[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6451 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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).
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