Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB188 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R4048 MPF-F
2	2	By: Menéndez S.B. No. 188
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the provision of behavioral health crisis services,
10	10	including the operation of crisis centers and mobile crisis
11	11	outreach teams; authorizing a fee.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Chapter 547, Government Code, as effective April
14	14	1, 2025, is amended by adding Subchapter K to read as follows:
15	15	SUBCHAPTER K. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CRISIS SERVICES
16	16	Sec. 547.0501. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
17	17	(1) "Crisis center" means a 988 Suicide & Crisis
18	18	Lifeline center participating in the National Suicide Prevention
19	19	Lifeline network to respond to statewide or regional
20	20	communications.
21	21	(2) "Mobile crisis outreach team" means a team of
22	22	qualified mental health professionals who provide crisis services,
23	23	including:
24	24	(A) facilitating emergency care services;
25	25	(B) providing urgent care services; and
26	26	(C) providing crisis follow-up and relapse
27	27	prevention services.
28	28	(3) "Youth crisis outreach team" means a mobile crisis
29	29	outreach team designed primarily to serve children or adolescents.
30	30	Sec. 547.0502. CRISIS CENTER STANDARDS. (a) A crisis
31	31	center operating in this state shall:
32	32	(1) contract with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline;
33	33	(2) satisfy the requirements of and best practices
34	34	identified by the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline;
35	35	(3) provide and report any applicable data;
36	36	(4) be equipped to deploy a mobile crisis outreach
37	37	team or youth crisis outreach team;
38	38	(5) satisfy the requirements for serving at-risk and
39	39	specialized populations as identified by the Substance Abuse and
40	40	Mental Health Services Administration;
41	41	(6) provide linguistically and culturally competent
42	42	care, including by requiring training and providing policies for
43	43	transferring a crisis center caller to an appropriate mental health
44	44	care provider; and
45	45	(7) provide follow-up services to individuals who call
46	46	the crisis center, as appropriate.
47	47	(b) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules to allow
48	48	appropriate information sharing and communication across crisis
49	49	response systems and emergency response systems to provide
50	50	real-time crisis care coordination.
51	51	Sec. 547.0503. CRISIS CARE COORDINATION. (a) The
52	52	commission shall ensure that an individual who contacts a crisis
53	53	center is provided ongoing care through active collaboration and
54	54	coordination of services among crisis centers and mental health and
55	55	substance use disorder treatment providers, community mental
56	56	health centers, certified community behavioral health clinics,
57	57	community behavioral health centers, mobile crisis outreach teams,
58	58	youth crisis outreach teams, hospital emergency departments, and
59	59	inpatient psychiatric settings.
60	60	(b) The commission may contract with the entities listed
61	61	under Subsection (a) to ensure the coordination of services.
62	62	Sec. 547.0504. 988 SUICIDE AND CRISIS LIFELINE TRUST FUND.
63	63	(a) The 988 suicide and crisis lifeline trust fund is established
64	64	as a trust fund to be held by the comptroller outside the state
65	65	treasury and administered by the commission.
66	66	(b) The trust fund consists of:
67	67	(1) revenue derived from the fee described by Section
68	68	547.0505;
69	69	(2) legislative appropriations of money for the
70	70	purposes of this subchapter;
71	71	(3) available federal funding this state allocates for
72	72	the purposes of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline;
73	73	(4) gifts, grants, and donations received by this
74	74	state for the purposes of the trust fund;
75	75	(5) interest, dividends, and other income of the trust
76	76	fund; and
77	77	(6) money from any other source that is deposited in or
78	78	transferred to the trust fund.
79	79	(c) Money deposited in the trust fund may only be used to:
80	80	(1) implement, maintain, or improve the 988 Suicide &
81	81	Crisis Lifeline, including personnel and technological
82	82	infrastructure improvements necessary to achieve operational and
83	83	clinical standards and best practices as provided by the National
84	84	Suicide Prevention Lifeline;
85	85	(2) provide funding for crisis outreach and other
86	86	services a community mental health center provides in response to
87	87	the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline;
88	88	(3) provide funding for uninsured individuals
89	89	receiving crisis and stabilization services;
90	90	(4) provide personnel for crisis centers, mobile
91	91	crisis outreach teams, and youth crisis outreach teams;
92	92	(5) fund data provision, reporting, participation in
93	93	evaluations, and other related quality improvement activities; and
94	94	(6) administer, oversee, and evaluate the trust fund.
95	95	(d) The state may not transfer or use trust fund assets for
96	96	any purpose other than the uses provided in this section.
97	97	(e) The executive commissioner shall submit an annual
98	98	report to the legislature and the Federal Communications Commission
99	99	detailing the trust fund deposits and expenditures in the preceding
100	100	year.
101	101	Sec. 547.0505. 988 SUICIDE AND CRISIS LIFELINE FEE. (a)
102	102	The commission, in collaboration with the Commission on State
103	103	Emergency Communications, may impose a 988 suicide and crisis
104	104	lifeline service fee to supplement any federal, state, or local
105	105	funding for suicide prevention or behavioral health crisis services
106	106	on each:
107	107	(1) local exchange access line or equivalent local
108	108	exchange access line, not including public telephone equipment
109	109	operated by coin or by card reader;
110	110	(2) wireless telecommunications connection;
111	111	(3) Voice over Internet Protocol service connection;
112	112	and
113	113	(4) purchase of a prepaid wireless telecommunications
114	114	service by any method.
115	115	(b) The executive commissioner by rule shall set the fee in
116	116	an amount sufficient to cover the costs of creating, operating, and
117	117	maintaining the suicide prevention services provided under this
118	118	subchapter, according to the national guidelines for crisis
119	119	services. The commission shall periodically adjust the fee amount
120	120	as necessary to provide for continuous operation, volume increases,
121	121	and maintenance.
122	122	(c) Revenue from the fee shall be deposited in the 988
123	123	suicide and crisis lifeline trust fund established under Section
124	124	547.0504.
125	125	(d) A fee collected under this section may only be used to
126	126	offset costs as provided by 47 U.S.C. Section 251a.
127	127	(e) Revenue from the fee may not be used for expenses that
128	128	are:
129	129	(1) reimbursable through Medicaid, Medicare, or
130	130	another insurer or governmental program; or
131	131	(2) covered because the service recipient's name and
132	132	health coverage information cannot be obtained or billed.
133	133	(f) The executive commissioner shall submit an annual
134	134	report to the legislature and the Federal Communications Commission
135	135	detailing the revenue generated by the fee in the preceding year.
136	136	Sec. 547.0506. ANNUAL REPORT. (a) The commission shall
137	137	prepare an annual report of the usage of crisis centers and the
138	138	services provided by the centers.
139	139	(b) The commission shall present the annual report to the
140	140	legislature and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
141	141	Administration.
142	142	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.