Mental Health Piggy Bank

Robin Hood would be proud. Tax money from California's wealthiest citizens will be pumped into a fund designated to expand care for the state's mentally ill.

Proposition 63, also known as the Mental Health Services Act, was passed in 2004 by 53 percent of voters. The novel plan adds an additional 1 percent tax on California millionaires, affecting the pocketbooks of an estimated 30,000 people. The legislation will provide up to $1 billion in revenue for mental health services within the next few years.

So far, there are no definite plans for how to spend the money. The state government is prohibited from slashing existing mental health funding in response to the new influx of cash. The money will be doled out to counties to expand services and develop innovative programs for mentally ill children, adults and seniors, focusing on prevention and early intervention. One new proposal aims to tackle chronic homelessness among the mentally ill in San Francisco.

The legislation follows on the heels of California's pioneering Stem Cell Initiative, another publicly funded program that allocates $3 billion for stem cell research.