SACRAMENTO . (AP) — The state auditor will review some of California's mental health spending to determine whether money from a 2004 ballot initiative is being spent the way voters intended.

The Joint Legislative Audit Committee unanimously approved the eight-month study Thursday.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, a Sacramento Democrat who co-authored Proposition 63, requested the audit. The Associated Press found that tens of millions of dollars raised from it have gone to programs for people who have not been diagnosed with any mental illness.

Two Republican lawmakers had also asked for an audit, but dropped their request in favor of Steinberg's.

Assemblyman Dan Logue, of Linda, said he hopes the audit determines whether Proposition 63 funding has become a slush fund for general use.

The auditor says it will cost nearly $450,000.