BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1571
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Date of Hearing: May 20, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 1571 (Committee on Veterans Affairs) - As Introduced: March
16, 2009
Policy Committee: Health Vote: 14-2
Veterans Affairs 8-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill modifies provisions established by Proposition 63 that
established the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA). Specifically,
this bill:
1)Requires DMH to verify that local MHSA plans include
representation from a legitimate veterans group in the
stakeholder planning process and address mental health issues
as they relate to veterans.
2)Requires county MHSA plans to include specificity regarding
the mental health needs of veterans.
3)Eliminates several requirements previously established for the
MHSA oversight commission.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Absorbable workload of less than $50,000 to DMH to add veteran
review to the local plan review process. The department
manages MHSA allocations and oversight. The MHSA authorizes a
transfer of up to 5 % of MHSA funding to offset state costs
for implementation of the measure.
2)Unknown special fund costs to county MHSA stakeholder groups
to increase the specificity of planning and reporting
regarding veterans' mental health. Up 5 % of MHSA funding is
available for county planning and other administrative
activities.
AB 1571
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COMMENTS
1)Rationale . This bill increases the specificity of planning and
data collection regarding veterans with mental health
treatment needs and their place in local MHSA planning and
priorities. According to the author, veterans are sometimes
denied local mental health care and told to seek treatment
from federal agencies. Therefore, despite being part of other
qualified groups under the adults/older adults or homeless
provisions of MHSA, they may not have the same access as other
members of those qualified groups who are non-veterans. Other
groups with a specific MHSA priority include the homeless,
formerly incarcerated individuals, and those hospitalized for
psychiatric disorders.
2)Proposition 63 , approved by voters in November 2004, enacted a
state personal income tax surcharge of 1% that applies to
taxpayers with annual taxable incomes of more than $1 million.
The funds are used to provide mental health services
statewide. In 2008 Proposition 63 revenues were over $710
million.
3)Veteran's Benefits . The Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
provides a spectrum of medical, surgical, and rehabilitative
care for eligible veterans. Standard medical benefits are
available to enrollees including preventive and primary care
and a full range of outpatient and inpatient services within
the system. VHA maintains an annual enrollment system to
manage the provision of quality hospital and outpatient
medical care and treatment to all enrolled veterans. A
priority system ensures that veterans with service-connected
disabilities and those below the low-income threshold are able
to be enrolled in VA's health care system. Many veterans are
either ineligible for mental health treatment through the VHA
or their service needs are unmet. Veterans may be deemed
ineligible for federal benefits if they are unable to prove a
mental health issue arose as a result of military service or
if they received a less than honorable discharge.
4)Concerns . The California Mental Health Directors Association
(CMHDA) and the California State Association of Counties
(CSAC) oppose this bill. They note that veterans are and
should remain an identified part of the target population for
MHSA programs but they indicate veterans should qualify for
enrollment based on community-identified priority and need,
AB 1571
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not solely on their status as a veteran.
5)Related Legislation . AB 3083 (Committee on Veterans Affairs),
Chapter 591, Statutes of 2008, requires counties to provide
mental health services to eligible veterans and expands the
definition of a serious mental disorder to include post
traumatic stress disorder and bipolar disorder for purposes of
qualifying target populations for county mental health
services.
Analysis Prepared by : Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081