Suicide, tourism, the death penalty and Agenda 21

• Two bills aimed at lowering Montana’s high suicide rate had mixed results in the legislature.

Montana has been ranked in the top five for suicide rates in the nation for the past 40 years and has been at or near the top nationally since agencies began compiling the statistics nearly 100 years ago, according to Karl Rosston, suicide prevention coordinator for the Montana Department of Health and Human Services.

A bill sponsored by Rep. Ed Lieser, D-Whitefish, would require suicide prevention training for health care providers. House Bill 568 narrowly passed the House Business and Labor Committee by 10-9. It failed to pass in the House as amended on a second vote by 48-52 on Feb. 25.

Under the measure, certain licensed health care professionals would be required to take courses related to suicide prevention. Doctors, nurses, chiropractors, social workers, therapists and others would need to complete at least six hours of training on suicide assessment, treatment and management once every five years.

“Montana has the highest suicide rate in the nation,” Lieser said, referring to a 2013 National Vital Statistics report. “This bill is an attempt to address an extremely serious problem that could literally save lives.”

House Bill 374, sponsored by Rep. Edie McClafferty, D-Butte and co-sponsored by 38 lawmakers, would require suicide prevention and awareness training for school district employees. It passed in the House by 75-25 on a third reading on Feb. 21.

The bill would require at least two hours of training every five years and is based on a law that has been adopted in over a dozen states. McClafferty said the proposal would give educators and anybody in school districts the tools they need to prevent kids from hurting themselves.

• A bill sponsored by Sen. Bob Keenan, R-Bigfork, calls for redistributing funding for arts and cultural tourism.

Artists, cultural historians, tourism and elected officials and small business owners testified in favor of Senate Bill 264 at a hearing before the Senate Finance and Claims Committee on Feb. 19. The arts, history and culture are good for Montana business, but it could be even better with the help of a tax revision, they said.

SB 264 would redistribute the portion of the general fund that comes from the bed tax and vehicle rental tax — estimated at $23 million annually. While 40 percent of those taxes would stay in the general fund, the remaining 60 percent would be invested in tourism promotion and preserving cultural and historic infrastructure.

A leading tourism spokesman for the bill, Mike Scholz, owner and former general manager of Bucks T-4, equated it to a “revolving loan fund.” He quoted a 2007 Department of Revenue study that found for every $1 spent on tourism promotion $50 in tourism spending was generated.

Gov. Steve Bullock’s budget director Dan Villa testified against the bill, not because the governor’s office doesn’t value tourism, but “because we have a general fund problem.”

“We have $440 million in tax cuts pending in the Legislature,” he said. “We simply cannot afford it.”

• A bill that would end capital punishment in Montana failed to pass on a second reading in the House on Feb. 23 with a tied 50-50 vote. House Bill 370 was sponsored by Rep. David Moore, R-Missoula.

The bill narrowly passed in the House Judiciary Committee by 11-10 on Feb. 13. Three Democrats joined 47 Republicans to oppose the bill. Similar bills have survived in the Senate but have failed in the House over the past two legislative sessions.

 • A bill aimed at protecting property rights in Montana from the United Nation’s Agenda 21 failed to pass the House on Feb. 24. It was defeated by 41-59 on a second reading.

Sponsored by Rep. Randy Pinocci, R-Sun River, House Bill 583 would have allowed Montana to reject the UN’s call for sustainable development.

Agenda 21 is a non-binding resolution signed by then-President George H.W. Bush in 1992. It urges nations to conserve open land, but conservatives see it as an attempt by the UN to take over U.S. land.

The Montana Legislature saw a mix of bills this past week, covering suicide, tourist dollars, the death penalty, and the United Nation’s Agenda 21.

• Two bills aimed at lowering Montana’s high suicide rate had mixed results in the legislature.

Montana has been ranked in the top five for suicide rates in the nation for the past 40 years and has been at or near the top nationally since agencies began compiling the statistics nearly 100 years ago, according to Karl Rosston, suicide prevention coordinator for the Montana Department of Health and Human Services.

A bill sponsored by Rep. Ed Lieser, D-Whitefish, would require suicide prevention training for health care providers. House Bill 568 narrowly passed the House Business and Labor Committee by 10-9. It failed to pass in the House as amended on a second vote by 48-52 on Feb. 25.

Under the measure, certain licensed health care professionals would be required to take courses related to suicide prevention. Doctors, nurses, chiropractors, social workers, therapists and others would need to complete at least six hours of training on suicide assessment, treatment and management once every five years.

“Montana has the highest suicide rate in the nation,” Lieser said, referring to a 2013 National Vital Statistics report. “This bill is an attempt to address an extremely serious problem that could literally save lives.”

House Bill 374, sponsored by Rep. Edie McClafferty, D-Butte and co-sponsored by 38 lawmakers, would require suicide prevention and awareness training for school district employees. It passed in the House by 75-25 on a third reading on Feb. 21.

The bill would require at least two hours of training every five years and is based on a law that has been adopted in over a dozen states. McClafferty said the proposal would give educators and anybody in school districts the tools they need to prevent kids from hurting themselves.

• A bill sponsored by Sen. Bob Keenan, R-Bigfork, calls for redistributing funding for arts and cultural tourism.

Artists, cultural historians, tourism and elected officials and small business owners testified in favor of Senate Bill 264 at a hearing before the Senate Finance and Claims Committee on Feb. 19. The arts, history and culture are good for Montana business, but it could be even better with the help of a tax revision, they said.

SB 264 would redistribute the portion of the general fund that comes from the bed tax and vehicle rental tax — estimated at $23 million annually. While 40 percent of those taxes would stay in the general fund, the remaining 60 percent would be invested in tourism promotion and preserving cultural and historic infrastructure.

A leading tourism spokesman for the bill, Mike Scholz, owner and former general manager of Bucks T-4, equated it to a “revolving loan fund.” He quoted a 2007 Department of Revenue study that found for every $1 spent on tourism promotion $50 in tourism spending was generated.

Gov. Steve Bullock’s budget director Dan Villa testified against the bill, not because the governor’s office doesn’t value tourism, but “because we have a general fund problem.”

“We have $440 million in tax cuts pending in the Legislature,” he said. “We simply cannot afford it.”

• A bill that would end capital punishment in Montana failed to pass on a second reading in the House on Feb. 23 with a tied 50-50 vote. House Bill 370 was sponsored by Rep. David Moore, R-Missoula.

The bill narrowly passed in the House Judiciary Committee by 11-10 on Feb. 13. Three Democrats joined 47 Republicans to oppose the bill. Similar bills have survived in the Senate but have failed in the House over the past two legislative sessions.

 • A bill aimed at protecting property rights in Montana from the United Nation’s Agenda 21 failed to pass the House on Feb. 24. It was defeated by 41-59 on a second reading.

Sponsored by Rep. Randy Pinocci, R-Sun River, House Bill 583 would have allowed Montana to reject the UN’s call for sustainable development.

Agenda 21 is a non-binding resolution signed by then-President George H.W. Bush in 1992. It urges nations to conserve open land, but conservatives see it as an attempt by the UN to take over U.S. land.