BILL NUMBER: AB 2279INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Cooley FEBRUARY 18, 2016 An act to amend Section 5899 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to mental health. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2279, as introduced, Cooley. Mental Health Services Act: county-by-county spending reports. Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, establishes the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. The act requires the State Department of Health Care Services, in consultation with the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission and the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, to develop and administer instructions for the Annual Mental Health Services Act Revenue and Expenditure Report, which gathers specified information on mental health spending as a result of the MHSA, including the expenditures of funds distributed to each county. This bill would require the department, based on the Annual Mental Health Services Act Revenue and Expenditure Report, to compile information on an annual basis that includes the total amount of MHSA revenue, a county-by-county comparison of fund expenditure plans and annual updates, and a county-by-county comparison of the purposes for which MHSA funds were expended and to send that information to the commission. The bill would require the commission to make the information available to the public on the commission's Internet Web site and to update the Internet Web site annually. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 5899 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read: 5899. (a) The State Department of Health Care Services, in consultation with the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission and the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, shall develop and administer instructions for the Annual Mental Health Services Act Revenue and Expenditure Report. This report shall be submitted electronically to the department and to the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. (b) The purpose of the Annual Mental Health Services Act Revenue and Expenditure Report is as follows: (1) Identify the expenditures of Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) funds that were distributed to each county. (2) Quantify the amount of additional funds generated for the mental health system as a result of the MHSA. (3) Identify unexpended funds, and interest earned on MHSA funds. (4) Determine reversion amounts, if applicable, from prior fiscal year distributions. (c) This report is intended to provide information that allows for the evaluation of all of the following: (1) Children's systems of care. (2) Prevention and early intervention strategies. (3) Innovative projects. (4) Workforce education and training. (5) Adults and older adults systems of care. (6) Capital facilities and technology needs. (d) Based on the report required in subdivision (a), the State Department of Health Care Services shall compile information on an annual basis that includes the total amount of MHSA revenue, a county-by-county comparison of fund expenditure plans and annual updates, and a county-by-county comparison of the purposes for which MHSA funds were expended. (e) The State Department of Health Care Services annually shall provide the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission with the information compiled pursuant to subdivision (d). The commission shall make the information available to the public on the commission's Internet Web site, which shall be updated annually.