Mental health.

Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) , an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, establishes the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission to oversee the administration of various parts of the act. The MHSA permits amendment by the Legislature by a 2/3 vote of each house if the amendment is consistent with, and furthers the intent of, the MHSA. This bill would require the commission, on or before January 1, 2020, to establish statewide objectives for the prevention, early intervention, and treatment of mental illness, the promotion of mental health and well-being, and innovation as a strategy for transformational change, and metrics by which progress toward each of those objectives may be measured. The bill would require the commission to establish strategies to collect, analyze, and monitor the established metrics and for technical assistance, support, and evaluation to support the successful implementation of these provisions. The bill would require the commission to review specified existing requirements and other oversight and accountability efforts to see if the commission can streamline those requirements, and, periodically, but at least once every 5 years, to review the established objectives, metrics, and strategies. The bill would require the commission to work with appropriate stakeholders, subject matter experts, counties, providers, state officials, and others the commission deems necessary in implementing these provisions. The bill, beginning January 1, 2021, would require all counties to annually submit a report to the commission and the Legislature, by the end of each fiscal year, that documents its progress toward the statewide objectives, or, if the county does not have all the data necessary to produce the report, to provide the commission with data requested by the commission, as specified. The bill would amend the MHSA by authorizing a county to use MHSA funds to comply with these requirements. By requiring counties to submit annual reports or provide specified data, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. The bill would declare that its provisions further the intent of the MHSA.