04/04/2017 09:00 AM House FINANCE

HOUSE BILL NO. 31                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act requiring the Department of Public Safety to                                                                       
     develop a tracking system and collection and                                                                               
     processing  protocol  for  sexual  assault  examination                                                                    
     kits;  requiring  law   enforcement  agencies  to  send                                                                    
     sexual assault  examination kits for testing  within 18                                                                    
     months  after collection;  requiring  an inventory  and                                                                    
     reports  on untested  sexual assault  examination kits;                                                                    
     and providing for an effective date."                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
10:30:02 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GERAN  TARR,  SPONSOR,  explained  that  the                                                                    
Committee Substitute  (CS) accomplished  three things:   The                                                                    
bill established  mandatory sexual assault training  for all                                                                    
law  enforcement  officials.   The  legislation  required  a                                                                    
statewide  audit  to  determine   the  "true"  inventory  of                                                                    
backlogged untested  sexual examination  kits. Third,  HB 31                                                                    
established  a  "gold  standard" in  reporting  options  for                                                                    
sexual assault.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
10:31:30 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Foster MOVED to ADOPT Amendment 1.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Page 1, line 9, following "and":                                                                                           
     Insert "at least 12 hours of instruction regarding"                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     Page 1, line 9, following "assault":                                                                                       
     Insert ":1."                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
     Page 3, lines 2 - 3:                                                                                                       
     Delete "16 years of age or older"                                                                                          
     Insert "18 years  of age or older and  not a vulnerable                                                                    
     adult"                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Page 3, following line 24:                                                                                                 
     Insert a new bill section to read:                                                                                         
     "*  Sec. 5.  AS 18.68.020  is amended  by adding  a new                                                                    
     subsection to read:                                                                                                        
     (c)  In  this  section,   "vulnerable  adult"  has  the                                                                    
     meaning given in AS 47.24.900." 15                                                                                         
     Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. 17                                                                       
     Page 4, line 21:                                                                                                           
     Delete "Section 5"                                                                                                         
     Insert "Section 6" 21                                                                                                      
     Page 4, line 22:                                                                                                           
     Delete "sec. 6"                                                                                                            
     Insert "sec. 7"                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
Representative   Wilson   OBJECTED   for  the   purpose   of                                                                    
discussion.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Representative Tarr  spoke to  the amendment.  She explained                                                                    
that the  amendment added more  specificity to the  bill and                                                                    
contained three  components. The first  provision delineated                                                                    
that the  training was  12 hours for  sexual assault  and 12                                                                    
hours  for  domestic  violence.  The  Department  of  Public                                                                    
Safety  (DPS)  supported  the amount  of  training  and  the                                                                    
fiscal  note  had factored  in  the  12-hour trainings.  She                                                                    
indicated  that   existing  statute  called   for  mandatory                                                                    
reporting of sexual assault for  anyone under the age of 18,                                                                    
which  was  considered sexual  abuse  of  a minor,  and  for                                                                    
vulnerable adults.  The second  piece of the  amendment made                                                                    
age changes to clarify and conform to the existing statute.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Wilson  cited  AS  47.24.900  regarding  the                                                                    
definition of  vulnerable adults. She wondered  who made the                                                                    
determination that  an individual was a  vulnerable adult in                                                                    
sexual   assault    cases.   She   asked    for   additional                                                                    
clarification for when the  classification of vulnerable was                                                                    
established. Representative Tarr  answered that a vulnerable                                                                    
adult  would  have  already  been  established  by  a  court                                                                    
process before the assault occurred.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
10:34:20 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Representative   Wilson  asked   about   the  other   change                                                                    
regarding  a  minimum  of  12   hours  of  instruction.  She                                                                    
wondered whether  the amendment  clarified that  the 12-hour                                                                    
requirement  was mandated  for  both  domestic violence  and                                                                    
sexual     assault.     Representative    Tarr     responded                                                                    
affirmatively.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Seaton  asked whether the  total hours  of training                                                                    
were 24 hours. Representative Tarr answered affirmatively.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Representative Wilson WITHDREW her OBJECTION.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
There being NO OBJECTION, Amendment 1 was ADOPTED.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
Vice-Chair Gara reviewed  the new zero fiscal  note from the                                                                    
Department of Public Safety.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Wilson   asked  about  the  24   hours.  She                                                                    
wondered whether the state already offered the training.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
10:36:46 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
KELLY   HOWELL,   DIRECTOR,   DIVISION   OF   ADMINISTRATIVE                                                                    
SERVICES, DEPARTMENT  OF PUBLIC  SAFETY, indicated  that the                                                                    
training  was already  being provided  by the  Public Safety                                                                    
training academy.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
10:37:16 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Vice-Chair  Gara  MOVED  to  report   CSHB  31(FIN)  out  of                                                                    
Committee  as amended  with  individual recommendations  and                                                                    
the accompanying fiscal note.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CSHB 31(FIN) was REPORTED out  of committee with a "do pass"                                                                    
recommendation and with a new  zero fiscal note by the House                                                                    
Finance Committee for the Department of Public Safety.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Foster  reviewed  the  agenda  for  the  following                                                                    
meeting.