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Senate Backs Suicide-Prevention Task Force But Tables Bill on Third Reading over Fiscal Note
Summary
The Senate advanced HB252 — which would create a statewide suicide-prevention task force — to third reading but then tabled the bill on third because of a fiscal note (about $30,000); sponsors said the first substitute addressed earlier opposition and created a task force to study statewide coordination.
The Utah Senate on Feb. 22 advanced House Bill 252, the Utah Suicide Prevention Act, and then took procedural action to table it on third reading because of a fiscal note.
Senator Niederhauser described the first substitute for HB252 as a compromise designed to create a task force that studies contributing factors to suicide and evaluates whether a statewide prevention plan and coordinated funding would be beneficial. He said prior opponents (including NAMI and academic stakeholders) withdrew their opposition after first‑substitute language and that the bill intends to coordinate existing programs and study budgets and implementation models.
The Senate agreed to read HB252 for a third time by recorded vote (27 yes, 1 nay, 1 absent). Shortly afterward, Senator Knudson moved to table HB252 on third reading because the fiscal note exceeded the threshold (noted in debate as roughly $30,000+). The motion to table passed, temporarily halting immediate enactment and directing the bill’s fiscal implications to be addressed before further action.
Sponsors and committee chairs described the bill’s purpose as identifying duplication of effort and recommending statewide priorities and budgets; opponents had raised concerns about overlap with existing entities. The tabling motion does not defeat the bill on merits but requires fiscal clarification before it proceeds.
Provenance: Sponsor presentation (SEG 1930–1960), third-reading roll call (SEG 2069–2071), tabling motion and passage (SEG 2073–2081).
