Revision: Dec. 10, 2009, midnight
HB 1384 – AS INTRODUCED
2010 SESSION
05/04
HOUSE BILL 1384
AN ACT establishing a suicide fatality review committee.
COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs
This bill establishes a suicide fatality review committee to study the incidence and causes of all suicide deaths. Under this bill, the committee shall be administratively attached to the department of justice.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
10-2492
05/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT establishing a suicide fatality review committee.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Suicide Fatality Review Committee Established. Amend RSA 21-M by inserting after section 16 the following new section:
21-M:17 Suicide Fatality Review Committee Established.
I. There is hereby established the suicide fatality review committee (committee) which shall be administratively attached, under RSA 21-G:10, to the department of justice.
II. The attorney general shall appoint members and alternate members to the committee. The members of the committee shall include individuals representing the health care field, organizations with expertise in suicide prevention, law enforcement, organizations or individuals who advocate for or provide legal representation for individuals/families with mental illness, and such other members as the attorney general determines will assist the committee in fulfilling its objectives. The terms of the members shall be 3 years; provided, that the initial members shall be appointed to staggered terms. Members shall serve at the pleasure of the attorney general.
III. The committee shall:
(a) Recommend policies, practices, and services that will promote collaboration among service providers for, and reduce preventable suicide deaths of all ages.
(b) Evaluate policies, practices, interventions and responses to suicide deaths among individuals at risk and offer recommendations for any improvements in those interventions and responses.
(c) Determine and report on trends and patterns of suicide deaths in New Hampshire.
(d) Evaluate and report on high risk factors, current practices, gaps in systematic responses, and barriers to safety and well-being for individuals at risk for suicide in New Hampshire.
(e) Recommend improvements in the sources of data relative to investigating reported suicide deaths preventing suicide including studying the feasibility and cost of New Hampshire participating in the National Violent Death Reporting System.
(f) Identify and evaluate the prevalence of risk factors for preventable deaths in New Hampshire.
IV. For the purposes of this section, “suicide death” means any death in New Hampshire to be determined to be a suicide by the office of the chief medical examiner.
V. The committee shall adopt a protocol defining which suicide deaths shall be reported to the committee and subject to review, and which suicide deaths may be screened out for review. The committee shall also determine whether it is appropriate to have different types of review, such as comprehensive or more limited reviews depending on the incident under review or the purpose of the review. The protocol shall also define the character of the contents of the committee’s annual report, required under paragraph VII.
VI. Records of the committee, including testimony by persons participating in or appearing before the committee and deliberations by committee members relating to the review of any death, shall be confidential and privileged and shall be protected from direct or indirect means of discovery, subpoena, or admission into evidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding. However, information, documents, or records otherwise available from original sources shall not be construed as immune from discovery from the original sources or used in any such civil or administrative action merely because they were presented to the committee, and any person who appears before the committee or supplies information as part of a committee review, or who is a member of the committee, may not be prevented from testifying as to matters within his or her knowledge, but such witness may not be asked about his or her statements before the committee, participation as a member of the committee, or opinions formed by him or her or any other member of the committee, as a result of participation in a review conducted by the committee.
VII. The committee shall make an annual report, on or before the first day of November each year, beginning on November 1, 2011, to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, and the governor describing any trends and patterns of deaths or serious injuries or risk factors, together with any recommendations for changes in law, policy, and practice that will prevent suicide deaths and related serious occurrences. The committee may also issue special reports when doing so is necessary to alert authorities or the public to the need for prompt corrective action.
VIII. The meetings and records of the committee shall be exempt from the provisions of RSA 91-A. The committee’s reports shall not include any private or privileged information. Members of the committee may be required to sign a confidentiality agreement that prohibits any unauthorized dissemination of information beyond the purpose of the review process as a condition of membership.
2 Executive Committee Established.
I. There is established an executive committee to recommend to the attorney general the membership of the suicide fatality review committee established in RSA 21-M:17 as inserted by section 1 of this act. All executive committee members shall also be members of the suicide fatality review committee established pursuant to RSA 21-M:17.
II. The members of the executive committee shall be appointed by the attorney general and shall be as follows:
(a) Two representatives of the department of health and human services, nominated by the commissioner of the department of health and human services.
(b) Two representatives of the attorney general’s office.
(c) One representative of the Disabilities Rights Center, nominated by the center.
(d) The chief medical examiner, or designee.
(e) A representative of the New Hampshire Medical Society, nominated by the society.
(f) One representative of law enforcement.
(g) One representative of the department of corrections, nominated by the commissioner of the department.
III. Members shall be appointed within 30 days of the effective date of this section and the first meeting shall be within 45 days of the effective date of this section.
IV. The executive committee shall make a report to the attorney general recommending the membership of the suicide fatality review committee on or before November 1, 2010.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.