Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Behavioral Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate approves measure requiring screening for substance use disorder in correctional facilities
Summary
First Substitute Senate Bill 115 directs correctional facilities to perform brief substance‑use screenings on incoming individuals and aims to enable use of Medicaid Section 1115 waivers; sponsor said substituting 'screen' for 'assess' removed the fiscal note.
The Utah Senate passed First Substitute Senate Bill 115, which requires correctional facilities across the state to perform brief screenings to identify possible substance‑use disorders among incoming individuals and supports planning for treatment and data collection.
Sponsor Senator Plumb said the change clarifies the difference between a "screen" and an "assessment," and that replacing "assess" with "screen" reduced the bill's fiscal note to zero. "There's actually a difference between a screening and an assessment ... we went through and replaced any word assess with screen so it was very clear what we were doing," Plumb told the Senate.
Plumb said the screenings could be short questionnaires "as low as 10, 12, 15 questions" and that standardized screening would help the state collect data and plan services. She also said clearer screening would facilitate use of Medicaid Section 1115 waivers to allow Medicaid funding for qualifying individuals in the final 90 days of an incarceration period.
Floor action showed the first substitute received 25 yay votes, 0 nay votes and 4 absent, after which the bill was read for a third time.
Why it matters: Sponsors framed the bill as a step toward identifying individuals in custody with substance‑use disorders so the state can plan services, gather data and potentially leverage federal Medicaid waivers to fund care.
Next steps: With the Senate vote recorded, the measure moves forward in the legislative process.
