SENATE BILL NO. 37 "An Act extending the termination date of the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council; and providing for an effective date." 9:27:20 AM Vice-Chair Fairclough introduced SB 37. She stated that she served on Alaska's Statewide Suicide Prevention Council for the past several years. With changes supported by the legislature, attendance for meetings increased. The council assembled a statewide strategic plan and was working with partners on implementation. Public awareness, social media and partnering with communities around Alaska were changes proposed. She stated that Alaska had the highest rate of suicide in the nation at nearly twice the national average. The legislation proposed the maximum extension to 2019. She requested the support of the committee. 9:28:52 AM AT EASE 9:30:04 AM RECONVENED KRIS CURTIS, CHIEF AUDITOR, LEGISLATIVE BUDGET AND AUDIT, stated that the agency conducted a sunset review of the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council. The objective of the audit was to determine whether the council was serving the public's interest and whether they should be extended. The conclusion of the audit was that the council did serve the public's interest. The recommendation was to extend the termination date six years, until June 30, 2019. Ms. Curtis pointed out that the audit found notable improvements made by the council since the last review of operations in 2008. The improvements were attributed to alignment with the Alaska Mental Health Trust (AHMT) board and the Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. The collaboration was advantageous as suicide was often linked with mental illness and/or drug abuse. Ms. Curtis further explained that the audit addressed the numerous activities undertaken by the council. One impressive accomplishment was the development of a new statewide suicide prevention plan. She credited the council for outreach to the Alaska native communities and tribal leaders. The audit recommended that the council formalize the leadership structure through a written agreement and evaluate the position as required by statute. The audit included two other recommendations including monitoring of meeting attendance by the council and developing performance measures to support the statutory duties and annually report progress. Both the council and the department agreed with the recommendations. 9:33:00 AM Senator Dunleavy asked about the increase in the budget for travel listed on the fiscal note. KATE BURKHART, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STATEWIDE SUICIDE PREVENTION COUNCIL, explained that she was also executive director for the Alaska Mental Health board and the Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. She discussed the work done by the council to respond to the audit recommendations. She noted that the audit included three recommendations as mentioned by Ms. Curtis. In response to the first recommendation, the council executive committee partnered with the executive committees of the other two boards to conduct an evaluation of her performance last fall. The executive committees also worked together to memorialize the current leadership and resource sharing in a memorandum of agreement. Ms. Burkhart continued with the council's response to recommendation number two. An attendance log was implemented in July 2012, which would be provided to the governor's office, the Senate President and the Speaker of the House at the end of each fiscal year. She stated that the council achieved a quorum at every regular meeting, which heightened the ability to accomplish statutory duties. Ms. Burkhart discussed the final recommendation, which addressed the council's performance measures. She mentioned changes including the tracking of population indicators. The indicators were listed in the state plan and would be tracked each year. She worked with the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) to translate the indicators and performance into the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) language. She hoped to fully comply with the recommendation by the end of the fiscal year. She emphasized that the auditing process provided a great benefit to the council. 9:37:31 AM Ms. Burkhart discussed the fiscal note. Beginning in 2015, the fiscal note showed an increase of $44,600 per year, with $18,600 for travel. The council's travel budget did not permit regular meetings outside of the Anchorage area. The council felt that the lack of travel funding restricted partnerships with rural communities and tribal organizations. The lack of travel funding restricted the ability to represent and learn from the people of Alaska outside of the road system. Ms. Burkhart pointed out that the largest number of suicides occurred in the Anchorage area, but the highest rates were in rural Alaska. The council wished to serve rural Alaska better with face-to-face communication. She clarified that the travel budget encouraged council members to work within constraints by meeting in Anchorage. Ms. Burkhart pointed out that the fiscal note included $20 thousand for projects. The council prioritized in the state plan the need for Alaska-specific research on the factors that contributed to suicide. The funding would allow the council to seed the research with partners in the state like the University and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. The funding would not be used specifically for council activities, but would allow the achievement of the goals under strategy six of the state plan. Ms. Burkhart mentioned an additional $8,700 for printing costs, video conferencing, and webinar support to reflect the increased presence of the council around the state. The council web-published their state plan and was unable to provide printed copies of the plan because it was cost- prohibitive. The items on the fiscal note were listed as statutory state responsibilities for the council as opposed to funding for expansion. 9:41:15 AM BILL MARTIN, CHAIR, SUICIDE PREVENTION COUNCIL, testified in favor of the bill. He stated that he was retired and worked with suicide prevention on local, statewide, regional and national levels. He stated that he was appointed to the council 10 years ago. He mentioned summits in Juneau and Anchorage that allowed community members to share ideas. He pointed out changes in advocacy regarding suicide prevention. Tribes and communities were able to talk about suicide and prevention in their regions, which had been a difficult subject to broach. He stated that he planned to travel to Nenana to speak with school children in communities about suicide. Mr. Martin noted the high rate of suicide with the elders in the United States. He pointed out that the higher rates of suicide in Alaska were seen with the young people. He wanted to find the reasons. The high suicide rates for younger Alaskans were in existence for only 40 years. He commented on his upbringing where the elders took great responsibility in the upbringing of the children. He explained that the native people were very sensitive, who could be hurt very easily. Young people were especially vulnerable and required support and guidance about certain aspects of growing up. He spoke about certain aspects of Alaskan native culture that had grown obsolete such as skill sharing or sane fishing. He hoped that the travel funding would allow members of the community to visit rural areas to provide the needed communication. The council had developed a multitude of ideas to prevent suicide in the state. 9:47:24 AM Senator Olson asked if council members could "call in" a vote, or were they required to be present at the meeting. Ms. Burkhart replied that the bylaws permitted a telephonic full participation and vote. 9:48:07 AM Vice-Chair Fairclough commented that the bill could be moved out of committee, but time for testimony had become limited. GRETCHEN NEALY, ALASKA BRAIN INJURY NETWORK, stated that she worked to help survivors of trauma from the traumatic brain injury. Prior to her position she served nine years for the Alaska Joint Force Headquarters for the National Guard and oversaw the suicide prevention program. She understood the need for funding to allow for travel to rural areas. Co-Chair Meyer stated that the bill was very important. Co-Chair Meyer closed public testimony. 9:50:37 AM Co-Chair Kelly MOVED to REPORT SB 37 out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal note(s). There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered. SB 37 was REPORTED out of committee with a "do pass" recommendation and with one previously published fiscal impact note: FN 1 (DHS).