Where will Prop. 36 funds come from? Do these funds merely replace existing appropriations?
Prop. 36 mandates a direct annual appropriation from the state’s General Fund each year without reference to the annual budget process. This means that none of its funds are subject to legislative or gubernatorial approval until the measure’s five-and-one-half-year fixed appropriations expire, concluding with the 2005-2006 fiscal year. Prop. 36 contains a “non-supplantation” clause that stipulates that its funds cannot be used, according to the new law, “to supplant funds from any existing fund source or mechanism currently used to provide substance abuse treatment.” In other words, these new funds must be added to any preexisting funds, not used to replace them. If there are cutbacks in certain areas of drug treatment services in a future year, there is a possible avenue for litigation to restore previous levels of funding.
