An effort to add suicide hotline numbers to student identification cards took a huge step forward Tuesday, receiving approval from the state House of Representatives. 

If passed by the state Senate, House Bill 1007 would require Colorado’s higher education institutions to print the phone and text numbers of statewide and national mental health crisis and suicide hotlines on the back of student IDs beginning in August 2023. 

This comes as, in Colorado, suicide is the leading cause of death for teenagers and young adults. 

“I think we’re going to save some lives,” said bill sponsor Rep. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder. “If somebody actually needs that number, they have easy access to it. And it normalizes the idea that people do need access to that number.” 

In 2021, 10% of Colorado’s suicide deaths were among college-aged adults, age 19 to 24, according to the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Colorado. That’s nearly twice the suicide rate of youth aged 10 to 18. Advocates say the transition period of early adulthood can take a toll on a person’s mental health, with the stress of increased financial and social responsibility adding to the loss of lifelong support systems. 

Nationally, in the 2020-21 school year, over 60% of college students met the criteria of at least one mental health condition and around 25% of the age group said they had seriously considered suicide.

Bill sponsor Rep. Marc Catlin, R-Montrose, said his district in particular has experienced an increase in youth suicides in recent years. 

“My community has suffered greatly,” Catlin said. “This bill is a subtle attempt at reaching out to people. … When I was young, I wouldn’t have walked through the crisis doorway, because somebody might see me. This gives you the opportunity to check in.” 

The House voted 59-3 in support of the bill Tuesday, advancing it to the Senate. Though the bill received broad bipartisan approval, only Republicans voted against the bill: Rep. Scott Bottoms of Colorado Springs, Rep. Ken DeGraaf of Colorado Springs and Rep. Stephanie Luck of Penrose. 

Bottoms said he opposed the bill because he believes the legislature shouldn’t force businesses “to do the government’s bidding.”  

“The government is always forcing businesses, always forcing groups to spend their own money to accomplish all these extra things. This is about good governance,” Bottoms said, adding that students already have access to and are aware of suicide hotlines. 

Last year, the legislature passed a similar bill, requiring suicide hotlines to be added to high school student IDs. 

In addition to expanding the mandate to colleges, HB 1007 would also require higher education institutions to distribute suicide hotline information to students who got their IDs before the change took effect.