00                      CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 92(STA)                                                                     
01 "An Act relating to reports by members of the clergy who have reasonable cause to                                       
02 suspect that a child has suffered harm as a result of child abuse."                                                     
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1.  AS 47.17.020(a) is amended to read:                                                                  
05            (a)  The following persons who, in the performance of their occupational                                     
06       duties, or with respect to (8) of this subsection, in the performance of their appointed                          
07       duties, have reasonable cause to suspect that a child has suffered harm as a result of                            
08       child abuse or neglect shall immediately report the harm to the nearest office of the                             
09       department:                                                                                                       
10                 (1)  practitioners of the healing arts;                                                                 
11                 (2)  school teachers and school administrative staff members of public                                  
12       and private schools;                                                                                              
13                 (3)  peace officers and officers of the Department of Corrections;                                      
14                 (4)  administrative officers of institutions;                                                           

01                 (5)  child care providers;                                                                              
02                 (6)  paid employees of domestic violence and sexual assault programs,                                   
03       and crisis intervention and prevention programs as defined in AS 18.66.990;                                       
04                 (7)  paid employees of an organization that provides counseling or                                      
05       treatment to individuals seeking to control their use of drugs or alcohol;                                        
06                 (8)  members of a child fatality review team established under                                          
07       AS 12.65.015(e) or 12.65.120 or the multidisciplinary child protection team created                               
08       under AS 47.14.300;                                                                                           
09                 (9)  clergy members, except as provided in AS 47.17.021 and except                                  
10       that, notwithstanding other provisions of this section or this chapter, a clergy                              
11       member is not required to report a reasonable suspicion of harm to a child if the                             
12       clergy member believes that the harm comes only from neglect.                                                 
13    * Sec. 2.  AS 47.17 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                    
14            Sec. 47.17.021.  Reports by clergy members.  (a)  Notwithstanding                                          
15       AS 47.17.020(a), a clergy member who acquires knowledge of or reasonable cause to                                 
16       suspect child abuse during a penitential communication is not subject to                                          
17       AS 47.17.020(a).  In this subsection, "penitential communication" means a                                         
18       communication to a member of the clergy intended by the communicating person to be                                
19       in confidence to the clergy member, who, in the course of the discipline or practice of                           
20       the clergy member's church, denomination, or organization, is authorized or                                       
21       accustomed to hear those communications and, under the discipline, tenets, customs,                               
22       or practices of the church, denomination, or organization, has a duty to keep those                               
23       communications secret.                                                                                            
24            (b)  This section may not be construed to modify or limit a clergy member's                                  
25       duty to report known or suspected child abuse when the clergy member is acting in                                 
26       some other capacity that would otherwise make the clergy member a mandated                                        
27       reporter under AS 47.17.020(a).                                                                                   
28            (c)  In this section, "child abuse" has the meaning given to "child abuse or                                 
29       neglect" in AS 47.17.290, except that it does not include "neglect," as defined in                                
30       AS 47.17.290.                                                                                                     
31    * Sec. 3.  AS 47.17.290 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read:                                              

01                 (17)  "clergy member" means a bishop, pastor, priest, minister, rabbi,                                  
02       religious healing practitioner, or person in a similar leadership position of a church,                           
03       temple, religious denomination, or religious organization.