Committee introduces bill consolidating Colorado crisis line into 988 enterprise

The Joint Budget Committee voted to introduce a bill to consolidate Coloradocrisis-line statutory references and operational responsibilities under the national 988 crisis line enterprise.

Emily Pope, JBC staff, briefed members on the draft, saying the measure would replace existing statutory citations to the Colorado crisis hotline with 988, require routing of calls to 988 and use existing enterprise public-awareness funds for outreach. She said the Behavioral Health Administration already operates the Colorado line and that both lines (the Colorado line and 988) had been contracted to the same out-of-state provider; consolidating the statutory framework is meant to streamline operations and public awareness.

Motion and outcome: The committee approved introduction of the bill draft, consolidating crisis response services with technical changes authorized for staff, and identified Senate and House cosponsors. The committee agreed to add an appropriations clause as a technical correction before the bill advances.

Why it matters: Consolidating statutory references to 988 is intended to reduce confusion in referrals and centralize public outreach under the enterprise. Committee members asked for a written response from the Behavioral Health Administration about a previously reported incident with the 988 provider; staff said the department had investigated and that a fuller memo would be provided if the committee requested it.

Next steps: Staff will make agreed technical edits, add an appropriation clause, and circulate additional written material on the providerincident. The bill will start in the Senate and be carried into the long bill process, with named sponsors reported by staff.