HB 63: Criminal Justice and Mental Health Coordination Amendments - Utah

Substitute #2 → Substitute #3 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill substitutes a revised version of HB 63 that streamlines requirements for local mental health authorities and modifies the Behavioral Health Crisis Response Committee's duties. The changes remove detailed provisions about joint mental health service agreements and county-specific authority structures, while adding a requirement for the committee to develop a pilot program proposal for improving mental health crisis outcomes. The Senate sponsor was also updated from 'LONG' to 'Luz Escamilla' and the effective date was removed from the text.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed by removing detailed provisions about interlocal cooperation agreements and county government structure designations, while adding a specific requirement for the committee to prepare a pilot program proposal.

REQUIREMENT

Detailed provisions requiring local mental health authorities to establish joint service agreements between counties were removed.

Specific requirements about how different county government forms (executive-council vs council-manager) designate local mental health authorities were removed.

Highlighted provisions were updated to reflect the new pilot program requirement and removed references to training program creation for designated examiners.

TIMELINE

New requirement added for the Behavioral Health Crisis Response Committee to develop recommendations for a pilot program study by September 30, 2025, with a report due by December 31, 2026.

TECHNICAL

Senate sponsor name was changed from 'LONG' to 'Luz Escamilla' and the effective date section was removed from the text.

Substitute #1 → Substitute #2 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill substitutes a new version of HB 63 that significantly modifies the Crisis Response Task Force and related provisions. The new version changes the task force name from 'Crisis Response Task Force' to 'Behavioral Health Crisis Response Committee' and adds a 'working group' instead of a formal task force. It also modifies the training requirements for designated examiners, changing from mandatory to optional, and adjusts the sunset date for the committee. The bill also updates the list of affected Utah Code sections to reflect recent legislative changes.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed by changing the formal 'Crisis Response Task Force' to a 'Behavioral Health Crisis Response Committee' with a working group structure, and the sunset date was moved from December 31, 2027 to July 1, 2025.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the Crisis Response Task Force to a Behavioral Health Crisis Response Committee with a working group instead of a formal task force

Changed designated examiner training from mandatory to optional

Modified the training program requirements for civil commitment stakeholders

TIMELINE

Modified the sunset date for the committee from December 31, 2027 to July 1, 2025

TECHNICAL

Updated the list of affected Utah Code sections to reflect recent legislative amendments

Introduced → Substitute #1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends Utah's mental health and criminal justice coordination laws by requiring local mental health authorities to designate staff for guardianship/conservatorship education, mandating annual training for civil commitment examiners, creating a temporary Crisis Response Task Force to study criminal justice-mental health interactions, and updating sunset dates for various task forces. The changes aim to improve coordination between mental health services and the criminal justice system for individuals experiencing mental health crises.

Scope change

The bill expands requirements for local mental health authorities to include specific responsibilities for guardianship/conservatorship consultation and updates training requirements for designated examiners from biennial to annual starting in 2026.

REQUIREMENT

Local mental health authorities must now designate specific individuals responsible for providing consultation and education services about guardianship and conservatorship options for individuals experiencing mental health crises.

TIMELINE

Training requirements for designated examiners were changed from every 24 months to annually, effective January 1, 2026.

Sunset dates were updated for multiple task forces, with the Crisis Response Task Force set to expire December 31, 2027.

ENFORCEMENT

A new Crisis Response Task Force was created to review interactions between criminal justice and mental health systems and make recommendations for improving outcomes for individuals in mental health crises.

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting and organizational changes were made to the bill structure and code section references.

Criminal Justice and Mental Health Coordination Amendments

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