Investment in Mental Health Wellness Act of 2013.

The California Health Facilities Financing Authority Act authorizes the California Health Facilities Financing Authority (authority) to make loans from the continuously appropriated California Health Facilities Financing Authority Fund to participating health institutions for financing or refinancing the acquisition, construction, or remodeling of health facilities. Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act, an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, establishes the continuously appropriated Mental Health Services Fund to fund various county mental health programs. The act, as originally enacted, limited state administrative costs to implement duties pursuant to the programs to 5% of the total of annual revenues received for the fund. Existing law limits state administrative costs to 3.5%. Existing law establishes the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (commission) to oversee the administration of various parts of the Mental Health Services Act. The act provides that it may be amended by the Legislature by a 23 vote of each house as long as the amendment is consistent with and furthers the intent of the act, and that the Legislature may also clarify procedures and terms of the act by majority vote. This bill would restore the limit on state administrative costs to 5%. This bill would establish the Investment in Mental Health Wellness Act of 2013. The bill would provide that funds appropriated by the Legislature to the authority for the purposes of the act be made available to selected counties or counties acting jointly, except as otherwise provided, and used to increase capacity for client assistance and services in crisis intervention, crisis stabilization, crisis residential treatment, rehabilitative mental health services, and mobile crisis support teams. The bill would require the authority to develop and to consider specified selection criteria for awarding grants, as prescribed. The bill would require the authority to provide prescribed reports to the fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature on May 1, 2014, and May 1, 2015. The bill would provide that funds appropriated by the Legislature to the commission for the purposes of the act be allocated to selected counties, counties acting jointly, or city mental health departments, as determined by the commission through a selection process, for triage personnel to provide intensive case management and linkage to services for individuals with mental health disorders. The bill would authorize triage personnel to provide targeted case management services face to face, by telephone, or by telehealth. The bill would require the commission to consider specified selection criteria for awarding grants, and require the commission to provide a prescribed report to the fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature by March 1, 2014. The bill would prohibit funds awarded by the authority or commission from being used to supplant existing financial and resource commitments of the grantee. The bill would appropriate $500,000 from the General Fund to the California Health Facilities Financing Authority for these purposes. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.