After a few hours of discussion on the Senate Floor Friday afternoon, three measures that would realign the state’s approach to mental health and addiction treatment all passed by wide margins.
Senate Bills 1, 2, and 3, numbered as such to make clear their priority in the 60-day session, would place New Mexico’s behavioral health system back on its feet, after years of staggering.
Senate minority leader Bill Sharer, one of the five cosponsors of the bipartisan SB-3, the Behavioral Health Reform and Investment Act, said the measure would bring structure to a system that had none.
”What this does is it builds this framework, that has lots of local control," said Sharer.
"Framework that has all of the stakeholders, this framework to define what needs to be done and keep us on track so that, unlike what we're doing now as a rudderless ship—putting a billion dollars into this and we don't know where we're going— this puts the rudder on the ship.”
George Muñoz, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, and a cosponsor of two of the three bills, argued for the new strategy due to an allocation of $2.4 billion being spent in the past three years without apparent positive impact.
New Mexico ranked 44th in the U.S. in mental health prevalence last year, according to data from Mental Health America.
Senators from both parties have underscored the need for new laws while pointing a finger at former Republican governor Susana Martinez, who, in 2013, blocked payments to multiple behavioral health organizations for fraud allegations that were later determined to be unfounded.
Republican senator Jay Block referred Friday to his former party leader’s impact as a “dismantling” of New Mexico’s behavioral health system.
SB-3 would provide oversight and accountability in a statewide system in which distinct regions of the state determine their own needs and therefore strategies.
It also moves much of the management of the system from the executive to the judicial branch due to frequent overlap between mental health and public safety.
First-term senator Angel Charley, of Acoma Pueblo, said SB-3 helps her deliver on a key promise to her constituents.
“ I represent people who disproportionately experience behavioral and mental health issues," Charley said.
"Suicide rates, post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction are everyday issues that native people face. And with the passage of this legislation, I can go home and look my people in the eyes and tell them that resources are coming.”
SB-1 and SB-2 will create a trust fund and allocation, respectively.
The package of bills now heads to the House.
