S-4454.1
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5762
State of Washington
69th Legislature
2026 Regular Session
By Senate Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Orwall, Dhingra, Nobles, and C. Wilson)
READ FIRST TIME 02/09/26.
AN ACT Relating to 988 crisis hotline funding and technology requirements; amending RCW 82.86.050 ; and reenacting and amending RCW 71.24.890 .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 71.24.890 and 2025 c 424 s 980 and 2025 c 360 s 19 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(1) Establishing the state designated 988 contact hubs and enhancing the crisis response system will require collaborative work between the department, the authority, and regional system partners within their respective roles. The department shall have primary responsibility for designating 988 contact hubs, and shall seek recommendations from the behavioral health administrative services organizations to determine which 988 contact hubs best meet regional needs. The authority shall have primary responsibility for developing, implementing, and facilitating coordination of the crisis response system and services to support the work of the designated 988 contact hubs, regional crisis lines, and other coordinated regional behavioral health crisis response system partners. In any instance in which one agency is identified as the lead, the expectation is that agency will communicate and collaborate with the other to ensure seamless, continuous, and effective service delivery within the statewide crisis response system.