What's happening
This bill prohibits state-operated or sponsored suicide prevention and mental health hotlines from being automated.
Why it matters
Guarantees human interaction for callers in crisis. By prohibiting automation, the bill ensures that anyone reaching out to a state-sponsored suicide prevention or mental health hotline will speak directly to a live person, which can be critical for providing effective emotional support and intervention.
Addresses concerns about the limitations of automated systems. Automated responses can be impersonal and may fail to pick up on subtle signs of distress or urgency that a trained human counselor could recognize, potentially reducing the effectiveness of crisis intervention.
May require the state to allocate more resources. Staffing hotlines exclusively with humans rather than automated systems likely means increased funding for hiring, training, and retaining qualified personnel, which could impact the state’s mental health budget and service delivery.
Reflects prioritization of compassionate, personalized care in mental health emergencies. The amendment signals a legislative commitment to treating mental health and suicide prevention as areas where human empathy and professional judgment are indispensable.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Ban Automated Crisis Hotlines
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to mental health
- Referred to mental health
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Ban Automated Crisis Hotlines
In Assembly Committee · Mental Health · Sponsor José M. Serrano
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1579
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 10, 2025
Introduced by M. of A. JACKSON, DE LOS SANTOS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Mental Health
AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to prohibiting certain suicide prevention and mental health services hotlines from being automated
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 7.09 of the mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new subdivision (n) to read as follows:
(n) The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations prohibiting any suicide prevention or mental health services hotline operated or sponsored by the state from being automated.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03336-01-5
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.