A last-minute change to one of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature mental health proposals this week shocked advocates for disabled Californians, who called the move a “bait and switch” that could open the door to the involuntary institutionalization of people with mental health illnesses.
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The dispute centers on a more than $6 billion bond that would be used to build treatment facilities and supportive housing for people suffering from mental illness or addiction disorders. It’s a companion to a separate proposal likely heading to the ballot that would adjust California’s 20-year-old Mental Health Services Act in a way that would compel local governments to spend more money on housing for homeless people with mental illnesses.
The bond was not controversial this year until the final week of the legislative session, when the bill that would place it on the ballot was amended in a way that stripped language prohibiting the money from being used on involuntary confinements. The replacement language mirrors 2021 legislation that created the Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program, a $2.2 billion investment that has been used to fund locked facilities like acute psychiatric hospitals.
Legislators are expected to vote Thursday to place…
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