HF 230 (LSB 1840HH (5) 85)

HOUSE FILE 230

BY  GARRETT

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to regionalization of county mental health and disability services and including effective date provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 331.389, subsection 3, paragraph a, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  The counties comprising the region are contiguous
 
except that a region may include a county that is not contiguous with any of the other counties in the region, if the county that is not contiguous has had a formal relationship for two years or longer with one or more of the other counties in the region for the provision of mental health and disability services.
    Sec. 2.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
EXPLANATION
   This bill relates to regionalization of county mental health and disability services (MH/DS).
   Code section 331.389, relating to the criteria for county agreements to form MH/DS regions, is amended to provide an exception from the requirement that the counties comprising a region must be contiguous. The exception allows a region to include a county that is not contiguous with the other counties in the region. The county that is not contiguous must have had a formal relationship for two years or longer with one or more of the other counties in the region for the provision of MH/DS. 
   The bill takes effect upon enactment.