California voters are already casting their ballots, including on a major
statewide measure on mental health, Proposition 1.

That is the bond measure put forth by Governor Newsom and placed
on the ballot by the state legislature. It would authorize more than six billion
dollars in bonds to build more treatment facilities for people with mental health
and substance abuse issue, and it would also shift money from the counties to
the state for the same purpose. It is a centerpiece of the Governor’s plan to
address homelessness more aggressively, to help solve the shortage of beds and
treatment slots for people on the streets with substance abuse disorders and
mental illness.

Today, KCBS Radio's Doug Sovern and Patti Reising were joined on the KCBS Ring Central Newsline by Clare Cortright. She is the policy director at Cal Voices,
a nonprofit based in Sacramento that is a chapter of the national Mental Health
Association, which addresses mental illness.