(Des Moines, Iowa [KCCI]) – A proposal from Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds would consolidate the state’s 32 mental health and substance abuse regions into seven unified behavioral health districts. The bill advanced through an Iowa House subcommittee Thursday.  A bill to change how the State provides mental health services is advancing at the Iowa Statehouse. It’s one of Gov. Kim Reynolds’ top priorities this year. About 25% of adults who have a serious mental illness also struggle with substance abuse. Governor Reynolds’ bill would allow the two illnesses to be treated at the same time.

Her bill, HSB 653, would consolidate Iowa’s crisis resource programs and give the state more oversight. Currently, mental health resources are broken up across the state into 13 regions. Substance abuse disorder programs are broken up into 19 regions. Reynolds’ new bill would combine those two systems, consolidating the state’s 32 regions into seven new “behavioral health districts” statewide.

Each district would have a local advisory board. The state would implement performance measures, define district boundaries and decide what services each district would be required to provide. The new districts would be live and fully operational by July 2025. Behavioral health districts would not include disability services. The Department of Health and Human Services Aging and Disability Network would oversee those services instead.

The bill advanced through a House subcommittee Thursday. It’s now eligible for discussion by the full House Health and Human Services committee.