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SAVE THE DATE!
Saturday, April 8, 2017
6:00PM
Le Fais Do-Do
Atlanta, GA
Honorary Chairs
Kevin & Margaret Hines
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| ADVOCACY UPDATE March 6th, 2017 |
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Because there is no health without Mental Health!
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Mental Health America of Georgia - Legislative Update
Week 8: March 6th, 2017
Post-Crossover Edition
Week eight of the legislative session is in the books and Crossover Day has passed. Bills not passed out of the chamber they were introduced in are essentially dead for this year. However, after Crossover Day bills that are dead have a funny way of getting attached to other viable pieces of legislation. This is an excellent point of the session to remind you all of the single-subject rule.
The single-subject rule requires that all legislation deal with only one main issue. It is imperative to be aware of this rule as the session begins to wind down, and dead pieces of legislation are attached to viable ones. This does not mean that the legislation can only address one particular code section. What this does mean is that there must be a relatively clear connection between all of the elements of the bill and its main purpose.
For instance, an education reform measure that also seeks to limit the scope of practice of advanced practice nurses would not survive the scrutiny of the single-subject rule.
These nuanced rules are important to remember now, because the parliamentary games will be afoot from now until Sine Die. It is our responsibility to be aware of them during this period more than any other time during the session.
Bills That Are Viable:
SB 4- Georgia Mental Health Treatment Taskforce-
Sen. Unterman
and others
This bill would establish a Georgia Mental Health Treatment Taskforce to evaluate the needs of Georgia's mental health system. Also, the Taskforce would complete either a Medicaid waiver application or an application for Medicaid block grant funding as appropriate.
SB 8- Suprise Billing Act-
Sen. Renee Unterman and others
This bill will provide measures to protect consumers from surprise medical bills. These include price lists for various services provided by hospitals, notice that medical providers may not participate in the same insurance plans as the hospital, and provide consumers with adequate information to determine if the physician participates in their insurance plan in a timely manner. This is not a comprehensive summary, but just a few of the many initiatives in the bill.
SB 40-Providing That Emergency Medical Services May Involuntarily Transport a Person to a Mental Health Receiving Facility-
Sen. Renee Unterman
and others
This bill would authorize emergency medical services to transport a person in a mental health crisis to a receiving facility if the emergency medical service is responding to an emergency, they have probable cause to believe that the person is mentally ill, and they consult with the physician at the receiving facility and it is the opinion of the physician that the person should be transported to the mental health receiving facility.
SB 52- Removing Sunset of LPC Authorization to Perform Certain Acts-
Sen. P.K. Martin and others
This bill would repeal the sunset provision and allow licensed professional counselors to continue to perform some acts that would otherwise have to be performed by a physician.
SB 81
- "Jeffrey Dallas Gay, Jr." Act (Opioid Bill)
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Sen. Renee Unterman and others
This bill would crack down on pill mills, and establish requirements for prescribers to follow to help ensure that opioids are prescribed and taken responsibly. It also sets out criminal liability for prescribers who fail to meet these requirements.
SB 99- Purging of Records for the Purposes of the Background Check-
Sen. Elena Parent and others
This bill would allow a person whose involuntary hospitalization records have been made part of their criminal record to petition the court to purge the hospitalization records from his or her criminal record 12 months after release. If denied, the person can petition again in 2 years. This would require the prosecutor, or the prosecutor's successor, to be notified. The prosecutor would be able to represent the interest of the state at the petition hearing.
SB 149- School Resource Officer Training-
Sen. Emanuel Jones and other
This bill would require anyone hired as a school resource officer to receive a 40 hour training course. This training, among other things, would be required to provide education on confronting someone with a mental illness, or in a mental health crisis.
SB 55- Psychiatric Advance Directive Act-
Sen. Josh McKoon
and others
This bill would allow competent adults to execute a psychiatric advance directive. The advance directive would contain contact information for individuals to be notified of a mental health crisis, provisions for what the person would and would not allow to be done as treatment, medication history, proven de-escalation responses, and the appointment of a mental health agent to make decisions in the place of the person in a mental health crisis. All decisions made by the agent must be made in a good-faith effort to comply with the advance directive.
SB 146
- Electro-convulsive Therapy-
Sen. Donzella James and others
This bill would require the person conducting electro-convulsive therapy to be a physician. It would also prohibit electro-convulsive therapy on anyone under the age of 16. Additionally, it would require a signed informed consent, and physicians would be required to report these therapies to the state for data collection.
SB 185
- Burden of Proof in Criminal Proceedings-
Sen. Elena Parent and others
This bill would modify the burden of proof when a person pleads or is found to be guilty of a crime but mentally ill. Current law requires the guilt and the person's mental status to be proven "beyond a reasonable doubt." This bill would lower the burden of proof for the mental status to a "preponderance of the evidence."
SB 188
- Policy for Psychotropic Drugs and Schools-
Sen. Donzella James and other
This bill would require school boards to adopt policies that prohibit school personnel from excluding a student from programs and services because a parent has refused to place a student on psychotropic medication. It would also prohibit school personnel from compelling a parent to put a child on psychotropic medication.
HB 71
- Suprise Billing Act-
Rep. Richard Smith and others
This is the House version of the Surprise Billing Act, that Sen. Unterman has filed in the Senate, which has passed out of the House. This bill is dead, but could be merged with SB 8 in the House.
HB 77- Providing Mental Health Awareness Materials to Schools-
Rep. Kendrick and others
This bill would require the Department of Education to develop and provide a list of training materials to schools to promote awareness for mental health, behavioral disabilities, and learning disabilities.
HB 173- Allowing Marriage and Family Therapists to 1013
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Rep. Joyce Chandler and others
This bill would allow marriage counselors and family therapists to have someone involuntarily committed for treatment of a mental illness or for substance abuse. This bill is currently dead, but could be added to SB 40 in the House.
Upcoming Committee Meetings
Remember that meetings are subject to change and cancellation, so always check the
House and
Senate meeting calendars for updated information.
House:
Monday, March 6th
3:00pm- Medical Cannabis Working Group- 403 CAP
Senate:
Tuesday, March 7th
2:00pm- Health and Human Services- 450 CAP
Thursday, March 9th
2:00pm- Health and Human Services- 450 CAP
(CAP=in the Capitol building; CLOB=in the Coverdell Legislative Office Building)
You can follow all of these as well as future bills at www.legis.ga.gov. This website also posts the schedule and agenda for committee meetings. If you plan to attend a committee meeting on a mental health/co-occurring substance use issue, please contact Joseph Cantrell (joseph@mhageorgia.org
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Joseph Cantrell, Director of Advocacy and Policy Programming
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| TAKE A PROACTIVE STAND! What's the best way to make your voice heard? Have you been to the Capitol lately? Being there, seeing your legislator in action or speaking with them directly is the best way to advocate on behalf of our public mental health system. If you would like to learn more about how to set up your visit and what to do when you are there, please contact Joseph at 678-904-1965. He will be glad to walk you through the process. |
| We need your help to move our advocacy voice forward!
MHA of GA is a leader in the mental health advocacy community. You can learn more on our website,
www.mhageorgia.org.
Your donation will help ensure that MHA of GA continues to keep mental health awareness in front of Georgia's legislators. This is a critical time for our community, and now is the time to act!! Click here to support mental health advocacy in the state of Georgia. |
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