By Carrie Haderlie
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

CHEYENNE — A $40 million allocation for 988 hotline operations is still alive in the Wyoming House of Representatives, but since lawmakers must reconcile a $900 million difference in the two chambers’ budgets, one advocate says he’s concerned that funding is on the chopping block.

Last week, three bills pertaining to mental health in Wyoming failed to meet a House deadline to advance. All bills had to be heard during Committee of the Whole discussion in their chamber of origin by Friday to continue being considered during the current session.

After being amended last week, House Bill 186, “988 hotline-appropriation,” would have allocated $10 million to a trust fund for operation of the statewide suicide hotline. House Bill 144, “Suicide awareness and prevention license plate,” would have, through the sale of retired Wyoming license plates, generated around $140,000 annually for the same fund. Finally, House Bill 169, “Mental health and vulnerable adult task force,” would have continued the work of the state’s mental health and vulnerable adult task force.

“I am incredibly personally disappointed. If we are truly pro-life, or convey that we are pro-life, why wouldn’t we support (funding the 988 hotline)?” Rep. Jon Conrad, R-Mountain View, who was a co-sponsor of HB 186, said Monday morning.

Both HB 186 and HB 144 were heard by the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 20. But they failed to get the necessary hearing before the full House in order to advance.

Rep. Landon Brown, R-Cheyenne, who co-sponsored HB 144, said that it’s difficult to meet legislative deadlines during a budget session.

“I am disappointed that it did not come up, but I would say I understand. We were already a day past our legislative deadline,” Brown said, noting that several days last week, lawmakers spent 14 or 15 hours a day discussing the budget. However, prioritization of some discussions over others has a role in what the House can achieve, he added.

“It is a direct reflection of what the priorities have been for the Freedom Caucus, in my opinion,” Brown said. “They would rather discuss the budget to the n-th degree, instead of tackling the real issues that we have facing our state, like suicide awareness and prevention.”

According to Conrad, a budget amendment is included the House version that provides $40 million for the 988 hotline.

“That passed on the House side, but we don’t know how that will (fare) in the Senate,” Conrad said, noting a historic difference between the House and the Senate budgets. Those budget bills must go through conference committee for reconciliation, where lawmakers will negotiate what to leave in the final budget bill to send to Gov. Mark Gordon.

“They will be looking for a give-and-take, a bartering, to make sure that we can get a budget agreed (upon) on both sides,” Conrad said. “I am concerned that the $40 million may be sacrificed.”

Conrad said that the initial $40 million, amended down to $10 million last week in HB 186, was based on the anticipated rate of return necessary to operate Wyoming’s two call centers, plus adding capacity for text and chat response. Funded to capacity, the trust fund would provide $1.2 million a year.

“That’s what it costs right now to fund, to support, the 988 suicide prevention lifeline, as I call it,” Conrad said.

Since August of 2022, call centers in Casper and Greybull have answered 15,268 calls, and only 2% of those required emergency 911 services. Wyoming has also dropped from number one in the nation for suicides per capita in 2022 to number three.

“Although one year does not make a trend, what we are doing with the 988 suicide lifeline is working. It is not working well enough,” Conrad said. “We have lost two people in the past three weeks in my area. One was a 13-year-old young man. I do believe, with sincerity, that government does have a role in suicide prevention.”

Advocating for another way to fund the 988 hotline, Brown said that he will bring HB 144 back to the Legislature, if he is re-elected. That, he said, could raise $140,000 a year.

“We have a good idea, a good opportunity, and we’ve seen similar legislation passed in other states,” Brown said. “People want these license plates, whether or not they know suicide prevention has anything to do with it.”

Brown said that HB 144 was met with a favorable reception, passing on a two-thirds introductory vote. He said he was also open to amendments made in the House Appropriations Committee.

“I wasn’t married to the bill itself. I was married to the idea,” Brown said. “It was a unique opportunity for us to put forward a funding mechanism.”

A third bill, HB 169, would have continued the work of the state’s mental health and vulnerable adult task force. Although it did not meet the Friday deadline, Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, said he doubts the work is over. He said Monday he will likely bring an amendment to the House legislative budget to continue the task force. Failing that, the Legislature’s Management Council — comprised of legislative branch leaders — could direct the task force to continue its work.

“I think it is really important that that work continues. For the first time in a long time, the Legislature, the executive branch and the judicial branch are really working in tandem together,” Zwonitzer said. “We have realized that it’s an all-three-branches of government (effort to) ensure access to the courts, and how we adjudicate people … and mental health issues.”