenues and expenditures
AB 2017 (McCarty) Page 3 of
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made by counties. That bill will be heard in this committee.
AB 1618 (Committee on Budget, Statutes of 2016) establishes a
program for the Department of Housing and Community
Development to distribute $2 billion in funding for permanent
supportive housing for individuals eligible for services under
the Mental Health Services Act (Proposition 63). Funding for
this program will come from a securitization of future Mental
Health Services Act tax revenues.
Staff
Comments: Under current law, almost all Mental Health Services
Act funding is distributed directly to counties for expenditure
on mental health programs. Although there is a level of
oversight performed by the Mental Health Services Oversight and
Accountability Commission and the Department of Health Care
Services, primary responsibility for determining how Mental
Health Services Act funds are spent is a county responsibility.
This bill would take $40 million per year away from those county
operated programs and instead require a county-created joint
powers authority to determine how to allocate those funds
amongst public colleges. There does not seem to be anything in
current law that would prevent counties from allocating Mental
Health Services Act funds to college campuses for mental health
services.
The bill appears to limit administrative expenses of grantees to
5% of grant awards and administrative expenses of the Department
of Health Care Services to 5% of total program funds. It is not
clear whether either of those limitations apply to the
administrative expenses incurred by the California Mental Health
Services Authority.
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