Legislature(2019 - 2020)GRUENBERG 120
04/16/2019 05:15 PM House JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB14 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 14 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 14-ASSAULT; SEX OFFENSES; SENT. AGGRAVATOR
5:17:02 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN announced that the only order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 14, "An Act relating to assault in the first
degree; relating to sex offenses; relating to the definition of
'dangerous instrument'; and providing for an aggravating factor
at sentencing for strangulation that results in
unconsciousness." [Before the committee was CSHB 14(STA),
version 31-LS0182\G.]
CHAIR CLAMAN said the committee would take up amendments to HB
14. He noted for the record that Legislative Legal Services has
permission to make any technical and conforming changes to the
bill. He recapped the adoption of Amendment 1 during the bills
previous hearing.
5:17:31 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP moved Amendment 2, labeled 31-LS0182\G.9,
Radford, 4/16/19, which read:
Page 1, line 2:
Delete "and"
Page 1, line 3, following "unconsciousness":
Insert "; relating to the duties of the
prosecuting attorney; and relating to victim
notifications"
Page 7, following line 26:
Insert new bill sections to read:
"* Sec. 5. AS 12.61.015(a) is amended to read:
(a) If a victim of a felony, a sex offense as
defined in AS 12.63.100, or a crime involving domestic
violence requests, the prosecuting attorney shall make
a reasonable effort to
(1) confer with the person against whom the
offense has been perpetrated about that person's
testimony before the defendant's trial;
(2) in a manner reasonably calculated to
give prompt actual notice, notify the victim
(A) of the defendant's conviction and the
crimes of which the defendant was convicted;
(B) of the victim's right in a case that is
a felony to make a written or oral statement for use
in preparation of the defendant's presentence report,
and of the victim's right to appear personally at the
defendant's sentencing hearing to present a written
statement and to give sworn testimony or an unsworn
oral presentation;
(C) of the address and telephone number of
the office that will prepare the presentence report;
and
(D) of the time and place of the sentencing
proceeding;
(3) notify the victim in writing of the
final disposition of the case within 30 days after
final disposition of the case;
(4) confer with the victim or the victim's
legal guardian concerning a proposed plea agreement
before entering into the plea [AN] agreement to ask
the victim or the victim's legal guardian whether the
victim is in agreement with the proposed plea
agreement; the prosecuting attorney shall record
whether the victim or the victim's legal guardian is
in agreement with the proposed plea agreement;
(5) inform the victim of a pending motion
that may substantially delay the prosecution and
inform the court of the victim's position on the
motion; in this paragraph, a "substantial delay" is
(A) for a misdemeanor, a delay of one month
or longer;
(B) for a felony, a delay of two months or
longer; and
(C) for an appeal, a delay of six months or
longer.
* Sec. 6. AS 12.61.015 is amended by adding new
subsections to read:
(d) The court may reschedule a hearing to
consider a plea agreement as needed to allow
additional time to comply with the victim notification
requirements under (a)(2) and (4) of this section.
(e) Nothing in this section requires a victim or
a victim's legal guardian to provide a response to a
prosecuting attorney regarding a plea agreement or
requires the prosecuting attorney to be bound by the
victim's or legal guardian's response regarding the
plea agreement."
Renumber the following bill section accordingly.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN objected.
5:18:01 PM
ROSE FOLEY, Staff, Representative John Lincoln, Alaska State
Legislature, said Amendment 2 was the result of consultation
with advocacy and survivor groups, including the Alaska Network
on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault (ANDVSA). She spoke to
the desire to strengthen victim notification requirements.
MS. FOLEY addressed line 11 on page 1 of the amendment, which
she said would mandate that victims of all sex offenses are
provided the rights laid out in AS 12.61. She said this would
provide them the same notifications already afforded to victims
of felonies and domestic violence offenses.
MS. FOLEY addressed line 7 on page 2, which she said would
strengthen existing victim notification requirements and would
require the attorney to record whether the victim or the
victims guardian is in support of a proposed plea agreement.
MS. FOLEY addressed line 19 on page 2 [section 6], which she
said would add new language to AS 12.61.015 that allows for the
court to reschedule a plea hearing to allow additional time for
the prosecution to comply with the victim notification
requirements. She noted the addition of AS 12.61.015(e), which
would clarify that a victim is in no way required to provide a
response to an attorney regarding the plea agreement.
5:19:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN, regarding section 6, asked if there
would be a particular period of time that the court could delay
a meeting.
MS. FOLEY said it is her understanding it would be at the
court's discretion and that it would be whatever the court felt
was necessary to allow the prosecutor to comply with the
notification requirements.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked if this would conflict with a
defendants right to a speedy trial.
MS. FOLEY said it is her understanding that it would not.
5:20:23 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX noted that victim notification statute
currently applies to victims of felonies and crimes involving
domestic violence. She asked which sex offenses are not already
covered under those definitions.
MS. FOLEY said there are misdemeanor sex offenses that are not
covered under current statute. She said these include sexual
assault of a minor in the fourth degree, sexual assault for
attempted sexual abuse of a minor, sexual assault in the third
degree, and certain juvenile-on-juvenile sex crimes.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked why the provision related to a
delayed plea hearing wouldnt possibly interfere with the
constitutional right to a speedy trial.
MS. FOLEY said she cannot answer that conclusively. She said
she believes it is part of the balancing act between a victims
right to notification and the defendants right to a speedy
trial.
5:22:08 PM
KACI SCHROEDER, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division,
Department of Law, said the plea hearing delay is typically only
a day or two, which is just enough time for the prosecution to
call and confer with the victim. She clarified that this
relates to situations in which the defendant is entering into a
plea agreement, so the hearing in question is a change of plea
hearing during which the defendant intends to plead guilty. She
said that would negate the need for a trial.
5:22:45 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked if it is the intent of the
amendment to also cover attempted sex offenses.
MS. SCHROEDER said the language includes all felonies, all sex
offenses, and crimes involving domestic violence. She said an
attempt would fall under that classification.
5:23:20 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL referred to language referring to the
conferring with a victim or a victim's legal guardian. He asked
if this is a standard concept; he remarked that he is unfamiliar
with it. He asked what happens when the victim does not agree
with the terms of the plea agreement.
MS. SCHROEDER confirmed that conferring with the victim is a
requirement under current law and a standard practice when DOL
enters into a plea agreement. She explained how DOL describes
the terms of the agreement to the victim. She said if the
victim does not agree with the plea agreement and wishes for
that to be expressed to the court, he/she has options to notify
the court, either in writing, orally at the hearing, or by
asking DOL to pass on his/her thoughts.
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL asked if this sort of victim notification
only occurs for certain categories of crime.
MS. SCHROEDER said the law requires DOL to confer with the
victim for all felonies and all crimes of domestic violence.
She said Amendment 2 would require DOL do it for all sex
offenses, though she noted that it is already standard practice
to confer with sex crime victims. She said the only crimes
about which DOL does not confer with victims are low level
crimes, such as class B misdemeanor theft. She said this is
because of a lack of resources.
5:25:02 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked about the process by which
Amendment 2 was brought forward, noting that the maker of the
amendment is Representative Lincoln, who is not a committee
member. He asked if the amendment was received by the deadline.
CHAIR CLAMAN explained that the amendment was received in a
timely manner and, because there were questions, he elected to
work with the maker of the amendment to rework it. He said it
was a discretionary decision by him as chair to allow additional
time for Representative Lincolns office to work on the
amendment. He noted that it has been a routine practice in all
committees for a bill sponsor to present amendments, but it must
be a committee member who moves the amendment.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN withdrew his objection. There being no
further objection, Amendment 2 was adopted.
5:26:33 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP thanked Representative Lincoln for bringing
forward HB 14 to address an unfortunate loophole in the law. He
noted that the bill addresses both a use of force issue that
covers strangulation to unconsciousness and the issue of
unwanted contact with ejaculate. He remarked on unfortunate
situations that can come about from loopholes that have existed
for decades in state law.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN commented that the committee has not been
able to effectively reconcile some of the conflicting language
in the bill. He opined that it is probably worth the
committees time to do so.
5:27:33 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX moved to report version 31-LS0182\G of HB
14, as amended, out of committee with individual recommendations
and the accompanying fiscal notes.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN objected.
A roll call vote was taken. Representatives LeDoux, Wool, Shaw,
Kopp, and Claman voted in favor of reporting HB 14 out of
committee. Representatives Eastman voted against. Therefore,
HB 14 was reported out of the House Judiciary Standing Committee
by a vote of 5-1.
5:28:32 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Judiciary Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 5:29 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB014 ver G 3.20.19.pdf |
HJUD 3/20/2019 1:30:00 PM HJUD 4/15/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 4/16/2019 5:15:00 PM |
HB 14 |
| HB014 Sponsor Statement 3.20.19.pdf |
HJUD 3/20/2019 1:30:00 PM HJUD 4/15/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 4/16/2019 5:15:00 PM |
HB 14 |
| HB014 Sectional Analysis ver G 3.20.19.pdf |
HJUD 3/20/2019 1:30:00 PM HJUD 4/15/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 4/16/2019 5:15:00 PM |
HB 14 |
| HB014 Summary of Changes ver K to ver G 3.20.19.pdf |
HJUD 3/20/2019 1:30:00 PM HJUD 4/15/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 4/16/2019 5:15:00 PM |
HB 14 |
| HB014 Supporting Document-Letters 3.20.19.pdf |
HJUD 3/20/2019 1:30:00 PM HJUD 4/15/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 4/16/2019 5:15:00 PM |
HB 14 |
| HB014 Fiscal Note DHSS-PS 3.20.19.pdf |
HJUD 3/20/2019 1:30:00 PM HJUD 4/15/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 4/16/2019 5:15:00 PM |
HB 14 |
| HB014 Fiscal Note LAW-CRIM 3.20.19.pdf |
HJUD 3/20/2019 1:30:00 PM HJUD 4/15/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 4/16/2019 5:15:00 PM |
HB 14 |
| HB014 Fiscal Note DPS-DET 3.20.19.pdf |
HJUD 3/20/2019 1:30:00 PM HJUD 4/15/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 4/16/2019 5:15:00 PM |
HB 14 |
| HB014 Fiscal Note DOA-OPA 3.20.19.pdf |
HJUD 3/20/2019 1:30:00 PM HJUD 4/15/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 4/16/2019 5:15:00 PM |
HB 14 |
| HB014 Fiscal Note DOA-PDA 3.20.19.pdf |
HJUD 3/20/2019 1:30:00 PM HJUD 4/15/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 4/16/2019 5:15:00 PM |
HB 14 |
| HB014 Fiscal Note DOC-IDO 3.20.19.pdf |
HJUD 3/20/2019 1:30:00 PM HJUD 4/15/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 4/16/2019 5:15:00 PM |
HB 14 |
| HB014 Amendment #2 4.16.19.pdf |
HJUD 4/16/2019 5:15:00 PM |
HB 14 |
| HB014 Amendments #1-2 HJUD Final votes 4.16.19.pdf |
HJUD 4/16/2019 5:15:00 PM |
HB 14 |