Montana Legislature
The next Montana Legislative session is coming right up. Here's a quick update on our Legislative Agenda and the status of current bills that we're working on and/or supporting:
Efficiency in Government Committee to implement publicly-available outcome
measurement bill for the children's mental health system.
- Support HB100 - Rep. Ron Ehli is sponsoring this bill that came out of the
Efficiency in Government Committee to develop a pilot program for
outcome-based payments for Medicaid providers.
We need as much support as possible so please pitch in and send a few emails and make a few phone calls. It's hard to overestimate how big of a difference those efforts can make!
Ways to Get Involved:
1. Contact your legislators and let them know that mental illness issues matter to you and why. This broad endorsement of mental illness issues can be really powerful. You can look up your legislators' contact information here. Be considerate with their time and keep your statement concise. Be polite and to the point. Please explain how these issues have personally impacted your life.
2. Contact NAMI Montana and ask to be signed up for our policy alerts. Our email info@namimt.org and our phone number is (406) 443-7871. Then make your own policy alert list of your friends, family, and colleagues that would also be interested in advocating for mental illness issues. Then send them any of our policy alerts that you think they might be interested in.
3. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper that discusses a specific issue or generally how important it is that the Montana Legislature support Montana's mental illness treatment system and Montanans who live with serious mental illness. Here are links to write letters to some of Montana's local papers.
- ·Support HB16 – Rep. Ellie Boldman Hill is sponsoring this bill that came out of the Interim Law and Justice Committee with bipartisan support to clarify the emergency detention standard in the civil commitment process to make it clear it is an emergency situation when symptomatic from mental illness that they are substantially unable to provide for their own basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, health, or safety. Passed the House.
- Support SB10, sponsored by Sen. Mary Caferro, to license mental health peer support specialists, along with more general peer support funding. Tabled in Committee.
- Maintain high-fidelity Wraparound services for the children's system.
- Support HB289, sponsored by Rep. Jenny Eck, to study Montana's public health institutions to ensure that those institutions are prepared to meet the long-term health challenges of our state in most effective and efficient way possible. Tabled in Committee.
- Support publicly-reported outcome measurements in both the children and adult mental illness treatment systems.
Efficiency in Government Committee to implement publicly-available outcome
measurement bill for the children's mental health system.
- Support HB100 - Rep. Ron Ehli is sponsoring this bill that came out of the
Efficiency in Government Committee to develop a pilot program for
outcome-based payments for Medicaid providers.
- Support crisis funding for both the adult and children's system, including transportation to and from the State Hospital.
- Expand supported housing.
- Support SB11, sponsored by Sen. Mary Caferro, to revise the parole and probation system to work more effectively for offenders that have a serious mental illness. Passed the Senate.
- Support HB68 – Rep. Margaret MacDonald is sponsoring this Law and Justice Interim Committee bill to create a re-entry task for pilot project to reduce recidivism.
- Support HB43 – Rep. Steve Lavin is sponsoring this bill to create a jail suicide prevention program it came out of the Interim Law and Justice Committee with bipartisan support.
- Support HB84 - Rep. Pat Noonan is sponsoring this bill that came out of the Interim Efficiency in Government Committee's bill to revise the 72-hour presumptive eligibility program. Passed the House.
- Support SB7 – Sen. Mary Caferro is sponsoring this bill that came out of the Interim Efficiency in Government Committee's with bipartisan support to streamline the Medicaid application process.
- Support SB9 – Sen. Terry Murphy is sponsoring this bill that came out of the Interim Efficiency in Government Committee's with bipartisan support to develop a Corrections Advisory Council to help guide the structure and management of Montana’s Corrections System.
- Support HB12 – Rep. Pease-Lopez is sponsoring this bill that came out of the Interim Children, Families, Health and Human Services bill to increase health provider rates.
- Support HB101 - Rep. Ron Ehli is sponsoring this bill that came out of the the Interim Efficiency in Government Committee's bill to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for children’s mental health services.
- Support HB102 - Rep. Ron Ehli is sponsoring this bill that came out of the Interim Efficiency in Government Committee's bill to establish a committee on cost-based reimbursement for the Medicaid mental health treatment rates.
- Oppose HB92 - Representative Amanda Curtis's bill which would remove public defenders from drug and mental health courts' treatment team. Became law.
- Oppose HB269 - Rep. Kathy Swanson's bill which could criminalize the actions of people with mental illness who act irrationally while in inpatient treatment. Tabled in committee.
- Oppose SB220 – Senator Barrett’s bill which established immunities for assisted suicide treatment. Tabled in committee.
- Support HB319 – Rep. Pease-Lopez’s bill to improve transition planning and services for youth with mental health needs - Tabled in Committee.
- Support HB370 – Rep. Doug Kary’s bill to abolish the death penalty.
- Support SB298 - Senator Jonathan Windy Boy's bill to have the state consider adverse childhood experiences in Montana's prevention efforts.
- Support HB489 - Rep. Chuck Hunter's bill to create a Montana healthcare database.
- Support HB518 - Rep. Jenifer Gursky's bill to create a safe harbor for employers, schools and landlords for criminal rehabilitation - tabled in committee.
- Support HB458 - Rep. Pat Noonan's bill to implement Medicaid Expansion.
- Support HB536 - Rep. Franke Wilmer's bill which generally prohibits the use of solitary confinement for juveniles.
- Support HJ16 - Rep. Jenny Eck's bill to conduct an interim study of Montana's public institutions to ensure that they are providing treatment for people with serious brain conditions in the most effective and compassionate way possible.
We need as much support as possible so please pitch in and send a few emails and make a few phone calls. It's hard to overestimate how big of a difference those efforts can make!
Ways to Get Involved:
1. Contact your legislators and let them know that mental illness issues matter to you and why. This broad endorsement of mental illness issues can be really powerful. You can look up your legislators' contact information here. Be considerate with their time and keep your statement concise. Be polite and to the point. Please explain how these issues have personally impacted your life.
2. Contact NAMI Montana and ask to be signed up for our policy alerts. Our email info@namimt.org and our phone number is (406) 443-7871. Then make your own policy alert list of your friends, family, and colleagues that would also be interested in advocating for mental illness issues. Then send them any of our policy alerts that you think they might be interested in.
3. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper that discusses a specific issue or generally how important it is that the Montana Legislature support Montana's mental illness treatment system and Montanans who live with serious mental illness. Here are links to write letters to some of Montana's local papers.
If you need help finding the contact information for your local paper, we can look it up for your. Just send us an email at info@namimt.org or call call at (406) 443-7871.
Thanks for standing up for Montanans who live with serious mental illness and their families. We are so much more powerful with your support.
Please give us a call if you have any other questions.
Thanks for standing up for Montanans who live with serious mental illness and their families. We are so much more powerful with your support.
Please give us a call if you have any other questions.
