Joint subcommittee approves behavioral‑health budget closings, funds forensic beds and crisis response while flagging jail‑program and Lakes Crossing shortfalls

The Joint Subcommittee on Human Services approved closing recommendations for multiple behavioral‑health budget accounts during its budget‑closing hearing, including funding for a renovated forensic building at the Southern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services (SNAMs) campus, a multiyear transfer to expand a North Las Vegas crisis response team, and federal grant authority to support community subgrants. Committee members also pressed agency officials about funding risks for jail‑based programming and potential court fines at the Lakes Crossing Center in Washoe County.

The votes finalize staff recommendations to accept many of the governor's budget adjustments and technical changes for the Division of Public and Behavioral Health, while the committee declined several proposed reallocations that would have replaced vacant state positions with contract authority.

Justin Luna, program analyst with the Legislative Counsel Bureau's Fiscal Analysis Division, briefed the committee on each budget account and the major closing issues, providing cost and position counts for each recommendation and identifying options where the governor's recommendation offered alternatives. The committee took a series of roll‑call motions, most carried unanimously.

Most consequentially for inpatient capacity, the committee approved the governor's recommendation to fund staffing and operations for the renovated Forensic Building 3A on the SNAMs campus. The governor recommended $17.6 million in general fund appropriations across the 2025'27 biennium to add 53 full‑time positions and support 21 additional forensic beds. Administrator Cody Finney told the committee the renovation is on schedule: "the project is on schedule to open, July 1." The committee approved the recommendation as presented by staff.

On related forensic capacity measures, the committee approved a modified plan to continue using licensed skilled nursing facilities for certain long‑term forensic and civil patients. Fiscal staff described the governor's recommendation and agency projections showing continued use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding through the end of federal eligibility. The agency reported 10 individuals currently in the skilled‑nursing placement program and projected ARPA spending that requires an adjustment to the base budget; the subcommittee approved the staff motion adopting Option B, which aligns ARPA revenue authority with the agency's projections and reduces the general fund ask for fiscal year 2027 compared with the governor's initial proposal.

The committee approved transfers from the Department of Health and Human Services''Fund for a Resilient Nevada to provide a subaward to the City of North Las Vegas Fire Department to expand a crisis response model that adds opioid‑related supports. Fiscal staff described the transfer as part of opioid settlement allocations and noted prior interim finance committee approvals for initial funding; the motion to approve the transfer carried unanimously.

On programs that place people diverted from misdemeanor charges into community treatment, the committee approved funding to add two psychiatric caseworker positions for justice‑involved diversion intensive service coordination. Fiscal staff said the funding was driven by updated caseload projections the agency provided in late March. The subcommittee approved staff'recommended caseload adjustments to add the positions.

Across multiple accounts the governor recommended reallocating long‑vacant state position authority into professional services to pay contract staff. The subcommittee consistently rejected those reallocations in favor of retaining the current work‑program process the agency uses to shift vacancy savings to contract services. On both the Southern Nevada and Northern Nevada adult mental health services budget accounts, motions not to approve the recommended reallocations passed unanimously, preserving the agency's existing interim process for shifting authority to contracts when needed.

The committee discussed jail‑based programming funded with ARPA. Justin Luna said the division received IFC approval to use $14.9 million in ARPA funds for jail‑based programming for Clark and Washoe counties and had spent approximately $5.9 million, leaving about $9.1 million. Washoe County provided a high‑level estimate of about $7.0 million to continue operations of its in‑jail mental health unit from Jan. 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027; Clark County projected about $8.1 million to continue its SMART program from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027. Administrator Finney said the agency is identifying unspent ARPA and opioid settlement options and expects additional detail within the next week to 10 days; the committee made no final funding decision and asked counties and the agency to continue seeking solutions.

On federal grant positions, the governor recommended new state positions funded by multiple federal grants (opioid strategic response, SAMHSA block grants, Garrett Lee Smith youth suicide prevention, and others). The committee voted to not approve the recommended state positions. Instead it approved a motion to place the federal grant authority into special‑use expenditure categories so the money can be subgranted to local governments, nonprofits and community providers; the motion carried unanimously.

The committee also reviewed Lakes Crossing Center operations in Washoe County and the risk of district court sanction fines tied to delays in transporting forensic patients. Fiscal staff reported southern district court fines paid to date of about $181,500 through February 2025. The agency told fiscal staff that Washoe County district court has levied known fines of about $200,000; the division provided preliminary projections estimating potential sanction costs of about $1,000,000 in fiscal year 2025 and a projected shortfall of $3,600,000 in each fiscal year of the upcoming biennium if current trends continue. Fiscal staff said the agency is working with the Governor's Finance Office on potential remedies.

The subcommittee closed remaining behavioral health accounts brought for closing consideration—crisis response, problem gambling, alcohol tax program, Lakes Crossing Center and rural clinics—with the technical adjustments and budget amendments recommended by fiscal staff and authorized staff to make further technical adjustments as necessary. The committee then moved to public comment; there were no callers and no in‑person speakers.

The committee repeatedly emphasized oversight and requested follow up information on ARPA balances, opioid settlement eligibilities, and county budget projections before final allocations for ongoing jail‑based and forensic support programs.

Ending: The subcommittee adjourned after taking the closing votes and receiving the agency updates; committee members asked staff to provide additional financial analyses in the coming weeks so the larger Legislature can consider longer‑term funding decisions for jail‑based programming and Lakes Crossing Center liabilities.