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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6451 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6451
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to States,
Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and political subdivisions thereof
to hire, employ, train, and dispatch mental health professionals to
respond in lieu of law enforcement officers in emergencies involving
one or more persons with a mental illness or an intellectual or
developmental disability, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 17, 2023
Ms. Porter (for herself, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Cardenas, Ms. Scanlon, Mr.
Fitzpatrick, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Casten, Mr. Boyle of
Pennsylvania, Mr. Robert Garcia of California, Ms. Pingree, Mrs.
Napolitano, Mr. Takano, Mr. Pascrell, Ms. Ross, Mrs. Watson Coleman,
Ms. Titus, Mr. Evans, Ms. Meng, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mrs. Ramirez,
Mr. Cohen, Mr. Trone, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms.
Norton, Ms. Jacobs, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Carter of Louisiana,
Ms. Caraveo, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Connolly, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Salinas,
Mr. Foster, Ms. Omar, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Torres
of New York, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Mfume, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Ms. Chu,
Ms. McCollum, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Wild, Mr. Phillips, Ms.
Stansbury, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Mr. Carson,
and Mr. Levin) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on
the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to States,
Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and political subdivisions thereof
to hire, employ, train, and dispatch mental health professionals to
respond in lieu of law enforcement officers in emergencies involving
one or more persons with a mental illness or an intellectual or
developmental disability, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Mental Health Justice Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS TO ACT AS FIRST
RESPONDERS.
Subpart 3 of part B of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 290bb-31 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 520O. GRANTS FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS TO ACT AS FIRST
RESPONDERS.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Assistant
Secretary, and in consultation with the Assistant Attorney General for
the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, shall award
grants to States, Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and political
subdivisions thereof to establish or expand programs--
``(1) to hire, employ, train, and dispatch mental health
professionals to respond in lieu of law enforcement officers in
emergencies in which--
``(A) an individual calling 911, 988, or another
emergency hotline states that a person--
``(i) is in a mental health crisis;
``(ii) may have a mental illness, a
substance use disorder, a co-occurring mental
illness and substance use disorder, or an
intellectual or developmental disability; or
``(iii) otherwise appears to need the
immediate support of mental health
professionals;
``(B) a law enforcement officer or other first
responder identifies a person as having (or possibly
having) a mental illness or an intellectual or
developmental disability (or otherwise appears to need
the support of mental health professionals); or
``(C) a law enforcement officer or other first
responder identifies a person as being (or possibly
being) under the influence of a legal or illegal
substance;
``(2) to include in the training for mental health
professionals pursuant to paragraph (1) training in--
``(A) the principles of deescalation; and
``(B) developmentally appropriate techniques;
``(3) to ensure that such mental health professionals link
persons described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph
(1) with voluntary community-based services where appropriate;
``(4) to train the staff of dispatch centers regarding the
proper handling of a report of an emergency described in
paragraph (1), including training in the principles and
techniques referred to in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of
paragraph (2); and
``(5) to coordinate with first responder agencies.
``(b) Additional Awards.--The Secretary shall make an additional
award of funds under this section each fiscal year to grantees that--
``(1) are in compliance with all conditions of their awards
under this section, including the conditions specified in
subsections (a) and (d); and
``(2) demonstrate that their programs under this section
resulted in--
``(A) a notable reduction in the incarceration and
death of persons with mental illness or an intellectual
or developmental disability; or
``(B) a notable reduction in the use of force by
police and a notable increase in referrals of persons
with a mental illness or intellectual disability to
community-based, voluntary support services (other than
institutionalization or carceral support services).
``(c) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the
Secretary shall give priority to States, Indian Tribes, Tribal
organizations, and political subdivisions thereof that--
``(1) have high rates of arrests and incarceration of
persons with a mental illness, a substance use disorder, a co-
occurring mental health and substance use disorder, or an
intellectual or developmental disability;
``(2) commit to increasing resources for mental health and
community-based support services or solutions for such persons;
or
``(3) include peer support specialists in their current
first responder model.
``(d) Reporting.--
``(1) By grantees.--A recipient of a grant under this
section shall submit to the Secretary--
``(A) a quarterly report on--
``(i) the number and percentage of
emergencies where mental health professionals
were dispatched in lieu of law enforcement
officers pursuant to assistance under this
section;
``(ii) such other matters as the Secretary
may require for determining whether the
recipient should receive an additional award
under subsection (b); and
``(iii) any increase or decrease, compared
to any previous quarter, in incarceration or
institutionalization as a result of dispatching
mental health professionals pursuant to
assistance under this section, disaggregated to
include data specific to persons with
intellectual and developmental disabilities and
mental illnesses where available and permitted
to be disclosed under applicable privacy law,
so as--
``(I) to provide a critical
baseline analysis; and
``(II) to ensure that mental health
practitioners are not simply funneling
individuals into other
institutionalized settings; and
``(B) a final report on the use of such grant.
``(2) By secretary.--Not later than 1 year after awarding
the first grant under this section, and annually thereafter,
the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a report on the
grant program under this section.
``(3) Disaggregation of data.--The reporting pursuant to
paragraphs (1) and (2) shall, to the extent determined by the
Secretary to be applicable, be disaggregated by age, sex,
gender, race, and ethnicity.
``(e) Revocation of Grant.--If the Secretary finds, based on
reporting under subsection (d) or other information, that activities
funded through a grant under this section are leading to a significant
increase in incarceration or institutionalization--
``(1) the Secretary shall revoke the grant; and
``(2) the grantee shall repay to the Federal Government any
amounts that the grantee--
``(A) received through the grant; and
``(B) has not obligated or expended.
``(f) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary, acting through the
Assistant Secretary, and in consultation with the Assistant Attorney
General for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice,
shall provide technical assistance to grantees under this section (or
other Federal law), and to other States, Indian Tribes, Tribal
organizations, and political subdivisions thereof, to hire, employ,
train, and dispatch mental health professionals to respond in lieu of
law enforcement officers, as described in subsection (a).
``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `first responder' means an individual who,
in the course of such individual's professional duties, is
dispatched to respond to fire, medical, public safety, or
mental health emergencies.
``(2) The terms `Indian Tribe' and `Tribal organization'
have the meanings given to the terms `Indian tribe' and `tribal
organization', respectively, in section 4 of the Indian Health
Care Improvement Act.
``(3) The term `peer support specialist' means an
individual who--
``(A) has lived experience of a mental health
condition, a substance use disorder, or a co-occurring
mental health and substance use disorder; and
``(B) specializes in supporting individuals with
mental health conditions, substance use disorders, or
co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.
``(h) Funding.--To carry out this section, there is authorized to
be appropriated $250,000,000 for the period of the five fiscal years
following the date of enactment of this section.''.
SEC. 3. STUDY.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services and the
Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the
Department of Justice shall conduct a study on the effectiveness of
programs and activities under section 520O of the Public Health Service
Act, as added by section 2.
(b) Qualitative and Longitudinal Examination.--The study under
subsection (a) shall include a qualitative and longitudinal study of--
(1) the number of persons diverted from arrests; and
(2) short- and long-term outcomes for those persons,
including reduced incarceration or institutionalization,
reduced incidences of use of force, and reduced utilization of
resources.
(c) Completion; Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services and
the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the
Department of Justice shall--
(1) complete the study under subsection (a);
(2) submit a report to the Congress on the results of such
study; and
(3) publish such report.
SEC. 4. BEST PRACTICES.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting
in consultation with the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights,
shall develop and publish best practices relating to the deployment of
mental health professionals acting as first responders.
(b) Contents.--The best practices under subsection (a) shall--
(1) be informed by lessons learned from the grant program
under section 520O of the Public Health Service Act, as added
by section 2; and
(2) include best practices for the proper handling and
dispatch of a report of an emergency described in each of
subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of section 520O(a)(1) of the
Public Health Service Act, as added by section 2, including
best practices for training in--
(A) the principles and techniques in processing
calls for persons who--
(i) are experiencing a mental health
crisis;
(ii) may have a mental illness, a substance
use disorder, a co-occurring mental health and
substance use disorder, or an intellectual or
developmental disability; or
(iii) otherwise appear to need the
immediate support of mental health
professionals;
(B) the principles of deescalation; and
(C) developmentally appropriate techniques.
(c) Timeline; Updates.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services
shall--
(1) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, develop and publish initial best practices under this
section; and
(2) not less than every 5 years thereafter, develop and
publish updated best practices under this section.
(d) Definition.--In this section, the term ``first responder'' has
the meaning given to such term in section 520O of the Public Health
Service Act, as added by section 2.
SEC. 5. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.
(a) Hiring of Law Enforcement Officers.--Nothing in this Act (or
the amendments made by this Act) shall be construed to remove,
supplant, alter, or limit the authority of States, public agencies, or
municipalities from hiring or recruiting career law enforcement
officers (as defined in section 1709 of the Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10389)) to engage in or supervise
the prevention, detection, or investigation of violations of criminal
laws when appropriate.
(b) Circumstances of Imminent or Immediate Danger.--Nothing in this
Act (or the amendments made by this Act) shall be construed to impede,
supplant, alter, or limit the use of career law enforcement officers
during emergencies--
(1) which such career law enforcement officers may be best
suited to handle; and
(2) in which a person poses a direct threat to the health
and safety of others that cannot be eliminated by a
modification of policies, practices or procedures, or by the
provision of auxiliary aids or services.
(c) Nondiscrimination.--Nothing in this Act (or the amendments made
by this Act) shall be construed to limit or alter the protections and
requirements of applicable Federal and State civil rights laws and
regulations.
(d) Definitions.--In this section, the term ``direct threat'' has
the meaning given to such term in sections 35.139 and 35.104 of title
28, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment
of this Act).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
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