Panel hears bill to let 16- and 17-year-olds consent to limited behavioral health services; sponsors, advocates cite suicide data

The Senate Judiciary Committee on April 2 held the first hearing on Senate Bill 90, legislation sponsored by Senator Kathy Giesel that would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to consent to up to five outpatient behavioral-health appointments of up to 90 minutes each without parental permission, and would prohibit prescribing medication to the minor during that initial course of care.

Giesel, an advanced-practice registered nurse who said she worked in school-based clinics, told the committee the bill responds to rising youth mental-health needs and barriers created by parental consent rules. “I would ask — we need to be able to help these students,” she said, citing data in her testimony that, in 2023, roughly 23 percent of Alaska high-school students reported considering suicide and that Alaska ranks among the states with the highest youth suicide rates. Giesel said the bill was intended as a limited, incremental step and noted that similar laws exist in other states.

Paige Brown, staff to Senator Giesel, read the bill’s sectional summary into the record. Key provisions described in the hearing transcript include: a clarification for unaccompanied homeless minors who can provide documentation to consent to medical or behavioral treatment; permission for minors age 16 or older to consent to five 90-minute outpatient behavioral-health sessions without parental consent; an express bar on prescribing medication to the minor during those sessions; documentation requirements for clinicians; a process that allows a clinician to continue care beyond five sessions without parental consent only if attempting to obtain consent would be detrimental to the minor’s well-being (for example, in cases alleging neglect or abuse) or if the clinician documents that parental contact would cause the minor to reject services; a requirement that clinicians make at least two unsuccessful attempts to reach a parent or guardian before continuing in some circumstances; provisions allowing clinicians to deny parental access to clinical records when there are compelling reasons; relief of parental financial obligation for services consented to by the minor; and an effective date of Jan. 1, 2026.

Witnesses from advocacy and provider groups testified in favor. Trevor Storrs, president and CEO of Alaska Children’s Trust, said the bill “creates a pathway for sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds to receive behavioral health support in situations where it might be challenging to obtain parental consent.” Lance Johnson, chief operating officer of the Alaska Behavioral Health Association, urged support and described instances in rural practice where clinicians were unable to obtain parental consent and youth later attempted suicide. Heather Ireland, executive director of Anchorage School-Based Health Centers (Christian Health Associates), said parental consent is often a logistical and stigma-related barrier in school settings.

Young people from the Emerging Leaders Youth Advisory Council provided public testimony supporting the bill. Natalie Newman and Mackenzie English described difficulties accessing services when living away from parents (boarding school or couch-hopping) and recounted peers’ suicide attempts; Alyanna Mandragon said members of her community faced skepticism about mental-health problems and that several classmates had died by suicide.

Opposition testimony included remarks from Steven Pierce, identified as director of Citizens Commissioner and Human Rights, who said the bill “moves to one consent and parental involvement” and argued that improving parental-consent processes would be preferable. James Biella, with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Alaska chapter, spoke in support and said barriers to care have “devastating consequences” in some cases; his testimony included an example of a youth who sought help but whose parents refused consent and later died by suicide.

Committee members asked detailed questions about the bill’s mechanics. Senator Kiel and Senator Myers pressed for clarity on the length and counting of the five sessions, the prohibition on medication, the criteria allowing clinicians to continue care without parental consent, and whether continuing care outside the bill’s criteria would expose providers to disciplinary action. Brown and Giesel responded that medication is explicitly barred without parental consent, that the five-appointment limit is per the bill (not an open-ended 450 minutes entitlement), and that licensing boards can discipline providers who practice outside their scope.

The committee took no final vote on SB 90. Chair Klayman said the committee would “set Senate Bill 90 aside for further review,” and set an amendment deadline of 5 p.m. Monday, April 7, 2025, for senators proposing changes to SB 90 or a separate bill referenced in the hearing. The committee scheduled its next meeting for April 4 at 1:30 p.m. and recorded an effective date in the bill language of Jan. 1, 2026.

The bill’s sponsor and supporting witnesses framed SB 90 as a narrowly tailored measure to expand access to early behavioral-health intervention for older adolescents while preserving parental involvement where feasible; opponents urged further refinement of consent procedures and warned against diminishing parental decision-making without additional guardrails. The committee will consider amendments before any subsequent committee action or a formal vote.