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Committee Hears Bill To Create Confidential Peer Support for First Responders
Summary
Lawmakers heard House Bill 6-21 to allow law enforcement, fire and EMS agencies to establish peer-to-peer support programs with baseline qualifications and confidentiality protections, with multiple public-safety leaders urging passage to address PTSD and retention.
Representative Steve Gist introduced House Bill 6-21, which would authorize Montana police, fire, EMS and sheriff departments to establish peer-to-peer support programs that meet minimum certification, continuing-education and confidentiality standards based on IACP peer-support guidelines. Gist told the Senate Local Government Committee the measure would define qualifications and allow individuals to use multiple peer supporters.
Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter, a proponent, described his 25-year law-enforcement career and said confidential peer conversations helped him after high-stress incidents. "As soon as I realized I could talk to someone and unload my issues in a way that was confidential, it started to feel a lot better," Slaughter said. He and other law-enforcement witnesses said stigma and distrust of outside professional help often keep first responders from seeking care.
Representatives of the Montana Police Protective Association, Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association and local chiefs backed the bill. Dan Smith, executive director of the Montana Police Protective Association, said peer teams can "identify and probably head off a lot of the PTSD issues before they become that significant." Nanette Gilbertson of the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association called the legislation "one more arrow in the quiver" to support officers’ long-term health.
Mental-health clinicians who work with first responders urged the committee to pass the bill while noting limits in the clinician workforce. "With a shortage of clinicians, and even more so an acute shortage of culturally competent clinicians," witness Rebecca Edmons said, peer support helps bridge gaps for responders and their families.
Quinlan O'Connor, chief legal counsel for the Department of Labor and Industry, appeared as an informational witness and said DLI is no longer an opponent following an amendment in the House; he also noted coordination with related legislation in the Senate.
Committee members asked a few procedural questions; Representative Gist closed by describing peer support as a tool to help first responders "stay in the game, stay employed, stay happily married, stay out of drugs, stay out of alcohol." The committee closed the hearing on HB 6-21 without taking action during this session.
What happens next: HB 6-21 was presented and closed in this committee; any change would come through follow-up committee work or floor action in the Legislature.
