Washington § 82.86.050 - Account creation.

(1) The statewide 988 behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention line account is created in the state treasury. All receipts from the statewide 988 behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention line tax imposed pursuant to this chapter must be deposited into the account. Moneys may only be spent after appropriation.

(2) Expenditures from the account may only be used for:

(a) Ensuring the efficient and effective routing of calls made to the 988 crisis hotline to an appropriate crisis hotline center or designated 988 contact hub;

(b) Personnel and the provision of acute behavioral health, crisis outreach, and crisis stabilization services, as defined in RCW 71.24.025, by directly responding to the 988 crisis hotline and enhancing mobile crisis service standards and performance provided through mobile rapid response crisis teams and community-based crisis teams endorsed under RCW 71.24.903. Ten percent of the annual receipts from the tax must be dedicated to the establishment grants, performance payments, and supplemental performance payments for mobile rapid response crisis teams and community-based crisis teams endorsed under RCW 71.24.903 and endorsement activities in RCW 71.24.903, up to 30 percent of which is dedicated to mobile rapid response crisis teams and community-based crisis teams endorsed under RCW 71.24.903 that are affiliated with a tribe in Washington; and

(c) During the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium, the legislature may appropriate moneys from the statewide 988 behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention line account to maintain and expand behavioral health crisis response services including services provided by mobile crisis response teams, 23-hour crisis relief centers, and other community settings providing services to individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis. Appropriations made for these purposes are not subject to the limitation in subsection (3) of this section. It is the intent of the legislature that this policy will be continued in subsequent fiscal biennia.

(3) Moneys in the account may not be used to supplant general fund appropriations for behavioral health services or for medicaid covered services to individuals enrolled in the medicaid program.

Effective date—2025 c 424: See note following RCW 9.46.100.

Effective date—2021 c 302 ss 201-205: See note following RCW 82.86.010.

Findings—Intent—2021 c 302: See note following RCW 71.24.890.