California voters pass proposition requiring counties to spend on programs to tackle homelessness

By TRÂN NGUYỄN
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California voters have approved a measure that Gov. Gavin Newson says he needs to tackle the state’s homelessness crisis. Proposition 1 authorizes the state to borrow $6.4 billion to build housing and treatment beds. It also restricts how counties use money from a 2004 tax on millionaires meant to fund mental health services. Critics say the change threatens programs that are keeping people from becoming homeless in the first place. Proposition 1 is the first update to the state’s mental health system in 20 years and a win for the Democratic governor.