SB 200: "An Act relating to the commission of an offense or a juvenile delinquency act involving the victim's race, sex, color, religion, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, economic disadvantage, ancestry, or national origin; relating to sentencing, informal adjustment, and adjudication for those offenses and acts; relating to a diversity tolerance program for certain juvenile delinquency acts; relating to a civil cause of action for certain acts involving discriminatory harassment; and providing for an effective date."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 200 01 "An Act relating to the commission of an offense or a juvenile delinquency act involving 02 the victim's race, sex, color, religion, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, 03 economic disadvantage, ancestry, or national origin; relating to sentencing, informal 04 adjustment, and adjudication for those offenses and acts; relating to a diversity 05 tolerance program for certain juvenile delinquency acts; relating to a civil cause of 06 action for certain acts involving discriminatory harassment; and providing for an 07 effective date." 08 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 09 * Section 1. AS 09.55 is amended by adding a new section to read: 10 Sec. 09.55.670. Discriminatory harassment action. (a) An individual may 11 maintain a civil action for discriminatory harassment against another, or against the 12 parent or legal guardian of a minor, who has caused physical injury to the individual, 13 or damage to the property of the individual, with the intent to intimidate or harass the
01 individual because of the individual's actual or perceived race, sex, color, religion, 02 physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, economic disadvantage, ancestry, or 03 national origin. 04 (b) An action may not be maintained under this section against 05 (1) the state, an agency or instrumentality of the state, or a political 06 subdivision of the state; 07 (2) an agent, officer, or employee of an entity described in (1) of this 08 subsection; 09 (3) an individual working in or responsible for the operation under 10 AS 47 of a foster, receiving, or detention home or children's institution, regarding the 11 acts of an unemancipated minor in the charge or custody of the home or institution; or 12 (4) an employee of or a volunteer with a nonprofit corporation that 13 designates shelters for runaways under AS 47.10.392 - 47.10.399, regarding the acts of 14 a minor sheltered in a shelter for runaways, as defined in AS 47.10.399. 15 (c) Compensatory and punitive damages may be awarded to a prevailing 16 plaintiff in an action brought under this section. An award of damages against the 17 parent or legal guardian of a minor under this section must be based upon the reckless 18 conduct of the parent or legal guardian having actual care and custody of the minor. 19 (d) An award of damages under this section does not preclude an individual 20 from seeking other remedies available under other law. 21 * Sec. 2. AS 12.55.085(f) is amended to read: 22 (f) The court may not suspend the imposition of sentence of a person who 23 (1) is convicted of a violation of AS 11.41.100 - 11.41.220, 24 11.41.260 - 11.41.320, 11.41.410 - 11.41.530, or AS 11.46.400; 25 (2) uses a firearm in the commission of the offense for which the 26 person is convicted; [OR] 27 (3) is convicted of a violation of AS 11.41.230 - 11.41.250 or a felony 28 and the person has one or more prior convictions for a misdemeanor violation of 29 AS 11.41 or for a felony or for a violation of a law in this or another jurisdiction 30 having substantially similar elements to an offense defined as a misdemeanor in 31 AS 11.41 or as a felony in this state; for the purposes of this paragraph, a person shall
01 be considered to have a prior conviction even if that conviction has been set aside 02 under (e) of this section or under the equivalent provisions of the laws of another 03 jurisdiction; or 04 (4) is convicted of an offense and knowingly directed the conduct 05 constituting the offense at a victim because of that person's actual or perceived 06 race, sex, color, religion, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, 07 economic disadvantage, ancestry, or national origin. 08 * Sec. 3. AS 12.55.135(i) is amended to read: 09 (i) If a defendant is sentenced under (g) or (k) of this section, 10 (1) execution of sentence may not be suspended and probation or 11 parole may not be granted until the minimum term of imprisonment has been served; 12 (2) imposition of sentence may not be suspended; 13 (3) the minimum term of imprisonment may not otherwise be reduced. 14 * Sec. 4. AS 12.55.135(j) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 15 (3) "hate crime" means the defendant knowingly directed the conduct 16 constituting the offense at a victim because of that person's actual or perceived race, 17 sex, color, religion, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, economic 18 disadvantage, ancestry, or national origin. 19 * Sec. 5. AS 12.55.135 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 20 (k) If a court finds by clear and convincing evidence that a defendant has 21 committed a misdemeanor hate crime, the court shall sentence the defendant 22 (1) to a minimum term of imprisonment of 60 days if the defendant 23 violated AS 11.41.230(a)(1) or (2) or 11.41.270; 24 (2) to a minimum term of imprisonment of 30 days if the defendant 25 violated AS 11.41.230(a)(3) or 11.41.250; 26 (3) to a minimum term of imprisonment of 10 days if the defendant 27 violated AS 11.61.110 or 11.61.120; or 28 (4) as a worst offender if the defendant violated any other provision of 29 AS 11 that is punishable as a misdemeanor and that is not described in (1) - (3) of this 30 subsection. 31 * Sec. 6. AS 12.55.155(c)(22) is amended to read:
01 (22) the defendant knowingly directed the conduct constituting the 02 offense at a victim because of that person's actual or perceived race, sex, color, 03 religion [CREED], physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, economic 04 disadvantage, ancestry, or national origin; 05 * Sec. 7. AS 47.12.060(b) is amended to read: 06 (b) When the department or the entity selected by it decides to make an 07 informal adjustment of a matter under (a)(2) of this section, that informal adjustment 08 must 09 (1) [MAY NOT] be made with [WITHOUT] the agreement or consent 10 of the minor and the minor's parents or guardian to the terms and conditions of the 11 adjustment; 12 (2) [. IN ADDITION, THE DEPARTMENT OR ENTITY SHALL] 13 give the minor's foster parents an opportunity to be heard before the informal 14 adjustment is made; 15 (3) include notice that [. AN] informal action to adjust a matter is not 16 successfully completed unless, among other factors that the department or the entity 17 selected by it considers, as to the victim of the act of the minor that is the basis of the 18 delinquency allegation, the minor pays restitution in the amount set by the department 19 or the entity selected by it or agrees as a term or condition set by the department or the 20 entity selected by it to pay the restitution; and 21 (4) if there is reason to believe that the minor knowingly directed 22 the conduct constituting a delinquent act at a victim because of that person's 23 actual or perceived race, sex, color, religion, physical or mental disability, sexual 24 orientation, economic disadvantage, ancestry, or national origin, 25 (A) require the minor to perform a minimum of 100 hours 26 of community work service; and 27 (B) include a referral to a diversity tolerance program or 28 otherwise provide the minor and the minor's parents or guardian with the 29 opportunity to develop respect for the ethnic, cultural, and personal 30 diversity of all persons of the state. 31 * Sec. 8. AS 47.12.120(b) is amended to read:
01 (b) If the minor is not subject to (j) of this section and the court finds that the 02 minor is delinquent, it shall 03 (1) order the minor committed to the department for a period of time 04 not to exceed two years or in any event extend past the day the minor becomes 19 05 years of age, except that the department may petition for and the court may grant in a 06 hearing (A) two-year extensions of commitment that do not extend beyond the minor's 07 19th birthday if the extension is in the best interests of the minor and the public; and 08 (B) an additional one-year period of supervision past age 19 if continued supervision 09 is in the best interests of the person and the person consents to it; the department shall 10 place the minor in the juvenile facility that the department considers appropriate and 11 that may include a juvenile correctional school, juvenile work camp, treatment facility, 12 detention home, or detention facility; the minor may be released from placement or 13 detention and placed on probation on order of the court and may also be released by 14 the department, in its discretion, under AS 47.12.260; 15 (2) order the minor placed on probation, to be supervised by the 16 department, and released to the minor's parents, guardian, or a suitable person; if the 17 court orders the minor placed on probation, it may specify the terms and conditions of 18 probation; the probation may be for a period of time not to exceed two years and in no 19 event to extend past the day the minor becomes 19 years of age, except that the 20 department may petition for and the court may grant in a hearing 21 (A) two-year extensions of supervision that do not extend 22 beyond the minor's 19th birthday if the extension is in the best interests of the 23 minor and the public; and 24 (B) an additional one-year period of supervision past age 19 if 25 the continued supervision is in the best interests of the person and the person 26 consents to it; 27 (3) order the minor committed to the custody of the department and 28 placed on probation, to be supervised by the department and released to the minor's 29 parents, guardian, other suitable person, or suitable nondetention setting such as with a 30 relative or in a foster home or residential child care facility, whichever the department 31 considers appropriate to implement the treatment plan of the predisposition report; if
01 the court orders the minor placed on probation, it may specify the terms and conditions 02 of probation; the department may transfer the minor, in the minor's best interests, from 03 one of the probationary placement settings listed in this paragraph to another, and the 04 minor, the minor's parents or guardian, the minor's foster parent, and the minor's 05 attorney are entitled to reasonable notice of the transfer; the probation may be for a 06 period of time not to exceed two years and in no event to extend past the day the 07 minor becomes 19 years of age, except that the department may petition for and the 08 court may grant in a hearing 09 (A) two-year extensions of commitment that do not extend 10 beyond the minor's 19th birthday if the extension is in the best interests of the 11 minor and the public; and 12 (B) an additional one-year period of supervision past age 19 if 13 the continued supervision is in the best interests of the person and the person 14 consents to it; 15 (4) order the minor and the minor's parent to make suitable restitution 16 in lieu of or in addition to the court's order under (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection; 17 under this paragraph, 18 (A) except as provided in (B) of this paragraph, the court may 19 not refuse to make an order of restitution to benefit the victim of the act of the 20 minor that is the basis of the delinquency adjudication; under this 21 subparagraph, the court may require the minor to use the services of a 22 community dispute resolution center that has been recognized by the 23 commissioner under AS 47.12.450(b) to resolve any dispute between the minor 24 and the victim of the minor's offense as to the amount of or manner of payment 25 of the restitution; and 26 (B) the court may not order payment of restitution by the parent 27 of a minor who is a runaway or missing minor for an act of the minor that was 28 committed by the minor after the parent has made a report to a law 29 enforcement agency, as authorized by AS 47.10.141(a), that the minor has run 30 away or is missing; for purposes of this subparagraph, "runaway or missing 31 minor" means a minor who a parent reasonably believes is absent from the
01 minor's residence for the purpose of evading the parent or who is otherwise 02 missing from the minor's usual place of abode without the consent of the 03 parent; 04 (5) order the minor committed to the department for placement in an 05 adventure-based education program established under AS 47.21.020 with conditions 06 the court considers appropriate concerning release upon satisfactory completion of the 07 program or commitment under (1) of this subsection if the program is not satisfactorily 08 completed; 09 (6) in addition to an order under (1) - (5) of this subsection, order the 10 minor to perform community service; for purposes of this paragraph, "community 11 service" includes work 12 (A) on a project identified in AS 33.30.901; or 13 (B) that, on the recommendation of the city council or 14 traditional village council, would benefit persons within the city or village who 15 are elderly or disabled; [OR] 16 (7) in addition to an order under (1) - (6) of this subsection, order the 17 minor's parent or guardian to comply with orders made under AS 47.12.155, including 18 participation in treatment under AS 47.12.155(b)(1); 19 (8) in addition to an order under (1) - (5) and (7) of this subsection, 20 if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the minor knowingly 21 directed the conduct constituting a delinquent act at a victim because of that 22 person's actual or perceived race, sex, color, religion, physical or mental 23 disability, sexual orientation, economic disadvantage, ancestry, or national 24 origin, 25 (A) order the minor to perform a minimum of 100 hours of 26 community work service; and 27 (B) carefully assess the plan proposed by the department 28 under AS 47.12.130 to ensure that the plan adequately provides the minor 29 and the minor's parents or guardian with the opportunity to develop 30 respect for the ethnic, cultural, and personal diversity of all persons of the 31 state.
01 * Sec. 9. AS 47.12 is amended by adding a new section to article 5 to read: 02 Sec. 47.12.970. Diversity tolerance program. The department shall develop 03 and implement, or designate, in cooperation with other state, local, tribal, and non- 04 profit public service agencies, a diversity tolerance program that provides resources 05 for developing respect for ethnic, cultural, and personal diversity, and that is designed 06 for persons under 18 years of age who have been referred to the program under this 07 chapter in connection with conduct by a minor that is motivated by a person's actual or 08 perceived race, sex, color, religion, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, 09 economic disadvantage, ancestry, or national origin. 10 * Sec. 10. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 11 read: 12 APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to offenses or acts committed on or after the 13 effective date of this Act. 14 * Sec. 11. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).