SEIU Local 535

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PROPOSITION 63 PASSED BY CALIFORNIA VOTERS!
Wednesday November 3, 2004

(Sacramento, CA) Proposition 63 was passed with 53.4% of the vote, an historic accomplishment for mental health care in California. The promise of a community system of mental health services will be fulfilled after almost 40 years. Assemblymember Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), area leaders, advocates, students, community members, and SEIU gathered on election night in Sacramento to celebrate this historic achievement.

By taxing incomes over $1 million at 1 percent, Proposition 63 will raise up to $800 million or more each year in state funds. With increased federal funds, the amount of new money for care for people with mental illness is expected to exceed $1 billion per year.

Proposition 63 will fund community mental health programs with voluntary outreach, access to medicines, and a variety of support services for children and adults who suffer from disabling mental illnesses. The investment will produce hundreds of millions in savings by reducing hospitalizations and incarcerations. In pilot projects similar to those that would be funded by Proposition 63, participants had a 56 percent reduction in hospital stays, a 72 percent reduction in jail stays and a 65 percent increase in full-time jobs.