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2025-2026 Bill 4605: Veteran Suicide & Mental Health Crisis Response Act - South Carolina Legislature Online
South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 4605
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Jones, Pope and Spann-Wilder
Document Path: LC-0423SA26.docx
Introduced in the House on January 13, 2026
Currently residing in the House Committee on
Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs
Summary: Veteran Suicide & Mental Health Crisis Response Act
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date
Body
Action Description with journal page number
12/16/2025
House
Prefiled
12/16/2025
House
Referred to Committee on
Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs
1/13/2026
House
Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 34
)
1/13/2026
House
Referred to Committee on
Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs
(
House Journal-page 34
)
View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
12/17/2025
A bill
TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS SO AS TO ENACT
THE "VETERAN SUICIDE AND MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS RESPONSE ACT"; AND BY ADDING
SECTION
25-15-50
SO AS TO CREATE GUARANTEED IMMEDIATE MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS
ACCESS FOR VETERANS, ESTABLISH MOBILE VETERAN CRISIS RESPONSE TEAMS, REQUIRE
SAME-DAY SUICIDE INTERVENTION CARE STATEWIDE, AND TO PROVIDE FOR FUNDING AND
ACCOUNTABILITY.
B
e it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
S
ECTION 1.
This act may be cited as the "Veteran Suicide and Mental Health Crisis
Response Act."
S
ECTION 2.
(
A) The General Assembly finds:
(
1) South
Carolina has one of the highest veteran suicide rates in the Southeastern
United States, with significant increases among older veterans, rural veterans,
and Black veterans who often face cultural, geographic, and stigma-based
barriers to mental health care.
(
2) Current
mental health access systems require referrals, waitlists, and long travel
distances, which fail to meet the needs of veterans in crisis, resulting in
preventable deaths.
(
3) Gratitude
and symbolic recognition alone do not address this crisis. The State must build
permanent, structural access pathways that ensure veterans can receive
immediate, in-person crisis care when needed.
(
B) The purpose of
this act is to provide a statewide, guaranteed crisis response infrastructure
for veterans that eliminates waiting barriers, creates same-day care access,
and deploys mobile crisis units to rural counties, ensuring no veteran is left
without help when experiencing trauma or suicidal distress.
S
ECTION 3.
C
hapter 15, Title 25 of the S.C. Code is amended by
adding:
S
ection
25-15-50
.
(
A) Each county must
designate at least one location where a veteran may receive same-day behavioral
health crisis assessment and stabilization, without referral, appointment, or
insurance verification. The location must be open from at least 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Monday through Sunday and must accept Medicaid.
(
B)
The Department of Mental Health, in coordination with the Department of
Veterans' Affairs, shall establish Mobile Veteran Crisis Response Teams,
staffed by licensed clinicians and veteran peer specialists. The response time
must be in ninety minutes or less when feasible and priority must be given to
rural counties and counties with a high suicide risk.
(
C)
The General Assembly shall appropriate recurring funds to implement the
provisions of this section.
S
ECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.
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This web page was last updated on January 13, 2026 at 2:42 PM