SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California voters have handed a measure that may impose strict necessities on counties to spend on housing and drug remedy applications to deal with the state’s homelessness disaster.
Proposition 1 marks the primary replace to the state’s psychological well being system in 20 years and a win for Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who spent vital money and time campaigning on the measure’s behalf. He raised greater than $13 million to market it with the assist of regulation enforcement, first responders, hospitals and mayors of main cities. Opponents raised simply $1,000.
Voters had been cut up on the problem in early returns, and it took greater than two weeks after Election Day to confidently declare a winner.
Newsom celebrated after the proposition narrowly handed.
“That is the most important change in many years in how California tackles homelessness, and a victory for doing issues radically completely different,” he stated in an announcement. “Now, counties and native officers should match the ambition of California voters. This historic reform will solely succeed if all of us kick into motion instantly – state authorities and native leaders, collectively.”
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The measure offers the state larger management over a voter-approved tax enacted in 2004 on millionaires for psychological well being companies that gave counties huge latitude in easy methods to spend it. Counties will now be required to spend about two-thirds of the cash on housing and applications for homeless folks with severe psychological sicknesses or substance abuse issues.
The initiative additionally permits the state to borrow $6.38 billion to construct 4,350 housing models, half of which will likely be reserved for veterans, and add 6,800 psychological well being and habit remedy beds.
Opponents, together with social service suppliers and county officers, stated the change will threaten applications that aren’t solely centered on housing or drug remedy however hold folks from turning into homeless within the first place.
With makeshift tents lining streets and disrupting companies in communities throughout the state, homelessness has change into some of the irritating points in California and one certain to canine Newsom ought to he ever mount a nationwide marketing campaign.
Newsom touted the proposition as the ultimate piece in his plan to reform California’s psychological well being system. He has already pushed for legal guidelines that make it simpler to power folks with behavioral well being points into remedy.
William Elias, a tv producer in Sacramento, stated he “was on the fence” about Proposition 1 however determined to vote in favor of it due to the pervasive homelessness downside.
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“That’s one thing that’s throughout us proper now,” he stated. “We acquired all these tents out right here in entrance of Metropolis Corridor.”
Estrellita Vivirito, a Palm Springs resident, additionally voted ‘sure’ on the measure.
“It’s solely logical, , we’ve got to do one thing,” she stated.
Katherine Wolf, a doctoral pupil on the College of California, Berkeley, stated she voted ‘no’ on the measure out of considerations it could lead to extra folks being locked up towards their will.
“I used to be appalled of the system of legal guidelines that he has been constructing to sort of erode the rights of individuals with psychological disabilities,” Wolf stated of Newsom.
Griffin Bovee, a Republican state employee in Sacramento, additionally voted towards the proposition and stated the state has been losing taxpayer cash.
“Sacramento actually shouldn’t get one other dime till they really determine why what they’re doing just isn’t working,” he stated of the state’s dealing with of the homelessness disaster. “They spent $20 billion over the previous few years attempting to repair that downside and it acquired worse.”
The state accounts for practically a 3rd of the homeless inhabitants in america; roughly 181,000 Californians are in want of housing. The state, with a present stock of 5,500 beds, wants some 8,000 extra models to deal with psychological well being and habit points.
Income from the tax on millionaires, now between $2 billion and $3 billion a yr, gives about one-third of the state’s whole psychological well being funds.
Opponents, together with some county officers, psychological well being service suppliers and a few Republicans, stated the poll measure would lower funding from cultural facilities, peer-support applications and vocational companies and would pit these applications towards companies for homeless folks.
They stated the one system additionally might imply rural counties comparable to Butte, with a homeless inhabitants of fewer than 1,300 folks, can be required to divert the identical proportion of funds to housing as city counties comparable to San Francisco, which has a homeless inhabitants six instances greater.
Newsom’s administration has already spent a minimum of $22 billion on varied applications to handle the disaster, together with $3.5 billion to convert rundown motels into homeless housing. California can be giving out $2 billion in grants to construct extra remedy services.