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ROBIN WOULD be proud.
Starting this year, tax money from California's wealthiest citizens will
be pumped into a fund designated to expand care for the state's mentally
ill,
Proposition 63, also known as the Mental Health Services Act, was passed
last November by 53 percent of voters. The novel plan adds an additional
1 percent tax on California millionaires, affecting the pocketbooks of
an estimated 30,000 people. The new legislation will provide up to $1
billion in revenue for mental health services within the next few years.
So far, there are no definite plans for how to spend the money. The
state government is prohibited from slashing existing mental health
funding in response to the new influx of cash. The money will be doled
out to counties to expand services and develop innovative programs for
mentally ill children, adults and seniors, focusing on prevention and
early intervention. One new proposal aims to tackle chronic homelessness
among the mentally ill in San Francisco.
The legislation follows on the heels of California's pioneering Stem
Cell Initiative, another publicly funded program that allocates $3
billion for stem cell research. |
