SB 2533

ON APRIL 21, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENTS # 1 AND 2 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1816, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, require the Tennessee opioid abatement council to allocate funds held in the opioid abatement fund as outlined below. From amounts that are not required to be disbursed to the counties pursuant to present law, this amendment provides it is the legislative intent that the council must allocate: (1) $12,300,000 to the bureau of TennCare to be distributed in the amount of $4,100,000 per year in fiscal years 2026-2027, 2027-2028, and 2028-2029 for the purpose of supplementing the per member per month adult mobile crisis payments paid to the nonpr ofit community behavioral health provider contracted entities that provide mobile crisis services across this state for TennCare enrollees. (2) $25,000,000 to the department of mental health and substance abuse services in fiscal year 2026-2027 for the purpose of funding crisis, residential, and inpatient treatment services for uninsured individuals with co-occurring mental health and subst ance use disorders. Funds must be used to expand access, capacity, and stabilization services for such population. For amounts paid into the opioid abatement fund on or after July 1, 2026, and not allocated pursuant to the above allocations, this amendment requires 10% of the funds available to the council, after accounting for proceeds required to be disbursed to th e counties pursuant to present law, to be allocated to the department of mental health and substance abuse services for deposit into a separate account within the opioid abatement fund. Amounts in this account must be used exclusively for the purposes se t forth in (2) above. Disbursements to this account must be made at the time county disbursements are made. Funds allocated pursuant to this amendment must supplement and not supplant existing state appropriations for behavioral health and substance use disorder services. Additionally, such allocations must not reduce, offset, or otherwise affect the distribu tion of proceeds to counties or municipalities from opioid settlements. AMENDMENT #2 provides that is the legislative intent that the bureau of TennCare will consult with the Tennessee Association of Mental Health Organizations on the formula to be utilized in the distribution of the $12,300,000 allocation to the bureau of TennCare as req uired by AMENDMENT #1.