Gavin Newsom gives ground to critics on his mental health plan. Will voters back it?

IN A MAJOR ABOUT-FACE, Gov. Gavin Newsom gave ground last week on his signature mental health plan, aiming to appease critics who have argued his overhaul would starve youth services and other county-run programs of millions of dollars of tax revenue. 

The proposal is the second time in as many years that Newsom has advocated for significant changes to the state’s behavioral health system, following the passage of last year’s controversial CARE Court law. This year’s proposal aims to update the Mental Health Services Act, a 20-year-old ballot initiative that has raised billions of dollars per year for mental health programs through a tax on high incomes. The tax funds nearly one-third of the state’s mental health infrastructure and raised $4.8 billion last year.