Author: Gabriella Holt

You do not need to be a political scientist to know that our government in California is broken. Our state is perpetually plagued with mountains of debt and the government gridlock is worse than the traffic on our overcrowded highways.

There are many theories about what should be done to change the system and to end this gridlock. Part of that conversation must include the idea of returning to a part-time, citizen legislature in California.

Our experiment with a full-time legislature has failed.

No longer do we have citizen legislators who work in Sacramento and return home where they hold jobs and spend most of their time in their districts living under the rules they make. We have instead created a system dominated by career politicians who have lost touch with everyday life in California.

The time has come to shift the balance of power in California back to the people; to return to a part-time legislature.

The Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), or Proposition 63 (also called “the Millionaire’s Tax”) was
overwhelmingly passed, in 2004, by California voters who recognized the urgent need to address decades
of inadequate state funding for mental health services. The initiative generated new revenues to expand the
state’s mental health services and reach the estimated 60% of Californians living with untreated disabling
mental illness under the then-existing system.

Self-proclaimed “champion” of mental health care reform and current Senate Leader Darryl Steinberg coauthored
the MHSA. Senator Steinberg now “champions” California voters to overturn portions of the
MHSA by approving Proposition 1-E. Proposition 1-E allows the state legislature to raid mental health
services funds, diverting $460 Million dollars away from the mentally disabled to help close the budget
deficit, which has ballooned under his tenure. This would essentially prevent any meaningful reforms in
mental health services– improvements this self-proclaimed mental health care reformer once championed
– another classic case of Sacramento politicians robbing Peter to pay Paul.