Bill > HB1190

This bill establishes the Mississippi First Responder PTSD and Suicide Prevention Task Force, a 21-member committee designed to address mental health challenges among first responders, which includes law enforcement officers, firefighters, 911 dispatchers, National Guard members, and emergency medical services personnel. The task force will be composed of representatives from various state departments, legislative committees, professional associations, and mental health experts, with members appointed within 30 days of the act's effective date. The task force's primary duties include assessing first responders' mental health needs, developing comprehensive support programs, fostering collaboration between stakeholders, reducing mental health stigma, ensuring program sustainability, and recommending legal and policy changes. Members will meet at least monthly, select a chair and vice chair, and are required to produce a final report with findings, recommendations, and potential legislation to the Legislature by December 1, 2025, after which the task force will be dissolved. Importantly, task force members will not receive compensation for their service, and state agencies are obligated to provide necessary assistance and information to support the task force's objectives. The act is set to take effect on April 1, 2025, with the goal of comprehensively addressing mental health challenges and suicide prevention among Mississippi's first responders.

Health and Social Services

https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2025/pdf/history/HB/HB1190.xml