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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State mental health facilities in Clarinda and Mount Pleasant could remain open this year under a bill approved Monday by a Senate panel, though it's unclear if enough lawmakers will support the measure for it to reach Gov. Terry Branstad's desk.
A three-member human resources subcommittee approved the bill unanimously before sending it to a full committee for consideration. A procedural deadline Friday in the Legislature means lawmakers will need to approve the bill soon so it can stay active in the Senate.
The bill would require the state Department of Human Services to keep the facilities open until it develops a "suitable and appropriate" long-term care and treatment plan for its patients. The Legislature would then approve the plan. The bill incorporates details from legislation earlier this session that would at least require the facilities to accept patients until the end of July.
Sen. Rich Taylor, D-Mount Pleasant and the bill's sponsor, said he has bipartisan support for the bill, though it's unclear if it's enough for approval in the Republican-led House.
"I've got a real good sense that it's going to sail right through both sides," Taylor said of the feedback he's received. "I've had so many people on both sides of the aisle and from both houses come to me and say, 'Thank you for doing this.'"
Gov. Terry Branstad's budget proposal, introduced in January, removed funding for the facilities. State officials say patients will be able to receive treatment elsewhere, including the remaining state mental facilities in Cherokee and Independence. Critics say the closings, scheduled later this year, have not been well organized.
Some lawmakers also argue the closings are illegal. Senate President Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, was on Monday's subcommittee. She said Iowa law specifies the existence of four state mental health facilities. She said it was also important for more planning to go into any potential closings.
"To me it is simply irresponsible to close something down without a plan in place that addresses the treatment and care of the people that these two institutions were serving," she said.
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