MHAC Priority Legislation

MHAC Position: Support

Author: Quirk-Silva

Date: 08/26/2022

Status: Vetoed

Integrated school-based behavioral health partnership program: This bill would establish the Integrated School-Based Behavioral Health Partnership Program, to provide access to behavioral health services for pupils. The bill would authorize a county behavioral health agency and the governing body of a local educational agency to agree to collaborate on conducting a needs assessment and implement an integrated school-based behavioral health partnership program. The bill would require a county behavioral health agency to provide, through its own staff or through its network of contracted community-based organizations, one or more behavioral health professionals to serve pupils who have serious emotional disturbances or substance use disorders, or who are at risk of developing a serious behavioral health condition. The bill would require the local educational agency to provide school- based locations. For privately insured students, the partnership program is required to contact the private plan before initiating or during an assessment to determine if the student needs an urgent or nonurgent appointment and to facilitate a referral. If the private plan is able to provide an urgent appointment within 48 hours, or a nonurgent appointment within 15 business days, the program will facilitate the referral to the private plan’s network providers If appointments are not available in these timeframes, the behavioral health professional will complete the brief intervention services. If the pupil requires additional behavioral health services, and the plan cannot meet timely access standards for care delivery, the private plan and the county behavioral health agency would negotiate a single case agreement for reimbursement.

Read the Bill

MHAC Position: Watch

Author: Rodriguez

Date: 09/27/2022

Mental health: Office of Suicide Prevention: Existing law authorizes the State Department of Public Health to establish the Office of Suicide Prevention within the department. Existing law authorizes the office to perform certain functions including, but not limited to, conducting state-level assessment of regional and statewide suicide prevention policies and practices and reporting on progress to reduce rates of suicide. This bill would authorize the office to additionally conduct local-level assessments of regional suicide prevention policies and practices, and would include emergency medical personnel and firefighters as a high- risk group. Existing law requires the office to consult with the MHSOAC to implement suicide prevention efforts. This bill would require the office to consult with the Office of Emergency Services to implement suicide prevention efforts for emergency medical personnel and firefighters throughout the states’ municipal fire service agencies and fire districts, and to solicit proposals for, and to contract for, an evidence-based curriculum to establish behavioral health peer-support programs for emergency medical personnel, local fire service agencies, and fire districts.

Read the Bill

MHAC Position: Watch

Author: Carrillo

Date: 09/19/2022

Status: Passed

Pupil mental health: mental health assistance posters: This bill would require on or before the start of the 2023-24 school year, each schoolsite serving pupils in grades 6 to 12 must create a poster that identifies approaches and shares resources regarding pupil mental health. Each poster would be at least 8.5 by 11 inches and must include identification of common behaviors of those struggling with mental health, a list of schoolsite-specific resources, a list of positive coping strategies to use, and a list of negative coping strategies to avoid. The bill would require the poster to be prominently and conspicuously displayed at each schoolsite. The poster shall also be digitized and distributed online to pupils through social media, internet websites,portals, and learning platforms.

Read the Bill

MHAC Position: MHAC Sponsored, Support

Author: Bauer-Kahan

Date: 09/29/2022

Status: Passed

Mental health 988 Crisis Line: The National Suicide Hotline Designation Act designates the 3-digit telephone number “988” as the universal number within the United States for the purpose of the national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline system operating through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. This bill would require California 988 centers, by July 16, 2022, to provide a person experiencing a behavioral health crisis access to a trained counselor by call, and by January 1, 2027, provide access to a trained counselor by call, text, and chat. The bill would require mobile crisis teams, as defined, to respond to any individual in need of immediate suicidal or behavioral health crisis intervention in a timely manner in all jurisdictions, and would require any call made to 911 pertaining to a clearly articulated suicidal or behavioral health crisis to be transferred to a 988 center. The bill would require 988 centers to provide follow-up services to individuals accessing 988 consistent with guidance and policies established by the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and within specified timelines. This bill will also establish a monthly fee on mobile phone and landline bills, similar to a fee charged for 911, to fund the 988 system.

Read the Bill

Related Documents

• Bill Fact Sheet

MHAC Position: Watch

Author: Bryan

Date: 02/07/2022

Status: Died

Reentry housing and workforce development program: Upon appropriation, this bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development to create the Reentry Housing and Workforce Development Program, and would require the department to take specified actions to provide grants to applicants for innovative or evidence-based housing, housing-based services, and employment interventions to allow people with recent histories of incarceration to exit homelessness and remain stably housed.

Read the Bill

MHAC Position: Watch

Author: Levine

Date: 08/29/2022

Status: Vetoed

Mental health services: This bill would require a health care service plan or a health insurance policy that includes coverage for mental health services to, among other things, approve the provision of mental health services for persons who are detained for 72-hour treatment and evaluation under the LPS Act and to schedule an initial outpatient appointment for that person with a licensed mental health professional on a date within 48 hours of the person’s release from detention.

Read the Bill

MHAC Position: Watch

Author: Ward

Date: 09/25/2022

Status: Passed

Substance abuse treatment: certification: Existing law requires DHCS to require that a person providing counseling services within alcoholism or drug abuse recovery be registered with or certified by a certifying organization approved by the department. This requirement discourages qualified graduate student interns participating in supervised internships affiliated with graduate university programs in psychology, social work, marriage and family therapy, or counseling from working in SUD treatment programs by also requiring them to register with a certifying organization as if they were on the career path to become a certified SUD counselor. This bill would change statute to allow these qualified graduate student interns to complete their supervised internships at SUD treatment programs.

Read the Bill

Related Documents

• Bill Fact Sheet
• Template Support Letter

MHAC Position: Support

Author: Arambula

Date: 08/29/2022

Status: Vetoed

Prior authorization and step therapy: Existing law permits a health care provider or prescribing provider to appeal a denial of a step therapy exception request for coverage of a nonformulary drug, a prior authorization request, or a step therapy exception request, consistent with the current utilization management processes of the health care service plan or health insurer. Existing law also permits an enrollee or insured, or the enrollee’s or insured’s designee or guardian, to appeal a denial of a step therapy exception request for coverage of a nonformulary drug, prior authorization request, or step therapy exception request by filing a grievance under a specified provision, formulary drug, prior authorization request, or step therapy exception request. This bill would require a health care service plan’s or health insurer’s utilization management process to ensure that an appeal of a denial of an exception request is reviewed by a clinical peer of the health care provider or prescribing provider, as specified. The bill would require health care service plans and health insurers that require step therapy or prior authorization to maintain specified information, including, but not limited to, the number of exception requests for coverage of a nonformulary drug, step therapy exception requests, and prior authorization exception requests received by the plan or insurer, and, upon request, to provide the information in a deidentified format to the department or commissioner, as appropriate.

Read the Bill

Related Documents

• Bill Fact Sheet

MHAC Position: Support

Author: Salas

Date: 09/27/2022

Status: Vetoed

School-Based Health Center Support Program: Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health, in cooperation with the State Department of Education, to establish a Public School Health Center Support Program to assist school health centers, which are defined as centers or programs, located at or near local educational agencies, that provide age-appropriate health care services at the program site or through referrals, as specified. This bill would rename the program as the School-Based Health Center Support Program and would redefine a school-based health center to mean a student-focused health center or clinic that is located at or near a school or schools, is organized through school, community, and health provider relationships, and provides age-appropriate, clinical health care services onsite by qualified health professionals. The bill would authorize a school-based health center to provide primary medical care, behavioral health services, or dental care services onsite or through mobile health or telehealth. This bill would increase planning, startup, and sustainability grant amounts.Existing law requires the State Department of Education to establish an Office of School-Based Health Programs for the purpose of assisting local educational agencies regarding the current health-related programs under the purview of the department. This bill would require the office to work with the State Department of Public Health in supporting the School-Based Health Center Support Program.

Read the Bill

MHAC Position: Support

Author: Arambula

Date: 08/25/2022

Status: Vetoed

Medi-Cal: behavioral health: individuals with vision loss: Would require the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to establish a pilot project to provide behavioral health services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries who are blind or have low vision, as a covered benefit under the Medi-Cal program.

Read the Bill

MHAC Position: Support

Author: Gabriel

Date: 09/30/2022

Status: Passed

Mental health professionals: natural disasters: This bill would require, by November 1, 2024, county offices of education to develop a system for rapidly deploying qualified mental health professionals and other key school personnel employed by individual school districts and charter schools throughout the county to areas of the county that experienced a natural disaster or other traumatic event. The bill would require single school district county offices of education to enter into agreements with at least one other county office of education that they share a border with.

Read the Bill

MHAC Position: Support

Author: Choi

Date: 08/26/2022

Status: Passed

Public postsecondary education: mental health hotlines student identification cards: This bill would authorize each campus of the California State University, the California Community Colleges, and the University of California to establish a campus mental health hotline for students to access mental health services remotely. The bill would require each campus of the California State University and California Community colleges, and request each campus of the University of California, with a campus mental health hotline to have printed on either side of student identification cards the telephone number of the campus mental health hotline. Amended 3/9/22 to also require each CSU campus and each California Community College Campus, and request each campus of the University of California, without a campus mental health hotline to have printed on the student identification card the telephone number of their city or county’s mental health hotline.

Read the Bill

MHAC Position: Watch

Author: Garcia

Date: 09/18/2022

Status: Vetoed

Pupil Peer Support Training Program. This bill, subject to appropriation by the legislature, would establish the Pupil Peer Support Training Program. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop an application process and administration plan for the selection of grant recipients under the program before January 31, 2024. The bill would require the Superintendent to award Pupil Peer Support Training Program grants on a competitive basis to local educational agencies serving pupils in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, to establish a peer support training program at schools maintained by these local educational agencies. The bill would require a grant recipient to ensure that the training and ongoing supervision of pupils serving as peer supports be conducted by school staff holding a pupil personnel services credential.

Read the Bill

MHAC Position: Oppose

Author: Santiago

Date: 09/30/2022

Status: Passed

Mental health services: Would require the Department of State Hospitals to create a model discharge plan for counties and hospitals to follow when discharging those held under temporary holds or a conservatorship. The bill would require county mental health departments to collaborate with facilities and hospitals to develop, implement, and adhere to an adequate discharge plan that ensures continuity of services and care in the community for all individuals exiting holds or a conservatorship, and to implement that plan across the entire network of acute and subacute facilities by 2/1/2024. Would require the county discharge plan to require that an individual exiting a temporary hold or a conservatorship be provided with a detailed treatment plan that includes a scheduled first appointment with their referred service provider and that establishes a team of 2 or more service providers designated to assist the individual for up to 6 months. Would prohibit a county from discharging an individual from a hold unless the first follow-up appointment is scheduled and the appointment information is given to the individual. Would allow counties pay for the services authorized in Sections 5150 and 5250 to use funds from the Mental Health Services Fund when included in county plans. Would require the state Department of Health Care Services to issue guidance specifying which services authorized under the LPS Act may be paid by counties with funds from the Mental Health Services Fund. Would require the MHSOAC to develop, implement, and oversee a public and comprehensive framework for tracking and reporting spending on mental health programs and services from all major funding sources.

Read the Bill

MHAC Position: Watch

Author: Wood

Date: 09/30/2022

Status: Passed

Mental Health: Involuntary commitment: This bill would specify that the 72-hour period of evaluation and treatment under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act begins when the person is first detained. Existing law states that a certification hearing must take place within four days of the date on which a person is certified for a period of intensive treatment. This bill would instead require a certification hearing within 7 days of the date on which the person was initially detained pursuant to Section 5150.

Read the bill