Establish a behavioral health trust fund

2025 Regular Session

Creates a Behavioral Health Trust Fund to finance behavioral health initiatives, directing funding to state agencies, providers, and communities to expand services.

(LC) Draft Delivered to Requester

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Summary of LC 1975 — Establish a Behavioral Health Trust Fund

Overview
- Bill Number: LC 1975
- Title: Establish a behavioral health trust fund
- Status: LC Draft Delivered to Requester (drafters have prepared and delivered a draft to the requester)
- Introduced: November 26, 2024
- Classification: bill
- Subjects: Appropriations (State Finance), Health Care Services, State Finance

What this bill is about
- The bill proposes creating a Behavioral Health Trust Fund. The available information confirms only the title and general aim of establishing a dedicated fund to support behavioral health initiatives. The current record does not include the bill text, so specific funding sources, governance, eligible expenditures, and administration rules are not yet disclosed here.

Key provisions (as of available information)
- Not specified in the provided materials. The following elements are commonly associated with a dedicated trust fund and may appear in the bill, but have not been confirmed for LC 1975:
- Funding sources (e.g., general revenue, federal funds, dedicated revenues, fees, or grants)
- Governance and oversight (board or commission, appointment process, fiduciary duties)
- Eligible expenditures (grants or contracts for behavioral health services, capacity building, crisis services, prevention and treatment programs)
- Administration and investment of fund assets (state treasurer or equivalent administrator, investment policies)
- Reporting and accountability (annual reports, performance metrics)
- Sunset or discontinuation provisions (if any)

Who could be affected
- State agencies administering behavioral health programs (e.g., health, mental health, and related offices)
- Providers and organizations receiving funding through the trust fund (grantees, hospitals, community behavioral health organizations)
- Individuals and communities benefiting from enhanced behavioral health services
- State budget and finance processes related to appropriations and fund management

Procedural/timeline context
- Draft development timeline (as reflected in the record):
- 2024-11-26: Drafter Assigned
- 2025-01-17 to 01-19: Draft in various stages (Legal Review, Edit, Input/Proofing, Assembly)
- 2025-01-20: Draft Ready for Delivery
- 2025-01-19 to 01-19: Draft in Assembly / Final Drafter Review
- 2025-03-26: Draft Delivered to Requester
- The latest action indicates the draft has been prepared and delivered; no enacted text is available in this summary.

Notes and next steps
- The current provided record lacks the bill text. For a precise and thorough analysis, the exact statutory language is needed to identify specific provisions, funding amounts, governance structures, timelines, and eligibility criteria.
- If you can share the full bill text or a summary of its sections, I can produce a detailed, section-by-section analysis, including fiscal impact, affected agencies, and potential policy implications.