FIRST REGULAR SESSION
93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES JOHNSON (61) (Sponsor), SMITH (118), BYRD, SMITH (14),
SCHOEMEHL, BAKER (25), YAEGER, WHORTON AND FRASER (Co-sponsors).
Read 1st time February 21, 2005 and copies ordered printed.
STEPHEN S. DAVIS, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal section 537.037, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof three new sections relating to suicide prevention.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 537.037, RSMo, is repealed and three new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 537.037, 630.910, and 630.915, to read as follows:
537.037. 1. Any physician or surgeon, registered professional nurse or licensed practical nurse licensed to practice in this state under the provisions of chapter 334 or 335, RSMo, or licensed to practice under the equivalent laws of any other state and any person licensed as a mobile emergency medical technician under the provisions of chapter 190, RSMo, may:
(1) In good faith render emergency care or assistance, without compensation, at the scene of an emergency or accident, and shall not be liable for any civil damages, for acts or omissions other than damages occasioned by gross negligence or by willful or wanton acts or omissions by such person in rendering such emergency care;
(2) In good faith render emergency care or assistance, without compensation, to any minor involved in an accident, or in competitive sports, or other emergency at the scene of an accident, without first obtaining the consent of the parent or guardian of the minor, and shall not be liable for any civil damages other than damages occasioned by gross negligence or by willful or wanton acts or omissions by such person in rendering the emergency care.
2. Any other person who has been trained to provide first aid in a standard recognized training program may, without compensation, render emergency care or assistance to the level for which he or she has been trained, at the scene of an emergency or accident, and shall not be liable for civil damages for acts or omissions other than damages occasioned by gross negligence or by willful or wanton acts or omissions by such person in rendering such emergency care.
3. Any mental health professional, as defined in section 632.005, RSMo, or substance abuse counselor, as defined in section 631.005, RSMo, may in good faith render suicide prevention interventions at the scene of a threatened suicide and shall not be liable for any civil damages for acts or omissions other than damages occasioned by gross negligence or by willful or wanton acts or omissions by such person in rendering such suicide prevention interventions.
4. Any other person who has been trained to provide suicide prevention interventions in a standard recognized training program may, without compensation, render suicide prevention interventions to the level for which such person has been trained at the scene of a threatened suicide and shall not be liable for civil damages for acts or omissions other than damages occasioned by gross negligence or by willful or wanton acts or omissions by such person in rendering such suicide prevention interventions.
630.910. 1. There is hereby created within the department of mental health the "Suicide Prevention Advisory Committee" to be comprised of the following eighteen members:
(1) Six representatives from each of the following state departments: mental health, health and senior services, social services, elementary and secondary education, corrections, and higher education;
(2) Ten citizen members representing suicide survivors, the criminal justice system, the business community, clergy, schools, youth, mental health professionals, health care providers, nonprofit organizations, and a researcher to be appointed by the governor;
(3) One member from the house of representatives to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; and
(4) One member of the senate to be appointed by the president pro tem of the senate.
2. The initial appointments to the advisory committee shall be made by October 1, 2005. The initial ten members appointed under subdivision (2) of subsection 1 of this section shall be appointed as follows: four members shall be appointed for a four-year term, three members shall be appointed for a three-year term, and three members shall be appointed for a two-year term.
3. The first meeting of the advisory committee shall be scheduled by the director of the department of mental health and held on or before December 1, 2005. The committee shall meet at least quarterly thereafter. The director of the department of mental health, or the director's designee, shall be the chair of the advisory committee. Each of the departments listed in subdivision (1) of subsection 1 of this section shall provide staff and technical support for the advisory committee.
4. The advisory committee shall:
(1) Provide oversight, technical support, and outcome promotion for prevention activities;
(2) Develop annual goals and objectives for ongoing suicide prevention efforts;
(3) Make information on prevention and mental health intervention models available to community groups implementing suicide prevention programs;
(4) Promote the use of outcome methods that will allow comparison and evaluation of the efficacy, effectiveness, cultural competence, and cost-effectiveness of plan-supported interventions, including making specific recording and monitoring instruments available for plan-supported projects;
(5) Review and recommend changes to existing or proposed statutes, rules, and policies to prevent suicides; and
(6) Coordinate and issue a biannual report on suicide and suicidal behaviors in the state using information drawn from federal, state, and local sources.
5. Members of the committee shall serve without compensation but the ten citizen members may be reimbursed for any actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the advisory committee.
630.915. 1. The department of mental health, in consultation with the department of health and senior services, shall seek funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to participate in the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) to obtain better information about violent deaths, including suicide.
2. If such funding under subsection 1 of this section is not available to the state of Missouri, on or before July 1, 2006, the department of mental health, in consultation with the department of health and senior services and subject to appropriation, shall develop a state-based reporting system based on the National Violent Death Reporting System that will provide information needed to accurately assess the factors causing violent deaths, including suicide.
3. Information obtained from this state's participation in the National Violent Death Reporting System under subsection 1 of this section or the state-based system developed under subsection 2 of this section shall be used to help answer questions regarding the magnitude, trends, and characteristics of violent deaths and assist in the evaluation and improvement of violence prevention policies and programs.
4. Information obtained under this section shall be provided to the suicide prevention advisory committee established under section 630.910.
5. Pursuant to section 23.253, RSMo, of the Missouri Sunset Act:
(1) The provisions of the new program authorized under this section shall automatically sunset six years after the effective date of this section unless reauthorized by an act of the general assembly; and
(2) If such program is reauthorized, the program authorized under this section shall automatically sunset twelve years after the effective date of the reauthorization of this section; and
(3) This section shall terminate on September first of the calendar year immediately following the calendar year in which the program authorized under this section is sunset.