Proposition 1 — Gov. Newsom’s mental health plan — clings to slim lead day after election

CALIFORNIA VOTERS BY a thin margin are favoring Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $6.4 billion plan to build mental health treatment beds and housing through a ballot measure that he characterizes as critical to addressing the state’s homelessness crisis.

Proposition 1 is a two-part ballot initiative. It includes a bond to build treatment facilities and permanent supportive housing for people with mental health and addiction challenges. It also proposes changes to a longstanding tax on personal incomes over $1 million, known as the Mental Health Services Act, by requiring counties to spend 30 percent of that revenue on housing instead of other services.