Legislature(2011 - 2012)CAPITOL 106
01/25/2011 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB21 | |
| HB14 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 21 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 14 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 21-SUICIDE PREVENTION COUNCIL MEMBERS
8:08:18 AM
CHAIR LYNN announced that the first order of business was HOUSE
BILL NO. 21, "An Act relating to the membership of the Statewide
Suicide Prevention Council."
8:08:20 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ANNA FAIRCLOUGH, Alaska State Legislature,
introduced HB 21 as joint prime sponsor. She stated that she
and Representative Berta Gardner are members of the State
Suicide Prevention Council. She directed attention to a handout
in the committee packet entitled, "Mending the Net: Suicide
Prevention in Alaska," the annual report for fiscal year 2010
(FY 10) from the council. As shown on page 11 of the report,
Representative Fairclough stated that suicide is one of the top
ten causes of death in Alaska. Page 20, she said, describes a
public health model emphasizing community readiness, planning
efforts, and outcomes, with an emphasis on community
collaboration.
8:09:51 AM
REPRESENTATIVE BERTA GARDNER, Alaska State Legislature, as joint
prime sponsor, highlighted the changes in the proposed committee
substitute, (CS) for HB 21, Version 27-LS0154\B, Bullard,
1/22/11. First, the proposed CS would require someone to serve
on the council who brings experience from a military
perspective, either as someone currently in service, a retiree,
or someone who has worked with military personnel.
8:11:11 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 21, Version 27-LS0154\B, Bullard,
1/22/11, as a work draft. There being no objection, Version B
was before the committee.
8:11:30 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER noted that the second change proposed in
Version B would change the requirement of a youth serving on the
council from being in grade 9, 10, 11, or 12, to being "at least
16 years or age but not more than 20 years of age" when
appointed. She explained that with this change, somebody who
has just graduated from high school, but is, perhaps, just
becoming comfortable in his/her ability to speak out as a
council member, would be able to serve.
8:12:20 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH noted that Chair Lynn had, some time
before the meeting, expressed concern that the use of the term
"active military personnel" found in the original bill version
was ambiguous. She noted that Version B specifies that the term
means, for example, that the National Guard would be included.
CHAIR LYNN made the distinction that the National Guard works
for the state, except when commandeered by the President of the
United States, in which case National Guard members are working
for the federal government.
8:13:44 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER, in response to a question from Chair
Lynn, indicated that the results of despair and depression are
the same, irrespective of their origins. She said, "It's hard
to tease out exactly which threads lead to which behaviors, but
there's no doubt that Alaska has leading numbers in all of those
areas: alcohol abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, and
suicide."
CHAIR LYNN offered his view that solving the problem of sexual
violence, alcohol abuse, and child abuse would result in a
decrease in the suicide rate.
8:14:44 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH directed attention to page 10 of the
aforementioned report, which states that of the 33 percent of
those whose death was caused by suicide who were tested for
drugs and/or alcohol, 44 percent tested positive for alcohol and
48 percent tested positive for other drugs. She talked about
the link between a lack of hope and the occurrence of suicide.
8:15:54 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON expressed appreciation of the suicide
prevention efforts that are being made. He said the House
Health and Social Services Standing Committee has been talking
about vitamin D therapy for people living in areas that don't
get much light, and he said that that therapy is more effective
than light therapy. He said he looks forward to working with
the council in the future, and expressed his wish that the
council look at the issues more broadly.
8:17:56 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON said she is pleased at the addition of
language related to military personnel. She indicated that
suicides spike [between the ages of 15-24], and she said 23 and
24 are the ages at which many of those who have served in the
military come back home. She also expressed surprise to have
read on page 9 of the report that another group with a high rate
of suicide is that of people 85 and older.
8:19:17 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH highlighted that in 2009, 140
individuals [in Alaska] committed suicide. She further related
that between 2000 and 2009, 1,369 took their own lives. She
talked about the impact suicide has on communities. She stated
that although the number of suicides in Anchorage is high, the
per capita ratio of suicides is considerably higher in rural
areas; therefore, she warned the committee members not to jump
to conclusions reading just part of the statistics. She
reemphasized the observation made by Representative Wilson that
the suicide rate is higher for the young and the elderly, and
she suggested the high rate of elderly suicides may be in
response to life-limiting diseases.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH said she and Representative Gardner
are honored to be working on this task. She said the council
needs the support of the legislature, and she noted that there
is a $4,000 fiscal note [included in the committee packet]. She
related that the council attempts to "get out into rural Alaska"
at least once a year, because those communities are experiencing
suicide rates 2-6 times the national average.
8:21:07 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER pointed out that there are instances
where people die and it is not clear whether or not the cause of
death was suicide. She emphasized the value in hearing the
stories from people in rural Alaska first-hand. She said that
doing so opens discussion of a subject that previously may have
been taboo. In response to a question from Chair Lynn, she
reiterated that the common denominator of suicide is despair and
the inability to believe that a bad situation can get better.
8:23:01 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH directed attention to information on
page 8 of the aforementioned report, which states that suicide
rates among Alaska Natives are higher than of any other
ethnicity in the state, and are the highest of any ethnicity in
the U.S. She recollected having read that that percentage
increases further for Native Alaskan boys. She stressed the
importance of prevention and building skills to help young
people cope with, for example, a failed relationship. She said
village elders are getting involved in the effort to build
relationships between youth and elders. She said the first step
is talking about suicide and hearing from those who have been
affected by it. In response to Chair Lynn, she concurred that
an entire community can be affected by the suicide of one of its
members.
8:25:12 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER expressed appreciation to Representatives
Fairclough and Gardner for the work they are doing. He then
directed attention to page 16, which shows funding, and he
observed that "the funding doesn't follow the rate."
8:25:53 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH explained that in a community, the
involvement of individuals sometimes makes a bigger impact than
money. The goal, she said, is to use the money to create a
synergy inside of communities to bring all resources to the
table. Each community's situation is unique, she added.
8:27:07 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER observed that there are some communities
that seem to be awaiting advice and assistance, while other
communities recognize that there is a problem and that the
solution comes from within the community. She echoed
Representative Fairclough's comment that money is not always the
answer. She said money can pay for training, but there is a lot
of work that can be done locally, and the council hopes to be "a
gathering point" to get that process started through discussion.
8:28:19 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN directed attention to page 12 of report,
which shows the percentage of U.S. Census area deaths attributed
to suicide from 2000-2008. He asked if there are areas of
Alaska that more closely match the national average.
8:29:24 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH estimated that 3 percent of Alaska
falls within the national range, and said the exact answer is in
the report.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN surmised that the council must be
concentrating its efforts on the areas with the highest suicide
rates. He asked if former Representative Woody Salmon has been
replaced on the board. He then asked how rural areas "get into
the conversation."
8:31:04 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER said she is not sure how to answer that
question, because the board's membership is not filled based on
district, but rather based on requirements in statute. She
emphasized that the perspective of the board is that one suicide
is too many, and its members will try to reduce the number of
suicides in Alaska no matter what the national average is.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH listed entities from which people are
serving: the Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, the
Alaska Mental Health Board, the Alaska Federation of Natives, a
counselor or someone from secondary schools, a youth, someone
who has experienced the death by suicide [of a family member], a
person from a rural community not connected by roads, a member
of clergy, a person who is under the age of 18, [and one public
member]. She offered examples and names. She noted that the
members will be in Juneau on January 30 - February 2, and will
be visiting legislators in the capitol.
8:34:18 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER, in response to a question from
Representative Petersen, said the council has not studied what
other nations in northern climates are doing regarding this
issue; however, she said she thinks other nations are looking at
what Alaska is doing.
8:34:51 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON observed that even though data may look
good, the problem still persists. She explained that the graph
on page 12 of the report shows her community in a good light,
but the statistics only go through 2008, and just last month
there were two suicides.
8:36:05 AM
KATE BURKHART, Executive Director, Advisory Board on Alcoholism
& Drug Abuse; Executive Director, Alaska Mental Health Board
(AMHB), Division of Behavioral Health (DBH), Department of
Health & Social Services, testified in support of HB 21. She
stated that the proposed legislation is a direct reflection of
the council's determination to respond to public comment. She
said the council held a meeting in Fairbanks in October 2010, at
which time it heard passionate testimony from young people.
That is one reason that the council wants to augment the youth
member requirement in statute. She emphasized that the council
considers itself responsible to the citizens of Alaska and
really listens to what the public has to say.
8:38:56 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON expressed appreciation for the ideas that
have been brought forward and stated support of the idea that
young people can be effective in the process. He credited a new
legislator, Representative Alan Dick, for bringing energy from
rural Alaska. He questioned whether the education system
prepares young people for diversity and leaving their villages.
He suggested that education that is relevant to students may
help in eliminating despair, and he opined that the council
should be part of that discussion.
8:40:34 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN stated support of the changes proposed
in Version B, and expressed appreciation that the joint prime
sponsors have continued the work that former Representative
Richard Halford began in 2001. He opined that extending the age
requirement of the youth member to 20 will be helpful, because
the time in a young person's life when he/she is just out of
high school can present choices that can be overwhelming and
lead to despair. He mentioned there are many military bases in
Alaska, and indicated that the addition of language in Version B
to include the military is a good idea.
8:42:06 AM
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON moved to report the proposed committee
substitute (CS), Version 27-LS0154\B, Bullard, 1/22/11, out of
committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying
fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 21(STA) was
reported out of the House State Affairs Standing Committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 01 HB0021A.pdf |
HSTA 1/25/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 21 |
| 02 HB 21 Sponsor Statement Final.pdf |
HSTA 1/25/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 21 |
| 03 HB021-DHSS-SPC-01-21-2011.pdf |
HSTA 1/25/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 21 |
| 01 HB 14 A.pdf |
HSTA 1/25/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 14 |
| 02 HB 14 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HSTA 1/25/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 14 |
| 03 HB 14 Legal Opinion - Exec. Ethics.pdf |
HSTA 1/25/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 14 |
| 04 HB 14 Exec. Ethics - Relevant Regs (1).pdf |
HSTA 1/25/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 14 |
| 05 HB 14 Sectional Analysis.pdf |
HSTA 1/25/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 14 |
| 06 HB014-LAW-CIV-01-21-11.pdf |
HSTA 1/25/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 14 |
| 01A CS for HB21 Version B.pdf |
HSTA 1/25/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 21 |