Governor Kotek Signs Bills to Strengthen Oregon’s Behavioral Health Workforce

Portland, OR – During a bill signing ceremony today at the University of Oregon’s Ballmer Institute, Governor Tina Kotek signed bills aimed at strengthening Oregon’s behavioral health workforce and expanding access to mental health and addiction services. Joined by First Lady Aimee Kotek Wilson, legislators, behavioral health providers, and advocates, Governor Kotek celebrated legislation that removes barriers to entering the profession, expands the workforce, improves workplace safety, and protects young people from negative mental health outcomes relating to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.

"Oregon’s behavioral health professionals are stretched thin, and Oregonians in crisis are waiting too long for care,” Governor Kotek said. “The new laws celebrated today address this challenge – four bills take action to support our workforce by cutting red tape, improving safety, and expanding pathways into the field, and one bill sets guardrails around emerging technologies that could harm our youth.”

“I’ve spent the past year gathering perspectives from providers across Oregon to hear how the behavioral health workforce crisis affects them and their clients,” First Lady Aimee Kotek Wilson said. “House Bill 4083, Cutting Red Tape for Behavioral Health Workers, is the first bill to come out of the Behavioral Health Talent Council’s work and reflects what workers told us they need to stay in the field and continue serving their communities.”

The signing ceremony included the following workforce-related legislation:

• House Bill 4083 - Cutting Red Tape for Behavioral Health Workers: Streamlines Medicaid credentialing so qualified workers can start serving patients sooner, reduces administrative burden so providers can spend more time focused on clients, and expands access to clinical supervision so providers can get critical mentorship to succeed and stay in their careers.
• House Bill 4069 - Requires behavioral health employers to develop and implement written safety policies and plans for the physical safety of behavioral health workers, especially those who experience safety risks and violence when working with high acuity populations.
• House Bill 4115 - Streamlines the background check process for behavioral health workers, including extending checks from two to three years and making checks portable across care settings.
• Senate Bill 1547 - Creates a credential for behavioral health professionals from the Ballmer Institute who are specially trained to work with adolescents – expanding the workforce and helping to fill a gap of early intervention and prevention.

The Governor also signed Senate Bill 1546 that requires AI chatbot operators to disclose artificial interactions and implement safeguards to protect users – especially minors – from self-harm or suicidal ideation.

The event featured remarks from Governor Kotek; First Lady Aimee Kotek Wilson; Shyra Merila-Simmons, Executive Director of Clatsop Behavioral Health; Liz O’Connor, Triager and AFSCME member; Representative Nancy Nathanson (D-Eugene); Janie Gullickson, Executive Director of The Peer Company; Senator Lisa Reynolds (D-Portland); and Dr. Kate McLaughlin, Executive Director of The Ballmer Institute. Video of the signing ceremony will be available on Governor Kotek’s YouTube page.

“As a rural provider serving Oregon Health Plan members, I see the workforce crisis up close every day,” Shyra Merila-Simmons, Executive Director of Clatsop Behavioral Health, said. “Professionals that are ready to provide care are stuck in unnecessary holding patterns, and we struggle to hire licensed clinical supervisors for each license type. This bill streamlines credentialing, reduces the administrative burden that workers are drowning in, and allows the flexibility we need in rural communities to ensure associates receive clinical supervision.”

“Behavioral health workers deserve to feel safe at work and to know they will go home at the end of their shift,” Liz O’Connor, Behavioral Health Triager and AFSCME member, said. “HB 4069 passing is the first step towards increasing safety for people who work in this field, as well as the clients they serve.”

“For over a decade, I’ve heard from providers that the licensing and credentialing system needed changing – they’ve dealt with long wait times and redundant processes,” Rep. Nathanson (D-Eugene) said. “HB 4115 takes an important step forward.”

"The fear and unnecessary hurdles around background checks often keep newer peers – the future of our workforce – from staying in the field,” Janie Gullickson, Executive Director of The Peer Company, said. “People with lived experience who may go on to provide life-saving care, walk away because the system treats their past like a barrier instead of recognizing that their experience is their expertise. HB 4115 takes an important step forward.”

“SB 1546B requires that when people are at their lowest, chatbots refer them to mental health experts and crisis lines, which are proven to be effective interventions that save lives and that the bots remind users that it is artificial content, not a human,” Senator Reynolds (D-Portland) said. “It includes additional guardrails for minors and is considered one of the strongest of its kind in the nation.”

“This bill creates a new pathway for our students to go on to serve Oregon’s children and families,” Dr. Kate McLaughlin, Executive Director of The Ballmer Institute, said. “Today, and every day, there are children in Oregon who are struggling, but not yet in crisis. These providers will help more children receive support sooner and connect young people with more complex needs to the right level of care.”

Oregon faces a behavioral health workforce crisis. The Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) surveyed 14 behavioral health profession types and found that 9 have alarmingly high turnover risk, with more than two-thirds of workers intending to quit. When professionals leave, Oregonians in crisis go without care. The Governor established the Behavioral Health Talent Council, chaired by First Lady Aimee Kotek Wilson, to deliver a comprehensive action plan to address the crisis. House Bill 4083 is the first bill to come from the Council’s recommendations and works in tandem with the other bills from the session to retain and recruit workers, improve worker safety, and increase access to care for Oregonians.

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