Legislature(2013 - 2014)CAPITOL 106
02/11/2014 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB274 | |
| HJR18 | |
| HB275 | |
| HB199 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HJR 18 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 275 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 199 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 274 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 199-VPSO FIREARMS
9:42:45 AM
CHAIR LYNN announced the final order of business was HOUSE BILL
NO. 199, "An Act relating to Department of Public Safety
regulations allowing village public safety officers to carry
firearms."
9:43:05 AM
REPRESENTATIVE BRYCE EDGMON, Alaska State Legislature, as
sponsor, presented HB 199. He prefaced his introduction of the
proposed legislation by offering an overview of the Village
Public Safety Officer (VPSO) program. He said the program was
established "in the late '70s and early '80s" to provide safety
to outlying rural communities that did not have access to
regular law enforcement presence. He stated that the program
has, for the most part, been successful. He said there were 125
VPSOs working in the early '90s, but currently, of the
authorized 120-plus authorized positions there are 92 or 93
working VPSOs. He explained the reasons for the ebb and flow in
the numbers of VPSOs are related to circumstances in the
particular communities and underscore one of the fundamental
issues of the program, which has been turnover.
9:44:45 AM
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON said having grown up in Dillingham, a
rural part of the state, he is familiar with the circumstances
surrounding the VPSO program. He said his research in preparing
to present HB 199 has taught him to appreciate what VPSOs do
throughout rural Alaska. He expressed pride in some of the
changes that have occurred in rural Alaska over the years in the
areas of transportation, health care, and education, as well as
opportunities for living a subsistence/cash lifestyle; however,
he said the increased use of hard drugs and pervasive use of
alcohol have resulted in increased violence in rural Alaska
communities. He indicated that these problems have created a
more lethal environment in which VPSOs must operate.
9:46:11 AM
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON explained that all this came to a head on
March 19, [2014], when a VPSO lost his life in the line of duty.
He said on a recent trip home, he listened to harrowing accounts
of the experiences of two VPSOs, who sometimes dealt with
perpetrators with high powered rifles and other arms that put a
VPSO in danger. Representative Edgmon said he introduced HB 199
to require [the commissioner of the Department of Public Safety]
not to prohibit VPSOs from carrying firearms. He emphasized
that under HB 199, VPSOs would have to meet minimum standards
and training in order to qualify to carry firearms.
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON relayed that he has been contacted by many
not-for-profit organizations around the state, as well as
members of the rural community, and he said he thinks the
support [for HB 199] is widespread. He said there are a few
communities that have some trepidation and may not want to have
an armed VPSO; however, the way HB 199 is structured, that
decision would be made between the department, the regional
Native association, and the community itself.
9:49:18 AM
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON said there is a fiscal note of
approximately $62,000 a year, which is based on the department's
premise that about 20 VPSOs would be sent to the training
academy in Sitka, Alaska. He said the fiscal note is broken
down into three components: travel; liability, under the
services component; and commodities, including the cost of the
firearms, holsters, and ammunition.
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON relayed that last week he learned of a
VPSO program oversight issue, which the department is currently
in the process of rectifying. He recommended the committee
invite Captain Steve Arlow to explain the oversight and have the
deputy commissioner provide details about the training program
that would be offered under HB 199. He said during the last
legislative session, the department began putting regulations
into effect that would not prohibit a regional association in a
community to work towards the process of getting a VPSO armed.
He said the thrust of the bill is to make the proposed change in
perpetuity and to help legitimize the program, in terms of any
secondary issues that may follow the arming of VPSOs in Alaska.
In response to the chair, he confirmed that under HB 199, the
arming of VPSOs would be optional for rural communities.
9:51:44 AM
STEVE ARLOW, Captain, C Detachment Commander, Division of State
Troopers, Department of Public Safety (DPS), testified that he
has run the Alaska VPSO program for the last eight years. He
brought to the attention of the committee an event wherein a
nonprofit organization hired a VPSO with a felony conviction.
In response to the chair, he said conviction was for a Driving
Under the Influence (DUI) incident, which resulted in the harm
of another individual, but he indicated that there were no
firearms involved. He said there is a procedure, written in
regulation 13 AAC, which gives guidelines on what investigators
are supposed to consider and what they can and cannot approve in
a person's background. The regulation makes clear that a person
with a felony conviction cannot enter into the VPSO program and
a nonprofit cannot use state funds to hire someone with a felony
conviction as a VPSO. Nevertheless, he pointed out that there
is regulation that allows the commissioner of DPS or his
designee to review any denials in the process by a nonprofit, if
the nonprofit requests the review. He said that is what
happened in the aforementioned case. He said this case came to
his desk after an investigator reviewed the background, which
showed that the person interested in becoming a VPSO was from
the community, and his father had been a VPSO for over 20 years.
The application was the first the department had received from
this village since the father had left.
CAPTAIN ARLOW stated that it is challenging to find people who
will fill VPSO positions, and the nonprofit organization said
the community really supported the selection of the individual
as its VPSO; he had only one felony event, and that was twelve
years ago. He said he reviewed the case yesterday and it
appears it is complex, because the details are unclear. He said
there is a letter from the district attorney, who wanted to
decline prosecution because of insufficient evidence, but the
case went forward and a plea agreement was made to a different
level of assault, but it was still a felony. He said it also
appears that the information surrounding the event is "a little
muddy." He offered further details.
CAPTAIN ARLOW explained that he shared this information as an
example not only of why there are guiding regulations, but also
why there is a stipulation that allows a commissioner or his/her
designee to "look at these on a case-by-case basis to determine"
whether each meets "the intent of the law, the letter of the
law." He said this is the only individual in the program who
has the background of a felony conviction. He said, "We don't
make it a practice, but it is something that in this case we did
have one." In response to follow-up questions, he reiterated
that the person was convicted of a felony, and he said the
person is still working as a VPSO and appears to be doing a very
good job.
9:57:20 AM
CHAIR LYNN asked what the entry pay is for a VPSO.
CAPTAIN ARLOW answered it is currently $25 an hour, and there
could be benefit packages included, depending on which nonprofit
employs the VPSO. Further, he said in some instances the
communities provide housing and stipends for fuel "and other
things" for those living in a rural village.
9:57:56 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES recollected that the sponsor had said
there are currently 93 VPSOs working, and she asked how many
villages that covers. Also, she asked how long a rural
community might expect to wait until an armed Alaska State
Trooper arrived.
CAPTAIN ARLOW answered that currently there are 69 communities
serviced by VPSOs; however, some VPSOs are assigned to hub
communities that touch other communities beyond those 69.
Regarding response time, he relayed that having been the
detachment commander for Western Alaska for many years, he can
say that there are times Alaska State Troopers have arrived in
villages the same day, even within hours of an event. He said
there are not enough troopers to respond to all communities
simultaneously, but they do their best to respond to calls and
have to prioritize them.
REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES said having lived out in Bush communities,
response time is a concern. She added, "Thus the need for this
legislation."
10:00:28 AM
CHAIR LYNN said he thinks HB 199 is an important bill.
10:00:30 AM
CHAIR LYNN closed public testimony.
10:01:08 AM
CHAIR LYNN reopened public testimony.
[HB 199 was held over.]