Requires reporting of suicide attempts made by first responders.
Summary
Assembly Bill 3278 requires certain suicide-related incidents involving first responders to be reported to the Director of the Division of Mental Health Services in the Department of Human Services. The bill defines “first responder” broadly to include law enforcement officers, paid and volunteer firefighters, paid and volunteer EMS/first aid/rescue squad members, and other individuals dispatched to emergency scenes to provide medical care or assistance.
Under the bill, when a first responder is treated in a general hospital for an attempted suicide or dies by suicide, the physician, medical examiner, hospital administrator, or designee must report the case within three business days. The Director of the Division of Mental Health Services must then maintain a non-identifying database of reported cases and issue an annual report to the Governor and Legislature containing aggregate data, including demographic information.
Impact
The bill would add a new reporting and data-collection requirement to Title 26 of the Revised Statutes, creating a state-level surveillance system for attempted suicides and suicides among first responders. It would impose a mandatory reporting duty on medical professionals and hospital personnel involved in such cases and direct the Department of Human Services to compile and publish anonymized statewide statistics. The measure does not create criminal penalties or benefits, but it would affect hospitals, physicians, medical examiners, and state mental health administrators.
Sentiment
The bill appears to be framed positively as a public health and workforce-wellness measure, with the sponsor emphasizing elevated suicide risk among first responders and the need to better understand an underreported problem. The available materials show no recorded committee debate or votes, so there is no documented opposition in the provided record. Overall, the bill’s tone is preventive and informational rather than punitive.
Contention
The main policy issue is the balance between collecting useful public health data and protecting privacy and employment-related stigma for first responders. Supporters argue that reporting is needed because suicide among first responders is likely undercounted and because better data could inform prevention efforts. Potential concerns, though not reflected in any recorded vote or transcript here, could include confidentiality, the burden on hospitals and clinicians, and whether mandatory reporting might discourage treatment-seeking.