HB 491: Behavioral Health Modifications - Utah

Substitute #3 → Enrolled · 4 edits · Mar 27, 2025

MODERATE

This bill amends the voluntary firearm commitment process to clarify that owners can request safekeeping if they believe a threat exists, while adding strict conditions under which law enforcement must deny return of the firearm. It introduces a mandatory 60-day hold period for most cases and allows for an additional 60-day extension upon request, ensuring firearms remain inaccessible during high-risk periods. The bill also mandates the destruction of sensitive records within five days of the firearm's return or disposal to protect privacy.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of the voluntary commitment program by explicitly defining the circumstances under which a firearm cannot be returned to an owner, such as when the owner is a restricted person or has been arrested for domestic violence.

ELIGIBILITY

Added specific criteria prohibiting the return of firearms to owners who are restricted persons or have been arrested for domestic violence offenses pending court review.

REQUIREMENT

Established a mandatory 60-day holding period for voluntarily committed firearms, with an option for an additional 60-day extension if requested.

Required law enforcement agencies to create and publish a publicly searchable registry indicating their availability to receive voluntarily committed firearms.

TIMELINE

Updated the bill's effective date from May 7, 2025, to May 7, 2025, while changing the document timestamp from March 5 to March 13, 2025.

Introduced → Substitute #1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to add a new section requiring the Office of Licensing to create rules and fees for licensing behavioral health receiving centers. The effective date section was renumbered from Section 5 to Section 6, and a timestamp was added to the end of the document.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include specific regulatory authority and fee collection for behavioral health receiving centers, which were previously not explicitly detailed in this text.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new section (26B-2-135) mandating the creation of licensing rules and the assessment of fees for behavioral health receiving centers.

TECHNICAL

Renumbered the effective date section from Section 5 to Section 6 to accommodate the new section.

Inserted a timestamp ('2-19-25 8:16 AM') at the end of the document.

Substitute #2 → Substitute #3 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill substitutes a new version that significantly reduces the total appropriation amount from $5,835,600 to $1,035,600 and updates formatting throughout the document. The core policy provisions remain largely the same, including definitions for behavioral health facilities, licensing requirements, Medicaid directed payments, and firearm safe harbor provisions, but the financial commitments have been substantially scaled back.

Scope change

The bill's substantive scope and applicability remain unchanged; only the funding amounts and document formatting have been modified.

FISCAL

Total appropriation reduced from $5,835,600 to $1,035,600, with the General Fund portion decreasing from $4,899,000 to $99,000.

TECHNICAL

Updated document formatting, including page headers, timestamps, and line numbering to reflect the third substitute version.

Reformatted section headers and definitions to use consistent numbering and indentation throughout the document.

Changed some cross-references in definitions from old numbering to new numbering (e.g., Subsection (5)(b)(i) to (6)(b)(i)).

Substitute #1 → Substitute #2 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill substitutes a revised version that significantly reduces the total funding appropriated from $125.4 million to $5.8 million, removes specific funding allocations for new behavioral health receiving centers and mobile crisis teams, and deletes the requirement for the Department of Public Safety to create a marketing plan to educate law enforcement about firearm safe harbor options. The core definitions and licensing requirements for behavioral health receiving centers remain largely intact, but the financial support and certain outreach initiatives have been scaled back considerably.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding behavioral health licensing and definitions remains unchanged, but the funding scope was dramatically reduced and the law enforcement firearm registry marketing requirement was removed.

FISCAL

Reduced total appropriations from $125,428,400 to $5,835,600 for fiscal year 2026, eliminating $119.6 million in previously allocated funds.

Deleted specific funding for one new rural behavioral health receiving center, one new Mobile Crisis Outreach Team, and several other behavioral health initiatives that were previously included.

Changed the funding breakdown from $107.5 million from General Fund and $17.9 million from various sources to $4.9 million from General Fund and $936,600 from various sources.

REQUIREMENT

Removed the requirement for the Department of Public Safety to create and implement a marketing plan to educate law enforcement agencies and the public about firearm safe harbor options.

TIMELINE

The effective date of May 7, 2025 remains the same, but the Medicaid directed payments section now states the department may implement payments when operationally feasible rather than having a fixed implementation timeline.

Behavioral Health Modifications

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