NE LB351

Amends Section 83-338 to require state hospitals for the mentally ill to actively prioritize certain patients for admission, rather than only establishing priorities when capacity is limited

Removes two existing priority categories: patients "most likely to be benefited by treatment" and indigent patients when cases are equally meritorious

Eliminates the Lincoln Regional Center bed allocation requirements that previously mandated specific percentages (10-30%) of total capacity for each priority category

Retains three priority categories: patients necessary to protect public health and safety, defendants deemed incompetent to stand trial who remain in county jail, and patients committed by mental health boards, district courts, or tribal courts

Maintains the existing requirement for the Department of Health and Human Services to publish weekly online reports on state mental health facility capacity and wait times (in effect since November 2022)