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Calhoun County board backs Summit Pointe, opposes bills to restructure Michigan's behavioral health system
Summary
The Calhoun County Board of Commissioners on March 3 adopted a resolution urging state legislators to oppose Senate Bills 597 and 598 and reaffirming support for Summit Pointe, the county's community mental health authority. The motion passed on a voice vote.
The Calhoun County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted a resolution March 3 urging state lawmakers to oppose Senate Bills 597 and 598, known in the meeting as the "Gearing Toward Integration" proposal, and to continue supporting Summit Pointe as the county's community mental health authority.
Commissioner Kathy-Sue Vette read the resolution aloud, citing sections of the Michigan Mental Health Code and saying the board "strongly urges its State Senate and House of Representatives to oppose Senate Bills 597 & 598." The motion to approve the resolution was moved by Commissioner Derek King and seconded by Commissioner Vette; the measure carried on a voice vote as Res.033-2022.
The resolution states that Summit Pointe has demonstrated capacity under the Mental Health Code to deliver community behavioral health services and expresses concern that the proposal's prior pilot model was abandoned as "unworkable." It instructs that copies be provided to Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Sen. John Bizon, state representatives and relevant associations.
Why it matters: Summit Pointe is Calhoun County's designated community mental health services program; the resolution frames the proposed legislation as a change that could privatize elements of Michigan's public behavioral health system and urges preservation of the existing structure as a community safety net.
The board did not record a roll-call breakdown in the resolution segment; the motion passed by voice vote. The resolution text cites provisions of the Michigan Mental Health Code (MCL citations included in the board packet).
