Thank you for your unwavering advocacy and support as Vocal Virginia strives to create lasting change in mental health policies and services for individuals living with mental health challenges. Your personal experience is a powerful tool in shaping policies that truly make a difference. Your voice matters more than ever—take this opportunity to connect with your legislator and share your thoughts and concerns. By doing so, you are helping to build a stronger, more compassionate future for all. Together, we can drive change and create a world where mental health is valued and prioritized. You may find your legislator’s contact information by clicking here.
The House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee released their budget proposals on Sunday, February 2, 2025. You may view the House and Senate budget amendments here. Once each side passes its version of the budget, it will be sent to the other chamber for their review and approval. At this point, there will have to be conferees appointed to a conference committee that will work out the differences between the two budgets for a final proposal that will be voted on by the General Assembly and then be sent to the Governor’s Office. You may contact Members of the House Appropriations Committee by clicking here. You may contact Members of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee by clicking here.
This has also been an exciting week at the General Assembly because this week was cross-over. Cross-over occurs when all of the bills that successfully passed each chamber cross-over to the other chamber. Thus, all of the successful bills in the House will now go to the Senate and all of the successful Senate bills will now go to the House. The bills must pass each chamber before being sent to the Governor’s office where the bill may be 1) signed into law; 2) amended and returned to the General Assembly for approval; or 3) vetoed and returned to the General Assembly, where the House of Delegates and the Senate may override the veto.
Vocal Virginia is pleased to report that five bills aimed at decriminalizing mental health have advanced to the next stage in the legislative process. The first bill that Vocal Virginia is advocating for that has successfully made it through the Senate is Senator Boysko’s SB1013. This legislation makes a mental health crisis an affirmative defense to assault and battery on certain individuals. This legislation may be viewed here. This legislation is currently pending before the House Courts of Justice Committee. Another Senate bill that will help decriminalize mental health is also pending before the House Courts of Justice Committee, Senator Deeds SB1194. This bill requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish a training course for law-enforcement agencies and officers on the discretion such officers can exercise regarding certain arrests. We are particularly concerned with arrests as they pertain to individuals under an emergency custody order or temporary detention order. You may find the House Courts of Justice Committee Member’s contact information by clicking here.
Vocal Virginia is also advocating for three House bills, which have successfully crossed-over to the Senate. We are paying close attention to Delegate Callsen’s HB1877, which involves barrier crimes and would allow potential peer recovery specialists who are otherwise qualified, but have outstanding court costs, fees, and restitution to be screened for employment by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS). You may view this legislation here. This bill is currently pending before the Senate Committee on Education and Health. You may find the Committee Member’s contact information here. We support two bills by Delegate Watts. The first is HB1712, which provides that no law-enforcement officer with the power to arrest is required to arrest an individual who is currently subject to an emergency custody order, temporary detention order, or involuntary admission. In addition, this bill requires training for law enforcement and law enforcement agencies on the new proposal. You may view this legislation here. This bill is currently pending before the Senate Courts of Justice Committee. You may contact Members of this Committee by clicking here. The second bill from Delegate Watts that we are supporting is HB1713, which permits individuals with certain felony offenses to participate in Behavioral Health Dockets. You may view this legislation here.
Vocal Virginia is grateful for your continued advocacy. If you are interested in learning more about pending legislation or signing up to for virtual or written comments, please explore Virginia’s Legislative Information System, which may be visited here. You may see Vocal Virginia’s full list of bills that we are monitoring here.
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