Former Mayor of Sacramento and President pro Tempore of the California Senate

Over the course of his career in state and local government, Darrell Steinberg has been one ofthe most influential architects of California’s modern behavioral health system. He served asPresident pro Tempore of the California State Senate from 2008 to 2014, following six years inthe State Assembly, and later as Mayor of Sacramento from 2016 to 2024. Steinberg co-authored the 2004 Mental Health Services Act (Proposition 63), a voter-approved initiative thatestablished a permanent funding source for community-based mental health services statewide.Since its passage, the Act has generated tens of billions of dollars to expand prevention,treatment, housing, and workforce development across California.His commitment to improving mental health care has also resulted in services that provideintegrated care to the homeless. In 2013, as a state senator, Darrell authored SB 82, propellinga major statewide expansion of crisis residential and stabilization beds and mobile crisiscapacity. In 2015, continuing his press for change, he established a first-of-its-kind statewideorganization, the Steinberg Institute, dedicated to raising the profile of quality behavioral healthcare as a critical public policy and civil rights issue. Under his leadership, the Institute haschampioned landmark reforms including SB 855 (California’s Mental Health Parity Law), AB 988(988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), and AB 348 (Full Service Partnerships).Steinberg’s long history of championing behavioral health policy issues reflects a lifelongcommitment to dignity, recovery, and systems change.