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2026 Oklahoma legislative session: Mental health bills to watch

February 2, 2026

This legislative session, Oklahoma lawmakers have opportunities to make lasting improvements in how people across the state access care for mental health and substance use.  

Notably, legislators will consider a way to make accessing behavioral health care through commercial insurance fairer and more consistent, by requiring insurers to use evidence-based criteria when making decisions about what kind of behavioral health care is medically necessary.

In bills filed this year, lawmakers also showed their renewed focus on youth mental health and social media use, criminal justice and systems to serve people in crisis, and strengthening the behavioral health workforce.

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Healthy Minds’ legislative priorities

Each year, Healthy Minds prioritizes a slate of data-driven bills to address urgent behavioral health challenges for our state, identified through our research and analysis. Our seven priority bills this year make strides toward each of our focus areas: accessible, affordable treatment; the mental health workforce; children, youth, and families; and diversion to appropriate care.

Establishing fair standards for behavioral health care coverage

Many insurers make life-changing determinations about what behavioral health care is “medically necessary” using their own vague, arbitrary standards, which can conflict with evidence-based clinical guidelines.  

SB 1646 by Sen. Todd Gollihare (R-Kellyville) would require commercial insurance providers to adopt generally accepted standards of mental health and substance use disorder care to decide whether to cover a given service or treatment. This means behavioral health care decisions will reflect the guidance of behavioral health experts —  not merely cost or convenience.

Protecting the future of 988: Oklahoma’s mental health lifeline

Thousands of Oklahomans have called 988 for mental health support since the three-digit code launched in 2022. But without action, funding for Oklahoma’s 988 lifeline will run out after September 2026.  

HB 4092 by Rep. Kevin Norwood (R-Owasso) would create a revolving fund for Oklahoma’s mental health crisis response system and require the state to fund 988, either through an appropriation or other means. HB 4092 would also direct the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) to oversee the 988-system statewide.

Expanding the reach of allied mental health professionals

Allied mental health professionals, like peers and behavioral health case managers, play an important role in Oklahoma’s broader behavioral health workforce. Currently, Oklahoma’s certified peer recovery specialists and behavioral health case managers may only keep their certification through employment with certain entities.  

HB 4275 by Rep. Nicole Miller (R-Edmond) would allow peers and case managers to work for municipalities, counties, and organizations certified by the ODMHSAS while still maintaining their certification, allowing them to serve in important roles in fire departments, courts, and other settings.

Screening for mental health conditions in routine primary care visits

Too often, mental health conditions like depression or anxiety go undetected — and therefore untreated. Primary care visits are key opportunities for detection of these conditions.  

SB 1836 by Sen. Julia Kirt (D-Oklahoma City) would require doctors, physician assistants, and advanced practice nurses to screen patients for mental health conditions at least one routine primary care appointment a year, presenting opportunities to detect symptoms early and connect patients to care.

Strengthening court-ordered outpatient treatment as a jail diversion tool

Many people willingly participate in mental health or substance use treatment, but in cases when someone can’t or doesn’t recognize their need for treatment, it can be helpful for a judge to require them to receive outpatient care through a court order.  

As Oklahoma faces a shortage of inpatient beds, increased incarceration, and higher prevalence of serious mental illness, HB 3587 by Rep. Erick Harris (R-Edmond) clarifies and improves processes and procedures around court-ordered outpatient treatment so that this diversion tool can be used more consistently and reliably across Oklahoma — while still protecting individuals’ rights.

Supporting behavioral health workforce development in rural Oklahoma  

Rural clinics in Oklahoma struggle to recruit and retain behavioral health providers and have few ways to financially support students completing internships at their sites. HB 2947 by Rep. Jim Grego (R-Wilburton) would allow clinical interns in accredited behavioral health graduate programs to bill for Medicaid services they provide under supervision. This funding stream could help rural clinics recruit students by offering mileage reimbursement or small stipends and could also support clinic staff who supervise interns.  

Understanding suicide deaths in Oklahoma

For nearly two decades, Oklahoma has had a higher suicide rate than the national average — among the top 10 highest in the country. HB 3901 by Rep. Ellyn Hefner (D-Oklahoma City) would establish a five-year pilot project to develop psychological autopsy services within the State Department of Health. These comprehensive reviews of suicide deaths — which include interviews with family and friends and a review of medical records — can improve suicide prevention strategies by offering deeper insight into risk factors and challenges around access to care.

Focus on mental health department budget

Lawmakers shone a spotlight on finances at ODMHSAS last legislative session, appropriating $403.3 million to the agency for fiscal year 2026, including a supplemental appropriation to cover payroll during the 2025 session.

For fiscal year 2027, ODMHSAS has requested:

  • $20 million as a supplemental request for FY 2026 to cover higher costs anticipated for the state-funded portion of Medicaid (called Title XIX funds);
  • $20 million as a recurring ask to cover the state-funded portion of Medicaid, for the same reason;
  • $17 million as a recurring ask to support carrying out the requirements of a consent decree to fix the state’s competency restoration process, as well as to cover fines for missing plan deadlines;
  • $22.5 million as a one-time ask for technology modernization, electronic health records, creating a finance system, and a data analytics platform;
  • and $19.6 million as a one-time ask to make outstanding payments and close out FY 2025. (Outstanding payments for FY 2025 total around $25.6 million, and ODMHSAS has around $6 million in reserves to put toward them.)

SB 1368 by Sen. Kirt would appropriate funds to cover possible budget shortfalls at ODMHSAS, including $32 million to restore some of the contracts with service providers that were cut last year.

SB 1369 by Sen. Brenda Stanley (R-Midwest City) would send $5.7 million in funding to ODMHSAS to keep the 988 crisis lifeline operational after federal funding expires in September 2026.

Other notable bills

These are the bills we’re watching for their potential impact on mental health policy in Oklahoma. A bill’s inclusion on this list does not indicate Healthy Minds’ support or opposition.

Access to health care

Mobile integrated health care program

SB 1654 by Sen. Avery Frix (R-Muskogee) would establish a statewide mobile integrated health care program, which brings hospital-level care to patients in their homes and communities through emergency medical service providers. These programs can be an important avenue for behavioral health crisis follow-up, and they can save money by reducing unnecessary emergency room visits and 911 calls.

Impact analysis for mandates involving health insurance plans

SB 1625 by Sen. Frix would require an impact analysis before the House or Senate can adopt any bill that includes a mandate for health insurance plans in Oklahoma.

Reviews for AI determinations

SB 2037 by Sen. Regina Goodwin (D-Tulsa) would put guardrails on how AI tools can be used by licensed behavioral health professionals and other health care providers.

HB 3675, by Rep. Melissa Provenzano (D-Tulsa), would require a qualified human to review any adverse health insurance determination made by an algorithm, artificial intelligence system, or other automated system before the decision is finalized.

Reimbursement rates for managed care entities

Rep. Preston Stinson’s (R-Edmond) HB 3650 would address lawmakers’ concerns over reimbursement rates under Medicaid managed care by requiring managed care entities to pay at least minimum reimbursement rates until 2035.

Requirements for data sharing

HB 3647, also by Rep. Stinson, outlines how the state would manage a health information exchange, which allows health systems to share medical records electronically for better coordination around patient care.

HB 4453 by Rep. Carl Newton (R-Woodward) would create the Oklahoma Health Care Cost Transparency Board and charge them with creating an all-payer claims database, which would track health care claims across public and private insurance — an important tool for transparency, accountability, and managing health care costs.

Behavioral health workforce

Rural Health Transformation Program

HB 3066 by Rep. Ellen Pogemiller (D-Oklahoma City) would set up a revolving fund to allow the Healthcare Workforce Training Commission to receive funding through the new Rural Health Transformation Program.

Professional regulatory boards, licenses, and certifications

SB 1902 by Sen. Shane Jett (R-Shawnee) would create the “Oklahoma Professional Self-Determination Act” which provides language for the state to establish its own professional licenses, standards, exams and trainings not connected to national professional organizations, affiliations or credentialing bodies.

HB 3320 by Rep. Mike Osburn (R-Edmond) would remove “sunsets” or expiration dates for many professional regulatory or licensing boards, including ones that oversee behavioral health professionals. Currently, lawmakers must periodically reapprove the existence of these boards; this bill would forgo that by making them permanent.

HB 3888 by Rep. Josh Cantrell (R-Kingston) would disestablish the state boards that oversee licensed professional counselors, licensed marriage and family therapists, and licensed alcohol and drug counselors, instead requiring ODMHSAS to perform those regulatory functions. The bill would not dissolve the state boards that license psychologists and social workers.

Children, youth, and mental health in schools

Youth cellphone and social media use

Lawmakers will push to make permanent a 2025 law that required schools to ban student cellphone use from “bell to bell” for the 2025-2026 school year, with HB 3715 by Rep. Chad Caldwell (R-Enid) and SB 1719 by Sen. Ally Seifried (R-Claremore).

Related: How restricting student cellphone use in Oklahoma schools could benefit youth mental health

HB 4356 by Rep. Anthony Moore (R-Clinton) and SB 1871 by Sen. Darcy Jech (R-Kingfisher) would prohibit minors under 16 from having accounts on certain social media platforms.

SB 1727 by Sen. Jech would allow a parent or guardian to sue a social media company over their minor child’s adverse mental health condition when they believe it was caused by excessive social media use because of the platform’s engagement-driving designs and algorithms.

School-based services

SB 1251 by Sen. Jech would allow School Security Revolving Fund dollars to be used for counseling and social services for students, provided by licensed mental health professionals.

SB 1634 by Sen. Jett would ban schools from delivering certain services to students, allowing services for strictly educational purposes and barring other supportive services deemed outside the scope of the educational system.

SB 1738 by Sen. Jett would allow school districts or public charter schools to hire (or accept volunteer) chaplains to support students and employees.  

SB 1739 by Sen. Jett would prohibit the Oklahoma Department of Human Services from embedding social workers in schools and remove any social workers currently working in schools by July 2026.

SB 1892 by Sen. Lisa Standridge (R-Norman) would repeal the Oklahoma Prevention and Needs Assessment (OPNA), an important survey delivered anonymously and with parental consent to middle and high schoolers. OPNA is one of the state’s only tools for measuring students’ mental health, alcohol and drug use, social media use, and other risk and protective factors. State agencies rely on non-identifiable OPNA data when applying for grant funding and for using limited state resources effectively to support school-wide programs.

HB 4172, by Rep. Clay Staires (R-Skiatook), and HB 3458, by Rep. Neil Hays (R-Checotah), would appropriate money into the School Security Revolving Fund for school resource officer programs and training. Staires’ bill requests $50 million; Hays’ bill requests $150 million.

Criminal justice and crisis response

Pathways for criminal justice diversion

SB 1216 by Sen. Dave Rader (R-Tulsa) would expand eligibility for drug court programs, removing the requirement of a felony charge.

Sen. Gollihare’s SB 1647 would allow ODMHSAS to allocate up to $1 million to the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System. The language would also remove pre-trial diversion programs from the list of permitted uses for counties in the County Community Safety Investment Fund applications.

Rep. Danny Williams’ (R-Seminole) HB 3345 would expand eligibility for mental health screenings as part of the intake process someone is arrested. Under the bill, screenings could happen earlier — immediately after arrest instead of after a first court appearance — and people facing any criminal charges, not just felonies, could be screened. This could improve access to alternatives to incarceration, like specialty court programs.

Related: A practical path forward for criminal justice diversion in Oklahoma
Overdose and mental health crisis response

SB 1227 by Sen. David Bullard (R-Durant) would allow mobile crisis teams to request safety-related information from local law enforcement before responding to a call.

HB 2941 by Rep. Bashore (R-Miami) would require first responders to alert local law enforcement if they encounter someone they believe is overdosing or who has overdosed. The bill also would require that in investigations of a fatal overdose in which fentanyl is detected, fentanyl is declared the cause of death.

Strengthening data collection

Sen. Julie Daniels’ (R-Bartlesville) SB 1467 would require criminal justice agencies to release data to researchers upon request.

HB 4416 by Rep. Meloyde Blancett (D-Tulsa) would require law enforcement and jails to collect standard information about people facing criminal charges, including mental health and substance use treatment needs, to be reported to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. This data could help policymakers understand trends and find opportunities for diversion for Oklahomans whose arrests were related to mental illness or substance use.

Bills from 2025 that may resurface

Bills that stalled in the legislative process last year — specifically, those that didn’t make certain deadlines but were not voted down — could be considered by legislators in 2026. Reintroduced bills can pick up where they left off in the legislative process.

Some 2025 bills that could be revived this year include:  

  • SB 740 by Sen. Julie Daniels and Rep. Chris Kannady (R-Oklahoma City) would broaden the definition of “person requiring treatment” by removing the requirement that people in need of treatment must be in “immediate” danger to themselves or others. Law enforcement officers, judges, and health professionals rely on the definition of “a person requiring treatment” in state law to make determinations about when someone can be detained for an emergency mental health assessment or involuntarily hospitalized.
  • HB 1484 by Rep. Ronny Johns (R-Ada) and Sen. Darrell Weaver (R-Moore) would require school districts to provide annual fentanyl education focused on substance use prevention and drug poisoning awareness for grades 6 through 12.
  • HB 1687 by Rep. Cynthia Roe (R-Lindsay) and Sen. Paul Rosino (R-Oklahoma City) would adopt the Uniform Health Care Decisions Act. By adopting standard language in the act, a mental health advanced directive in Oklahoma would also be valid in other states that adopt the same language.
  • HB 2144 by Rep. Kannady and Sen. Weaver would establish the Insurance Consumers Protection Act, allowing people to sue insurers when they act in bad faith and lead to damage or injury.

Bill tracking lists

Healthy Minds tracks all Oklahoma bills related to mental health policy. A bill’s appearance on a tracking list does not indicate Healthy Minds’ support or opposition; it simply means the bill could impact mental health policy in Oklahoma.