SB 198: "An Act relating to gun violence protective orders; relating to the crime of violating a protective order; relating to a central registry for protective orders; requiring physicians, psychologists, psychological associates, social workers, marital and family therapists, and licensed professional counselors to report annually threats of gun violence; relating to the powers of district judges and magistrates; amending Rules 4 and 65, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, and Rule 9, Alaska Rules of Administration; and providing for an effective date."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 198 01 "An Act relating to gun violence protective orders; relating to the crime of violating a 02 protective order; relating to a central registry for protective orders; requiring 03 physicians, psychologists, psychological associates, social workers, marital and family 04 therapists, and licensed professional counselors to report annually threats of gun 05 violence; relating to the powers of district judges and magistrates; amending Rules 4 06 and 65, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, and Rule 9, Alaska Rules of Administration; 07 and providing for an effective date." 08 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 09 * Section 1. AS 11.56.740(a) is amended to read: 10 (a) A person commits the crime of violating a protective order if the person is 11 subject to a protective order 12 (1) issued, filed, or recognized under AS 18.66 and containing a 13 provision listed in AS 18.66.100(c)(1) - (7) and knowingly commits or attempts to
01 commit an act with reckless disregard that the act violates or would violate a provision 02 of the protective order; 03 (2) issued or recognized under AS 18.65.850, 18.65.855, 18.65.860, or 04 18.65.867 and knowingly commits or attempts to commit an act that violates or would 05 violate a provision listed in AS 18.65.850(c)(1) - (3); or 06 (3) issued under AS 13.26.450 - 13.26.460 and knowingly commits or 07 attempts to commit an act with reckless disregard that the act violates or would violate 08 a provision of the protective order; or 09 (4) issued under AS 18.65.815 - 18.65.825 and knowingly commits 10 or attempts to commit an act that violates or would violate a provision listed in 11 AS 18.65.815(c). 12 * Sec. 2. AS 11.56.740(c) is amended to read: 13 (c) In this section, "protective order" means an order issued, filed, or 14 recognized under AS 13.26.450 - 13.26.460, AS 18.65.815 - 18.65.825, 18.65.850 - 15 18.65.870 [AS 18.65.850 - 18.65.870], or AS 18.66.100 - 18.66.180. 16 * Sec. 3. AS 18.65.530(a) is amended to read: 17 (a) Except as provided in (b) or (c) of this section, a peace officer, with or 18 without a warrant, shall arrest a person if the officer has probable cause to believe the 19 person has, either in or outside the presence of the officer, within the previous 12 20 hours, 21 (1) committed domestic violence, except an offense under 22 AS 11.41.100 - 11.41.130, whether the crime is a felony or a misdemeanor; 23 (2) committed the crime of violating a protective order in violation of 24 AS 11.56.740(a)(1), [OR] (2), or (4); 25 (3) violated a condition of release imposed under AS 12.30.016(e) or 26 (f) or 12.30.027. 27 * Sec. 4. AS 18.65.540(a) is amended to read: 28 (a) The Department of Public Safety shall maintain a central registry of 29 protective orders issued by or filed with a court of this state under AS 13.26.450 - 30 13.26.460, AS 18.65.815 - 18.65.825, 18.65.850 - 18.65.870 [AS 18.65.850 - 31 18.65.870], or AS 18.66.100 - 18.66.180. The registry must include, for each
01 protective order, the names of the petitioner and respondent, their dates of birth, and 02 the conditions and duration of the order. The registry shall retain a record of the 03 protective order after it has expired. 04 * Sec. 5. AS 18.65.540(b) is amended to read: 05 (b) A peace officer receiving a protective order from a court under 06 AS 13.26.450, 13.26.455, AS 18.65.815, 18.65.820, 18.65.850, 18.65.855 07 [AS 18.65.850 - 18.65.855], or AS 18.66.100 - 18.66.180, a modified order issued 08 under AS 13.26.460, AS 18.65.825, 18.65.860 [AS 18.65.860], or AS 18.66.120, or an 09 order dismissing a protective order shall take reasonable steps to ensure that the order, 10 modified order, or dismissal is entered into the central registry within 24 hours after 11 being received. 12 * Sec. 6. AS 18.65 is amended by adding new sections to article 11 to read: 13 Sec. 18.65.815. Gun violence protective orders. (a) A peace officer who 14 reasonably believes that a person is a danger to self or others by possessing, owning, 15 purchasing, or receiving a firearm may file a petition in the district or superior court 16 for a protective order against the person. The petition must include a description of the 17 number, types, and locations of any firearms or ammunition the peace officer believes 18 are owned or possessed by the respondent and the basis for the petition. 19 (b) When a peace officer files a petition for a protective order, the court shall 20 schedule a hearing and provide at least 10 days' notice to the respondent of the hearing 21 and of the respondent's right to appear and be heard, either in person or through an 22 attorney. If the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the respondent is a 23 danger to self or others by possessing, owning, purchasing, or receiving a firearm, 24 regardless of whether the respondent appears at the hearing, the court may order the 25 relief available under (c) of this section. The provisions of a protective order issued 26 under this section are effective for six months unless earlier dissolved by the court. 27 (c) A protective order issued under this section shall prohibit the respondent 28 from possessing, owning, purchasing, receiving, or attempting to purchase or receive a 29 firearm or ammunition. 30 (d) If the court issues a protective order under this section, the court shall 31 (1) make reasonable efforts to ensure that the order is understood by
01 the petitioner and by the respondent, if present; 02 (2) have the order delivered to the appropriate local law enforcement 03 agency for expedited service; 04 (3) direct the respondent to surrender to the appropriate law 05 enforcement agency or sell to a firearms dealer all firearms and ammunition that the 06 respondent possesses or owns within 24 hours after receiving the order. 07 Sec. 18.65.820. Ex parte and emergency gun violence protective orders. (a) 08 A peace officer who reasonably believes that a person is a danger to self or others may 09 file a petition under AS 18.65.815 and request an ex parte gun violence protective 10 order. If the court finds that the petition establishes by a preponderance of the 11 evidence that the respondent poses a significant danger of injury to self or others by 12 possessing, owning, purchasing, or receiving a firearm, that less restrictive alternatives 13 have been tried and were ineffective, and that the peace officer has certified to the 14 court in writing the efforts, if any, that have been made to provide notice to the 15 respondent, the court shall ex parte and without notice to the respondent issue a 16 protective order. Before issuing the protective order, the court shall examine on oath 17 the petitioner and any witnesses the petitioner produces. The court may require the 18 petitioner and any witnesses to submit a written affidavit signed under oath instead of 19 examining the petitioner and witnesses. An ex parte protective order issued under this 20 subsection shall prohibit the respondent from possessing, owning, purchasing, or 21 receiving a firearm or ammunition. An ex parte protective order expires 20 days after 22 the order is issued unless dissolved earlier by the court at the request of either the 23 petitioner or the respondent after notice and, if requested, a hearing. If the court issues 24 an ex parte protective order, the court shall have the order delivered to the appropriate 25 law enforcement agency for expedited service. 26 (b) A peace officer may request an emergency gun violence protective order 27 from a judicial officer. A peace officer may make the request orally, either in person 28 or by telephone, or by submitting a sworn written statement. If the court finds by a 29 preponderance of the evidence that the respondent poses an immediate danger of 30 injury to self or others by possessing, owning, purchasing, or receiving a firearm and 31 that less restrictive alternatives have been tried and were ineffective, the court ex parte
01 shall issue an emergency protective order. An emergency protective order shall 02 prohibit the respondent from possessing, owning, purchasing, or receiving a firearm or 03 ammunition. An emergency protective order expires 72 hours after it is issued unless 04 dissolved earlier by the court at the request of the petitioner. A peace officer who 05 obtains an emergency protective order under this subsection shall 06 (1) place the provisions of an oral order in writing on a form provided 07 by the court and file the written order with the issuing court by the end of the judicial 08 day after the order is issued; and 09 (2) immediately serve a copy of the order on the respondent. 10 Sec. 18.65.825. Modification of gun violence protective order. (a) A peace 11 officer or the respondent may request modification of a gun violence protective order 12 issued under AS 18.65.815 or 18.65.820(a). If a request is made for modification of 13 (1) a protective order, after notice and hearing under AS 18.65.815, the 14 court shall schedule a hearing within 20 days after the date the request is made, except 15 that, if the court finds that the request is meritless on its face, the court may deny the 16 request without a hearing; or 17 (2) an ex parte protective order under AS 18.65.820(a), the court shall 18 schedule a hearing on three days' notice or on shorter notice as the court may 19 prescribe. 20 (b) If the court modifies a protective order under this section, the court shall 21 issue a modified order and shall 22 (1) make reasonable efforts to ensure that the order is understood by 23 the respondent, if present at the hearing; and 24 (2) have the order delivered to the appropriate local law enforcement 25 agency for expedited service. 26 Sec. 18.65.830. Surrender of firearms and ammunition. (a) When a court 27 issues a gun violence protective order under AS 18.65.815 - 18.65.825, the court shall 28 order the respondent to surrender to the appropriate local law enforcement agency or 29 to sell to a firearms dealer all firearms and ammunition that the respondent possesses, 30 owns, or has within the respondent's custody or control within 24 hours after receiving 31 the protective order.
01 (b) Within 48 hours after receiving notice of the protective order, the 02 respondent shall file with the 03 (1) court an original receipt showing that all firearms and ammunition 04 have been surrendered to the local law enforcement agency or sold to a firearms 05 dealer; and 06 (2) local law enforcement agency that served the protective order a 07 copy of the receipt under (1) of this subsection. 08 (c) A law enforcement agency shall retain any firearms or ammunition 09 surrendered to the law enforcement agency under this section until the expiration of 10 the gun violence protective order. When the protective order expires, the law 11 enforcement agency shall return the firearms or ammunition to the respondent. 12 (d) A respondent who has surrendered firearms or ammunition to a law 13 enforcement agency and does not want the firearms or ammunition returned may sell 14 or transfer title of the firearms or ammunition to a firearms dealer. 15 (e) A person other than the respondent who claims title to any firearms or 16 ammunition surrendered under a protective order issued under AS 18.65.815 - 17 18.65.825 may petition the court to have the firearms or ammunition returned to the 18 person. 19 Sec. 18.65.835. Service of process; forms for petitions and orders; fees; 20 warnings; notification; and pending civil or criminal actions. (a) Service of 21 process of an order issued by the court under AS 18.65.815 - 18.65.825 shall be as 22 provided in AS 18.66.160 for service of process of domestic violence protective 23 orders. 24 (b) The Alaska Court System shall prepare forms for petitions and protective 25 orders and instructions for their use by a peace officer seeking a protective order under 26 AS 18.65.815 - 18.65.825. The forms must conform to the Alaska Rules of Civil 27 Procedure, except that information on the forms may be filled in by legible 28 handwriting. Filing fees may not be charged in an action seeking only the relief 29 provided in AS 18.65.815 - 18.65.845. Each protective order form must contain the 30 following statements in boldface type: 31 (1) "Violation of this order may be a misdemeanor, punishable by up
01 to one year of incarceration and a fine of up to $10,000"; and 02 (2) "To the restrained person: this order will last until the date and time 03 noted above. You are required to surrender all firearms and ammunition that you own 04 or possess in accordance with AS 18.65.830, and you may not have in your custody or 05 control, own, purchase, possess, receive, or attempt to purchase or receive, a firearm 06 or ammunition while this order is in effect. You may seek the advice of an attorney as 07 to any matter connected with the order. The attorney should be consulted promptly so 08 that the attorney may assist you in any matter connected with the order." 09 (c) In addition to other information required, a petition for a protective order 10 must include a statement of pending civil and criminal actions involving the 11 respondent, if known. While a protective order is in effect or a petition for a protective 12 order is pending, both the petitioner and respondent have a continuing duty to inform 13 the court of pending civil and criminal actions involving the respondent, if known. 14 Sec. 18.65.840. Notification of law enforcement agencies. When a court 15 issues or accepts for filing a protective order under AS 18.65.815 - 18.65.825, the 16 court shall send a copy of the order to the appropriate local law enforcement agency. 17 Each law enforcement agency shall establish procedures to inform peace officers of 18 protective orders. Peace officers shall use every reasonable means to enforce a 19 protective order issued or filed under AS 18.65.815 - 18.65.825. 20 Sec. 18.65.845. Health care providers; duty to report serious threats of 21 gun violence. Annually, a health care provider shall report to the Department of 22 Health and Social Services any serious threat conveyed to the health care provider 23 during the year of gun violence against a reasonably identifiable victim. The health 24 care provider may not include any personally identifiable information in the report and 25 shall make the report on or before December 31 of each year. The Department of 26 Health and Social Services shall summarize the reports received under this section in 27 an annual report and submit the report on or before January 31 to the senate secretary 28 and the chief clerk of the house of representatives and notify the legislature that the 29 report is available. The Department of Health and Social Services may not include any 30 personally identifiable information in the report. In this section, "health care provider" 31 means a physician, psychologist, psychological associate, social worker, marital and
01 family therapist, or licensed professional counselor. 02 * Sec. 7. AS 18.65.835(b), enacted by sec. 6 of this Act, is amended to read: 03 (b) The Alaska Court System shall prepare forms for petitions and protective 04 orders and instructions for their use by a peace officer seeking a protective order under 05 AS 18.65.815 - 18.65.825. The forms must conform to the Alaska Rules of Civil 06 Procedure, except that information on the forms may be filled in by legible 07 handwriting. Filing fees may not be charged in an action seeking only the relief 08 provided in AS 18.65.815 - 18.65.830 [AS 18.65.815 - 18.65.845]. Each protective 09 order form must contain the following statements in boldface type: 10 (1) "Violation of this order may be a misdemeanor, punishable by up 11 to one year of incarceration and a fine of up to $10,000"; and 12 (2) "To the restrained person: this order will last until the date and time 13 noted above. You are required to surrender all firearms and ammunition that you own 14 or possess in accordance with AS 18.65.830, and you may not have in your custody or 15 control, own, purchase, possess, receive, or attempt to purchase or receive, a firearm 16 or ammunition while this order is in effect. You may seek the advice of an attorney as 17 to any matter connected with the order. The attorney should be consulted promptly so 18 that the attorney may assist you in any matter connected with the order." 19 * Sec. 8. AS 22.15.100 is amended to read: 20 Sec. 22.15.100. Functions and powers of district judge and magistrate. 21 Each district judge and magistrate has the power 22 (1) to issue writs of habeas corpus for the purpose of inquiring into the 23 cause of restraint of liberty, returnable before a judge of the superior court, and the 24 same proceedings shall be had on the writ as if it had been granted by the superior 25 court judge under the laws of the state in those cases; 26 (2) of a notary public; 27 (3) to solemnize marriages; 28 (4) to issue warrants of arrest, summons, and search warrants 29 according to manner and procedure prescribed by law and the supreme court; 30 (5) to act as an examining judge or magistrate in preliminary 31 examinations in criminal proceedings; to set, receive, and forfeit bail and to order the
01 release of defendants under bail; 02 (6) to act as a referee in matters and actions referred to the judge or 03 magistrate by the superior court, with all powers conferred on [UPON] referees by 04 laws; 05 (7) of the superior court in all respects, including contempts, 06 attendance of witnesses, and bench warrants; 07 (8) to order the temporary detention of a minor, or take other action 08 authorized by law or rules of procedure, in cases arising under AS 47.10 or AS 47.12, 09 when the minor is in a condition or surrounding dangerous or injurious to the welfare 10 of the minor or others that requires immediate action; the action may be continued in 11 effect until reviewed by the superior court in accordance with rules of procedure 12 governing these cases; 13 (9) to issue a protective order in cases involving 14 (A) domestic violence as provided in AS 18.66.100 - 15 18.66.180; [OR] 16 (B) stalking or sexual assault as provided in AS 18.65.850 - 17 18.65.870; or 18 (C) gun violence as provided in AS 18.65.815 - 18.65.825; 19 (10) to review an administrative revocation of a person's driver's 20 license or nonresident privilege to drive, and an administrative refusal to issue an 21 original license, when designated as a hearing officer by the commissioner of 22 administration and with the consent of the administrative director of the Alaska Court 23 System; 24 (11) to establish the fact of death or inquire into the death of a person 25 in the manner prescribed under AS 09.55.020 - 09.55.069; 26 (12) to issue an ex parte testing, examination, or screening order 27 according to the manner and procedure prescribed by AS 18.15.375. 28 * Sec. 9. AS 18.65.845 is repealed February 1, 2022. 29 * Sec. 10. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 30 read: 31 INDIRECT COURT RULE AMENDMENTS. (a) AS 18.65.835, added by sec. 6 of
01 this Act, has the effect of amending Rule 4, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, and Rule 9, 02 Alaska Rules of Administration, relating to fees and service of process for a gun violence 03 protective order. 04 (b) The provisions of sec. 6 of this Act have the effect of amending Rule 65, Alaska 05 Rules of Civil Procedure, by changing the method for obtaining, and the timing of, temporary 06 restraining orders. 07 * Sec. 11. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 08 read: 09 CONDITIONAL EFFECT. AS 18.65.815 - 18.65.845, added by sec. 6 of this Act, 10 take effect only if sec. 10 of this Act receives the two-thirds majority vote of each house 11 required by art. IV, sec. 15, Constitution of the State of Alaska. 12 * Sec. 12. Section 7 of this Act takes effect February 1, 2022.