ALEXANDRIA, Va.– Mental Health America (MHA) today recognized 11 state legislators from across the country as 2025 State Legislative Champions for their leadership in advancing mental health and substance use policy. The honorees, both Republicans and Democrats, were celebrated during MHA’s Regional Policy Council (RPC) meeting in Boston, themed “Access, options, and choice: Good policy, good business.”

“In these times of change and challenge, Mental Health America is proud to honor these bipartisan champions who are committed to advancing policies that ensure their states’ residents have access to fair and fiscally responsible behavioral health care,” said Debbie Plotnick, executive vice president of state and federal advocacy at Mental Health America.

The 2025 MHA Legislative Champions are:

  • California Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D) for her leadership as the chair of the Assembly Health Committee and for sponsoring legislation that will prohibit AI platforms from misrepresenting themselves as licensed or registered health practitioners.
  • Colorado Representative Rose Pugliese (R)  for co-sponsoring legislation to provide overdose prevention education in high schools and  protections for survivors of sexual misconduct.
  • Connecticut Senator Jorge Cabrera (D) for his leadership as Insurance Committee chair and support of legislation that strengthens the state’s mental health parity law by imposing fines for noncompliance.
  • Connecticut Representative Cristin McCarthy Vahey (D) for her leadership as Public Health Committee chair and sponsoring legislation to deepen enforcement of the state’s already strong mental health parity laws.
  • Iowa Representative Michael Bergan (R) for his long-standing support of legislation that fosters mental health support and suicide prevention for Iowans.
  • Maine Representative Amy Roeder (D) for sponsoring legislation to provide peer respite resources and create a sustainable revenue stream for peer support service providers.
  • Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka (D) for her consistent support of mental health service policies and ensuring strong behavioral health investments in the state’s fiscal year 2026 Senate budget.
  • Oklahoma Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt (D) for founding and serving as co-chair of the Mental Health Caucus and proposing training requirements to better support health providers with administering  mental health screening.
  • Oklahoma Representative Daniel Pae (R) for co-chairing the state’s Mental Health Caucus and the Health & Human Services Oversight Committee, and authoring a bill to extend harm reduction programming.
  • Oklahoma Representative Ajay Pittman (D) for her support of mental health parity in Oklahoma, her national work to strengthen the behavioral health workforce, and for reintroducing Handle with Care Oklahoma, a program that allows law enforcement to notify a child’s school when the child has been exposed to a traumatic event.
  • Virginia Senator Creigh Deeds (D) for more than a decade of transformative leadership expanding crisis care, streamlining medication access, bringing providers to Virginia, and eliminating the onerous steps to accessing mental health medications following the tragic death of his son.

The RPC meeting also featured remarks from Massachusetts Senator Cindy Friedman, a 2024 honoree, and Utah Representative Steve Eliason, a previous award recipient.

To learn more about Regional Policy Council, visit mhanational.org/regional-policy-council

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About Mental Health America

Mental Health America is the nation’s leading community-driven nonprofit dedicated to promotion of mental health, well-being, and prevention. Mental Health America’s work is driven by its commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of whole person health, including prevention services for all; early identification and intervention for those at risk; and integrated care, services and supports for those who need them. Learn more at mhanational.org.