N.Y.C. Admin. Code § L.L. 2026/105: L.L. 2026/105

Enactment date: 6/13/2026

Int. No. 741-A

By Council Members Lee, Cabán, Louis, Restler, Aldebol, Brewer, Narcisse, P. Sanchez, Banks, Gennaro, Hanif, Morano and the Public Advocate (Mr. Williams)

A Local Law in relation to the establishment of a department of health and mental hygiene task force on NYC 988, and to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to a public education campaign and reporting on NYC 988

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. NYC 988 task force.

a. Definitions. For purposes of this local law, the following terms have the following meanings:

988. The term “988” means the three-digit phone number designated by the federal communications commission for the purpose of connecting persons experiencing a behavioral health crisis with suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis counselors, mobile crisis teams, crisis stabilization services, and other behavioral health crises services.

Commissioner. The term “commissioner” means the commissioner of the department of health and mental hygiene.

Department. The term “department” means the department of health and mental hygiene.

Federal and state guidelines. The term “federal and state guidelines” means any standards, rules, regulations, or guidance issued by the federal government or the state of New York governing the operation, staffing, training, or delivery of 988 services, including any guidelines issued by the federal substance abuse and mental health services administration or the New York state office of mental health.

Follow up. The term “follow up” refers to an outbound contact by NYC 988 to a person who had previously made an inbound contact to NYC 988 and agreed to receive a subsequent call regarding the matter discussed during their inbound contact.

NYC 988. The term “NYC 988” refers to the use of 988 within the city of New York.

Task force. The term “task force” means the 988 task force established by this local law.

b. Task force. There shall be a task force to be known as the 988 task force.

1. Duties. The task force shall, consistent with applicable federal and state guidelines governing 988 services, make recommendations for how to increase access to and awareness of NYC 988. In developing such recommendations, the task force shall consider federal and state guidelines. Such task force shall make recommendations on topics including, but not limited to:

(a) Updates to the training for NYC 988 counselors to prepare them to respond to a variety of mental health situations, including culturally competent and trauma-informed training for all NYC 988 counselors, staff, and interpreters;

(b) Strategies to strengthen language access across NYC 988;

(c) Strategies to address underutilization of NYC 988 among historically underserved communities;

(d) Metrics and methods to track the quality of service persons receive when they contact NYC 988; and

(e) Strategies for outreach and communication to historically underserved communities.

2. Membership.

(a) The task force shall be composed of the following members, who shall be appointed no later than July 1, 2027:

(i) The commissioner or the designee of such commissioner, who shall serve as chair;

(ii) Four members appointed by the mayor, all of whom must have backgrounds in mental health care, such as providing behavioral health services, crisis intervention, or advocacy on behalf of historically underserved communities; and

(iii) Two members appointed by the speaker of the council, at least one of whom must be a certified peer specialist, certified recovery peer advocate, credentialed family peer advocate, or credentialed youth peer advocate, as such terms are defined in section 36.03 of the mental hygiene law.

(b) The mayor may invite officers and representatives of relevant federal, state, and local agencies and authorities to participate in the work of the task force.

(c) Each member of the task force shall serve at the pleasure of the officer who appointed such member. In the event of a vacancy, a successor shall be appointed in the same manner as the original appointment for the remainder of the unexpired term. All members of the task force shall serve without compensation.

3. Meetings.

(a) The chair shall convene the first meeting of the task force no later than 30 days after the last member has been appointed, except that where not all members of the task force have been appointed within the time specified in paragraph 2 of subdivision b of this section, the chair shall convene the first meeting of the task force within 10 days of the appointment of a quorum.

(b) The task force may invite experts and stakeholders to attend the meetings of such task force and to provide testimony and information relevant to the duties of such task force.

(c) The task force shall meet no less than once each quarter to carry out the duties described in paragraph 1 of subdivision b of this section.

(d) The meeting requirement of this paragraph shall be suspended when the task force submits its report as required by paragraph 4 of subdivision b of this section.

4. Report.

(a) No later than September 1, 2030, the task force shall submit a report to the mayor and the speaker of the council setting forth the recommendations required by paragraph 1 of subdivision b of this section and any other recommendations for legislation and policy relating to improvements to NYC 988. Such report shall include a summary of information such task force considered in formulating recommendations. Such report shall include a section addressing language access barriers, equity in utilization, and the mental health needs of historically underserved communities.

(b) The commissioner shall publish such report electronically on the website of the department no later than 10 days after its submission to the mayor and the speaker of the council. The commissioner shall make such report available in English and all designated citywide languages, as such term is defined in section 23-1101 of the administrative code of the city of New York.

5. Agency support. The department shall provide appropriate staff and resources to support the work of such department related to the task force.

6. Termination. The task force shall terminate 180 days after the date on which it submits its report pursuant to paragraph 4 of subdivision b of this section.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 3. This local law takes effect 90 days after it becomes law, except that section two takes effect immediately.