HOUSE BILL 329

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2025

INTRODUCED BY

Tara L. Lujan and Elizabeth "Liz" Thomson and Meredith A. Dixon

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO BEHAVIORAL HEALTH; MAKING CHANGES TO THE COMPOSITION OF THE INTERAGENCY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PURCHASING COLLABORATIVE; ADMINISTRATIVELY ATTACHING THE INTERAGENCY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PURCHASING COLLABORATIVE TO THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR; CREATING THE DIRECTOR OF THE COLLABORATIVE NOMINATING COMMITTEE; REQUIRING THE DIRECTOR OF THE COLLABORATIVE TO BE SELECTED FROM A LIST OF QUALIFIED NOMINEES CREATED BY THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE; REPEALING SECTION 24A-3-2 NMSA 1978 (BEING LAWS 2004, CHAPTER 46, SECTION 2, AS AMENDED).

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. Section 24A-3-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2004, Chapter 46, Section 8, as amended) is amended to read:

     "24A-3-1. INTERAGENCY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PURCHASING COLLABORATIVE.--

          A. The "interagency behavioral health purchasing collaborative" is created, consisting of the secretaries of health care authority, [aging and long-term services] Indian affairs, health, corrections, children, youth and families and early childhood education and care [finance and administration, workforce solutions, public education and transportation or their designees] and the directors of the New Mexico behavioral health providers association and the administrative office of the courts [the retiree health care authority, the governor's commission on disability, the developmental disabilities council, the instructional support and vocational education division of the public education department and the New Mexico health policy commission or their designees; and the governor's health policy coordinator] or their designees. The collaborative shall be chaired by the secretary of health care authority [with the respective secretaries of health and children, youth and families alternating annually as co-chairs]. The interagency behavioral health purchasing collaborative is administratively attached to the office of the governor.

          B. The collaborative shall meet [regularly] publicly at least quarterly and at the call of [either co-chair] the chair and shall:

                (1) identify behavioral health needs statewide, with an emphasis on that hiatus between needs and services set forth in the authority's gap analysis and in ongoing needs assessments, and develop a master plan for statewide delivery of services;

                (2) give special attention to regional differences, including cultural, rural, frontier, urban and border issues;

                (3) inventory all expenditures for behavioral health, including mental health and substance abuse;

                (4) plan, design and direct a statewide behavioral health system, ensuring both availability of services and efficient use of all behavioral health funding, taking into consideration funding appropriated to specific affected departments; [and]

                (5) contract for operation of one or more behavioral health entities to ensure availability of services throughout the state; and

                (6) consider public input at each meeting.

          C. The plan for delivery of behavioral health services shall include specific service plans to address the needs of infants, children, adolescents, adults and seniors, as well as to address workforce development and retention and quality improvement issues. The plan shall be revised every two years and shall be adopted by the authority as part of the statewide health plan.

          D. The plan shall take the following principles into consideration, to the extent practicable and within available resources:

                (1) services should be individually centered and family-focused based on principles of individual capacity for recovery and resiliency;

                (2) services should be delivered in a culturally responsive manner in a home- or community-based setting, where possible;

                (3) services should be delivered in the least restrictive and most appropriate manner;

                (4) individualized service planning and case management should take into consideration individual and family circumstances, abilities and strengths and be accomplished in consultation with appropriate family, caregivers and other persons critical to the individual's life and well-being;

                (5) services should be coordinated, accessible, accountable and of high quality;

                (6) services should be directed by the individual or family served to the extent possible;

                (7) services may be consumer- or family-provided, as defined by the collaborative;

                (8) services should include behavioral health promotion, prevention, early intervention, treatment, [and] community support, housing support, support for persons involved in the criminal justice system and treatment for substance use disorder; and

                (9) services should consider regional differences, including cultural, rural, frontier, urban and border issues.

          E. The collaborative shall seek and consider suggestions of Native American representatives from Indian nations, tribes and pueblos and the urban Indian population, located wholly or partially within New Mexico, in the development of the plan for delivery of behavioral health services.

          F. Pursuant to the State Rules Act, the collaborative shall adopt rules through the [authority] office of the governor for:

                (1) standards of delivery for behavioral health services provided through contracted behavioral health entities, including:

                     (a) quality management and improvement;

                     (b) performance measures;

                     (c) accessibility and availability of services;

                     (d) utilization management;

                     (e) credentialing of providers;

                     (f) rights and responsibilities of consumers and providers;

                     (g) clinical evaluation and treatment and supporting documentation; and

                     (h) confidentiality of consumer records; and

                (2) approval of contracts and contract amendments by the collaborative, including public notice of the proposed final contract.

          G. The collaborative shall, through the [authority] office of the governor, submit a separately identifiable consolidated behavioral health budget request. The consolidated behavioral health budget request shall account for requested funding for the behavioral health services program at the authority and any other requested funding for behavioral health services from agencies identified in Subsection A of this section that will be used pursuant to Paragraph (5) of Subsection B of this section. Any contract proposed, negotiated or entered into by the collaborative is subject to the provisions of the Procurement Code.

          H. The [collaborative shall, with the consent of the] governor shall appoint a "director of the collaborative" who shall be selected from a list of qualified nominees submitted to the governor by the director of the collaborative nominating committee. The director is responsible for the coordination of day-to-day activities of the collaborative, including the coordination of staff from the collaborative member agencies. A person who is appointed as director of the collaborative shall not be employed in any other position in state or local government while the person serves as director of the collaborative.

          I. The collaborative shall provide a quarterly report to the legislative finance committee on performance outcome measures. The collaborative shall submit an annual report to the legislative finance committee and the interim legislative health and human services committee that provides information on:

                (1) the collaborative's progress toward achieving its strategic plans and goals;

                (2) the collaborative's performance information, including contractors and providers; [and]

                (3) the number of people receiving services, the most frequently treated diagnoses, expenditures by type of service and other aggregate claims data relating to services rendered and program operations; and

                (4) the adequacy and allocation of mental health services throughout the state."

     SECTION 2. A new section of Chapter 24A, Article 3 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] DIRECTOR OF THE COLLABORATIVE NOMINATING COMMITTEE.--

          A. The "director of the collaborative nominating committee" is created, and the nominating committee consists of three members who are:

                (1) knowledgeable about behavioral health conditions and treatments;

                (2) not recipients of contracts or other forms

of compensation from the interagency behavioral health purchasing collaborative;

                (3) not applicants or nominees for membership on the interagency behavioral health purchasing collaborative; and

                (4) appointed as follows:

                     (a) one member appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;

                     (b) one member appointed by the president pro tempore of the senate; and

                     (c) one member appointed by the governor.

          B. A nominating committee member shall:

                (1) be a resident of New Mexico;

                (2) serve a four-year term; and

                (3) serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for expenses incurred in pursuit of the member's duties on the nominating committee pursuant to the Per Diem and Mileage Act.

          C. The nominating committee and individual members shall be subject to the Governmental Conduct Act, the Inspection of Public Records Act, the Financial Disclosure Act and the Open Meetings Act.

          D. Administrative support shall be provided to the nominating committee by the staff of the authority.

          E. Initial appointments to the nominating committee shall be made by the appointing authorities prior to September 1, 2025. Subsequent appointments shall be made no later than thirty days before the end of a term.

          F. The first meeting of the members of the nominating committee shall be held prior to November 1, 2025. The nominating committee shall select one member to be chair. Following the first meeting, the nominating committee shall meet as often as necessary in order to submit a list to the governor of no fewer than two qualified nominees for appointment as director of the collaborative. The list shall be developed to provide geographical diversity, and nominees on the list shall be from at least two different counties of the state.

          G. The nominating committee shall meet at least ninety days prior to the date on which the term of the director of the collaborative ends and as often as necessary thereafter in order to submit a list to the governor, at least thirty days prior to the beginning of the new term, of no fewer than two qualified nominees from diverse geographical areas of the state for appointment as director of the collaborative.

          H. Upon the occurrence of a vacancy in the director of the collaborative position, the nominating committee shall meet within thirty days of the date of the beginning of the vacancy and as often as necessary thereafter in order to submit a list to the governor, within sixty days of the first meeting after the vacancy occurs, of no fewer than two qualified nominees from diverse geographical areas of the state for appointment as director of the collaborative.

          I. If a position on the nominating committee becomes vacant during a term, a successor shall be selected in the same manner as the original appointment for that position and shall serve for the remainder of the term of the position vacated.

          J. The nominating committee shall actively solicit, accept and evaluate applications and may require an applicant to submit any information the nominating committee deems relevant to the consideration of the individual's application.

          K. A majority vote of all members of the nominating committee in favor of a person is required for that person to be included on the list of qualified nominees submitted to the

governor."

     SECTION 3. REPEAL.--Section 24A-3-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2004, Chapter 46, Section 2, as amended) is repealed.

     SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2025.