ST. PAUL, MN. — The Minnesota Senate passed legislation marking a significant step forward in suicide prevention by requiring the Minnesota Department of Transportation, in conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Health to study, develop, and implement suicide prevention methods on existing and future bridge projects in the state. The bill passed by a vote of 63 to 4.
The legislation, Senate File 2971, builds on work improving safety and suicide deterrence on Minnesota bridges with high rates of suicide included in the 2025 Transportation Budget bill authored by Senator Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis), and is the result of continued advocacy from the family of Kayla Gaebel who have been advocating for suicide prevention improvements in Kayla’s memory and members of Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE).
“This legislation is the result of advocates, families, and loved ones who worked through unimaginable grief to help others be spared losses they faced in their lives, and to make sure Minnesota has life-saving measures accounted for in how we design and rehabilitate our bridges,” said Sen. Dibble. “It ensures that when we have the opportunity, we act deliberately, guided by data, expertise, and care. At its core, this bill reflects a simple but profound responsibility: to design our public spaces in a way that protects people in their most vulnerable moments.”
Senate File 2971, also known as “Kayla’s HOPE Act”, would direct MnDOT to develop a statewide approach to identifying bridges with similarly high rates of suicide and to implement physical deterrents to suicide into bridge projects that would already take place to help strengthen safety and prevent suicide.
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