IL Mental Health Counselors Association: Legislative Update
CICO Report April 18, 2022 by Daniel Stasi
Illinois FY23 State Budget Analysis
Behavioral Health ended the 2022 legislative session with a historic victory! Illinois lawmakers worked until the early hours of Saturday, April 9th, to pass a $46.5 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year, as well as a $1.8 billion tax relief package for working families. The budget funds education, health care, public safety, pension liabilities, and other priorities.
A Historic Victory for Behavioral Health
This year’s budget includes funding for behavioral health that far exceeds any previous year’s investments in the industry. The funding level is projected at approximately $170 million in the form rates enhancements for mental health and substance use services. A breakdown of the rate enhancements is included in the BIMP section of this report. This is a significant victory for the community behavioral health system! CBHA would like to thank House Majority Greg Harris and Senator Elgie Sims for championing the rate increase measure of the Rebuild Illinois’ Mental Health Workforce Coalition. Our collective work over many years has come to fruition. This is a deserved victory for you, CBHA members, and other community behavioral health providers, who impact the lives of so many people in a positive, and life-changing way.
Fiscal Year 2023 Budget:
As amended, HB 900 (Welch/Sims) represents the Fiscal Year 2023 operating and capital budget. HB 900 appropriates $46.451 billion in General Revenue Funds and is predicated on $46.543 billion in revenues. HB 4700 (Harris/Sims) contains the statutory authority to implement the FY 23 state budget. SB 157 (Hastings/Zalewski) represents the omnibus revenue package.