Gov. Gavin Newsom celebrated the passage of Prop. 1 at a Downtown L.A. press conference on Tuesday, March 21, after tense weeks during which his $6.4 billion mental-health bond measure teetered dangerously close to failure.
Having narrowly escaped political disaster, Newsom was thrilled with his narrow victory.
“I’ve never been associated with something I’m more proud of” Newsom said, adding that now is the time to deliver on his vision to fix the broken mental health system and get people off the streets.
“People are exhausted with the promises,” he said. “They want to see results, they want to see programs stood up, they want them done cost efficiently, they want them done in a way that actually produces outcomes.”
“I hear you loudly and clearly.”
Prop. 1 will direct $4.4 billion to create 10,000 new mental health beds and $2 billion for homeless housing projects, half of which will be reserved for veterans with mental illness or substance use issues.
It will also require that counties spend 30% of revenue from the Mental Health Services Act on housing. This voter approved act raises between $2 billion and $3.5 billion a year through a 1% tax on incomes greater than $1 million.
Opposition group Californians Against Prop. 1 issued a statement on Monday evening responding to news that the Associated Press had called the election in favor of Prop. 1. As of Tuesday morning’s vote update, the measure was favored by 50.2% of voters and opposed by 49.8%.
“Prop. 1 is not a ‘huge’ win for Gov. Newsom. It’s an embarrassing squeaker of a victory that contains a strong warning,” stated the opposition group. “Prop. 1 could be a humanitarian disaster if it is not well managed. The incredibly narrow approval of Prop. 1 is the voters saying ‘do not let that happen’.”
Opponents fear that changes to Mental Health Services Act funding will cause cuts to successful mental health services and ultimately increase the number of people battling mental illness and homelessness.
“If you support the status quo then that argument holds,” said Newsom, asserting that the existing model of mental health service provision is failing. “But, I don’t I don’t know many people do.”
“It’s all about prioritization,” he added, explaining that counties will still be able to direct 70% of funding into their most effective mental health services, while reserving at least 30% for “direly needed” supportive housing.
Another key concern of opponents was the fiscal irresponsibility of taking out $6.4 million in bonds while the state is already grappling with a nearly $38 billion budget deficit.
The governor said he “recognizes the cynicism out there that that just spending more money somehow is going to solve the problem.”
But, he argued that Prop. 1 is different from past strategies to combat mental health and homelessness because it unities all counties under a single plan and includes accountability measures to ensure services are delivered.
Now is the time for local governments to “step up” and be “full partners and participants in advancing this effort,” he said.
The opponent group, on the other hand, called upon supporters to stand up against service cuts resulting from the reshuffling of Mental Health Service Act funding, noting that “many battles await us in local governments.”
Newsom was joined on Tuesday by several key members of the Prop. 1 campaign including LA County Sheriff Robert Luna, Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis, California Medical Association President Dr. Tanya Spirtos and California Professional Firefighters President Brian Rice.
Sheriff Luna said the measure will provide police and fire personnel better options when responding to people struggling with mental health and addiction.
“I believe in the long run this is going to reduce our jail population because 42% of our inmates are mentally ill,” he said. ” I also believe this is going to reduce the number of encounters with people in mental health crisis that our law enforcement officers deal with on a daily basis.”
Irwin, D-Encino, who authored the state bill to put Prop. 1 on the ballot, expressed her deep relief and gratitude for its passage.
“I think it was closer than we all would have liked, but I think this should motivate us to make sure that these reforms are implemented in a way that can make all Californians proud,” she said.
While the outcome of the measure rode on a razor thin margin of votes, both the pro- and opposition Prop. 1 campaigns launched efforts to get voters to correct ballots that were rejected for signature issues. Despite victory having been declared for Prop. 1, the opposition campaign said they will continue efforts to make sure all ballots are counted before this election is certified.