|
View Case
|
|
Cited Cases
|
|
Citing Cases
|
|
Comment (0)
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MENTAL HEALTH ASSN. IN CALIFORNIA v. SCHWARZENEGGER
190 Cal.App.4th 952 (2010)
MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION IN CALIFORNIA et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants,
v.
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, as Governor, etc., et al., Defendants and Respondents.
No. A125937.
Court of Appeals of California, First District, Division Three.
December 9, 2010.
OPINIONPOLLAK, Acting P. J.— Several organizations dedicated to providing advocacy, education and support services in the field of mental health1 and several individuals who have been recipients of assistance from the former Homeless Adults Program, appeal from the denial of their petition for a writ of mandate to compel the State of California2 to reinstitute that program. Appellants contend that the removal from the state's budget of funding for the Homeless Adults Program, which occurred as the result of a gubernatorial veto in 2007, violates the provisions of the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), which was approved by the voters as Proposition 63 on the November 2004 ballot. That measure imposed a new tax to fund the expansion of mental health services and added to the Welfare and Institutions Code3 section 5891 which, as originally enacted, reads as follows: "The funding established pursuant to this act shall be utilized to expand mental health services. These funds shall not be used to supplant existing state or county funds utilized to provide mental health services. The state shall continue to provide financial support for mental health programs with not less than the same entitlements, amounts of allocations from the General Fund and formula distributions of dedicated funds as provided in the last fiscal year which ended prior to the effective date of this act. The state shall not make any change to the structure of financing mental health services, which increases a county's share of costs or financial risk for mental health services unless the state includes adequate
funding to fully compensate for such increased costs or financial risk. These funds shall only be used to pay for the programs authorized in Section 5892. These funds may not be used to pay for any other program. These funds may not be loaned to the state General Fund or any other fund of the state, or a county general fund or any other county fund for any purpose other than those authorized by Section 5892." (Italics added.)4 We conclude that the trial court correctly determined that termination of the Homeless Adults Program violated neither the "funding requirement" nor the "structure requirement" of section 5891. BackgroundThe Homeless Adults Program began in 1999 as a three-county demonstration project to provide extended community mental health services and outreach to mentally ill adults who were homeless or at risk of homelessness. (Stats. 1999, ch. 617, § 1, p. 4345.) The Director of the State Department of Mental Health (the Department) was directed to devise a methodology for awarding grants to counties consistent with the priorities set forth in the legislation. (See §§ 5814, subd. (a)(2), 5802.) These projects were considered highly successful and the following year Assembly Bill No. 2034 (1999-2000 Reg. Sess.) (Assembly Bill 2034) was enacted providing additional funding to expand to additional counties what became known as the "AB 2034 program." (See Stats. 2000, ch. 518, § 1; § 5814.) As the trial court found, "It is not disputed that, since its inception the AB 2034 program has been a tremendously valuable and effective program addressing the needs of homeless adults who suffer mental illness."5
In November 2004, the voters passed Proposition 63, enacting the MHSA, adding numerous provisions to the Welfare and Institutions Code and the Revenue and Taxation Code.6 As summarized by the Legislative Analyst in the official voter information guide, the proposition "establishes a state personal income tax surcharge of 1 percent on taxpayers with annual taxable incomes of more than $1 million. Funds resulting from the surcharge would be used to expand county mental health programs. [¶] . . . [¶] . . . The proposition specifies that the revenues generated from the tax surcharge must be used to expand mental health services and could not be used for other purposes. In addition, the state and counties would be prohibited from redirecting funds now used for mental health services to other purposes. The state would specifically be barred from reducing General Fund support, entitlements to services, and formula distributions of funds now dedicated for mental health services below the levels provided in 2003-04." (Voter Information Guide, Gen. Elec. (Nov. 2, 2004) analysis of Prop. 63 by Legis. Analyst, p. 34.) The measure created a Mental Health Services Fund to be administered by the Department, into which funds generated by the new tax surcharge were to be deposited and "all moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the department, without regard to fiscal years, for the purpose of funding ..." programs authorized by the act. (§ 5890, subd. (a).)Following passage of the MHSA, in July 2005, the Department adopted a "County Non-Supplantation policy" to implement the statute. In a letter directed to all local mental health directors and others, the Department advised that "county non-supplanting under the MHSA consists of three requirements, all of which must be met in order for an expenditure to be eligible for reimbursement under the MHSA." The policy requires that funds be used for programs authorized in section 5892, that funds not "be used to replace other state or county funds required to be used to provide mental health services in fiscal year 2004-2005 (the time of enactment of the MHSA)," and that funds "be used on programs that were not in existence in the county at the time of enactment of the MHSA (new programs) or to expand the capacity of existing services that were being provided at the time of enactment of the MHSA (11/2/04)." The letter further advised that the policy "does not preclude a county from ceasing to fund programs that no longer meet the needs of the county and its stakeholders as long as the aggregate state and county funds required to be used to provide mental health services are used for such purpose." Also, the Department "does not intend to
change the structure of mental health financing which would increase a county's share of cost or financial risk for mental health services." The Department subsequently promulgated regulations implementing the MHSA which include the nonsupplantation requirements. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 9, § 3410.) When additional MHSA funds have become available for distribution to the counties, the Department has reiterated the need to comply with the nonsupplantation policy.
1. These appellants are the Mental Health Association in California, the California Network of Mental Health Clients, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness California.
2. The respondents are Arnold Schwarzenegger, as Governor, the State Department of Mental Health, and Stephen W. Mayberg, as Director of the State Department of Mental Health. In referring to the contentions of the respondents, we shall refer to the respondents collectively as the Department.
3. All statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code unless otherwise indicated.
4. In 2008, this provision became subdivision (a) of section 5891 when the statute was amended to add a subdivision (b), the provisions of which are not pertinent to the present controversy. (Stats. 2008, ch. 751, § 73.)
5. According to a report submitted by the Department to the Legislature in May 2003, as of January 31, 2003, 4,881 individuals with serious mental illness were being served in 35 programs. "The success of local programs in helping individuals move from homelessness to community housing situations is one way that this demonstration program has broken new ground. As in previous years, evaluation data continue to show dramatic reductions in the number of days of incarceration and inpatient psychiatric hospitalization experienced by individuals in this program. And, for the first time, the data reflect significant increases in the number of persons involved in employment activities. . . . [¶] The results document not only the personal success of clients, but the ongoing cost effectiveness of AB 2034 programs." The Governor's Budget Summary for 2004-2005 states, "The Governor's Budget continues funding of $54.9 million General Fund for the Integrated Services for Homeless Adults program, which has a proven track record of success in treating and providing services to the mentally ill. Additionally, evaluations have shown that this program leads to significant savings at the local level, and continuing this program provides essential fiscal relief to counties in these difficult times." A report dated June 21-23, 2006, entitled Drafting California's Ten-Year Chronic Homelessness Action Plan reported that "[a]t the height of the program, AB 2034 funds were serving over 4,500 mentally ill homeless or incarcerated individuals . . . through 53 programs operating in 34 counties throughout California.... [¶] ... [¶] ... The AB 2034 programs were very effective at serving a variety of consumer needs," but "improvement was needed in the level of participant retention" and in "outreach" to the Hispanic community.
6. The various provisions of the MHSA are found at sections 5771.1, 5813.5, 5820 et seq., 5830 et seq., 5840 et seq., 5845 et seq., 5878.1 et seq., 5890 et seq., and 18257, and at Revenue and Taxation Code sections 17043, 19602, and 19602.5.
7. The provision also requires maintaining the same level of entitlements and formula distributions of dedicated funds for mental health programs, but appellants do not argue on appeal that the elimination of funding for Assembly Bill 2034 projects violates either of these requirements. As appears in the lengthier quotation from section 5891, subdivision (a) that appears in the introduction to this opinion, the sentence in question is preceded by the sentence stating, "[T]hese funds shall not be used to supplant existing state or county funds utilized to provide mental health services." In the trial court appellants argued that this sentence imposes an additional requirement that has been disregarded. The trial court rejected this contention, pointing to the Department's nonsupplantation policy and observing that appellants had presented no evidence that any county had failed to observe that policy. Appellants do not renew this argument on appeal.
8. Section 5840, also within the MHSA, requires the Department to establish a program designed to prevent mental illnesses from becoming severe and disabling which shall include, among other things, "[a]ccess and linkage to medically necessary care provided by county mental health programs ... for adults and seniors with severe mental illness ... as early in the onset of these conditions as practicable." (§ 5840, subd. (b)(2).)
"The program shall include mental health services similar to those provided under other programs effective in preventing mental illnesses from becoming severe, and shall also include components similar to programs that have been successful in reducing the duration of untreated severe mental illnesses and assisting people in quickly regaining productive lives. [¶] ... The program shall emphasize strategies to reduce the following negative outcomes that may result from untreated mental illness: [¶] ... [¶] ... Homelessness." (§ 5840, subds. (c), (d)(6).)
|
|
|
|
|