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TO: California Treatment Advocacy Coalition
FROM: Carla Jacobs, Randall Hagar & Chuck Sosebee
DATE: June 7, 2001
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65 - 1

Yesterday we won on the Assembly floor, and we won big. As you can guess from the title of this message, 65 voted for AB 1421 and one against with 14 members absent, abstaining or for some reason not voting. WE beat the two-thirds mark by 11 votes!!!

Please, take a moment to congratulate yourself.

We take from the Assembly a bill that:

+++ Swept through three committees without a vote against it.

+++ Garnered a $35 million dollar appropriation.

+++ Won a spot for that same amount in the Assembly's budget.

+++ Captured the support of 5 of California's largest papers (the latest editorial is below).

+++ Passed through to the Senate by an overwhelming 65-1.

But as those of you who fought for AB 1800 know, our work is very far from over. It is time for the Senate.

There are two other critical bills that have been funded by the Assembly, but not the Senate:

AB 1422 (Thomson) -- the $700,000 allotted for this in the Assembly's budget would create a broad based commission that will develop a master plan for a new Californian mental health system. The goal is to change the focus of the system from crisis management to prevention through consistent and efficient delivery of services.

AB 334 (Steinberg) -- This would provide $95 million for the expansion of the successful program of persistent homeless outreach and intensive services established two years ago by AB 34.

The funding for both of these bills directly promotes our objective: getting treatment to people affected by mental illness before they are in crisis.

How often have you hear others complain that people can't be helped because the mental health system is so woefully under-funded? Now is our chance to change that.

And again -- Congratulations.

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