A bill that would require Colorado employers to display posters and provide suicide prevention information in the workplace passed through the House Committee on Business Affairs and Labor this week. 

HB 1015 would require workplaces to display posters created by the Division of Labor and Statistics to provide information on suicide prevention training programs and educational materials. The posters will also include a QR code that links to a website to be created by the Office of Suicide Prevention.

Employees will also be required to sign a handbook or manual that includes a notice about suicide prevention. All of these resources will be provided to employers for free.

Ronald Dietz, a Littleton resident and survivor of suicide loss, testified against the bill. He believes that antidepressant drugs were a major contributor to the increase in suicide rates, drawing from his personal experience with his son Conrad, who committed suicide.

“If you really want to reduce suicide, your pamphlets should say, ‘Don’t take antidepressant drugs,'” he said. 

Bill sponsor Rep. Stephanie Vigil, D- Colorado Springs, spoke of the importance of community intervention when it comes to suicide prevention. She also detailed her own experiences with mental health struggles, including a suicide attempt in 2010. 

“Suicide prevention is not a solitary effort, and that’s a lot of the thinking behind this bill,” she said. “We have to look out for each other. What makes the biggest difference for someone in crisis is less about what they’re able to do for themselves with their last shred of survival instinct and more about the knowledge and skillset of those around them, because these deaths are not inevitable.”

“Everyone can save a life. Everyone should be equipped to do so,” Vigil said. 

Tyler Garrett of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, who supports the bill, cited data from the National Rural Health Association indicating that farmers and ranchers have a suicide rate 3.5 times higher than the general population. 

“We are supporting this bill because it is a step in the right direction towards the de-stigmatization of talking about suicide and seeking help if you’re suffering,” he said. 

Several other witnesses testified in favor of the bill, including multiple members of the El Paso County Suicide Prevention Collaborative. El Paso County, which Vigil represents, has the highest suicide rate in the state. 

An amendment was introduced to the bill, specifying that the Office of Suicide prevention will be responsible for creating content for the posters and other informational materials.

The estimated cost of implementing the legislation is $165,000 for the 2024-2025 fiscal year and $53,000 for 2025-2026. 

The bill is also sponsored by Dafna Michaelson Jenet, D- Commerce City, who has made mental health her top priority since joining the General Assembly in 2017. 

The amended version of the bill will now go before the House Appropriations Committee.