A 4108: Imposes a surcharge on monthly phone bills to fund the costs associated with the administration, design, installation, construction, operation, and maintenance of a 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline in New York state; establishes the 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline trust fund.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4108 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY January 31, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CUNNINGHAM, SANTABARBARA, DE LOS SANTOS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Mental Health AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law and the state finance law, in relation to imposing a surcharge on phone bills to fund 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline system service The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 36.03 of the mental hygiene law is amended by 2 adding a new subdivision (g) to read as follows: 3 (g) (1) When used in this subdivision, the following words and phrases 4 shall have the following meanings: 5 (i) "Service supplier" means (A) a telephone corporation which 6 provides local exchange access service within the state; or (B) a 7 provider of voice over internet protocol service that provides such 8 service within the state. 9 (ii) "Voice over internet protocol service" shall mean any service 10 that (A) enables real-time, two-way voice communications; (B) requires a 11 broadband connection from the user's location; (C) requires internet 12 protocol compatible customer premises equipment (CPE); and (D) permits 13 users generally to receive calls that originate on the public switched 14 telephone network and to terminate calls to the public switched tele- 15 phone network. 16 (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of any law to the contrary, the 17 commissioner, in conjunction with the commissioner of the office of 18 addiction services and supports, is hereby authorized and empowered to 19 adopt, amend or repeal any rule or regulation necessary to impose a 20 surcharge in an amount not to exceed thirty-five cents per access line 21 per month on the customers of every service supplier within the state to 22 pay for the costs associated with the administration, design, installa- 23 tion, construction, operation, or maintenance of a 9-8-8 suicide 24 prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline system serving the state EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD06540-01-5 
 A. 4108 2 1 and to support the crisis intervention services and follow-up services 2 provided to individuals accessing the 9-8-8 suicide prevention behav- 3 ioral health crisis hotline. The commissioner is authorized and 4 empowered to increase the amount of such surcharge in a certain county 5 or city with a population of one million or more upon the request of 6 such county or city with a population of one million or more to an 7 amount not to exceed the surcharge adopted by such county or city with a 8 population of one million or more under article six or six-A of the 9 county law. 10 (3) Any such rule or regulation shall state the amount of the 11 surcharge, the date on which the service supplier shall begin to add 12 such surcharge to the billings of its customers and, to the extent prac- 13 ticable, the date on which such 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral 14 health crisis hotline system service is to begin. Such rule or regu- 15 lation may authorize the service supplier to begin billing its customers 16 for such surcharge prior to the date on which such 9-8-8 suicide 17 prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline system service is to 18 begin. 19 (4) Any service supplier within the state which has imposed a 20 surcharge pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be given a 21 minimum of forty-five days written notice prior to the date it shall 22 begin to add such surcharge to the billings of its customers or prior to 23 any modification to or change in the surcharge amount. 24 (5) All moneys collected pursuant to this subdivision shall be depos- 25 ited to the credit of the 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral health 26 crisis hotline trust fund established pursuant to section eighty-five of 27 the state finance law. 28 § 2. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 85 to 29 read as follows: 30 § 85. 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline 31 trust fund. 1. There is hereby established in the joint custody of the 32 state comptroller and the commissioners of the office of mental health 33 and the office of addiction services and supports, a special fund to be 34 known as the "9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis 35 hotline trust fund". 36 2. Such fund shall consist of all moneys collected pursuant to subdi- 37 vision (g) of section 36.03 of the mental hygiene law. Nothing contained 38 in this section shall prevent the state from receiving grants, gifts, or 39 bequests for the purposes of the fund as defined in this section and 40 depositing them into the fund according to law. 41 3. Monies of the fund shall be expended only for the costs associated 42 with the administration, design, installation, construction, operation, 43 or maintenance of a 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral health 44 crisis hotline system serving the state and to support the crisis inter- 45 vention services and follow-up services provided to individuals access- 46 ing the 9-8-8 suicide prevention behavioral health crisis hotline. 47 4. Monies shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of 48 the comptroller on vouchers approved and certified by the commissioners 49 of the office of mental health and the office of addiction services and 50 supports. 51 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 52 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 53 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 54 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 55 on or before such effective date.