SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Two lawmakers on Wednesday requested a detailed audit to determine whether the state has spent mental health funding from a 2004 ballot initiative the way voters intended.

The request came in response to an investigation by The Associated Press last month that found tens of millions of dollars raised under Proposition 63 have gone to programs designed to help those who have not been diagnosed with any mental illness. Those programs include yoga, gardening, art classes and horseback riding.

Assemblymen Dan Logue and Brian Nestande, both Republicans, asked the Joint Legislative Audit Committee to examine the spending.

Logue, a Republican from Linda, acknowledged his request was last-minute but said he would not let up and would bring it back next year if necessary.

"There's too much on the line," he said. "A lot of people are suffering out there, and it's only reasonable that we make sure the funds are going to the people who need the funding the most."

Last week, the same lawmakers asked the Assembly Health Committee to hold oversight hearings examining the wellness programs. A number of Democratic and Republican lawmakers from both houses have since endorsed that request.

Logue said he is pursuing multiple avenues because of the importance of the issue.

Democratic Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, expressed support for the audit request on Wednesday.

"Prevention programs are important, and some are more successful than others. But we need to fund core services first," she said in a statement. "Conducting a true performance evaluation of these expenditures, and setting priorities accordingly, could be beneficial."

Proposition 63 has generated $7.4 billion through a 1 percent tax on income greater than $1 million a year. Nearly $1.2 billion has gone to prevention and early intervention programs, while California's overall spending on mental health services has fallen dramatically.

Assembly Health Committee Chairman Bill Monning, D-Monterey, said he would consider the matter for a hearing in the fall.

"I am always extremely concerned about any allegation of the potential misuse of taxpayer funds," he said in a statement.

The state doesn't track prevention spending centrally, but a review of county plans shows that the state has approved funding for camping, nutrition classes and sweat lodges.

In March, the state began a study of a portion of prevention programs. For years, the only evaluations have come from county administrators.

Some lawmakers would like to see prevention money go to people already in some degree of mental or emotional distress.

"Wellness programs can be helpful, but not at the expense of core fundamentals of care," Senator Joel Anderson, R-La Mesa, said in a statement.

Others are generally supportive of the wellness approach, but want closer scrutiny of the programs the state funds.

"You're going to find some programs that are doing great things for the community and you're going to find other programs where it's kind of like, 'What?'" Assemblyman Mike Allen, D-Santa Rosa, said last week. "Sometimes with wellness, it's hard to measure results. But nevertheless, we need to try."

The programs have a powerful supporter in Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, who co-wrote Proposition 63. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.