A number of behavioral health bills passed the Legislature ahead of the final cutoff and are headed to the Governor’s desk for signature:  

• HB 1929 establishes a post-inpatient housing program for young adults.
• SB 5906 implements a statewide overdose campaign.
• SB 6251 adds an additional level of coordination between BH-ASOs and 988 contact hubs.
• SB 6308 extends the timeline for implementation of components of the 988 system.
• HB 2247 changes licensing requirements, practice settings, and reimbursement requirements for behavioral health professions.
• SB 6228 addresses health plan coverage of behavioral health and substance use treatment.
• SB 5853 extends the crisis relief center model (e.g,. 23-hour crisis relief centers) to provide behavioral health crisis services for minors.
• SB 5920 restores the Department of Health’s authority to issue certificate of need exemptions for psychiatric hospital beds.

The final budgets also add significant investments in behavioral health including:

• $16.9 million for program of assertive community treatment (PACT) teams.
• $2.6 million for a substance use or drug overdose prevention campaign (HB 1956 or SB 5906).
• $3 million for health engagement hubs.
• $3.7 million for street medicine teams.
• $2.5 million for recovery navigator programs.
• $1.3 million for a public health nurse pilot.
• $5.2 million to expand the distribution of naloxone and $1.2 million to purchase a dedicated supply of naloxone for first responders.
• $900,000 for public health vending machines.
• $3 million to increase access to buprenorphine and $1.5 million to establish high-intensity community-based teams to provide buprenorphine to people with opioid use disorder.
• $1.4 million for young adult post inpatient housing (HB 1929).
• $2.2 million for behavioral health crisis system coordination (SB 6251).
• $4 million for enhanced opioid and fentanyl data dashboards.
• Capital funding for behavioral health projects.
  • $1 million for competitive community behavioral health grants.
  • $4.2 million for opioid recovery and care access.
  • $48.4 million for regional behavioral health and substance use projects.

23-hour crisis centers may soon provide behavioral health crisis services to minors

February 15, 2024

SB 5853 passed the House on Wednesday with no opposition. The bill establishes 23-hour crisis relief centers (CRCs) for minors. Last year the Legislature passed SB 5120, sponsored by Sen. Manka Dhingra (D–Redmond), creating the 23-hour CRC designation for crisis facilities that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and accept behavioral health crisis walk-ins, people dropped off by first responders, and individuals referred through the 988 system. The Department of Health (DOH) told the Legislature that it expects to finalize rulemaking for CRCs and start accepting license applications in May 2024.

As it currently stands, only adults may access 23-hour crisis services at facilities licensed through this program. If SB 5853 is signed into law, it will expand services to minors in separate treatment areas. The law would require DOH to create licensure and certification rules for CRCs that provide services to children over eight years old by March 31, 2025.

The Senate also passed HB 1929, establishing a post-inpatient housing program for young adults.

Both bills now are on their way to the Governor for signature.

Behavioral health priorities still alive after house of origin cutoff

February 15, 2024

Bills that made it past the February 13 house of origin cutoff deadline:

• HB 1929 establishes a post-inpatient housing program for young adults.
• HB 2247 changes licensing requirements, practice settings, and reimbursement requirements for behavioral health professions.
• SB 5853 extends the crisis relief center model (e.g., 23-hour crisis relief centers) to provide behavioral health crisis services for minors.
• SB 5906 implements a statewide overdose campaign.
• SB 5920 restores the Department of Health’s authority to issue certificate of need exemptions for psychiatric hospital beds.
• SB 6251 adds an additional level of coordination between BH-ASOs and 988 contact hubs.
• SB 6228 addresses health plan coverage of behavioral health and substance use treatment.
• SB 6308 extends the timeline for implementation of components of the 988 system.

Dates to remember

HB 1929 is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Human Services Committee on February 15 at 8 am, and for a vote in the same committee on February 20 at 10:30 am.

SB 6308 is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Appropriations Committee on February 15 at 4 pm, and for a vote in the same committee on February 22 at 1:30 pm.

HB 2247 is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee on February 16 at 8 am.

SB 5920 is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Health Care & Wellness Committee on February 16 at 8 am.

SB 5853 is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Human Services, Youth, & Early Learning Committee on February 20 at 1:30 pm, and is scheduled for a vote in the same committee on February 20 at 1:30 pm.

SB 6228 and SB 6251 are both scheduled for a public hearing in the House Health Care & Wellness Committee on February 20 at 1:30 pm.

Behavioral health continues to be a top priority for Washington State Legislature this session

February 2, 2024

SB 6295 and SB 5906 are still alive and moving through the legislature as we start hitting cutoff dates (see below for coverage of these two bills).

SB 6251, sponsored by Sen. Manka Dhingra (D–Redmond), adds an additional level of coordination between regional behavioral health crisis response (led by the behavioral health administrative service organizations, or BH-ASO, level) and suicide prevention services (988 contact hubs). The bill would also task BH-ASOs with establishing comprehensive protocols for dispatching mobile rapid response and community-based crisis teams. SB 6308, sponsored by Sen. Dhingra, extends the timeline for implementation of components of the 988 system from July 1, 2024 to January 1, 2026.

HB 2247, sponsored by Rep. Jessica Bateman (D–Olympia), changes licensing requirements, practice settings, and reimbursement requirements for behavioral health professions and attempts to implement many of the recommendations from a recent Department of Health (DOH) study on supporting the behavioral health workforce.

SB 6228, sponsored by Sen. Dhingra, addresses health plan coverage of behavioral health and substance use treatment. The bill will require health plans to cover inpatient substance use disorder (SUD) treatment if an individual meets the ASM criteria for diagnosis.

SB 5920, sponsored by Sen. Mike Padden (R–Spokane Valley), restores the Department of Health’s authority to issue certificate of need exemptions for psychiatric hospital beds, in an effort to increase the number of critically needed psychiatric beds statewide.

Legislators are considering three bills to better support young adults’ behavioral health needs. SB 5853, sponsored by Sen. Dhingra, extends the crisis relief center model (e.g. 23-hour crisis relief centers) to provide behavioral health crisis services for minors in separate treatment areas from adults. HB 1929, sponsored by Rep. Julio Cortes (D–Everett) and companion bill, SB 6050, sponsored by Sen. Dhingra, establish a post-inpatient housing program for young adults. The program would provide supportive transitional housing with behavioral health supports for people 18-24 who exit inpatient behavioral health treatment.

A top priority for AWC this session is additional resources in our communities for behavioral health and to fight the fentanyl epidemic. 

Bill creating a path to recovery for frequent users of behavioral health crisis and criminal justice systems heard in the Senate

January 26, 2024

SB 6295, sponsored by Sen. Manka Dhingra (D–Redmond), creates a path to recovery for high users of behavioral health crisis and criminal justice systems. The bill requires the Washington Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to provide additional resources to people discharged from involuntary commitment at a psychiatric facility after dismissal of a criminal case based on competency grounds. These supplemental services would be geared towards keeping that individual out of the cycle of criminal justice involvement. The bill also would require local behavioral health administrative services organizations (BH-ASOs) to refer or provide wraparound services in the community for people with a history of involvement with the forensic psychiatric system.

A top priority for AWC this session is additional resources in our communities for behavioral health. Check out our fact sheet. This bill would help address individuals in our communities that routinely commit crimes and cycle through the state forensic psychiatric system to hopefully provide better resources for those individuals and prevent future criminal justice system involvement.

A statewide drug overdose prevention and education campaign may be coming to Washington with new bill

January 26, 2024

SB 5906, sponsored by Sen. Lynda Wilson (R–Vancouver), implements a statewide drug overdose prevention and education campaign.

Addressing fentanyl and other opioid overdose deaths has been a top priority for legislators this year. Drug overdose deaths have increased significantly and hit 2,700 deaths in 2022. Opioid overdose death rates in urban areas of Washington have doubled over the past 20 years, while some rural areas in our state have seen even larger jumps—up to a nine-fold increase in some counties. In 2022, fentanyl (a synthetic opioid) was involved in 90% of fatal opioid overdoses in Washington and 65% of all overdose deaths (University of Washington Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute).

The bill would create an ongoing statewide drug overdose prevention and education campaign, providing information to the public about the dangers of methamphetamines and opioids and the harms caused by drug use.

Both the Washington Department of Health and University of Washington track opioid trends across Washington:

• Washington State Department of Health opioid data
• University of Washington Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Insititute Washington state opioid trends

Addressing drug possession and the fentanyl epidemic is a significant issue for AWC this year, and AWC supports SB 5906. Check out our fact sheet for more information.

Dates to remember

SB 5906 is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means Committee on January 29 at 4 pm.