(TotalConservative.com) – A new California law would attempt to address the state’s sprawling problem with homelessness and public mental health outbursts. Proposition 1 was put on the primary ballot as a referendum and would help address the problem with over 181,000 people currently living on the streets in California.
New York Times writers noted that the state has 12 percent of the nation’s population but nearly 25 percent of its homeless. One of the major problems are outdated state laws that make involuntary incarceration for the deranged incredibly difficult. The problem has gotten worse in recent years due to pandemic related shutdowns as well as the fentanyl crisis leading more people to live on the streets.
Proposition 1 was aimed at addressing many of these issues, and despite popular polling, the initiative is currently barely passing with 50.5 percent of the vote. Roughly 2 million more ballots are still being counted. California mails everyone mail-in ballots and has weeks to process the results. Curiously, only a quarter of the ballots were returned, however.
Proposition 1 would shift funds around to make more money available for state housing of the mentally ill. Critics contend that while no new taxes are being used for the plan, it’s shifting vital funding away from smaller local programs. Proponents suggest the move is a required rethink on policy after years of throwing billions of tax dollars at the problem resulted in more homelessness over time.
Critics contend that additional legislation is not the answer, and in fact suggest the opposite: less government intervention. Libertarians oppose the changes to make involuntary treatment more common. While it’s clear there are some people who need to be committed to keep themselves and others safe, once protocols for involuntary medical treatment are on the books, there’s little to prevent them from being exploited.
The results won’t be known for some time, but given that a large chunk of the votes remaining to be counted come from predominantly urban areas, most anticipate the measure will pass.
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