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House approves suicide‑prevention plan with added data study; sponsor cites high youth suicide rate
Summary
HB186, which the House amended to add a study component using medical‑examiner and police data, passed unanimously; sponsor said Utah has among the highest youth suicide rates and cited a report that raised questions about psychiatric medication in youth suicides.
The Utah House adopted House Bill 186 on Feb. 24, a suicide‑prevention measure that was amended on the floor to add study elements the sponsor said were prompted by recent reporting.
Representative Hogue offered amendment number 1 after referencing a Florida lawmaker’s report that, in that jurisdiction, "38 percent of total youth suicides were caused by psychiatric medication." Hogue said the amendment would direct review of information the state medical examiner already gathers — toxicology and police reports tied to each suicide — and make aggregate findings available to communities and service providers. He said the intent is to centralize existing information rather than create an expansive new appropriation; several representatives asked whether the studies would require additional funding, and Hogue replied that the medical examiner already receives and uses those records.
Hogue described Utah’s youth suicide rate as especially high for males ages 14 to 21 and urged support for better data to inform prevention efforts. Representative Tilton and others voiced support; the amendment was adopted and the bill passed by the House with a recorded tally of 67 yes, 0 no.
The article attributes the statistic about psychiatric medication to the sponsor’s floor statement referencing another jurisdiction and does not treat it as a verified statewide finding for Utah.
