Imposes a surcharge on monthly phone bills to fund the costs associated with the administration, design, installation, construction, operation, and maintenance of a 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline in New York state; establishes the 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline trust fund.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8020
SPONSOR: Cunningham TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the mental hygiene law and the state finance law, in
relation to imposing a surcharge on phone bills to fund 9-8-8 suicide
prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline system service
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: This act will require a surcharge on
phone bills to fund the 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral health
crisis hotline. This is similar to the way 9-1-1 services are funded.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 begins by defining terms. A surcharge on phone bills is
authorized: no more than $0.35 per line per month can be imposed to pay
for the costs associated with the administration, design, installation,
construction, operation, and maintenance of the 9-8-8 suicide prevention
and behavioral health crisis hotline system. Service suppliers must
notify their customers of this new charge in writing at least 45 days
prior to billing. All funds collected will be deposited in the 9-8-8
suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline trust fund.
Section 2 establishes the aforementioned trust fund. It is in the joint
custody of the state comptroller and the commissioners of the offices of
mental health and of addiction services and supports. In addition to the
phone bill surcharge, the state may receive grants, gifts, and bequests
to the fund. Funds shall be used only for costs associated with the
9-8-8 hotline and can be paid via vouchers.
Section 3 states that this act will take effect 60 days after it becomes
law.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
N/A
JUSTIFICATION:
The 9-1-1 call system in New York State receives funding from surcharges
on monthly phone bills, enabling them to provide emergency response
services. Similarly, the 9-8-8 hotline has been established to provide
emergency response for mental health and behavioral crises that is sepa-
rate from police. Like 9-1-1, 9-8-8 requires and deserves designated
funding to support service provision. The surcharge for 9-8-8 estab-
lished by this bill shall be no more than $0.35 per month per line (less
than for 9-1-1) and shall be deposited into the newly established 9-8-8
suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline trust fund to
support the hotline.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
Revenue will be collected and deposited in the new trust fund.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act will take effect 60 days after it shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8020
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
September 1, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CUNNINGHAM -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Mental Health
AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law and the state finance law, in
relation to imposing a surcharge on phone bills to fund 9-8-8 suicide
prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline system service
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 36.03 of the mental hygiene law is amended by
2 adding a new subdivision (g) to read as follows:
3 (g) (1) When used in this subdivision, the following words and phrases
4 shall have the following meanings:
5 (i) "Service supplier" means (A) a telephone corporation which
6 provides local exchange access service within the state; or (B) a
7 provider of voice over internet protocol service that provides such
8 service within the state.
9 (ii) "Voice over internet protocol service" shall mean any service
10 that (A) enables real-time, two-way voice communications; (B) requires a
11 broadband connection from the user's location; (C) requires internet
12 protocol compatible customer premises equipment (CPE); and (D) permits
13 users generally to receive calls that originate on the public switched
14 telephone network and to terminate calls to the public switched tele-
15 phone network.
16 (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of any law to the contrary, the
17 commissioner, in conjunction with the commissioner of the office of
18 addiction services and supports, is hereby authorized and empowered to
19 adopt, amend or repeal any rule or regulation necessary to impose a
20 surcharge in an amount not to exceed thirty-five cents per access line
21 per month on the customers of every service supplier within the state to
22 pay for the costs associated with the administration, design, installa-
23 tion, construction, operation, or maintenance of a 9-8-8 suicide
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13114-01-3
A. 8020 2
1 prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline system serving the
2 state.
3 (3) Any such rule or regulation shall state the amount of the
4 surcharge, the date on which the service supplier shall begin to add
5 such surcharge to the billings of its customers and, to the extent prac-
6 ticable, the date on which such 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral
7 health crisis hotline system service is to begin. Such rule or regu-
8 lation may authorize the service supplier to begin billing its customers
9 for such surcharge prior to the date on which such 9-8-8 suicide
10 prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline system service is to
11 begin.
12 (4) Any service supplier within the state which has imposed a
13 surcharge pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be given a
14 minimum of forty-five days written notice prior to the date it shall
15 begin to add such surcharge to the billings of its customers or prior to
16 any modification to or change in the surcharge amount.
17 (5) All moneys collected pursuant to this subdivision shall be depos-
18 ited to the credit of the 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral health
19 crisis hotline trust fund established pursuant to section eighty-five of
20 the state finance law.
21 § 2. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 85 to
22 read as follows:
23 § 85. 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline
24 trust fund. 1. There is hereby established in the joint custody of the
25 state comptroller and the commissioners of the office of mental health
26 and the office of addiction services and supports, a special fund to be
27 known as the "9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis
28 hotline trust fund".
29 2. Such fund shall consist of all moneys collected pursuant to subdi-
30 vision (g) of section 36.03 of the mental hygiene law. Nothing contained
31 in this section shall prevent the state from receiving grants, gifts, or
32 bequests for the purposes of the fund as defined in this section and
33 depositing them into the fund according to law.
34 3. Monies of the fund shall be expended only for the costs associated
35 with the administration, design, installation, construction, operation,
36 or maintenance of a 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral health
37 crisis hotline system serving the state.
38 4. Monies shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of
39 the comptroller on vouchers approved and certified by the commissioners
40 of the office of mental health and the office of addiction services and
41 supports.
42 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
43 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
44 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
45 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
46 on or before such effective date.
