For a short session, the Legislature makes significant progress on behavioral health

In 2024, the Legislature enacted several bills related to the fentanyl epidemic and behavioral health generally. Additionally, the supplemental budgets appropriated considerable investments in behavioral health—in terms of both operational expenses and capital construction at Western State Hospital and community behavioral health treatment centers. For more detailed information on the budgets, see our budget summary.

Three bills related to behavioral health generally are worth noting for cities:

• HB 1929 creates two new housing programs for young adults exiting inpatient behavioral health treatment. Often, young adults who finish inpatient behavioral health treatment do not have stable housing to return to and can end up facing homelessness.
• SB 5906 is one of a handful of bills that require the state to engage in a public education campaign on the dangers of fentanyl. This bill specifically is a statewide outreach effort, but other bills that passed this session focus on K-12 schools and higher education.
• SB 5853 requires the state to adopt standards for 23-hour crisis stabilization centers for those under the age of 18. In 2023, the Legislature passed similar legislation for adult facilities, and SB 5853 expands upon that work to lay the groundwork for youth crisis behavioral health stabilization centers.

Importantly, the state also passed HB 2088, which will provide critically needed liability protection for local government co-responder programs. Prior to this legislation, cities had some degree of liability protection for other first responders engaged in behavioral health first response but did not have the same protection for behavioral health professionals engaged in co-response. This bill gives cities important liability protection for these important professionals in often-volatile situations, and we encourage you to review the bill if you are considering adopting or expanding a co-responder program.

Overall, the 2024 session was positive for behavioral health. However, the challenges facing the state are substantial and will not be fixed with the legislative gains made this year. The need will undoubtedly continue to outpace the investments made, and the investments made will take time to come to fruition. We encourage all cities to work with your local providers to identify specific opportunities and funding gaps, and then discuss these with your legislators.