H.R. 1854: Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015

114th Congress · introduced 2015-04-16 · Crime and Law Enforcement · Latest: Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2015-04-16 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Collins, Doug [R-GA-9] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015

Plain summary

Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015 This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Attorney General to make grants to an eligible entity for sequential intercept mapping and implementation for: mental health and criminal justice stakeholders to develop a shared understanding of the flow of individuals with mental illnesses through the criminal justice system, and identify opportunities for improved responses, including emergency and crisis services, specialized police-based responses, and community and post-prison supervision; and hiring and training personnel, identifying target populations, and providing services to reduce recidivism. The Attorney General is authorized to award grants for: veterans treatment court programs involving collaboration among criminal justice, veterans, and mental health and substance abuse agencies; peer to peer services or programs for qualified veterans; practices that identify and provide treatment, rehabilitation, legal, and transitional services to such veterans who have been incarcerated; and training programs to teach criminal justice, law enforcement, corrections, mental health, and substance abuse personnel how to identify and respond to incidents involving such veterans. The Attorney General is authorized to award grants to enhance correctional facility capabilities to: identify and screen for mentally ill inmates; assess and provide the clinical, medical, and social needs of inmates and appropriate treatment and services that address mental health and substance abuse needs; and develop and implement post-release transition plans. Adult and juvenile criminal/mental health collaboration program grants may be used to establish multidisciplinary teams that coordinate and implement community-based crisis responses and long-term plans for frequent users of crisis services. Collaboration grant accountability requirements are established. The Attorney General is authorized to make grants for programs that teach law enforcement personnel how to identify and respond to incidents involving persons with mental health disorders or co-occuring mental health and substance abuse disorders. The Attorney General is directed to provide direction for programs that offer specialized training to federal first responders and tactical units in order to identify and respond to incidents involving individuals who have a mental illness. The definition of "preliminarily qualified offender" is revised for purposes of collaboration program grants to: include, in the case of a veterans treatment court program, an adult or juvenile accused of an offense who has been diagnosed with, or manifests signs of, mental illness or a substance abuse disorder; remove a requirement that the person be accused of a nonviolent offense; require a person to be unanimously approved for participation; and disqualify a person who has been charged with or convicted of a sex offense or murder or assault with intent to murder.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Collins, Doug [R-GA-9] · 102 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: H.R. 1854, Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015 (2016-02-11)

Cosponsors on this site

Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Pete Sessions (R-TX), Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (R-GA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Ann Wagner (R-MO), David P. Joyce (R-OH), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Rick W. Allen (R-GA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Hakeem S. Jeffries (D-NY), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Austin Scott (R-GA), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA), Donald Norcross (D-NJ), Tom Emmer (R-MN), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL) and 42 more.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114hr1854.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/hr>

Record fed-us-cong114-hr1854 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114