A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to direct the department of health and human services to develop a plan for increasing Local Management entities' control over state psychiatric hospital utilization.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  The Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services, shall develop a plan for increasing local management entities' (LME) responsibility and accountability for State psychiatric hospital utilization.  The plan shall include all of the following:
(1)	LME purchase of bed days from State psychiatric hospitals. 
(2) 	LME monitoring of patient progress while in State psychiatric hospitals.
(3) 	Direct LME involvement in the development and implementation of discharge plans for patients in State psychiatric hospitals.
(4) 	A recommendation regarding sufficient LME funding to implement the plan.
The Department shall report its findings and recommendations to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services not later than March 1, 2008.
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.