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Senate funds mental‑health receiving‑center pilot and renames crisis commission
Summary
Senate approved SB219 to rename the crisis‑line commission to the Crisis Response Commission, create a pilot for mental‑health receiving centers and appropriate $1.5 million ongoing to the Department of Human Services; the bill passed under suspension of the rules and moves to the House.
Senators passed second substitute Senate Bill 219, which renames the state’s crisis line commission the Crisis Response Commission, expands focus to mobile crisis outreach and establishes a pilot program for mental‑health receiving centers.
Senator Thatcher, sponsor of the substitute, described the changes as expanding the commission's focus beyond a phone line to include how the state connects people to on‑the‑ground help. The bill "appropriates $1,500,000 to have the Department of Human Services...put together these receiving centers and do a better job of providing mental and behavioral health services to the people of Utah," Thatcher said on the floor.
Members asked about the fiscal note and were told the substitute carries an ongoing $1.5 million appropriation; senators noted the prior existence of a fiscal note on the original bill and procedural rules that allow the chamber to proceed. After a quorum check and brief procedural discussion, the Senate passed the second substitute SB219 under suspension of the rules; the clerk announced it "having received 19 yay votes, 0 nay votes, 10 being absent...passes and shall be sent to the House for their consideration."
The bill directs agency implementation and funds a pilot intended to create alternatives to hospitalization or criminal justice responses for people experiencing mental‑health crises.
