June 26, 2022

Summary:  The Gun Reform bill, entitled the Safer Communities Act, passed in the Senate early last week, and in the House on Thursday night/Friday morning.  It was immediately sent to the White House for final action.  President Biden signed the bill yesterday.

Last week I had a conversation with Rebecca Farley-David at the National Council about the CCBHC provisions of the bill, and the potential impact on NYS.  Here’s what I shared with members after that call: I had a brief conversation with Rebecca Farley to ascertain what’s happening with the Senate Bipartisan Gun Reform legislation proposal that (if enacted) would put significant new funding into various mental health initiatives including but not limited to expansion of the federal CCBHC Demo Program.  Of course, we are particularly interested in the implications of the proposed legislation on NYS and specifically, our members.

The bottom line is that the new legislation may not change much for New York State in terms of the CCBHC Demo initiative.  It gives current Demo states an additional 2 years of the enhanced federal match rate for CCBHCs, but it does NOT address the issue of Demo states adding more Demo sites.  The National Council tried to get that piece included, but the deal had already been finalized.

The quick message from Rebecca at the National Council is that our next collective bite at the apple will be a possible Senate Finance package on mental health, and if that does not materialize, we will keep trying!

For your convenience, please find the National Council’s analysis of the enacted legislation (attached).