“This amendment takes the politics out of pubic health.  The Commission will now be an independent agency free from the political winds that have interfered with its work.” said Barrios.

 Under the legislation adopted by the Senate, the Commission would be made up of members from community-based organizations, and continue to work on crucial issues such as suicide prevention education initiatives, training for mental health service providers in school settings, prevention of youth suicide related to sexual identity, and facilitating faculty trainings geared towards ending school-based violence against gay youth.

 "The Commission oversees life-saving programs for a group of youth who are very much at-risk," said Rep. Alice Wolf. "The Governor's unnecessary action to take this program away from those who need it most came after the House had passed it budget.  I am pleased that the Senate is taking steps to continue this program, and I expect that the House will show its support for this program and these youth when the budget moves into the conference committee."

 Former chairperson and current member of the Governor’s Commission, Vincent McCarthy said, “I applaud Senator Barrios and Rep. Wolf for their work on this issue.  The Commission’s programs are too important to be eliminated because of political differences.

 The Senate approved its version of the budget yesterday.  A conference committee of House and Senate members will meet in early June to reconcile the differences between their two budgets. The final budget will then be voted on by both the House and the Senate and presented to the Governor for his signature in June.

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