Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2059 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	H.B. No. 2059
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to mental health first aid training provided by local
6	6	mental health authorities and local behavioral health authorities.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Section 1001.201, Health and Safety Code, is
9	9	amended to read as follows:
10	10	Sec. 1001.201. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
11	11	(1) "Child-care facility" has the meaning assigned by
12	12	Section 42.002, Human Resources Code.
13	13	(2) "Educator" means a person who is required to hold a
14	14	certificate issued under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code.
15	15	(3) "First responder" has the meaning assigned by
16	16	Section 421.095, Government Code.
17	17	(4) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
18	18	assigned by Section 61.003, Education Code.
19	19	(5) "Local behavioral health authority" means an
20	20	authority designated by the commission under Section 533.0356.
21	21	(6) [(2)] "Local mental health authority" has the
22	22	meaning assigned by Section 531.002.
23	23	(7) "Open-enrollment charter school" and "private
24	24	school" have the meanings assigned by Section 5.001, Education
25	25	Code.
26	26	(8) [(3)] "Regional education service center" means a
27	27	regional education service center established under Chapter 8,
28	28	Education Code.
29	29	(9) [(4)] "School district employee" means a person
30	30	employed by a school district who regularly interacts with students
31	31	through the course of the person's duties, including an educator, a
32	32	secretary, a school bus driver, or a cafeteria worker.
33	33	(10) [(5)] "School resource officer" has the meaning
34	34	assigned by Section 1701.601, Occupations Code.
35	35	[(6) "University employee" means a person employed by
36	36	a public or private institution of higher education who regularly
37	37	interacts with students enrolled at the university through the
38	38	course of the person's duties.]
39	39	SECTION 2. Section 1001.202, Health and Safety Code, is
40	40	amended to read as follows:
41	41	Sec. 1001.202. GRANTS FOR TRAINING OF MENTAL HEALTH FIRST
42	42	AID TRAINERS. (a) To the extent money is [funds are] appropriated
43	43	to the commission [department] for that purpose, the commission
44	44	[department] shall make grants to local mental health authorities
45	45	or local behavioral health authorities to contract with persons
46	46	approved by the commission [department] to train employees or
47	47	contractors of the authorities as mental health first aid trainers.
48	48	(b) The commission [department] shall make each grant to a
49	49	local mental health authority or local behavioral health authority
50	50	under this section in the [an] amount the commission determines
51	51	necessary to cover the costs of training [equal to $1,000 times the
52	52	number of] employees or contractors of the authority whose training
53	53	as mental health first aid trainers will be paid by the grant.
54	54	(d) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules to
55	55	establish the requirements for a person to be approved by the
56	56	commission [department] to train employees or contractors of a
57	57	local mental health authority or local behavioral health authority
58	58	as mental health first aid trainers. The rules must ensure that a
59	59	person who is approved by the commission [department] is qualified
60	60	to provide training in:
61	61	(1) the potential risk factors and warning signs for
62	62	various mental illnesses, including depression, anxiety, trauma,
63	63	psychosis, eating disorders, substance use [abuse] disorders, and
64	64	self-injury;
65	65	(2) the prevalence of various mental illnesses in the
66	66	United States and the need to reduce the stigma associated with
67	67	mental illness;
68	68	(3) an action plan for use by the employees or
69	69	contractors that involves the use of skills, resources, and
70	70	knowledge to assess a situation and develop and implement an
71	71	appropriate intervention to help an individual experiencing a
72	72	mental health crisis obtain appropriate professional care; and
73	73	(4) the evidence-based professional, peer, social,
74	74	and self-help resources available to help individuals with mental
75	75	illness.
76	76	(e) Two or more local mental health authorities or local
77	77	behavioral health authorities may collaborate and share resources
78	78	to provide training for employees or contractors of the authorities
79	79	under this section.
80	80	SECTION 3. Section 1001.203, Health and Safety Code, is
81	81	amended to read as follows:
82	82	Sec. 1001.203. GRANTS FOR TRAINING CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS
83	83	[UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEES, SCHOOL DISTRICT EMPLOYEES, AND SCHOOL
84	84	RESOURCE OFFICERS] IN MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID. (a) To the extent
85	85	money is [funds are] appropriated [to the department] for the
86	86	[that] purpose, the commission [department] shall make grants to
87	87	local mental health authorities or local behavioral health
88	88	authorities to provide at no cost an approved mental health first
89	89	aid training program[,] administered by mental health first aid
90	90	trainers[, at no cost] to the following individuals at the
91	91	discretion of the authorities:
92	92	(1) [university employees,] school district
93	93	employees[,] and school resource officers;
94	94	(2) employees of:
95	95	(A) an institution of higher education;
96	96	(B) an open-enrollment charter school; or
97	97	(C) a private school;
98	98	(3) employees and contractors of a child-care
99	99	facility;
100	100	(4) youth;
101	101	(5) individuals with direct and recurring contact with
102	102	students;
103	103	(6) first responders;
104	104	(7) military service members, veterans, or immediate
105	105	family members of military service members or veterans;
106	106	(8) judges and attorneys, as applicable based on the
107	107	practice of law of the judge or attorney; or
108	108	(9) contractors of an institution of higher education,
109	109	an open-enrollment charter school, a private school, or a school
110	110	district.
111	111	(c) The commission [department] shall grant [$100] to a
112	112	local mental health authority or local behavioral health authority
113	113	the amount the commission determines necessary to cover the costs
114	114	of training each individual described by Subsection (a) [for each
115	115	university employee, school district employee, or school resource
116	116	officer] who successfully completes a mental health first aid
117	117	training program provided by the authority under this section.
118	118	(d) A mental health first aid training program provided by a
119	119	local mental health authority or local behavioral health authority
120	120	under this section must:
121	121	(1) be conducted by a person trained as a mental health
122	122	first aid trainer;
123	123	(2) provide participants with the skills necessary to
124	124	help an individual experiencing a mental health crisis until the
125	125	individual is able to obtain appropriate professional care; and
126	126	(3) include:
127	127	(A) instruction in a five-step strategy for
128	128	helping an individual experiencing a mental health crisis,
129	129	including assessing risk, listening respectfully to and supporting
130	130	the individual, and identifying professional help and other
131	131	supports for the individual;
132	132	(B) an introduction to the risk factors and
133	133	warning signs for mental illness and substance use [abuse]
134	134	problems;
135	135	(C) experiential activities to increase
136	136	participants' understanding of the impact of mental illness on
137	137	individuals and families; and
138	138	(D) a presentation of evidence-supported
139	139	treatment and self-help strategies.
140	140	(e) A local mental health authority or local behavioral
141	141	health authority may contract with a regional education service
142	142	center to provide under this section a mental health first aid
143	143	training program to [university employees,] school district
144	144	employees and contractors, [and] school resource officers,
145	145	open-enrollment charter school employees and contractors, private
146	146	school employees and contractors, and employees and contractors of
147	147	an institution of higher education [under this section].
148	148	(f) Two or more local mental health authorities or local
149	149	behavioral health authorities may collaborate and share resources
150	150	to develop and operate a mental health first aid training program
151	151	under this section.
152	152	SECTION 4. Section 1001.204, Health and Safety Code, is
153	153	amended to read as follows:
154	154	Sec. 1001.204. PLANS FOR MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAINING
155	155	PROGRAMS. (a) Not later than July 1 of each even-numbered [state
156	156	fiscal] year for which a local mental health authority or local
157	157	behavioral health authority will seek a grant from the commission
158	158	[department] under Section 1001.203, the authority shall submit to
159	159	the commission [department] a plan demonstrating the manner in
160	160	which grants made to the authority under that section will be used:
161	161	(1) to train individuals in mental health first aid
162	162	throughout the authority's local service area to maximize the
163	163	number of children who have direct contact with an individual who
164	164	has successfully completed a mental health first aid training
165	165	program provided by the authority;
166	166	(2) to meet the greatest needs of the authority's local
167	167	service area, as identified by the authority; and
168	168	(3) to complement existing resources and not duplicate
169	169	established mental health first aid training efforts.
170	170	(b) The commission [department] may not make a grant to a
171	171	local mental health authority or local behavioral health authority
172	172	under Section 1001.203 unless the commission [department] has
173	173	evaluated a plan submitted by the authority under this section.
174	174	SECTION 5. Section 1001.205, Health and Safety Code, is
175	175	amended to read as follows:
176	176	Sec. 1001.205. REPORTS. (a) Not later than September 30 of
177	177	each year, a local mental health authority or local behavioral
178	178	health authority shall provide to the commission [department] the
179	179	number of:
180	180	(1) employees and contractors of the authority who
181	181	were trained as mental health first aid trainers under Section
182	182	1001.202 during the preceding fiscal year, the number of trainers
183	183	who left the program for any reason during the preceding fiscal
184	184	year, and the number of active trainers;
185	185	(2) [university employees,] school district
186	186	employees[,] and contractors, school resource officers,
187	187	open-enrollment charter school employees and contractors, private
188	188	school employees and contractors, and employees and contractors of
189	189	an institution of higher education who completed a mental health
190	190	first aid training program offered by the authority under Section
191	191	1001.203 during the preceding fiscal year categorized by:
192	192	(A) local mental health authority or local
193	193	behavioral health authority region;
194	194	(B) [, university or] school district,
195	195	open-enrollment charter school, private school, and institution of
196	196	higher education, as applicable; [,] and
197	197	(C) category of personnel;
198	198	(3) child-care facility employees and contractors,
199	199	youth, individuals with direct and recurring contact with students,
200	200	first responders, judges, and attorneys [individuals who are not
201	201	university employees, school district employees, or school
202	202	resource officers] who completed a mental health first aid training
203	203	program offered by the authority during the preceding fiscal year
204	204	categorized by local mental health authority or local behavioral
205	205	health authority region; and
206	206	(4) military service members, veterans, and immediate
207	207	family members of military service members and veterans who
208	208	completed the veterans module or standard version of a mental
209	209	health first aid training program offered by the authority during
210	210	the preceding fiscal year categorized by local mental health
211	211	authority or local behavioral health authority region and the
212	212	training program completed.
213	213	(b) Not later than December 1 of each year, the commission
214	214	[department] shall compile the information submitted by local
215	215	mental health authorities or local behavioral health authorities as
216	216	required by Subsection (a) and submit a report to the legislature
217	217	containing:
218	218	(1) the number of authority employees and contractors
219	219	trained as mental health first aid trainers during the preceding
220	220	fiscal year, the number of trainers who left the program for any
221	221	reason during the preceding fiscal year, and the number of active
222	222	trainers;
223	223	(2) the number of [university employees,] school
224	224	district employees[,] and contractors, school resource officers,
225	225	open-enrollment charter school employees and contractors, private
226	226	school employees and contractors, and employees and contractors of
227	227	an institution of higher education who completed a mental health
228	228	first aid training program provided by an authority during the
229	229	preceding fiscal year categorized by:
230	230	(A) local mental health authority region or local
231	231	behavioral health authority region;
232	232	(B) [, university or] school district,
233	233	open-enrollment charter school, private school, and institution of
234	234	higher education, as applicable; [,] and
235	235	(C) category of personnel;
236	236	(3) the number of child-care facility employees and
237	237	contractors, youth, individuals with direct and recurring contact
238	238	with students, first responders, judges, and attorneys
239	239	[individuals who are not university employees, school district
240	240	employees, or school resource officers] who completed a mental
241	241	health first aid training program provided by an authority during
242	242	the preceding fiscal year categorized by local mental health
243	243	authority or local behavioral health authority region;
244	244	(4) the number of military service members, veterans,
245	245	and immediate family members of military service members and
246	246	veterans who completed the veterans module or standard version of a
247	247	mental health first aid training program provided by an authority
248	248	during the preceding fiscal year categorized by local mental health
249	249	authority or local behavioral health authority region and the
250	250	training program completed; and
251	251	(5) a detailed accounting of expenditures of money
252	252	appropriated for the purpose of implementing this subchapter.
253	253	(c) The commission [department] shall develop and provide
254	254	to local mental health authorities and local behavioral health
255	255	authorities a form to be used for the reporting of information
256	256	required under Subsection (a), including the reporting of each
257	257	category of personnel described by that subsection.
258	258	SECTION 6. Section 1001.206, Health and Safety Code, is
259	259	amended to read as follows:
260	260	Sec. 1001.206. LIABILITY. A person who has completed a
261	261	mental health first aid training program offered by a local mental
262	262	health authority or local behavioral health authority under this
263	263	subchapter and who in good faith attempts to assist an individual
264	264	experiencing a mental health crisis is not liable in civil damages
265	265	for an act performed in attempting to assist the individual unless
266	266	the act is wilfully or wantonly negligent.
267	267	SECTION 7. The following sections of the Health and Safety
268	268	Code are repealed:
269	269	(1) Section 1001.2015; and
270	270	(2) Section 1001.2031.
271	271	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
272	272	______________________________ ______________________________
273	273	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
274	274	I certify that H.B. No. 2059 was passed by the House on April
275	275	14, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 129, Nays 14, 2 present, not
276	276	voting.
277	277	______________________________
278	278	Chief Clerk of the House
279	279	I certify that H.B. No. 2059 was passed by the Senate on May
280	280	15, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.
281	281	______________________________
282	282	Secretary of the Senate
283	283	APPROVED: _____________________
284	284	Date
285	285	_____________________
286	286	Governor