PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Congressional Research Service
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People & committees
Rep. Balint, Becca [D-VT-At Large] · D–VT
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Sep 28, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-09-03 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed 9–8–8 and 9–1–1 Integration Act would create a federal panel to recommend how emergency dispatchers should respond to people experiencing mental health or substance use crises. Its work would address connecting callers to crisis care, coordinating the two call systems, and training dispatchers. It would also develop standards for measuring caller outcomes while protecting privacy. The bill calls for recommendations, rather than directly requiring call centers to adopt them.
This Act may be cited as the 9–8–8 and 9–1–1 Integration Act.
shall convene a panel (referred to in this section as the panel) to issue recommendations relating to the training requirements and protocols for 9–1–1 dispatchers.
(A) connecting 9–1–1 callers to crisis care services instead of responding with law enforcement officers; (B) integrating the 9–8–8 system into the 9–1–1 system, or transferring calls from the 9–1–1 system to the 9–8–8 system as appropriate;
identifying 9–1–1 callers who may be experiencing psychiatric symptoms or a mental health crisis, substance use crisis, or co-occurring crisis
The panel shall develop data collection and reporting standards for use by the Secretary in collecting and assessing outcomes for individuals who contact 9–1–1 or 9–8–8 systems
the panel shall ensure that data is collected in a manner that protects caller privacy and confidentiality.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services would have to convene the panel in consultation with the Attorney General. Its recommendations would aim to make dispatch responses appropriate to the incident and the caller’s needs; this is a stated purpose, not an established outcome.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this section as the Secretary), in consultation with the Attorney General, shall convene a panel
The purpose of the recommendations to be issued under subsection (a) shall be to ensure that 9–1–1 dispatchers respond appropriately to individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis based on the characteristics of the incident and the needs of the caller.
The Secretary would appoint members for staggered five-year terms. Required representation would include psychiatrists, emergency medical personnel, law enforcement officers, dispatchers from both systems, representatives from each segment of the crisis response continuum, members of underserved communities, representatives of Tribes or Tribal organizations, and people experienced in treating serious mental illness or post-traumatic stress disorder, including among veterans and servicemembers. The Secretary could also select other members.
The panel shall be composed of members to be appointed by the Secretary and shall include— (A) psychiatrists; (B) paramedics and other emergency medical services personnel; (C) law enforcement officers and 9–1–1 dispatchers; (D) representatives from each segment of the crisis response continuum, including 9–8–8 dispatchers; (E) members of underserved communities; (F) representatives of Tribes or Tribal organizations; (G) individuals with experience treating individuals with serious mental illness or post-traumatic stress disorder, including veterans and servicemembers; and (H) such other individuals as the Secretary determines appropriate.
The Secretary shall appoint the members of the panel to serve staggered 5-year terms.
The panel would have to consider connecting callers to crisis care instead of sending law enforcement officers, integrating the 9–8–8 system into the 9–1–1 system, or transferring calls from 9–1–1 to 9–8–8 when appropriate. It would also consider how to identify callers experiencing psychiatric symptoms, mental health crises, substance use crises, or co-occurring crises and assess their level of need using relevant standardized assessment tools.
the panel shall consider— (A) connecting 9–1–1 callers to crisis care services instead of responding with law enforcement officers; (B) integrating the 9–8–8 system into the 9–1–1 system, or transferring calls from the 9–1–1 system to the 9–8–8 system as appropriate;
(C) a process for— (i) identifying 9–1–1 callers who may be experiencing psychiatric symptoms or a mental health crisis, substance use crisis, or co-occurring crisis; and (ii) evaluating the level of need of such callers, as defined by relevant, standardized assessment tools such as the Level of Care Utilization System (LOCUS), the Child and Adolescent Level of Care Utilization System (CALOCUS), and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Criteria
The panel’s required considerations would include dispatcher training, staffing, and response procedures. Training topics would include working effectively across cultures, recognizing unconscious bias, and using practices supported by evidence when responding to behavioral or mental health crises.
(D) establishing training, staffing, and protocol requirements, including the measures described in paragraph (2), to ensure that 9–1–1 and 9–8–8 dispatch personnel are equipped to respond appropriately to the individuals referred to in subparagraphs (E) through (H) of subsection (c)(1).
(A) training of dispatch personnel on cultural competency, implicit bias, and evidence-based best practices for individuals experiencing a behavioral or mental health crisis
The panel would also consider procedures for recruiting, retaining, or designating dispatchers with specialized training or demonstrated experience serving rural or medically underserved communities, or people with serious mental illness or post-traumatic stress disorder.
(B) procedures designed to recruit, retain, or designate as dispatch personnel those individuals that have specialized training or demonstrated experience in— (i) serving rural or medically underserved communities; or (ii) serving individuals with serious mental illness or post-traumatic stress disorder.
The panel would coordinate its recommendations with the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use. This coordination would seek consistency between 9–1–1 dispatcher requirements and federal guidance, training standards, and best practices for the 9–8–8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
the panel shall coordinate with the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use for the purpose of ensuring consistency across Federal behavioral health crisis response systems, including alignment of— (A) the training and protocol requirements for 9–1–1 dispatchers; and (B) the development of guidance, training standards, and best practices issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for the 9–8–8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
The panel would develop standards for collecting and reporting information about outcomes for callers to either system. These would cover connections to crisis care, law enforcement involvement, and disparities in response times, referrals, or outcomes compared with the general population or between populations. The standards would have to protect caller privacy and confidentiality.
The panel shall develop data collection and reporting standards for use by the Secretary in collecting and assessing outcomes for individuals who contact 9–1–1 or 9–8–8 systems, including— (A) the extent to which callers are successfully connected to crisis care services; (B) the frequency of law enforcement involvement in such responses; and (C) any disparities in response times, referrals, or outcomes compared to the general population or between different types of populations.
In developing the standards under paragraph (1), the panel shall ensure that data is collected in a manner that protects caller privacy and confidentiality.
In developing the data standards, the panel would coordinate with National 911 Program participants. These would include the listed federal transportation, communications, cybersecurity, and telecommunications agencies, as well as state and local agencies operating 9–1–1 call centers.
the panel shall coordinate with entities participating in the National 911 Program, including— (A) the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; (B) the Federal Communications Commission; (C) the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; (D) the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; and (E) State and local agencies operating 9–1–1 call centers.
The panel would update its recommendations at least once every five years. It would report its findings and recommendations to Congress on the day it issues the initial recommendations and on the day of each update.
The panel shall update recommendations issued under subsection (a) not less frequently than once every 5 years.
On the date of issuance of recommendations under subsection (a), and on the date of issuance of each update of such recommendations, the panel shall submit to Congress a report containing the finding and recommendations of the panel.
The bill would make a referenced advisory-committee termination provision inapplicable to a body it calls the “Commission.” Because the bill establishes a “panel” and does not define a Commission, the intended application of this exception is unclear. The referenced law is not supplied, so the underlying termination rules and the exception’s practical effect cannot be established from these sources.
shall convene a panel (referred to in this section as the panel)
(g) Nonapplicability of termination provision Section 1013(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code (relating to the termination of advisory committees), shall not apply to the Commission.
The supplied action snapshot, updated September 28, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on September 3, 2026. It does not establish what happened after those recorded actions.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-28T22:00:54Z. 2026-09-03: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. 2026-09-03: Introduced in House 2026-09-03: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-09-03. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials, or establish any amendment’s attachment history.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials. Formal earmark status cannot be established beyond the supplied evidence.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow benefit warranting a finding beyond routine administration or the program’s intended coverage was identified after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 28, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI