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Committee sends third substitute of mental-health services bill to the floor after stakeholder negotiations
Summary
A third substitute of HB 281 — a mental-health services measure — advanced from committee after sponsors and the mental-health community negotiated changes that removed prior opposition and left stakeholders neutral on the latest version.
Members of the committee voted to advance the third substitute of HB 281, a measure addressing mental-health services, after sponsors said negotiations with mental-health providers produced a version that several associations moved to neutral.
Representative Gracious (sponsor) told the committee the substitute incorporates negotiated language with the mental-health community; committee staff and sponsors said the substitute reflects compromises developed in meetings with clinicians and provider organizations. A committee member noted that several groups that had opposed earlier drafts, including licensed counseling and psychology associations, had moved to neutral on the current text.
Committee discussion was brief; after sponsors confirmed no new changes since the prior substitute and that substantive stakeholder concerns had been addressed, the committee voted to report the third substitute to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation. The chair noted the vote as 4–1, with one senator in dissent.
