(1) A county authority or a group of county authorities may enter into a joint operating agreement to submit a request to contract with the authority to operate a behavioral health administrative services organization whose boundaries are consistent with the regional service areas established under RCW 74.09.870.

(2) All counties within the regional service area must mutually agree to enter into a contract with the authority to become a behavioral health administrative services organization and appoint a single fiscal agent for the regional service area. Similarly, in order to terminate such contract, all counties that are contracted with the authority as a behavioral health administrative services organization must mutually agree to terminate the contract with the authority.

(3) Once the authority receives a request from a county or a group of counties within a regional service area to be the designated behavioral health administrative services organization, the authority must promptly collaborate with the county or group of counties within that regional service area to determine the most feasible implementation date and coordinate readiness reviews.

(4) No behavioral health administrative services organization may contract with itself as a behavioral health agency, or contract with a behavioral health agency that has administrative linkages to the behavioral health administrative services organization in any manner that would give the agency a competitive advantage in obtaining or competing for contracts, except that a county or group of counties may provide designated crisis responder services, initial crisis services, criminal diversion services, hospital reentry services, and criminal reentry services. The county-administered service must have a clear separation of powers and duties separate from a county-run behavioral health administrative services organization and suitable accounting procedures must be followed to ensure the funding is traceable and accounted for separately from other funds.

(5) Nothing in this section limits the authority's ability to take remedial actions up to and including termination of a contract in order to enforce contract terms or to remedy nonperformance of contractual duties.

Effective date—2019 c 325: See note following RCW 71.24.011.

Findings—Intent—Effective date—2018 c 201: See notes following RCW 41.05.018.

Effective date—2014 c 225: See note following RCW 71.24.016.

Correction of references—Savings—Severability—2005 c 503: See notes following RCW 71.24.015.