These are the legislative bills that Families as Allies followed during the 2024 session that the Legislature passed and the governor signed into law. We encourage you to review the entire list.
We call your attention to these highlights:
- House Bill 1137 allows community organizations to distribute opioid antidotes to help prevent deaths from overdoses. We want to hear from families affected by substance use to learn how you think Families as Allies and other community groups can be most helpful in this process.
- House Bill 1640 creates a pre-affidavit screening process when families seek a mental health civil commitment for their loved one. We appreciate the intent of this bill but are concerned that it doesn’t specify who is responsible for connecting families with community mental health centers for these screenings. It also doesn’t specify who will enforce the provisions of the bill. The bill also limits how long authorities can put people in jail without charges during the commitment process. Families as Allies believes authorities should never jail people to get them mental health care.
- Senate Bill 2244 allows foster care children free access to museums and state parks and free transcripts from colleges and junior colleges.
- House Bill 346 mandates that schools work with children and families to develop seizure safety plans for children who have seizures.
- Senate Bill 2339 allows students to use sign language to fulfill the foreign language requirement for high school graduation.
- House Bill 315 modernizes terminology in state code and replaces the term mental retardation with intellectual disability.
- Senate Bill 3162 appropriates $20 million to the Department of Mental Health to sub-grant to Canopy Children’s Solutions to renovate its Cares residential facility. Families as Allies urges state agencies and legislators to follow state procurement laws and policies when allocating funds to nonprofits (including Families as Allies). In keeping with the values of family-driven practice, we also urge that families and family-run organizations have input into funding decisions and that families can share their experiences objectively about any nonprofit (including Families as Allies) as part of that process.
- Senate Bill 2799 changes some state boards. It changes the terms of the Department of Mental Health board from seven years to four (lines 485- 504). It also limits the executive director’s tenure to four years and requires that the Senate approve that appointment (lines 521 – 526).
