An Act ensuring access to addiction services
Generates a plain-language summary of the bill text and history.
| Date | Branch | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 6/29/2026 | Senate | Accompanied a study order, see S3151↗ |
| 4/21/2026 | Senate | Reporting date extended to Tuesday June 30, 2026 |
| 9/26/2025 | Joint | Hearing scheduled for 10/06/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-2 |
| 2/27/2025 | House | House concurred |
| 2/27/2025 | Senate | Referred to the committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery |
No additional cosponsors.
| Committee | Recommendation | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| J18 | Accompanied | — |
| Bill | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| H2197 | An Act ensuring access to addiction services | Active |
Section 35 of chapter 123 of the General Laws, as most recently amended by chapter 285 of the acts of 2024, is hereby amended by striking out the definitions of “Facility” and “Secure facility” and inserting in place thereof the following definitions:- “Facility”, a public or private facility operated, licensed or approved by the department of public health or department of mental health that provides care and treatment for a person with an alcohol or substance use disorder; provided, however, that for purposes of this section “facility” shall not include any jail or correctional entity or any other entity funded, controlled or administered by a county sheriff, the executive office of public safety and security or any agency under the jurisdiction of the executive office of public safety and security, regardless of whether such facility is operated, licensed or approved by the department of public health or the department of mental health. “Secure facility”, a facility, as defined in this section, that provides care and treatment for persons with alcohol or substance use disorder and is designated by the department of public health or the department of mental health to provide levels of security sufficient to protect such persons and the community within such facility.
Said section 35 of said chapter 123, as most recently amended by section 17 of chapter 285 of the acts of 2024, is hereby amended by striking out the fourth to sixth paragraphs and inserting in place thereof the following paragraphs:- The secretary of health and human services shall ensure an adequate supply of beds in facilities and secure facilities for the treatment of alcohol or substance use disorders under this section; provided, however, that such secure facilities shall be geographically distributed throughout the commonwealth to provide access to treatment in all regions of Massachusetts. The department of public health shall maintain a roster of public and private facilities and secure facilities available, together with the number of beds currently available and the level of security at each facility, for the care and treatment of alcohol use disorder and substance use disorder pursuant to this section and shall make the roster available to the trial court. If the court makes a specific finding that the person requires a facility with additional security, the person may be committed to a secure facility. A person committed under this section shall, upon release, be encouraged to consent to further treatment and shall be allowed voluntarily to remain in the facility for such purpose, transition to a facility with lower security or transition to a facility that is not included on the roster maintained by the department of public health pursuant to this section.
Said section 35 of said chapter 123, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following new paragraph:- Nothing in this section shall relieve a correctional entity from its legal responsibility to offer evidence-based treatment for alcohol or substance use disorder to incarcerated persons on a voluntary basis.
SECTION 1. Section 35 of chapter 123 of the General Laws, as most recently amended by chapter 285 of the acts of 2024, is hereby amended by striking out the definitions of “Facility” and “Secure facility” and inserting in place thereof the following definitions:- “Facility”, a public or private facility operated, licensed or approved by the department of public health or department of mental health that provides care and treatment for a person with an alcohol or substance use disorder; provided, however, that for purposes of this section “facility” shall not include any jail or correctional entity or any other entity funded, controlled or administered by a county sheriff, the executive office of public safety and security or any agency under the jurisdiction of the executive office of public safety and security, regardless of whether such facility is operated, licensed or approved by the department of public health or the department of mental health. “Secure facility”, a facility, as defined in this section, that provides care and treatment for persons with alcohol or substance use disorder and is designated by the department of public health or the department of mental health to provide levels of security sufficient to protect such persons and the community within such facility. SECTION 2. Said section 35 of said chapter 123, as most recently amended by section 17 of chapter 285 of the acts of 2024, is hereby amended by striking out the fourth to sixth paragraphs and inserting in place thereof the following paragraphs:- The secretary of health and human services shall ensure an adequate supply of beds in facilities and secure facilities for the treatment of alcohol or substance use disorders under this section; provided, however, that such secure facilities shall be geographically distributed throughout the commonwealth to provide access to treatment in all regions of Massachusetts. The department of public health shall maintain a roster of public and private facilities and secure facilities available, together with the number of beds currently available and the level of security at each facility, for the care and treatment of alcohol use disorder and substance use disorder pursuant to this section and shall make the roster available to the trial court. If the court makes a specific finding that the person requires a facility with additional security, the person may be committed to a secure facility. A person committed under this section shall, upon release, be encouraged to consent to further treatment and shall be allowed voluntarily to remain in the facility for such purpose, transition to a facility with lower security or transition to a facility that is not included on the roster maintained by the department of public health pursuant to this section. SECTION 3. Said section 35 of said chapter 123, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following new paragraph:- Nothing in this section shall relieve a correctional entity from its legal responsibility to offer evidence-based treatment for alcohol or substance use disorder to incarcerated persons on a voluntary basis.