The proposed bill establishes a behavioral health crisis services surcharge of $0.98 per month for each wireless telephone number and local exchange access line for wireline telephones in Alaska. Local exchange and wireless telephone companies are required to bill and collect this surcharge from their customers, ensuring that no customer is charged more than once for the same line or number. The bill outlines the responsibilities of these companies in terms of billing, remittance of collected surcharges to the state, and the conditions under which they may pursue collection of unpaid surcharges. Additionally, the bill mandates that the collected funds be deposited into a newly created behavioral health crisis services fund, which will be used to support various initiatives related to behavioral health crisis services.

The bill also specifies that the Regulatory Commission of Alaska will not consider the surcharge as revenue for the telephone companies, and it allows for an annual audit of the companies' records related to the surcharge collection. The funds collected will be appropriated to the Department of Health for purposes such as operating a three-digit number for reporting behavioral health crises, providing services to individuals in crisis, and enhancing public awareness of available behavioral health services. The act is set to take effect on July 1, 2026.

Statutes affected:
HB0138A, AM HB 138, introduced 03/17/2025:
HB0138B, AM CSHB 138(L&C), introduced 05/13/2025: