Assembly BillIntroducedMHY
A 988: Requires the office of mental health to convene statewide forums and listening sessions in areas with high rates of death by suicide, suicide attempts, or other risk factors associated with suicide, and high risk minority groups or special populations.
What A 988 does, verified January 8, 2026
The bill aims to improve mental health services by requiring the Office of Mental Health to convene forums and listening sessions in areas with high rates of suicide and other risk factors. These sessions will be held in areas with high-risk minority groups or special populations, such as rural communities, veterans, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. The Office of Mental Health will work collaboratively with state agencies, advocacy groups, and associations to promote and convene these sessions. The findings and recommendations from these sessions will be included in the Office's report on mental health services. The bill takes effect immediately.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: referred to ways and means (2026-01-07)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions3 total · showing 3
| Jan. 07, 2026 | referred to ways and means |
| Mar. 11, 2025 | reported referred to ways and means |
| Jan. 08, 2025 | referred to mental health |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, January 8, 2025 · 336 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 988 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. DAVILA, SANTABARBARA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Mental Health AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to requiring the office of mental health to convene forums and listening sessions in areas with high rates of death by suicide, suicide attempts, or other risk factors associated with suicide, and high risk minority groups or special populations The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 7.07 of the mental hygiene law is amended by adding 2 a new subdivision (i) to read as follows: 3 (i) The office of mental health shall convene statewide forums and 4 listening sessions for the purpose of meeting its statutory responsibil- 5 ities and duties pursuant to subdivisions (g) and (h) of this section. 6 Such forums and listening sessions shall be conducted in areas of the 7 state which have high rates of death by suicide, suicide attempts, or 8 other risk factors associated with suicide, and high risk minority 9 groups or special populations, including but not limited to Latina and 10 Latino adolescents, black youth, individuals residing in rural communi- 11 ties, veterans, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender 12 community, and any other group deemed high risk or underserved by the 13 office. The office may consult or work collaboratively with any state 14 agency, advocacy group, or association to promote or convene a forum or 15 listening session. The office shall include its findings and any recom- 16 mendations resulting from a forum or listening session in its report 17 required pursuant to subdivision (g) of this section. 18 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00290-01-5
Text of A 988 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions