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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P RE S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to suicide prevention; amending s. 2
394.9086, F.S.; renaming the Commission on Mental 3
Health and Substance Abuse; revising the purposes of 4
the commission to include an assessment of the state's 5
suicide prevention infrastructure; revising the duties 6
of the commission to include duties relating to the 7
state's suicide prevention infrastructure; requiring 8
the commission to submit annual interim repor ts for a 9
specified timeframe; revising the date by which the 10
commission must submit its final report; extending the 11
repeal date of the commission; providing an effective 12
date. 13
14
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15
16
Section 1. Subsections (1) and (2), paragraph (a) of 17
subsection (3), paragraph (a) of subsection (4), and subsections 18
(5) and (6) of section 394.9086, Florida Statutes, are amended 19
to read: 20
394.9086 Commission on Mental Health and Substance Use 21
Disorder Abuse.— 22
(1) CREATION.—The Commission on Mental Health and 23
Substance Use Disorder Abuse, a commission as defined in s. 24
20.03(10), is created adjunct to the department. The department 25
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shall provide administrative and staff support services relating 26
to the functions of the commission. 27
(2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the commission are to 28
examine the current methods of providing mental health and 29
substance use disorder abuse services in the state and to 30
improve the effectiveness of current practices, procedures, 31
programs, and initiatives in providing such services; identify 32
any barriers or deficiencies in the delivery of such services; 33
assess the adequacy of the current infrastructure of Florida's 34
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL) system and other 35
components of the state's crisis response services; and 36
recommend changes to existing laws, rules, and policies 37
necessary to implement the commission's recommendations. 38
(3) MEMBERSHIP; TERM LIMITS; MEETINGS. — 39
(a) The commission shall be composed of 19 members as 40
follows: 41
1. A member of the Senate, appointed by the President of 42
the Senate. 43
2. A member of the House of Representatives, appointed by 44
the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 45
3. The Secretary of Children and Families or his or her 46
designee. 47
4. The Secretary of the Agency for Health Care 48
Administration or his or her designee. 49
5. A person living with a mental health disorder, 50
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appointed by the President of the Senate. 51
6. A family member of a consumer of publicly funded mental 52
health services, appointed by the President of the Senate. 53
7. A representative of the Louis de la Parte Florida 54
Mental Health Institute within the University of South Florida, 55
appointed by the President of the Senate. 56
8. A representative of a county school district, appointed 57
by the President of the Senate. 58
9. A representative of mental health courts, appointed by 59
the Governor. 60
10. A representative of a treatment facility, as defined 61
in s. 394.455, appointed by the Speaker of the House of 62
Representatives. 63
11. A representative of a managing entity, as defined in 64
s. 394.9082(2), appointed by the Speaker of the House of 65
Representatives. 66
12. A representative of a community substance use disorder 67
abuse provider, appointed by the Speaker of the House of 68
Representatives. 69
13. A psychiatrist licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 70
459 practicing within the mental health delivery system, 71
appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 72
14. A psychologist licensed under chapter 490 practicing 73
within the mental health delivery system, appointed by the 74
Governor. 75
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15. A mental health professional licensed under chapter 76
491, appointed by the Governor. 77
16. An emergency room physician, appointed by the 78
Governor. 79
17. A representative from the field of law enforceme nt, 80
appointed by the Governor. 81
18. A representative from the criminal justice system, 82
appointed by the Governor. 83
19. A representative of a child welfare agency involved in 84
the delivery of behavioral health services, appointed by the 85
Governor. 86
(4) DUTIES.— 87
(a) The duties of the Commission on Mental Health and 88
Substance Use Disorder Abuse include the following: 89
1. Conducting a review and evaluation of the management 90
and functioning of the existing publicly supported mental health 91
and substance use disorder abuse systems and services in the 92
department, the Agency for Health Care Administration, and all 93
other departments which administer mental health and substance 94
use disorder abuse services. Such review shall include, at a 95
minimum, a review of curren t goals and objectives, current 96
planning, services strategies, coordination management, 97
purchasing, contracting, financing, local government funding 98
responsibility, and accountability mechanisms. 99
2. Considering the unique needs of persons who are dually 100
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diagnosed. 101
3. Addressing access to, financing of, and scope of 102
responsibility in the delivery of emergency behavioral health 103
care services. 104
4. Addressing the quality and effectiveness of current 105
mental health and substance use disorder abuse services delivery 106
systems, and professional staffing and clinical structure of 107
services, roles, and responsibilities of public and private 108
providers, such as community mental health centers; community 109
substance use disorder abuse agencies; hospitals, including 110
emergency services departments; law enforcement agencies; and 111
the judicial system. 112
5. Addressing priority population groups for publicly 113
funded mental health and substance use disorder abuse services, 114
identifying the comprehensive mental health and substance use 115
disorder abuse services delivery systems, mental health and 116
substance use disorder abuse needs assessment and planning 117
activities, and local government funding responsibilities for 118
mental health and substance use disorder abuse services. 119
6. Reviewing the implementation of chapter 2020 -107, Laws 120
of Florida. 121
7. Identifying any gaps in the provision of mental health 122
and substance use disorder services. 123
8. Providing recommendations on how behavioral health 124
managing entities may fulfill their purpose o f promoting service 125
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continuity and work with community stakeholders throughout this 126
state in furtherance of supporting the NSPL system and other 127
crisis response services . 128
9. Conducting an overview of the current infrastructure of 129
the NSPL system. 130
10. Analyzing the current capacity of crisis response 131
services available throughout this state, including services 132
provided by mobile response teams and centralized receiving 133
facilities. The analysis must include information on the 134
geographic area and the total population served by each mobile 135
response team along with the average response time to each call 136
made to a mobile response team; the number of calls that a 137
mobile response team was unable to respond to due to staff 138
limitations, travel distance, or other f actors; and the veteran 139
status and age groups of individuals served by mobile response 140
teams. 141
11. Evaluating and making recommendations to improve 142
linkages between the NSPL infrastructure and crisis response 143
services within this state. 144
12. Identifying available mental health block grant funds 145
that can be used to support the NSPL and crisis response 146
infrastructure within this state, including any available 147
funding through opioid settlements or through the American 148
Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Pub. L. No. 117 -2; the Coronavirus Aid, 149
Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Pub. L. No. 116 -136; 150
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or other federal legislation. 151
13. In consultation with the Agency for Health Care 152
Administration, identifying sources of funding available through 153
the Medicaid program specifically for crisis response services, 154
including funding that may be available by seeking approval of a 155
Section 1115 waiver submitted to the Centers for Medicare and 156
Medicaid Services. 157
14.9. Making recommendations regarding the mission and 158
objectives of state-supported mental health and substance use 159
disorder abuse services and the planning, management, staffing, 160
financing, contracting, coordination, and accountability 161
mechanisms which will best foster the recommended mission and 162
objectives. 163
15.10. Evaluating and making recommendations regarding the 164
establishment of a permanent, agency -level entity to manage 165
mental health, substance use disorder abuse, and related 166
services statewide. At a minimum, the evaluation must consider 167
and describe the: 168
a. Specific duties and organizational structure proposed 169
for the entity; 170
b. Resource needs of the entity and possible sources of 171
funding; 172
c. Estimated impact on access to and quality of services; 173
d. Impact on individuals with behavioral health needs and 174
their families, both those currently served through the affected 175
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systems providing behavioral health services and those in need 176
of services; and 177
e. Relation to, integration with, and impact on providers, 178
managing entities, communities, state agencie s, and systems 179
which provide mental health and substance use disorder abuse 180
services in this state. Such recommendations must ensure that 181
the ability of such other agencies and systems to carry out 182
their missions and responsibilities is not impaired. 183
(5) REPORTS.—Beginning By January 1, 2023, and annually 184
thereafter through January 1, 2025, the commission shall submit 185
an interim report to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of 186
the House of Representatives, and the Governor containing its 187
findings and recommendations on how to best provide and 188
facilitate mental health and substance use disorder abuse 189
services in the state. The commission shall submit its final 190
report to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House 191
of Representatives, and the G overnor by September 1, 2026 2023. 192
(6) REPEAL.—This section is repealed September 1, 2026 193
2023, unless saved from repeal through reenactment by the 194
Legislature. 195
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 196