O F F I C E O F L E G I S L A T I V E R E S E A R C H
P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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PA 22-69—HB 5419
Public Health Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH
AND ADDICTION SERVICES' RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING
REGIONAL BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ACTION ORGANIZATIONS
SUMMARY: In 2017 and 2018, the Department of Mental Health and Addiction
Services (DMHAS) reorganized existing Regional Action Councils, which focused
on substance abuse prevention, and Regional Mental Health Boards. DMHAS
replaced them with five Regional Behavioral Health Action Organizations
(RBHAOs), one for each of the state’s designated mental health regions.
This act codifies existing practice by allowing the DMHAS commissioner to
contract with one or more nonprofit organizations to operate as RBHAOs (one for
each of the state’s mental health regions) and repeals the laws that established the
prior councils and boards. It requires each RBHAO to serve as a strategic
community partner responsible for (1) behavioral health planning, education, and
promotion; (2) coordinating behavioral health issues prevention; and (3) advocacy
for behavioral health needs and services within its mental health region. The act
gives the RBHAOs certain duties and, in doing so, requires them to solicit advice
and input from the community.
The act also makes several corresponding statutory changes to effectuate the
transfer of duties from the prior boards and councils to the RBHAOs. For example,
it requires the RBHAOs, rather than the boards or councils as applicable, to (1)
designate individuals to serve on certain entities and (2) consult with DMHAS on
the department’s development of the state’s substance abuse prevention and
treatment plan.
The act makes other related changes, such as (1) as of October 1, 2022, reducing
the membership of the state’s Board of Mental Health and Addiction Services and
making other changes affecting the board (§ 4) and (2) specifying that 51 to 60%
of the total catchment area council membership must be people with lived
experience of a behavioral health disorder, not just consumers generally (§ 9).
(These councils study and evaluate the delivery of mental health services in their
respective areas.)
The act also makes related minor, technical, and conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage, except the provisions on the Board of Mental
Health and Addiction Services take effect October 1, 2022.
§ 1 — RBHAO DUTIES
The act requires each RBHAO to fulfill the following duties within its mental
health region:
1. assess the behavioral health needs of children, adolescents, and adults and O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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engage with stakeholders to identify needs, problems, barriers, and gaps in
the behavioral health service continuum;
2. enhance local community capacity to understand and address problem
gambling;
3. raise awareness of and advocate to the public for mental health promotion
and substance abuse prevention, treatment, and recovery;
4. receive and expand federal, state, and local funds and leverage funds to
support behavioral health promotion, prevention, treatment, and recovery
activities;
5. serve on local, regional, and state advisory and planning bodies;
6. within available appropriations, provide training in administering opioid
antagonists (e.g., Narcan) and distribute them to communities;
7. report community needs, program review findings, and conclusions
annually to the relevant local, regional, and state stakeholders with
recommendations to establish, modify, or expand behavioral health
services; and
8. serve as the regional partner responsible for coordinating and aligning
federal, state, regional, and local behavioral health initiatives.
The act requires each RBHAO, in fulfilling these duties, to solicit advice from
community members, who must at least include the following:
1. elected officials;
2. parents, and youths;
3. faith-based, youth-serving, educational, and media organizations;
4. law enforcement professionals or organizations;
5. health care professionals and behavioral health treatment providers;
6. people with lived experience of behavioral health issues and their family
members;
7. businesses and civic or fraternal groups; and
8. other interested people or organizations.
§§ 2-30 — CORRESPONDING STATUTORY CHANGES AND TRANSFER OF
DUTIES
The act makes several changes throughout the statutes to effectuate the transfer
of duties from Regional Action Councils and Regional Mental Health Boards to
RBHAOs. It replaces several statutory references to the councils or boards with
references to RBHAOs, and transfers several of their duties to the RBHAOs. These
include, among other things:
1. submitting a plan to the Department of Public Health (DPH), with specified
information, before receiving state funds for tobacco education, reduction,
or prevention efforts (§ 2);
2. consulting with the DMHAS commissioner on certain matters, such as the
commissioner’s triennial update of a comprehensive plan for substance
abuse prevention, treatment, and reduction (§ 3);
3. reviewing applications (along with DMHAS) and making recommendations
when a hospital, municipality, or nonprofit organization applies for O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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DMHAS funds to establish, expand, or maintain psychiatric or mental
health services (§ 6);
4. receiving reports and recommendations from the catchment area councils
(§ 9); and
5. entering into agreements with DMHAS to provide services for chronic
gamblers (§ 10).
Under prior law, applicants for a DPH license to operate a community residence
for up to eight adults with mental illness had to send a copy of the application to
the Regional Mental Health Board as well as DPH. The act removes references to
the board for this purpose and does not require applicants to send a copy to the
RBHAO (§ 12).
Board of Mental Health and Addiction Services (§ 4)
Starting October 1, 2022, the act makes several changes to the membership of
the state’s Board of Mental Health and Addiction Services. Specifically, it removes
from the board the following members generally designated by the Regional Action
Councils and Regional Mental Health Boards repealed by the act:
1. the chairpersons of the boards and one designee of each board;
2. two designees from each of the five subregions represented by the councils;
3. one designee from each mental health region, representing individuals with
psychiatric disabilities, selected by the boards in collaboration with
advocacy groups; and
4. one designee from each of the five subregions represented by the councils,
representing individuals recovering from substance use disorders and
selected by the councils in collaboration with advocacy groups.
The act replaces these members with five appointed by the DMHAS
commissioner, each representing an RBHAO, and makes conforming changes.
The act also makes certain substantive and minor changes to the qualifications
for the governor’s 19 appointees to the board, as shown in the table below.
Governor’s Appointees to Board of Mental Health and Addiction Services
Qualifications Under Prior Law Qualifications Under the Act
Starting October 1, 2022
Five with experience in the field of
substance use disorders
Five with lived experience with
substance use disorders
Five from the mental health community Five with lived experience with a mental
health diagnosis
Three state-licensed physicians with
experience in psychiatry
Two state-licensed psychologists
Five state-licensed behavioral health
practitioners
Two people representing families of
individuals with behavioral health
disorders (formerly psychiatric
disabilities)
Same as prior law
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Qualifications Under Prior Law Qualifications Under the Act
Starting October 1, 2022
Two people representing families of
individuals recovering from substance
use disorders
The act also requires the governor to appoint a board chairperson from among
the members.