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December 21, 2024 Clouds | 28°F
The 193rd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Section 2WWWWW: Behavioral Health Access and Crisis Intervention Trust Fund

[Text of section effective until July 1, 2024. Repealed by 2022, 126, Sec. 25 effective July 1, 2024. See 2022, 126, Sec. 187. ]

Section 2WWWWW. There shall be a Behavioral Health Access and Crisis Intervention Trust Fund to be administered by the secretary of health and human services. The secretary may expend money from the fund, without further appropriation, to support a statewide, payor-agnostic community behavioral health crisis system including, but not limited to, all necessary costs to support: (i) a behavioral health access line to connect individuals to behavioral health services, including clinical assessment and triage; and (ii) a statewide system to deliver behavioral health crisis intervention services 24 hours per day and 7 days per week in mobile and community-based settings, available to all residents without regard to insurance.

There shall be credited to the fund all monies paid to the commonwealth under section 69A of chapter 118E and any other federal reimbursements, grants, premiums, gifts, interest or other contributions from any source received that are specifically designated to be credited to the fund. In the discretion of the secretary of administration and finance, in consultation with the secretary of health and human services, revenues equal to the amount of federal financial participation received by the General Fund for expenditures for the behavioral health access line may also be credited to the fund.

The fund may incur expenses and the comptroller shall certify for payment amounts in anticipation of the most recent estimate of expected receipts, as certified by the secretary of health and human services. Any balance in the fund at the close of a fiscal year shall be available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years and shall not be transferred to any other fund or revert to the General Fund. Annually, not later than August 1, the secretary shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on mental health, substance use and recovery on the revenue and expenditure activity within the fund.