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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E 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
111.09, F.S.; providing and revising definitions; 3
amending s. 394.9086, F.S.; renaming the Commission on 4
Mental Health and Substance Abuse; revising the 5
purposes of the commission to include an assessment of 6
the state's suicide prevention infrastructure; 7
revising the membership and duties of the commission; 8
requiring the commission to submit annual interim 9
reports for a specified timeframe; revising the date 10
by which the commission must submit its final report; 11
extending the repeal date of the commission; providing 12
an effective date. 13
14
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15
16
Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 111.09, Florida 17
Statutes, is amended to read: 18
111.09 Peer support for first responders. — 19
(1) For purposes of this section, the term: 20
(a) "Affiliated first responder organization" includes, 21
but is not limited to, any of the following organizations: 22
1. Regularly organized volunteer firefighting companies or 23
associations. 24
2. Regularly organized volunteer ambulance services. 25
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3. Combination fire departments, as defined in s. 26
633.135(1). 27
(b)(a) "First responder" has the s ame meaning as provided 28
in s. 112.1815 and includes 911 public safety telecommunicators 29
as defined in s. 401.465. 30
(c)(b) "First responder peer" means a person who: 31
1. Is not a health care practitioner as defined in s. 32
456.001. 33
2. Has experience worki ng as or with a first responder , 34
including active, volunteer, and retired first responders, 35
regarding any physical or emotional conditions or issues 36
associated with the first responder's employment. 37
3. Has been designated by the first responder's employi ng 38
agency or affiliated first responder organization to provide 39
peer support as provided in this section and has received 40
training for this purpose. 41
(d)(c) "Peer support" means the provision of physical, 42
moral, or emotional support to a first responder b y a first 43
responder peer for the purpose of addressing physical or 44
emotional conditions or other issues associated with being a 45
first responder. 46
(e)(d) "Peer support communication" means electronic, 47
oral, or written communication, made with a mutual expectation 48
of confidentiality while a first responder peer is providing 49
peer support in his or her official capacity. 50
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Section 2. Subsections (1) and (2 ), paragraph (a) of 51
subsection (3), paragraph (a) of subsection (4), and subsections 52
(5) and (6) of section 394.9086, Florida Statutes, are amended 53
to read: 54
394.9086 Commission on Mental Health and Substance Use 55
Disorder Abuse.— 56
(1) CREATION.—The Commission on Mental Health and 57
Substance Use Disorder Abuse, a commission as defined in s. 58
20.03(10), is created adjunct to the department. The department 59
shall provide administrative and staff support services relating 60
to the functions of the commission. 61
(2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the commission are to 62
examine the current methods of providing mental health and 63
substance use disorder abuse services in the state and to 64
improve the effectiveness of current practices, procedures, 65
programs, and initiatives in providing such services; identify 66
any barriers or deficiencies in the delivery of such services; 67
assess the adequacy of the current infrastructure of Florida's 68
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL) system and other 69
components of the state's crisis re sponse services; and 70
recommend changes to existing laws, rules, and policies 71
necessary to implement the commission's recommendations. 72
(3) MEMBERSHIP; TERM LIMITS; MEETINGS. — 73
(a) The commission shall be composed of 20 19 members as 74
follows: 75
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1. A member of the Senate, appointed by the President of 76
the Senate. 77
2. A member of the House of Representatives, appointed by 78
the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 79
3. The Secretary of Children and Families or his or her 80
designee. 81
4. The Secretary of th e Agency for Health Care 82
Administration or his or her designee. 83
5. A person living with a mental health disorder, 84
appointed by the President of the Senate. 85
6. A family member of a consumer of publicly funded mental 86
health services, appointed by the Pre sident of the Senate. 87
7. A representative of the Louis de la Parte Florida 88
Mental Health Institute within the University of South Florida, 89
appointed by the President of the Senate. 90
8. A representative of a county school district, appointed 91
by the President of the Senate. 92
9. A representative of mental health courts, appointed by 93
the Governor. 94
10. A representative of a treatment facility, as defined 95
in s. 394.455, appointed by the Speaker of the House of 96
Representatives. 97
11. A representative of a ma naging entity, as defined in 98
s. 394.9082(2), appointed by the Speaker of the House of 99
Representatives. 100
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12. A representative of a community substance use disorder 101
abuse provider, appointed by the Speaker of the House of 102
Representatives. 103
13. A psychiatrist licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 104
459 practicing within the mental health delivery system, 105
appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 106
14. A psychologist licensed under chapter 490 practicing 107
within the mental health delivery system, appointed by the 108
Governor. 109
15. A mental health professional licensed under chapter 110
491, appointed by the Governor. 111
16. An emergency room physician, appointed by the 112
Governor. 113
17. A representative from the field of law enforcement, 114
appointed by the Governor. 115
18. A representative from the criminal justice system, 116
appointed by the Governor. 117
19. A representative of a child welfare agency involved in 118
the delivery of behavioral health services, appointed by the 119
Governor. 120
20. A representative of the F lorida Alliance of 121
Information and Referral Services, appointed by the Governor. 122
(4) DUTIES.— 123
(a) The duties of the Commission on Mental Health and 124
Substance Use Disorder Abuse include the following: 125
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1. Conducting a review and evaluation of the management 126
and functioning of the existing publicly supported mental health 127
and substance use disorder abuse systems and services in the 128
department, the Agency for Health Care Administration, and all 129
other departments which administer mental health and substance 130
use disorder abuse services. Such review shall include, at a 131
minimum, a review of current goals and objectives, current 132
planning, services strategies, coordination management, 133
purchasing, contracting, fi nancing, local government funding 134
responsibility, and accountability mechanisms. 135
2. Considering the unique needs of persons who are dually 136
diagnosed. 137
3. Addressing access to, financing of, and scope of 138
responsibility in the delivery of emergency behavi oral health 139
care services. 140
4. Addressing the quality and effectiveness of current 141
mental health and substance use disorder abuse services delivery 142
systems, and professional staffing and clinical structure of 143
services, roles, and responsibilities of publi c and private 144
providers, such as community mental health centers; community 145
substance use disorder abuse agencies; hospitals, including 146
emergency services departments; law enforcement agencies; and 147
the judicial system. 148
5. Addressing priority population g roups for publicly 149
funded mental health and substance use disorder abuse services, 150
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identifying the comprehensive mental health and substance use 151
disorder abuse services delivery systems, mental health and 152
substance use disorder abuse needs assessment and planning 153
activities, and local government funding responsibilities for 154
mental health and substance use disorder abuse services. 155
6. Reviewing the implementation of chapter 2020 -107, Laws 156
of Florida. 157
7. Identifying any gaps in the p rovision of mental health 158
and substance use disorder services. 159
8. Providing recommendations on how behavioral health 160
managing entities may fulfill their purpose of promoting service 161
continuity and work with community stakeholders throughout this 162
state in furtherance of supporting the NSPL system and other 163
crisis response services . 164
9. Conducting an overview of the current infrastructure of 165
the NSPL system. 166
10. Analyzing the current capacity of crisis response 167
services available throughout this state, i ncluding services 168
provided by mobile response teams and centralized receiving 169
facilities. The analysis must include information on the 170
geographic area and the total population served by each mobile 171
response team along with the average response time to each call 172
made to a mobile response team; the number of calls that a 173
mobile response team was unable to respond to due to staff 174
limitations, travel distance, or other factors; and the veteran 175
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status and age groups of individuals served by mobile response 176
teams. 177
11. Evaluating and making recommendations to improve 178
linkages between the NSPL infrastructure and crisis response 179
services within this state. 180
12. Identifying available mental health block grant funds 181
that can be used to support the NSPL, Florida 211 Network, and 182
crisis response infrastructure within this state, including any 183
available funding through opioid settlements or through the 184
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Pub. L. No. 117 -2; the 185
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Pu b. 186
L. No. 116-136; or other federal legislation. 187
13. In consultation with the Agency for Health Care 188
Administration, identifying sources of funding available through 189
the Medicaid program specifically for crisis response services, 190
including funding that m ay be available by seeking approval of a 191
Section 1115 waiver submitted to the Centers for Medicare and 192
Medicaid Services. 193
14.9. Making recommendations regarding the mission and 194
objectives of state-supported mental health and substance use 195
disorder abuse services and the planning, management, staffing, 196
financing, contracting, coordination, and accountability 197
mechanisms which will best foster the recommended mission and 198
objectives. 199
15.10. Evaluating and making recommendations regarding the 200
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establishment of a permanent, agency -level entity to manage 201
mental health, substance use disorder abuse, and related 202
services statewide. At a minimum, the evaluation must consider 203
and describe the: 204
a. Specific duties and organizational structure proposed 205
for the entity; 206
b. Resource needs of the entity and possible sources of 207
funding; 208
c. Estimated impact on access to and quality of services; 209
d. Impact on individuals with behavioral health needs and 210
their families, both those currently served through the affected 211
systems providing behavioral health services and those in need 212
of services; and 213
e. Relation to, integration with, and impact on providers, 214
managing entities, communities, state agencies, and systems 215
which provide mental health and substance use disorder abuse 216
services in this state. Such recommendations must ensure that 217
the ability of such other agencies and systems to carry out 218
their missions and responsibilities is not impaired. 219
16. Evaluating and making recommendations regarding 220
skills-based training that teaches participants about mental 221
health and substance use issues, including, but not limited to, 222
Mental Health First Aid models. 223
(5) REPORTS.—Beginning By January 1, 2023, and annually 224
thereafter through January 1, 2025, the commission shall submit 225
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an interim report to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of 226
the House of Representatives, and the Governor containing its 227
findings and recommendations on how to best provide and 228
facilitate mental health and substance use disorder abuse 229
services in the state. The commission shall submit its final 230
report to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House 231
of Representatives, and the Governor by September 1, 2026 2023. 232
(6) REPEAL.—This section is repealed September 1, 2026 233
2023, unless saved from r epeal through reenactment by the 234
Legislature. 235
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 236