SB 81: "An Act requiring background investigations of village public safety officer applicants by the Department of Public Safety; relating to the village public safety officer program; and providing for an effective date."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 81 01 "An Act requiring background investigations of village public safety officer applicants 02 by the Department of Public Safety; relating to the village public safety officer program; 03 and providing for an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 12.62.400(a) is amended to read: 06 (a) To obtain a national criminal history record check for determining a 07 person's qualifications for a license, permit, registration, employment, or position, a 08 person shall submit the person's fingerprints to the department with the fee established 09 by AS 12.62.160. The department may submit the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau 10 of Investigation to obtain a national criminal history record check of the person for the 11 purpose of evaluating a person's qualifications for 12 (1) a license or conditional contractor's permit to manufacture, sell, 13 offer for sale, possess for sale or barter, traffic in, or barter an alcoholic beverage 14 under AS 04.11;
01 (2) licensure as a mortgage lender, a mortgage broker, or a mortgage 02 loan originator under AS 06.60; 03 (3) admission to the Alaska Bar Association under AS 08.08; 04 (4) licensure as a collection agency operator under AS 08.24; 05 (5) a certificate of fitness to handle explosives under AS 08.52; 06 (6) licensure as a massage therapist under AS 08.61; 07 (7) licensure to practice nursing or certification as a nurse aide under 08 AS 08.68; 09 (8) certification as a real estate appraiser under as 08.87; 10 (9) a position involving supervisory or disciplinary power over a minor 11 or dependent adult for which criminal justice information may be released under 12 AS 12.62.160(b)(9); 13 (10) a teacher certificate under AS 14.20; 14 (11) a registration or license to operate a marijuana establishment 15 under AS 17.38; 16 (12) admittance to a police training program under AS 18.65.230 or for 17 certification as a police officer under AS 18.65.240 if that person's prospective 18 employer does not have access to a criminal justice information system; 19 (13) licensure as a security guard under AS 18.65.400 - 18.65.490; 20 (14) a concealed handgun permit under AS 18.65.700 - 18.65.790; 21 (15) licensure as an insurance producer, managing general agent, 22 reinsurance intermediary broker, reinsurance intermediary manager, surplus lines 23 broker, or independent adjuster under AS 21.27; 24 (16) serving and executing process issued by a court by a person 25 designated under AS 22.20.130; 26 (17) a school bus driver license under AS 28.15.046; 27 (18) licensure as an operator or an instructor for a commercial driver 28 training school under AS 28.17; 29 (19) registration as a broker-dealer, agent, investment adviser 30 representative, or investment adviser under AS 45.56.300 - 45.56.350; 31 (20) licensure, license renewal, certification, certification renewal, or
01 payment from the Department of Health and Social Services of an individual and an 02 entity subject to the requirements for a criminal history check under AS 47.05.310, 03 including 04 (A) a public home care provider described in AS 47.05.017; 05 (B) a provider of home and community-based waiver services 06 financed under AS 47.07.030(c); 07 (C) a case manager to coordinate community mental health 08 services under AS 47.30.530; 09 (D) an entity listed in AS 47.32.010(b), including an owner, 10 officer, director, member, partner, employee, volunteer, or contractor of an 11 entity; or 12 (E) an individual or entity not described in (A) - (D) of this 13 paragraph that is required by statute or regulation to be licensed or certified by 14 the Department of Health and Social Services or that is eligible to receive 15 payments, in whole or in part, from the Department of Health and Social 16 Services to provide for the health, safety, and welfare of persons who are 17 served by the programs administered by the Department of Health and Social 18 Services; 19 (21) employment as a village public safety officer under 20 AS 18.65.672 or certification as a village public safety officer under AS 18.65.682. 21 * Sec. 2. AS 18.65.080 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 22 (b) The Department of Public Safety shall investigate an individual who 23 applies to be employed as a village public safety officer under AS 18.65.672 or 24 certified as a village public safety officer under AS 18.65.682, upon receipt of the 25 materials listed in AS 18.65.674(a)(1) from a village public safety officer grant 26 recipient, to determine whether the individual has been convicted of a disqualifying 27 crime listed in AS 18.65.672(b). 28 * Sec. 3. AS 18.65.670 is repealed and reenacted to read: 29 Sec. 18.65.670. Village public safety officer program. (a) The village public 30 safety officer program is created in the Department of Public Safety, with funding 31 appropriated to the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic
01 Development and disbursed through grants made under this section. The purpose of 02 the program is to appoint, train, supervise, and retain persons to serve as village public 03 safety officers. 04 (b) With funds appropriated for that purpose, the commissioner of commerce, 05 community, and economic development shall, in coordination with the commissioner 06 of public safety, provide grants to nonprofit regional corporations and Alaska Native 07 organizations for training and employment of village public safety officers. If a 08 nonprofit regional corporation for a village or Alaska Native organization declines a 09 grant under this subsection, the commissioner may provide the grant to a municipality 10 with a population of less than 10,000 willing to administer the grant for the village. 11 Before awarding a grant to a municipality, the commissioner of commerce, 12 community, and economic development shall consult with the commissioner of public 13 safety and the nonprofit regional corporation or Alaska Native organization that 14 declined the grant. 15 (c) The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development 16 shall annually accept applications from entities described in (b) of this section for 17 village public safety officer grants. Grant applicants may apply to employ village 18 public safety officers in participating villages located in the applicant's region. An 19 application must include 20 (1) a projected budget, including administrative costs; 21 (2) a list of villages in which the applicant plans to employ village 22 public safety officers; and 23 (3) other information required by the Department of Commerce, 24 Community, and Economic Development. 25 (d) The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development 26 shall enter into a written agreement with a grant recipient before providing grant 27 funding. The agreement must require the grant recipient to 28 (1) comply with state and federal law; 29 (2) provide a salary and benefit schedule for the village public safety 30 officer; 31 (3) be named as the employer of the village public safety officer; and
01 (4) maintain insurance, independently or with the assistance of the 02 Department of Public Safety, that includes coverage for premiums as follows: 03 (A) workers' compensation insurance as required under 04 AS 23.30; 05 (B) comprehensive general liability insurance, including 06 professional practice insurance for police with 07 (i) a limit not less than $1,000,000; and 08 (ii) the state, including an officer, employee, or agent of 09 the state, listed as an additional named insured. 10 (e) An award of grant funding, depending on the funds awarded, must provide 11 for at least one village public safety officer for each village included in a grant 12 agreement entered into under (d) of this section. A grant recipient may assign more 13 than one village public safety officer to a village and request additional funding for the 14 additional village public safety officer. The Department of Commerce, Community, 15 and Economic Development may approve the request for additional funding if the 16 grant recipient provides justification reasonably related to the duties of a village public 17 safety officer and other public safety needs. 18 (f) A grant recipient may assign a traveling village public safety officer to 19 serve multiple villages within the grant recipient's region. 20 (g) A grant recipient shall 21 (1) keep original financial, personnel, and other records relating to a 22 village public safety officer for at least three years after the officer's termination of 23 employment and, upon request, provide that information to the Department of 24 Commerce, Community, and Economic Development or the Department of Public 25 Safety; 26 (2) provide annual financial audits to the Department of Commerce, 27 Community, and Economic Development; 28 (3) facilitate site visits by the Department of Public Safety to monitor 29 public safety officer performance and compliance with state and federal law; 30 (4) notify the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic 31 Development if the grant recipient fails to comply with state or federal law;
01 (5) timely notify the Department of Public Safety if a village public 02 safety officer resigns or vacates a position; and 03 (6) timely notify and submit a written report to the Department of 04 Public Safety if a village public safety officer points a firearm in the direction of 05 another person or discharges a firearm while on duty. 06 (h) The commissioner of public safety may, in consultation with grant 07 recipients, as provided in (k) of this section, adopt regulations related to village public 08 safety officers, including establishing minimum standards and training, physical 09 fitness requirements, criteria for participation by a community, a municipality, an 10 Alaska Native organization, or a corporation, and the interaction between the 11 Department of Public Safety and village public safety officers. If the commissioner of 12 public safety adopts regulations regarding training for village public safety officers, 13 the training must be consistent with the standards in AS 18.65.676 and disability 14 training under AS 18.65.220(3). The commissioner of corrections may, in consultation 15 with grant recipients, adopt regulations related to the functions of village public safety 16 officers providing pretrial, probation, and parole supervision. 17 (i) A grant recipient may charge its federally approved indirect costs to the 18 village public safety officer program grant if the statewide average of indirect costs 19 does not exceed 35 percent. 20 (j) The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development 21 may not withhold, without reason, approval of a funding request made under a grant 22 award. The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development shall 23 timely disburse grant funds. A grant recipient may use funding for items reasonably 24 related to public safety and village public safety officer duties under AS 18.65.670 - 25 18.65.688. 26 (k) The commissioner of public safety, commissioner of commerce, 27 community, and economic development, and commissioner of corrections shall 28 (1) ensure all relations with a federally recognized tribal government 29 that is the incorporator of a nonprofit regional corporation are conducted on a 30 government-to-government basis; 31 (2) ensure the Department of Public Safety and the Department of
01 Commerce, Community, and Economic Development consult with a grant recipient 02 (A) before implementing a policy or regulation that affects the 03 recipient and as early as possible in the development of a new or revised policy 04 or regulation; 05 (B) on the state policies and regulations the grant recipient 06 considers necessary, as well as the substance of the policies and regulations; 07 (3) to the extent possible, use consensual mechanisms to develop 08 policies and regulations, including negotiated rulemaking processes; 09 (4) respect tribal sovereignty in consultations with grant recipients; 10 (5) ensure consultations with grant recipients are open and candid to 11 enable interested parties to accurately assess potential effects; and 12 (6) ensure the removal of procedural impediments to working directly 13 and effectively with grant recipients on programs that affect the governmental rights 14 of a tribe. 15 (l) The commissioner of public safety and the commissioner of commerce, 16 community, and economic development shall designate an official within each 17 department who has the primary responsibility for compliance with this section. The 18 official shall develop and annually review departmental procedures for compliance 19 with this section. The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic 20 Development and the Department of Public Safety shall provide to all grant recipients 21 the results of the annual review and post the results on the Internet websites of the 22 Department of Public Safety and the Department of Commerce, Community, and 23 Economic Development. 24 * Sec. 4. AS 18.65 is amended by adding new sections to read: 25 Sec. 18.65.672. Village public safety officer qualifications. (a) A grant 26 recipient may employ a person as a village public safety officer if the individual 27 (1) is at least 21 years of age; 28 (2) is a citizen of the United States or a resident alien; 29 (3) is of good moral character; 30 (4) has obtained a high school diploma or a general education 31 development diploma or its equivalent;
01 (5) satisfies the physical requirements established in regulation by the 02 Department of Public Safety; 03 (6) has not been previously convicted 04 (A) of a felony; 05 (B) of a sex offense as defined in AS 12.63.100; 06 (C) of a misdemeanor crime involving domestic violence 07 unless at least 10 years have passed since the date of the conviction, the 08 conviction was not for an offense against an intimate partner, spouse, child, or 09 parent, and the Department of Public Safety grants a waiver allowing the 10 individual to access the criminal justice information system; 11 (D) of a misdemeanor if less than five years has elapsed since 12 the individual's date of conviction for the offense; 13 (E) two or more times of 14 (i) misdemeanor operating a vehicle, aircraft, or 15 watercraft while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage, inhalant, 16 or controlled substance under AS 28.35.030; 17 (ii) misdemeanor refusal to submit to a chemical test 18 under AS 28.35.032; or 19 (iii) a combination of the offenses in (i) and (ii) of this 20 subparagraph; 21 (F) of manufacturing, transporting, or delivering an alcoholic 22 beverage in violation of a local option under AS 04.11 or a municipal 23 ordinance or a controlled substance, unless at least 10 years has elapsed; or 24 (G) of possession of a controlled substance as defined in 25 AS 11.71.900, other than marijuana, unless the individual was under 21 years 26 of age at the time of the possession and the possession occurred more than 10 27 years before the date of hire; 28 (7) has not been denied a village public safety officer certification or 29 had a certification revoked; and 30 (8) has not been denied police officer certification, had a certificate 31 revoked, or surrendered a certificate in this state or another jurisdiction.
01 (b) A grant recipient may not use grant money to employ a village public 02 safety officer for a period of more than 24 months unless the officer obtains a village 03 public safety officer certificate from the Department of Public Safety under 04 AS 18.65.682. Upon written application from a grant recipient, the Department of 05 Public Safety may, in its discretion, extend this period up to six months to permit the 06 officer to complete the training required under AS 18.65.676, if the officer is unable to 07 do so in the first 24 months of employment because of an illness, injury, or 08 emergency. 09 (c) In this section, 10 (1) "good moral character" means the absence of acts or conduct that 11 would cause a reasonable person to have substantial doubts about an individual's 12 honesty, fairness, and respect for the rights of others and for the laws of this state and 13 the United States; for purposes of this section, a determination of lack of good moral 14 character may be based on a consideration of all aspects of a person's character; 15 (2) "previously convicted" means having been convicted of a crime 16 described in (a) of this section or a law or ordinance of another jurisdiction with 17 elements similar to the crimes listed in (a) of this section. A conviction for which the 18 person received a suspended entry of judgment, suspended imposition of sentence, 19 expungement, or pardon is a conviction for purposes of this section, unless the 20 conviction was for a misdemeanor crime committed by the individual when the 21 individual was under 21 years of age. 22 Sec. 18.65.674. Background investigations. (a) Before employing an 23 individual as a village public safety officer, a grant recipient shall 24 (1) submit to the commissioner of public safety the individual's 25 (A) completed application and personal and medical history, on 26 forms prepared by the Department of Public Safety; 27 (B) proof of age, citizenship status, and education; and 28 (C) fingerprints, the fees required by the Department of Public 29 Safety under AS 12.62.160 for criminal justice information and a national 30 criminal history record check, and other information sufficient to complete a 31 background check consisting of a fingerprint check of national criminal
01 records and criminal records of the state or states in which the individual has 02 resided for the past 10 years; the Department of Public Safety shall conduct a 03 criminal justice information and national criminal history record check under 04 AS 12.62; 05 (2) review the criminal justice information and national criminal 06 history record check completed by the Department of Public Safety; and 07 (3) review the results of the individual's physical examination and 08 physician certification. 09 (b) Personnel and training information that the Department of Public Safety or 10 a grant recipient receives about a village public safety officer is confidential and 11 available only for review by a grant recipient, the Department of Public Safety, or that 12 officer. A village public safety officer or an individual who applies for employment as 13 a village public safety officer may not review information that another individual 14 supplied with the understanding that the information or its source would remain 15 confidential, unless the information serves as the basis for a decision to deny or revoke 16 a certificate under AS 18.65.684. 17 Sec. 18.65.676. Training. (a) A village public safety officer basic training 18 program must provide 19 (1) a physical training program that includes instruction in physical 20 methods of arrest, use of batons, use of chemical defensive weapons, and electronic 21 control weapons; 22 (2) at least 826 hours of instruction as follows: 23 (A) 650 hours of instruction in 24 (i) Alaska criminal and procedural law; 25 (ii) the Alaska criminal justice system; 26 (iii) police procedures; 27 (iv) disabilities under AS 18.65.220(3); 28 (v) domestic violence and sexual assault prevention and 29 response procedures; and 30 (B) 176 hours of instruction in 31 (i) emergency trauma technician training;
01 (ii) search and rescue training; 02 (iii) rural fire protection specialist training. 03 (b) An individual seeking a village public safety officer certificate under 04 AS 18.65.682 shall attend all sessions of the basic training required under (a) of this 05 section, unless the director of the training program approves an absence. An individual 06 who is absent for more than 10 percent of the total hours of instruction has not 07 successfully completed basic training. 08 (c) An individual who fails to comply with the attendance and performance 09 requirements of the training program may be dismissed from the training. The 10 Department of Public Safety may not consider a dismissed individual to have 11 successfully completed basic training. 12 (d) If a village public safety officer receives training that the Department of 13 Public Safety did not provide and the entity conducting the training provides a 14 description of the training to the department, the department may take that training 15 into account in determining the completion of basic training and accept other police 16 officer or firefighter training and experience that equals or exceeds the hours and 17 covers the subject matter required under (a) of this section. 18 Sec. 18.65.678. Firearms training. (a) A village public safety officer may not, 19 except in an emergency, carry a firearm in the performance of the officer's duties until 20 the officer has successfully completed 21 (1) a basic firearms training program that is certified by the Alaska 22 Police Standards Council or substantially similar training as determined by the 23 Department of Public Safety; 24 (2) a psychological examination conducted by a mental health 25 professional; and 26 (3) all annual firearm qualification requirements. 27 (b) In determining the successful completion of basic firearms training, the 28 Department of Public Safety may consider previous training and experience that is 29 substantially similar to the training required under (a) of this section. 30 Sec. 18.65.682. Village public safety officer certification. The Department of 31 Public Safety shall issue a village public safety officer certificate to an individual who
01 (1) has satisfactorily completed 12 months as a full-time paid village 02 public safety officer without a break in service longer than 90 consecutive days or 03 nonconsecutive breaks in service totaling 120 or more days; 04 (2) meets the standards in AS 18.65.672; 05 (3) has successfully completed 06 (A) a basic training program that meets the requirements under 07 AS 18.65.676; and 08 (B) a background information check under AS 18.65.674(a); 09 and 10 (4) attests to the law enforcement code of ethics. 11 Sec. 18.65.684. Denial, revocation, or lapse of certificate. (a) The 12 Department of Public Safety may deny an individual's application for a village public 13 safety officer certificate or revoke a village public safety officer certificate in 14 accordance with AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) if 15 (1) the individual knowingly makes a false statement in an application 16 or other document required for employment or certification; or 17 (2) after the date of hire, has 18 (A) been convicted of a 19 (i) felony; 20 (ii) misdemeanor crime involving domestic violence; or 21 (iii) misdemeanor crime of dishonesty, a crime that 22 resulted in serious physical injury to another person, or of operating a 23 vehicle, aircraft, or watercraft while under the influence of an alcoholic 24 beverage, inhalant, or controlled substance two or more times; 25 (B) illegally used, possessed, manufactured, transported, or 26 delivered an alcoholic beverage in violation of a local option under AS 04.11 27 or a municipal ordinance or a controlled substance; or 28 (C) used, sold, cultivated, transported, manufactured, or 29 distributed marijuana. 30 (b) The commissioner of public safety is not required to deny an individual's 31 application for a certificate or revoke a certificate if the individual or holder of the
01 certificate establishes by clear and convincing evidence that, in connection with a 02 conviction for a misdemeanor crime involving domestic violence, the individual or 03 holder of the certificate 04 (1) was not represented by counsel and did not, by guilty plea or 05 otherwise, knowingly waive the right to counsel; 06 (2) was entitled to a jury trial, did not receive a jury trial, and did not, 07 by guilty plea or otherwise, knowingly waive the right to a jury trial; or 08 (3) is not subject to a court order that expressly prohibits the officer 09 from shipping, transporting, possessing, or receiving firearms, and the underlying 10 conviction 11 (A) has been expunged or set aside; 12 (B) is for an offense for which the officer has been pardoned; 13 or 14 (C) is for an offense for which the officer has had civil rights 15 restored that were lost upon the conviction. 16 (c) The holder of a certificate shall immediately return the certificate to the 17 Department of Public Safety upon notification of the revocation. 18 (d) An individual who is denied a certificate or a holder whose certificate is 19 revoked may appeal to the commissioner of public safety for reversal of the denial or 20 revocation. The appeal must be received in writing within 30 days after the date of the 21 notice of denial or revocation and must set out the reasons for the appeal. The 22 commissioner of public safety or the commissioner's designee shall issue a written 23 decision within 45 days after receipt of the appeal. 24 (e) A certificate lapses if the holder is not employed as a full-time village 25 public safety officer for a period of 12 consecutive months. 26 (f) An individual may request reinstatement of a lapsed certificate after 27 undergoing additional training as determined by the Department of Public Safety and 28 serving an additional probationary period of up to 12 months, at the discretion of the 29 commissioner of public safety in consultation with the grant recipient. A certificate 30 may not be reinstated if the certificate has lapsed for more than 10 years. 31 Sec. 18.65.686. Powers and duties of village public safety officers. A village
01 public safety officer who is certified under AS 18.65.682 has the power of a peace 02 officer of the state or a municipality and is charged with 03 (1) the protection of life and property in the state, including through 04 (A) fire prevention and suppression; 05 (B) provision of emergency medical services; and 06 (C) participation in and coordination of search and rescue 07 efforts for missing or injured persons; 08 (2) providing pretrial, probation, and parole supervision to persons 09 under supervision by communicating with and monitoring the activities and progress 10 of these persons at the direction of pretrial services, probation, and parole officers; 11 (3) conducting investigations; 12 (4) enforcing 13 (A) the criminal laws of the state or a municipality; 14 (B) statutes or ordinances of the state or municipality 15 punishable as a violation if the certified village public safety officer has 16 completed training in that field of violation enforcement; 17 (5) providing local training programs on public safety; and 18 (6) the powers usually and customarily exercised by a peace officer. 19 Sec. 18.65.688. Definitions. In AS 18.65.670 - 18.65.688, 20 (1) "Alaska Native organization" means an organization listed in 21 AS 47.27.070(a); 22 (2) "crime involving domestic violence" has the meaning given in 23 AS 18.66.990; 24 (3) "marijuana" has the meaning given in AS 11.71.900; 25 (4) "village" means a community with a population less than 2,500 26 based on the most recent federal census. 27 * Sec. 5. AS 44.33.020(a) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 28 (45) administer the village public safety officer grant program under 29 AS 18.65.670 through grant application review, compliance monitoring, and 30 consultation and mediation of disputes between grant recipients. 31 * Sec. 6. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to
01 read: 02 TRANSITION. Notwithstanding the requirements in AS 18.65.672 and 18.65.676, 03 enacted by sec. 4 of this Act, a person employed as a village public safety officer on the day 04 before the effective date of sec. 4 of this Act may continue to be employed as a village public 05 safety officer without meeting the requirements in AS 18.65.672 and 18.65.676. 06 * Sec. 7. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 07 read: 08 TRANSITION. In implementing AS 18.65.670(h), added by sec. 3 of this Act, the 09 Department of Public Safety shall continue to comply with regulations adopted under 10 AS 18.65.670(c) regarding interactions between the Department of Public Safety and the 11 village public safety officers. 12 * Sec. 8. AS 18.65.670(b) - (g), as repealed and reenacted by sec. 3 of this Act, take effect 13 July 1, 2021. 14 * Sec. 9. Except as provided in sec. 8 of this Act, this Act takes effect immediately under 15 AS 01.10.070(c).