Legislators voiced doubt that a — truly — suicidal person would bother to call a stranger. One House legislator said that were he ready for suicide he wouldn’t make the call. HB65 was proposed by the Joint (Interim) Revenue Committee. The endowment in the original bill was quickly stripped away.
Senate Labor, Health & Social Services Committee member Senator Hutchison (R-Laramie Co) was more interested in why teens commit suicide — WY has the highest rate of suicide in the country. WY has twice the national rate of 14 per 100,000. In particular, she criticized the WY School Board for not having data on the “number one cause for suicidal ideation among students.” Going off-topic, Senator Hutchison opined that schools are at fault for not “provide[ing] hope, instead of the lies that we’re teaching the kids …”
The Senate passed an amendment to HB 65 that requires the state to support the program through private fundraising and sunset the program after 5 years.
