A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT directing the legislative research commission to study a public‑private hospital partnership to increase access to mental health services; and allowing state‑operated hospitals to transfer beds to private, rural hospitals without certificate of need review in order to increase access to mental health services.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  The Legislative Research Commission (LRC) shall study the feasibility and effectiveness of establishing a partnership between State‑operated hospitals and private, underutilized rural hospitals for the purpose of increasing access to services for the diagnosis and treatment of individuals with mental illness.
SECTION 1.(b)  The LRC shall report its findings, together with any recommended legislation, to the 2016 Regular Session of the 2015 General Assembly upon its convening.
SECTION 2.  G.S. 131E‑176(16)c. reads as rewritten:
"(16)	"New institutional health services" means any of the following:
…
c.	Any change in bed capacity as defined in G.S. 131E‑176(5), except for a change in bed capacity that results from the transfer of beds from a State‑operated hospital to a private, rural hospital for the purpose of providing services for the diagnosis and treatment of individuals with mental illness.
…."
SECTION 3.  Section 1 of this act is effective when this act becomes law. Section 2 of this act becomes effective October 1, 2015, and applies to changes in bed capacity occurring on or after that date.