Relating to funding of county mental health and disability services by modifying provisions relating to the use of specified excess cash flow funds, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions

This bill strikes the requirement that those excess amounts be used in that manner for those fiscal years. Under current law, for fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2021, based on certain population thresholds, each region’s cash flow amount is limited to or percent of the gross expenditures from the combined account or from all separate county accounts under control of the governing board for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in progress. The bill removes all population thresholds and limits each region’s cash flow amount to percent. The bill makes similar changes to provisions governing the cash flow amounts held and used by individual counties within each region.424A for fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2021. An amount equal to the county’s cash flow reduction amount is required to be used to fund the county’s financial obligations for the payment of services provided under the regional service system management plan. Under the bill, the county cash flow reduction amount equals the sum of the county’s cash flow amount in the county services fund plus the most recent amount certified by the region for the county, minus percent of the gross expenditures from the county services fund in the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in progress. The bill provides that to the extent necessary to implement the provisions of the bill, a county may amend that portion of the county’s budget related to cash flow amounts in the county mental health and disability services fund for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2018.17, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2019, a county may recertify the county’s budget as necessary to implement the provisions of the bill. The bill takes effect upon enactment and applies retroactively to July 1, 2018, for fiscal years beginning on or after that date.