California lawmakers agree to fund Prop. 36. Republicans say it’s not enough

Despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s opposition, lawmakers in California’s Capitol want to fund Proposition 36, the voter-approved theft and drug treatment measure. Supporters of the proposition have for months called for such funding.

In a budget agreement released Monday morning, leaders of the Assembly and state Senate announced they’re looking to allocate $110 million in one-time funding for the implementation of the law.

Republican lawmakers, who asked for $400 million for implementation, mostly for drug and mental health treatment, decried the amount during a news conference shortly after the announcement.

“That is wholly inadequate,” said state Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, who also pointed out the governor could still veto the amount.

Newsom, a vocal opponent of the measure, did not earmark any funding specifically for the law in his January or May budget proposals, and has called for local entities to fund the measure instead.

“We’re making progress, this pressure that we’ve been building, but it’s not the full funding we have called for,” said Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, who added that Republicans would be continuing to call for more funding in advance of a June 15 deadline to pass the budget.

Among other things, Prop. 36 increases penalties for repeat theft offenders and provides a treatment-or-felony ultimatum for repeat drug offenders.

County officials, including public defenders and district attorneys from across the state, have testified about how the lack of funding for Prop. 36 is hindering the implementation of the popular law, which went into effect in December. Cost estimates for the measure have ranged widely since the proposal was put on the ballot, and aside from the Republican’s $400 million request, state Sen. Thomas Umberg, D-Santa Ana, requested $250 million for implementation.

The largest push by lawmakers has been for funding for mental health and drug treatment programs, which are integral to the success of the new “treatment-mandated felony” classification, whereby judges can order people with three or more drug crimes, including possession, to undergo treatment or face a felony conviction.

According to a release by the Assembly Speaker’s Office, $50 million of the proposed funding would go to behavioral health programs, $30 million would go to judicial workload including collaborative courts, $15 million would go to pretrial services and $15 million would go to public defenders.

The Legislature has until Sunday, June 15 to approve leaders’ budget proposal, and a final agreement between legislative leaders and the governor is expected by June 27.

This story was originally published June 9, 2025 at 1:38 PM.