Proposed Privacy Protections for Mental Health and Substance Abuse …

The Frame

What this does

The bill aimed to prevent the public release of sensitive medical information for individuals undergoing involuntary or voluntary treatment, which proponents argued could otherwise discourage people from seeking necessary care.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Individuals seeking mental health or substance abuse treatment

Their court records and hearing attendance would have been shielded from public access.

Clerks of Court

They would have been prohibited from publishing personal identifying information on public dockets.

Department of Children and Families

They would have been granted access to confidential records without charge.

What changed

Last recorded activity March 13, 2026.

What's next

Introduced.

Summary

This bill would have required that all court and administrative hearings regarding mental health and substance abuse treatment be closed to the public. It also would have made the names of individuals involved in these cases and their related court records confidential and exempt from public disclosure.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

Would this bill have made all mental health court records secret?

Yes, it would have made hearings and records confidential, though it allowed for exceptions if a judge finds or if the consents.

Who would still have been able to see these records?

Authorized parties including the petitioner, the , their attorneys, guardians, treating health care providers, and the Departments of Children and Families and Corrections.

Did this bill pass?

No, the bill died in the Rules Committee on March 13, 2026.

Why It Matters

The bill aimed to prevent the public release of sensitive medical information for individuals undergoing involuntary or voluntary treatment, which proponents argued could otherwise discourage people from seeking necessary care.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Voting Record

Motion succeededlower3/4/2026openstates_bulkOfficial roll call ↗

Passage, Third Reading

Total

117

Yes

113

No

0

Present

0

Not Voting

4

Abstain

0

How they voted (117)

+ 93 more

Full roll-call analysis →

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift100% confidence

Legislative Sunset Provision

The bill included a sunset date of October 2, 2031, ensuring the legislature must periodically re-evaluate the necessity of these privacy exemptions.

Legislature

Connected Entities

organizationDepartment of Law Enforcement Map →

organizationDivision of Administrative Hearings Map →

organizationDepartment of Corrections Map →

organizationDepartment of Children and Families Map →

Sources

Open source document

openstates.org

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance65
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy20
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz10
Current news / social attention level

Proposed Privacy Protections for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Court Records