HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-02-21 Letter to Donovan M. Dela Cruz, Gilbert S.C. Keith-Agaran, Rosalyn H. Baker and Stanley Chang SB 383, SD1 Relating to Youth Suicide Prevention
County of Hawai‘i
Office of the Mayor
25 Aupuni Street, Suite 2603 Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 (808) 961-8211 Fax (808) 961-6553
KONA: 74-5044 Ane Keohokālole Hwy., Bldg C Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i 96740
(808) 323-4444 Fax (808) 323-4440
County of Hawai‘i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.
Wil Okabe
Managing Director
Harry Kim
Mayor
Barbara J. Kossow
Deputy Managing Director
February 21, 2019
Senator Donovan M. Dela Cruz, Chair
Committee on Ways and Means
Senator Gilbert S.C. Keith-Agaran, Vice Chair
Committee on Ways and Means
Senator Rosalyn H. Baker, Chair
Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Health
Senator Stanley Chang, Vice-Chair
Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Health
Dear Chairs, Vice Chairs, and Committee Members:
RE: SB 383, SD1 Relating to Youth Suicide Prevention
Thank you for this opportunity to testify on SB 383, SD1, dealing with youth suicide prevention.
I am not knowledgeable enough, nor do I have the expertise, to comment on the specific detailed
approach to suicide prevention laid out in this bill. However, having done some minimal research to warrant
supporting SB 226, SD1 (funding for suicide prevention on Kauai, Maui, and Hawaiʻi by the Department of
Health), I feel comfortable urging this Legislature to recruit the Department of Education in the prevention
effort.
Whether or not you want to mandate the specific provisions of SB 383, SD1, or choose to pass a more
generic bill, I leave to your discretion. In either case, I hope you keep the concept alive for further discussion,
and perhaps explicitly recognize that additional funding may be necessary if your mandate is to be properly
carried out.
Respectfully Submitted,
Harry Kim
MAYOR