Alaska 2025-2026 Regular Session

Alaska House Bill HB138 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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2	2	HB0138a -1- HB 138
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5	5	34-LS0471\I
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11	11	HOUSE BILL NO. 138
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13	13	IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
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15	15	THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION
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17	17	BY REPRESENTATIVE MINA
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19	19	Introduced: 3/17/25
20	20	Referred: Health and Social Services, Labor and Commerce, Finance
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23	23	A BILL
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25	25	FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
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27	27	"An Act establishing a behavioral health crisis services surcharge; establishing the 1
28	28	behavioral health crisis services fund; and providing for an effective date." 2
29	29	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3
30	30	* Section 1. AS 43.98 is amended by adding a new section to read: 4
31	31	Article 5. Behavioral Health Crisis Services Surcharge. 5
32	32	Sec. 43.98.080. Behavioral health crisis services surcharge; behavioral 6
33	33	health crisis services fund. (a) A behavioral health crisis services surcharge of $.98 a 7
34	34	month is imposed for each wireless telephone number and for each local exchange 8
35	35	access line for wireline telephones. 9
36	36	(b) A local exchange telephone company that provides service in the state 10
37	37	shall bill each month and collect a behavioral health crisis services surcharge from 11
38	38	each customer. A wireless telephone company that provides telephone service to a 12
39	39	customer with a billing address in the state shall impose a behavioral health crisis 13
40	40	services surcharge each month and collect the surcharge from the customer. A local 14 34-LS0471\I
41	41	HB 138 -2- HB0138a
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44	44	exchange telephone customer may not be subject to more than one behavioral health 1
45	45	crisis services surcharge on a local exchange access line for a wireline telephone. A 2
46	46	wireless telephone customer may not be subject to more than one behavioral health 3
47	47	crisis services surcharge for each wireless telephone number. A customer that has 4
48	48	more than 100 local exchange access lines from a local exchange telephone company 5
49	49	in the state is liable for the behavioral health crisis services surcharge only on 100 6
50	50	local exchange access lines. 7
51	51	(c) A local exchange telephone company or wireless telephone company shall 8
52	52	include the appropriate behavioral health crisis services surcharge, stated separately 9
53	53	and included in the total amount owed, in the bill delivered to a customer. The 10
54	54	Regulatory Commission of Alaska may not consider the behavioral health crisis 11
55	55	services surcharge as revenue of the telephone company and has no jurisdiction over 12
56	56	behavioral health crisis services. A customer is liable for payment of the surcharge in 13
57	57	the amount billed by the telephone company until the amount has been paid to the 14
58	58	telephone company. 15
59	59	(d) A local exchange telephone company or wireless telephone company that 16
60	60	has collected the behavioral health crisis services surcharge shall remit the amount 17
61	61	collected to the department not later than 60 days after the end of the month in which 18
62	62	the amount was collected. From each remittance made in a timely manner under this 19
63	63	subsection, the telephone company is entitled to deduct and retain the greater of one 20
64	64	percent of the collected amount or $150 as the cost of administration for collecting the 21
65	65	surcharge. 22
66	66	(e) A local exchange telephone company or wireless telephone company is not 23
67	67	obligated to take legal action to enforce collection of the behavioral health crisis 24
68	68	services surcharge. However, if a telephone company attempts to collect an unpaid 25
69	69	debt from a customer, the telephone company shall also attempt to collect any unpaid 26
70	70	behavioral health crisis services surcharges that the customer owes. If a customer pays 27
71	71	a portion of a bill that includes a behavioral health crisis services surcharge, the 28
72	72	amount paid is prorated between the telephone company and the surcharge. The 29
73	73	telephone company shall annually provide the department with a list of the amounts 30
74	74	due for the nonpayment of behavioral health crisis services surcharges, together with 31 34-LS0471\I
75	75	HB0138a -3- HB 138
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78	78	the name and address of each customer who carries a balance that can be determined 1
79	79	by the telephone company to be for the nonpayment of the surcharge. The telephone 2
80	80	company is not liable for an uncollected amount. 3
81	81	(f) The department may, at its own expense, require an annual audit of a local 4
82	82	exchange telephone company's or wireless telephone company's books and records 5
83	83	concerning the collection and remittance of the behavioral health crisis services 6
84	84	surcharge. 7
85	85	(g) The behavioral health crisis services fund is established in the general 8
86	86	fund. The Department of Administration shall separately account for the behavioral 9
87	87	health crisis services surcharge collected under this section and deposit the surcharge 10
88	88	into the behavioral health crisis services fund. The fund consists of the money 11
89	89	deposited by the Department of Administration under this subsection, donations to the 12
90	90	fund, interest earned on the fund, and appropriations made to the fund. The legislature 13
91	91	may appropriate the annual estimated balance in the fund to the Department of Health 14
92	92	for the purposes of 15
93	93	(1) establishing, operating, maintaining, and improving the single 16
94	94	three-digit number 988 for reporting a behavioral health issue or crisis, including 17
95	95	personnel costs, technology, and infrastructure enhancements necessary to achieve 18
96	96	operational and clinical standards and evidence-based best practices; 19
97	97	(2) providing services to a person experiencing a behavioral health 20
98	98	crisis; 21
99	99	(3) recruiting and retaining qualified behavioral health services 22
100	100	personnel; 23
101	101	(4) providing specialized training related to providing behavioral 24
102	102	health services to at-risk communities, including providing culturally and 25
103	103	linguistically competent behavioral health services; 26
104	104	(5) providing behavioral health education and raising public awareness 27
105	105	of the single three-digit number 988 and other behavioral health crisis services 28
106	106	available in the state; 29
107	107	(6) collecting, analyzing, and reporting data, including seeking 30
108	108	feedback from behavioral health services recipients and related quality improvement 31 34-LS0471\I
109	109	HB 138 -4- HB0138a
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112	112	activities; 1
113	113	(7) administration, oversight, and evaluation of the behavioral health 2
114	114	crisis services fund. 3
115	115	(h) Nothing in this section creates a dedicated fund. 4
116	116	(i) In this section, 5
117	117	(1) "local exchange access line" has the meaning given in 6
118	118	AS 29.35.137; 7
119	119	(2) "local exchange telephone company" has the meaning given in 8
120	120	AS 29.35.137; 9
121	121	(3) "wireless telephone" has the meaning given in AS 29.35.137; 10
122	122	(4) "wireless telephone company" has the meaning given in 11
123	123	AS 29.35.137; 12
124	124	(5) "wireline telephone" has the meaning given in AS 29.35.137. 13
125	125	* Sec. 2. This Act takes effect July 1, 2025. 14