[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8542 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8542
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 27, 2022
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to States,
Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, Urban Indian 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 2022''.
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. 520N. 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, Urban Indian
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; or
``(ii) may have a mental illness or an
intellectual or developmental disability;
``(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
``(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 law enforcement agencies, which
may include operating independently from but in collaboration
with a law enforcement agency, or operating within such an
agency.
``(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, Urban Indian organizations, and political subdivisions
thereof that--
``(1) have high rates of arrests and incarceration of
persons with a mental illness 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, Urban Indian 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, the terms `Indian Tribe',
`Tribal organization', and `Urban Indian organization' have the
meanings given to the terms `Indian tribe', `tribal organization', and
`Urban Indian organization', respectively, in section 4 of the Indian
Health Care Improvement Act.
``(h) Funding.--To carry out this section, there is authorized to
be appropriated $250,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2023
through 2027.''.
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 520N 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 recidivism, 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. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
(a) Hiring of Law Enforcement Officers.--Nothing in 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 shall be construed to impede, supplant, alter, or limit the use of
career law enforcement officers during emergencies which career law
enforcement officers may be best suited to handle, including
circumstances that are urgent, sudden, serious, or necessitate
immediate action to remedy harm or avert imminent danger to life,
health, or property.
Passed the House of Representatives September 22, 2022.
Attest:
CHERYL L. JOHNSON,
Clerk.
By Kevin F. McCumber,
Deputy Clerk.