A bill that would establish long-term funding for Oklahoma’s 988 suicide crisis hotline failed in committee this week.
Authored by Rep. Arturo Alonso-Sandoval, D-Oklahoma City, House Bill 1911 proposed a statewide monthly telecommunications fee of five cents per phone line.
Totaling 60 cents per line a year, the tax would fund 988 when federal dollars are no longer being dedicated to the hotline.
“Right now, the 988 system is funded through federal funds,” Alonso-Sandoval said during the House Public Health Committee on Monday. “Those aren’t guaranteed after next year, and the idea is to get this started this year so that there’s no browning out of services.”
Across the U.S., the 988 hotline is funded by a mixture of American Rescue Plan Act funds and federal appropriations. It’s unclear what will happen to the hotline when those streams will run out, especially amid federal funding uncertainty under the Trump administration.
Money collected from the phone tax would have been added to a state fund regulated by the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
Lawmakers affirmed the importance of the 988 hotline and its value to the state, but had questions about the bill’s proposed tax.
“What happens if the feds continue to fund this … then where does this money go?” Rep. Marilyn Stark, R-Bethany, said. “Because then we've taxed our people for something that's being federally paid for.”
Stark and other members of the committee highlighted Gov. Kevin Stitt’s renewed request for tax cuts and a flat budget.
Alonso-Sandoval said the hotline’s use “has only increased” since it was established and the money also be used to pay for mobile response units, which are dispatched if a caller isn’t stabilized by a phone operator.
“Is this something that we should really look into potentially next year in order?” House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, said.
Alonso-Sandoval said his bill would help the state plan ahead so it is prepared for when federal funds stop.
“The big motivation behind passing it this year is because it's going to take some time for us to generate those through the fee structure so that we can have the funds available,” Alonso-Sandoval said.
There are an average of 6,000 calls made to the 988 hotline in Oklahoma each month, and the calls are answered within an average of 90 seconds.
The bill failed with a 3-5 vote from committee members.
The Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services has not responded to a request for comment on the bill.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
