Bill Text: TX SB188 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the provision of behavioral health crisis services, including the operation of crisis centers and mobile crisis outreach teams; authorizing a fee.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2025-02-19 - Co-author authorized [SB188 Detail]
Download: Texas-2025-SB188-Introduced.html
| 89R4048 MPF-F | ||
| By: Menéndez | S.B. No. 188 | |
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| relating to the provision of behavioral health crisis services, | ||
| including the operation of crisis centers and mobile crisis | ||
| outreach teams; authorizing a fee. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Chapter 547, Government Code, as effective April | ||
| 1, 2025, is amended by adding Subchapter K to read as follows: | ||
| SUBCHAPTER K. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CRISIS SERVICES | ||
| Sec. 547.0501. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: | ||
| (1) "Crisis center" means a 988 Suicide & Crisis | ||
| Lifeline center participating in the National Suicide Prevention | ||
| Lifeline network to respond to statewide or regional | ||
| communications. | ||
| (2) "Mobile crisis outreach team" means a team of | ||
| qualified mental health professionals who provide crisis services, | ||
| including: | ||
| (A) facilitating emergency care services; | ||
| (B) providing urgent care services; and | ||
| (C) providing crisis follow-up and relapse | ||
| prevention services. | ||
| (3) "Youth crisis outreach team" means a mobile crisis | ||
| outreach team designed primarily to serve children or adolescents. | ||
| Sec. 547.0502. CRISIS CENTER STANDARDS. (a) A crisis | ||
| center operating in this state shall: | ||
| (1) contract with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline; | ||
| (2) satisfy the requirements of and best practices | ||
| identified by the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline; | ||
| (3) provide and report any applicable data; | ||
| (4) be equipped to deploy a mobile crisis outreach | ||
| team or youth crisis outreach team; | ||
| (5) satisfy the requirements for serving at-risk and | ||
| specialized populations as identified by the Substance Abuse and | ||
| Mental Health Services Administration; | ||
| (6) provide linguistically and culturally competent | ||
| care, including by requiring training and providing policies for | ||
| transferring a crisis center caller to an appropriate mental health | ||
| care provider; and | ||
| (7) provide follow-up services to individuals who call | ||
| the crisis center, as appropriate. | ||
| (b) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules to allow | ||
| appropriate information sharing and communication across crisis | ||
| response systems and emergency response systems to provide | ||
| real-time crisis care coordination. | ||
| Sec. 547.0503. CRISIS CARE COORDINATION. (a) The | ||
| commission shall ensure that an individual who contacts a crisis | ||
| center is provided ongoing care through active collaboration and | ||
| coordination of services among crisis centers and mental health and | ||
| substance use disorder treatment providers, community mental | ||
| health centers, certified community behavioral health clinics, | ||
| community behavioral health centers, mobile crisis outreach teams, | ||
| youth crisis outreach teams, hospital emergency departments, and | ||
| inpatient psychiatric settings. | ||
| (b) The commission may contract with the entities listed | ||
| under Subsection (a) to ensure the coordination of services. | ||
| Sec. 547.0504. 988 SUICIDE AND CRISIS LIFELINE TRUST FUND. | ||
| (a) The 988 suicide and crisis lifeline trust fund is established | ||
| as a trust fund to be held by the comptroller outside the state | ||
| treasury and administered by the commission. | ||
| (b) The trust fund consists of: | ||
| (1) revenue derived from the fee described by Section | ||
| 547.0505; | ||
| (2) legislative appropriations of money for the | ||
| purposes of this subchapter; | ||
| (3) available federal funding this state allocates for | ||
| the purposes of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline; | ||
| (4) gifts, grants, and donations received by this | ||
| state for the purposes of the trust fund; | ||
| (5) interest, dividends, and other income of the trust | ||
| fund; and | ||
| (6) money from any other source that is deposited in or | ||
| transferred to the trust fund. | ||
| (c) Money deposited in the trust fund may only be used to: | ||
| (1) implement, maintain, or improve the 988 Suicide & | ||
| Crisis Lifeline, including personnel and technological | ||
| infrastructure improvements necessary to achieve operational and | ||
| clinical standards and best practices as provided by the National | ||
| Suicide Prevention Lifeline; | ||
| (2) provide funding for crisis outreach and other | ||
| services a community mental health center provides in response to | ||
| the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline; | ||
| (3) provide funding for uninsured individuals | ||
| receiving crisis and stabilization services; | ||
| (4) provide personnel for crisis centers, mobile | ||
| crisis outreach teams, and youth crisis outreach teams; | ||
| (5) fund data provision, reporting, participation in | ||
| evaluations, and other related quality improvement activities; and | ||
| (6) administer, oversee, and evaluate the trust fund. | ||
| (d) The state may not transfer or use trust fund assets for | ||
| any purpose other than the uses provided in this section. | ||
| (e) The executive commissioner shall submit an annual | ||
| report to the legislature and the Federal Communications Commission | ||
| detailing the trust fund deposits and expenditures in the preceding | ||
| year. | ||
| Sec. 547.0505. 988 SUICIDE AND CRISIS LIFELINE FEE. (a) | ||
| The commission, in collaboration with the Commission on State | ||
| Emergency Communications, may impose a 988 suicide and crisis | ||
| lifeline service fee to supplement any federal, state, or local | ||
| funding for suicide prevention or behavioral health crisis services | ||
| on each: | ||
| (1) local exchange access line or equivalent local | ||
| exchange access line, not including public telephone equipment | ||
| operated by coin or by card reader; | ||
| (2) wireless telecommunications connection; | ||
| (3) Voice over Internet Protocol service connection; | ||
| and | ||
| (4) purchase of a prepaid wireless telecommunications | ||
| service by any method. | ||
| (b) The executive commissioner by rule shall set the fee in | ||
| an amount sufficient to cover the costs of creating, operating, and | ||
| maintaining the suicide prevention services provided under this | ||
| subchapter, according to the national guidelines for crisis | ||
| services. The commission shall periodically adjust the fee amount | ||
| as necessary to provide for continuous operation, volume increases, | ||
| and maintenance. | ||
| (c) Revenue from the fee shall be deposited in the 988 | ||
| suicide and crisis lifeline trust fund established under Section | ||
| 547.0504. | ||
| (d) A fee collected under this section may only be used to | ||
| offset costs as provided by 47 U.S.C. Section 251a. | ||
| (e) Revenue from the fee may not be used for expenses that | ||
| are: | ||
| (1) reimbursable through Medicaid, Medicare, or | ||
| another insurer or governmental program; or | ||
| (2) covered because the service recipient's name and | ||
| health coverage information cannot be obtained or billed. | ||
| (f) The executive commissioner shall submit an annual | ||
| report to the legislature and the Federal Communications Commission | ||
| detailing the revenue generated by the fee in the preceding year. | ||
| Sec. 547.0506. ANNUAL REPORT. (a) The commission shall | ||
| prepare an annual report of the usage of crisis centers and the | ||
| services provided by the centers. | ||
| (b) The commission shall present the annual report to the | ||
| legislature and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services | ||
| Administration. | ||
| SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. | ||
