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Committee advances bill to provide limited immunity for 988, 211 and 911 workers
Summary
Senate Bill 2145, which would provide civil immunity to employees of 988 suicide-and-crisis, 211 referral helplines and 911 systems when acting within the scope of duties, received a do-pass recommendation from the House Judiciary Committee by a 13-0 roll call.
BISMARCK — The House Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to advance Senate Bill 2145, which would create a new section in chapter 32-03 of the North Dakota Century Code providing liability protection to employees of 988 suicide-and-crisis lifeline centers, 211 referral helplines and 911 systems when they act within the scope of their duties.
Jennifer Illig, executive director of FirstLink, which operates 988 and 211 services in North Dakota, testified in support and described the volume and training of staff who handle crisis contacts. “I want to express my strong support for Senate Bill 2,145,” Illig told the committee. She said FirstLink handled “tens of thousands of interactions” last year statewide and provided specific figures: FirstLink logs about 16,500 total calls (crisis, referral, information), of which roughly 16,000 were crisis calls related to suicide or immediate mental health emergencies. She added that call specialists receive at least 80 hours of training and that FirstLink follows national accreditation standards including Inform USA and the American Association of Suicidology, as well as network practices from Vibrant and SAMHSA.
Illig said the immunity is largely preventive in North Dakota: she told lawmakers she was not aware of lawsuits filed in North Dakota over 988/211/911 responses but said litigation has occurred in other states and can be financially damaging to nonprofit centers. She testified the bill would align protections more closely with those already available for emergency medical professionals and law enforcement.
Committee members asked about training, veteran-specific routing on 988, funding sources and existing liability insurance. Illig replied that veterans receive a national prompt option routed to veteran-specific resources but that many veterans nonetheless choose to speak with FirstLink; she said FirstLink’s funding is a mix of state funds, grants and local funding and that the nonprofit carries general liability insurance “as much as First Link as a nonprofit can afford,” but described that coverage as limited relative to the scope of the immunity requested.
After testimony, the committee moved and recorded a do-pass recommendation. The clerk recorded a roll-call vote showing 13 yes, 0 no; the committee named Representative Schneider as the bill carrier for the House.
Supporters framed the bill as a preventive measure to protect crisis-line staff who must make split-second decisions and to safeguard service continuity for callers in crisis. Opponents did not appear in person; the committee received written supportive testimony from other FirstLink staff.
