Official Text and Analysis.

Clarifies that the 988 tax applies to prepaid wireless lines and synchronizes the effective dates for the tax to October 1, 2021. In addition, landlines are added to the tax base.

Eliminates the Implementation Coalition and instead establishes the 988 Implementation Team (Team) and the Crisis Response Improvement Strategy Committee (Committee). The Team consists of nine members from state agencies, crisis call centers, those with expertise in behavioral health crisis responses and lived experience with behavioral health conditions, and from the behavioral health crisis delivery system. The Team must provide guidance in implementing the 988 crisis hotline and the resources required for staffing, training, and technology for call centers to achieve an in- state call response of at least 90 percent. The Team must report to the Governor and the Legislature by January 1, 2022.

Changes the member of the Crisis Response Improvement Strategy Committee who represents Medicaid managed care organizations to a representative of health plans, as recommended by the Association of Washington Health Plans.

Directs the Crisis Response Improvement Strategy Committee to develop and report on a work plan to establish the capacity for the crisis call center hubs to integrate Spanish language interpreters and Spanish-speaking call center staff into their operations and to ensure the availability of resources to meet the unique needs of persons in the agricultural community who are experiencing mental health stresses. Requires the work plan to address concerns regarding confidentiality.

Eliminates the statewide 988 behavioral health crisis response line tax. Creates a funding formula to provide quarterly transfers to the statewide 988 behavioral health crisis response line account from the state general fund.

Adds a representative of the Office of the Insurance Commissioner to the Crisis Response Improvement Strategy Committee..

Eliminates the increase in the 988 tax rate to 75 cents beginning in 2024. Removes the provisions that provide for biennial 988 tax rate increase by the fiscal growth factor beginning in 2025.

Directs the Department of Health to designate crisis hotline centers that meet standards related to technology and the ability to identify and deploy community crisis resources for persons experiencing a behavioral health crisis. Imposes a tax on radio access lines, voice over Internet protocol service lines, and switched access lines to fund activities related to an enhanced crisis response.

Allows a person to be employed as clinical staff at a 988 crisis call center hub if they have completed an approved apprenticeship program.

Striking amendment.(1) Requires the Department of Health and Health Care Authority (HCA) to collaborate to develop the technology and platforms necessary to manage and operate the behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention system. (2) Requires the technology system developed for the crisis system to support consultation with tribal governments to ensure coordinated care in a government-to-government relationship, including dedicated services to tribal members. (3) Provides that the role of the Crisis Response Improvement Strategy Committee (CRIS Committee) is to provide advice to the steering committee in developing an integrated behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention system. (4) Transfers responsibility for making reports from the CRIS Committee to the steering committee, after discussion with the CRIS Committee and hearing reports from the subcommittees. (5) Requires the Credentialing and Training Subcommittee to recommend minimum education requirements for clinical staff at crisis call center hubs, including whether it is appropriate to hire staff with less than a bachelor's degree based on the person's skills and life or work experience. (6) Reduces the responsibility of the 988 Hotline and Behavioral Health Crisis System Coordinator to review contractual agreements between HCA and managed care organizations and behavioral health administrative services organizations.

Removes emergency departments from the list of crisis and emergency response systems which must be capable of communication with the technologically advanced behavioral health and suicide prevention call center system platforms used by the crisis call center hubs, and instead specifies that emergency departments must provide real-time bed information to the system platform and provide information to allow active collaboration between the emergency departments and the crisis call center hub. Makes other technical language changes.

Requires the Department of Health (DOH) and the Health Care Authority (HCA) to create a sophisticated technical and operational plan with specified components related to development of the technology and platforms needed to manage and operate the behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention system under this Act..

Reduces the tax rate for radio access lines, interconnected voice over internet protocol lines, and switched access lines to $0.24 per month from October 1, 2021, through December 21, 2022, and to $0.40 per month starting January 1, 2023.

Provides that duties related to this act performed by the state, Department of Health, Washington State Health Care Authority, State Enhanced 911 Coordination Office, Emergency Management Division, Military Department, or any other state agency or their employees are duties owed to the general public and not to any individual person or class of persons. Crisis call center hubs designated by the Department of Health are deemed to be independent contractors, separate and apart from the state.

Requires the clinical staff hired to work for a crisis call center hub who have at least a bachelors or masters level of education to have that education in a behavioral health or counseling-related field.