Kayla's HOPE Act establishment, the official text

A bill for an act relating to transportation; requiring data collection on bridge-related suicides; requiring development of best practices for suicide prevention on bridges; requiring implementation of suicide reduction railings on bridge projects identified as appropriate and feasible; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 165.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

[165.16] SUICIDE PREVENTION.

Subdivision 1.

Data collection.

The commissioner of transportation, in collaboration with the commissioner of health, must identify bridges in Minnesota with a history of suicide-related deaths. The commissioner of transportation must:

(1) annually request and receive data from the commissioner of health regarding known suicide deaths from bridges in the state of Minnesota as obtained from the state's vital statistics records; and

(2) maintain a record of the data to support the identification of bridges for which suicide reduction measures may be appropriate.

Subd. 2.

Best practices.

The commissioner of transportation, in collaboration with the commissioner of health, must develop a methodology for determining when and where suicide reduction measures should be incorporated into bridge projects. The commissioner must:

(1) develop best practices for determining when suicide reduction measures should be considered on a project;

(2) identify potential suicide reduction measures and develop best practices for their appropriate and feasible use; and

(3) develop suicide reduction railing design criteria.

Subd. 3.

Railing implementation.

Suicide reduction railings must be implemented when determined appropriate and feasible using the methodology developed under subdivision 2. This requirement applies to bridge projects undertaken by the commissioner of transportation and by local road authorities when the project scope includes railing replacement, alteration, or addition, consistent with the design criteria developed under subdivision 2, clause (3).

Subd. 4.

Short title.

This section is the "Kayla's HOPE Act."

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective the day following final enactment.