Legislature(2017 - 2018)GRUENBERG 120
01/30/2018 01:30 PM House MILITARY & VETERANS' AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HJR17 | |
| HB307 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HJR 17 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 307 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 307-MILITARY JUSTICE & MILITIA CIVIL RELIEF
1:45:41 PM
CHAIR TUCK announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 307, "An Act requiring a person who commits
certain offenses under the code of military justice to register
as a sex offender or child kidnapper; relating to the
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act; relating to contracts made by a
member of the organized militia; relating to nonjudicial
punishment of members of the organized militia; relating to
offenses subject to court-martial proceedings; and providing for
an effective date."
CHAIR TUCK, as prime sponsor of HB 307, paraphrased the sponsor
statement, which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
In an effort to continue to modernize and update the
Alaska Military Code, House Bill 307 provides
statutory changes to incorporate recent updates from
the Federal Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)
and Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).
In 2016, Alaska's military command worked with the
legislature to pass the Alaska Code of Military
Justice (ACMJ) to provide greater ability to pursue
and prosecute those servicemembers who violate
military rules and protocols. House Bill 307 is a
continuation of those efforts.
House Bill 307 would update crimes recognized by the
UCMJ, establish a procedure within the code of
military justice for a service member who commits a
sexual offense to register as a sex offender or child
kidnapper, update offenses that are subject to court-
martial proceedings and update consumer protections
for service members.
In close and continuing consultation with the
Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, we are
continuing our efforts to guaranteeing the safety of
Alaskans and the security of our law-enforcement
procedures.
Updating the ACMJ regularly is a critical response to
the always-evolving military justice system, and vital
to maintaining good order and discipline in the Alaska
Organized Militia, so it is timely and necessary that
we pass HB 307. I urge your support of this
legislation.
1:47:35 PM
BOB DOEHL, Deputy Commissioner, Office of the
Commissioner/Adjutant General, Department of Military &
Veterans' Affairs (DMVA), stated that DMVA welcomes and supports
HB 307, which builds on the bi-partisan efforts led by
Representative LeDoux a couple years ago in House Bill 26, which
provided a viable Alaska Code of Military Justice. Deputy
Commissioner Doehl said he considers HB 307 "ongoing maintenance
and tweaks to that, rather than a huge overhaul." He said HB
307 "keeps us in sync with the good ideas that have come out on
the federal side." He continued:
We believe the provisions that prohibit sexual
relationships between military personnel in the same
chain of command ... and situations of special trust
is consistent with ... civilian criminal law for
similar situations, such as prisoner and corrections
officer, teacher and student, where consent is
problematic. We welcome ... the opportunity for a
service member convicted of ... a sexual assault under
the ACMJ to also have to register at the sex offender
registry that we think fills an important gap, in
terms of ... avoiding a predator situation. We also
believe that the provision preventing military
personnel from rejecting non-judicial punishment [is]
akin to a parking ticket and favor of pursuing a court
martial to settle minor disciplinary matters as a
necessary step forward.
1:49:54 PM
LIEUTENANT COLONEL CHRISTOPHER WEAVER, Judge Advocate, Alaska
National Guard Joint Staff, Department of Military & Veterans'
Affairs (DMVA), stated that under HB 307, a service member
convicted under the Alaska Military Code of Justice (ACMJ) would
have to register just as a civilian convicted for a similar
crime would have to do. The proposed legislation would allow a
service member "to deploy within the state for civil
emergencies" and would give specificity to current provisions on
the rights of service members who are deployed. He indicated
that the bill addresses liabilities to military members that may
have issues related to phone contracts, cable, or rent, but
cannot address these issues because of deployment within the
state. He said HB 307 would remove the "no turndown provision
of the nonjudicial punishment, currently the ... ACMJ." He
explained, "This means that a service member accused of minor
offenses ... that don't rise to a court martial level cannot
choose an expensive court martial instead of repeating the
nonjudicial punishment." Lieutenant Colonel Weaver reminded the
committee that nonjudicial punishment involves a commander's
inherent authority to discipline.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL WEAVER said HB 307 would also update the
current ACMJ with substantive offenses recently adopted by
Congress for the federal ACMJ. He said any of the offenses
listed affect reoccurring issues within the military worldwide.
For example, retaliation is a major concern, and Congress has
made retaliation an offense within the federal ACMJ. He said
the retaliation provision under HB 307 is found in Section 18,
on page 11, and it comes close to mirroring the federal Whistle
Blower Protection Act. He said the bill also addresses the
issue of special trust. He gave the example that a recruiter
has a special trust with a recruit, and under HB 307, sexual
activities between the two would be prohibited in the ACMJ. He
said another provision addresses "recording a person's private
areas without consent," for example, filming a military member
who is in the shower. This would be prohibited under HB 307.
1:55:28 PM
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD requested more detail on Sections 21 and
22. She said she would like to know if Section 22 addresses
drugs as well as alcohol.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL WEAVER said that "drunkenness and
incapacitating offenses" comes from ACMJ and the Uniform Code of
Military Justice (UCMJ) via "the general article." He explained
that there are articles in the UCMJ that require an additional
element, such as being detrimental to good order and discipline
or reflecting badly on service. He said, "What the Congress has
done is they moved it into a substantive crime, into a specific
crime, into the UCMJ - and that's the proposal here under the
ACMJ - to ... make any kind of member or sentinel or anybody who
has a position who would be drunk on duty or unable to perform
the duty." He said in the military there are situations in
which personnel may use large machinery or weapons and any kind
of incapacitation would be prohibitive. He said it doesn't have
to be an illegal drug; it could be any kind of drug that could
affect someone's ability to be on guard duty, for example.
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD said Section 22 addresses being drunk,
while Section 21 addresses drugs "or other incapacitating
offenses". She asked if the date rape drug is included.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL WEAVER answered, "It includes all drugs,
whether over the counter or not." In terms of the date rape
drug, he said these sections do not address giving someone else
a drug, but rather they address taking a drug that then
incapacitates the person who has taken it from performing
his/her duty.
2:00:15 PM
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DOEHL added that the intent was to include
any sort of chemically induced incapacitation in Section 22, as
well. He said an amendment may be helpful. He clarified that
his department's desire is that a person's taking anything that
induces an altered state would be actionable.
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD said she would be happy to have this
clarification in the bill and would help formulate an amendment.
2:01:05 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ questioned the exclusion of a sentinel
and lookout.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL WEAVER offered his understanding that that is
addressed in Section 23. He said it is two separate crimes and
the UCMJ has separated the two crimes.
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ offered her understanding that
Lieutenant Colonel Weaver was saying that the sentinels and
lookouts are addressed in Section 23.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL WEAVER confirmed that is correct.
2:02:33 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked why, in section 21, there is
reference to both alcohol and drugs, while Sections 22 and 23 do
not reference both.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL WEAVER said he thinks it would be worthwhile
for the department to take a look at that.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER noted that Section 23 references "a
lookout or sentinel who wrongfully sits down". He stated his
understanding that a soldier's general orders include walking a
post in a military manner, which he assumed means "standing and
awake." He asked if that was not "incorporated by inclusion."
LIEUTENANT COLONEL WEAVER indicated that it depends on the
situation, for example, if [the soldier] was ordered to "walk
around" but was not doing so.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER observed that Sections 15-22 look like
issues that the federal UCMJ covers. He asked if there is
something in Alaska's State Military Code that could allow the
adoption of "these significant changes and additions just by
reference."
LIEUTENANT COLONEL WEAVER answered that that is one method of
doing it, which other states are utilizing. He said, "The
Alaska method has been to specify each offense and update the
codes as the codes need updating."
2:05:08 PM
CHAIR TUCK indicated that one advantage to the updating of the
codes is to allow military service personnel to look up codes
and be able to identify them clearly.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked if that meant that redundancy was
acceptable as long as it meant there was "clarity of reference
and application."
CHAIR TUCK responded yes. He added that sometimes the
provisions under code are moved in order for everything to
"follow logical order."
2:06:58 PM
REPRESENTATIVE PARISH asked what the potential legal
consequences would be if the Alaska Code of Military Justice was
out of step with the UCMJ.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL WEAVER answered that he does not know about
legal consequences. He said the ACMJ and UCMJ aim to provide a
disciplined military force, both overseas and domestically, and
this happens when the Alaska military force mirrors that of the
national force.
REPRESENTATIVE PARISH said he thinks that is "a commendable
goal."
2:07:14 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER directed attention to Section 7,
beginning on page 6, [which refers to the Servicemembers Civil
Relief Act], and he asked for a briefing as to the providence
and provisions of the Act.
2:08:06 PM
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DOEHL stated that the Servicemembers Civil
Relief Act (SCRA) "is a federal body of law, which arose to
protect servicemembers from being penalized for things beyond
their control as incident to military duty on the civilian
side." For example, a service member ordered to relocate is not
liable for the duration of the payments on a lease for the
period after relocation. Other services that would apply
include Internet and athletic clubs. He said the original SCRA
has existed for decades and was re-codified recently on the
federal side to bring it up to date.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER said he would like more information
regarding the provisions of the SCRA before it came time to vote
on HB 307. He then asked if the SCRA pertains to long- or
short-term deployments.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DOEHL answered, "It is designed to cover a
timespan where it is no longer feasible to retain a service."
He said that would probably not be a weekend deployment but
certainly would cover a 90-day deployment.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked why it would be necessary to apply
[the SCRA] to the organized militia. He said he understands
that the Alaska National Guard, the Alaska Naval Militia, and
the State Defense Force are considered organized militia, and he
questioned why it is necessary to include the State Defense
Force in Section 6.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DOEHL answered there are federal provisions
for when the Alaska Naval Militia or the two Alaska National
Guard components are in a federal status. He said, "This
provision deals with when placed into a state active duty for an
extended period." For example, for disaster recovery operations
lasting six months to a year, where militia are called to do
state active duty away from their primary residences "where they
would have these services lined up." He concluded, "So, to the
extent the Alaska organized militia is put into state active
service, these provisions would apply." In response to a
follow-up question, he said while there has been no circumstance
to date wherein members of the Alaska organized militia have
been placed into active duty for more than 90 days, he could
envision that happening in case of a disaster, such as a tsunami
that affects several communities. He said he based that on the
relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina, where 90- and 179-
day tours were common. No one was sent from Alaska, but
something could happen within the state.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked if there is any compensation given
to military personnel required to relocate for more than 90 days
- "any moving pay or allowances that might be redundant to what
the SCRA provides."
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DOEHL answered that the department provides
pamphlets listing the specter of SCRA benefits available, as
well as some exemplar packets from active services regarding
permanent change of station information. He said the short
answer, though, is no. The military pays for the following:
the cost of moving household goods from point A to point B;
travel costs for the military member and his/her family; and
other incidental costs, such as any period of time a member is
in transient housing before more permanent housing is available.
There is no funding available for contract severance penalties,
he said.
2:15:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ summarized that [under HB 307], if the
department deems it necessary to relocate a military member for
official duty of at least 90 days, then the military member
would not have to pay his/her cable bill, for example, while on
deployment.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DOEHL answered yes, but said he would like
to check on the part about 90 days.
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ pointed to language beginning on page
6, line 18, which read as follows:
if the member receives official orders to relocate for
a period of military service of at least 90 days to a
location that does not support the contract and the
member provides written notice to the service provider
as required under (c) of this section:
2:16:55 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked if a person who serves with the
Alaska State Defense Force selected for training and sent to a
Lower 48 facility would be on active state service for that
period and eligible for protections under the SCRA and other
provision of HB 307.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DOEHL said conceivably the department could
put an Alaska State Defense Force member in state activity duty
into out-of-state training in excess of 90 days; however, he
added that he cannot fathom that ever happening. He explained
that as a matter of course, the department does not place Alaska
State Defense Force members in state active duty for training.
He added, "Some have volunteered on their own time, but we don't
pay."
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked if the provider of Internet
service, for example, would - under the provisions of Section 6
- have to "eat that" or just "accept that's the way that is."
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DOEHL answered that's correct.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER remarked that a better way to put that is
that "that could be their contribution to national defense."
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DOEHL responded that's correct.
2:18:16 PM
CHAIR TUCK commented, "Although they may have a contract,
they're not obligated to provide any more service, as well. So,
it's not like they're out of money, just out of ... the
contract."
CHAIR TUCK announced that HB 307 was held over.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB307 Sponsor Statement 1.26.18.pdf |
HMLV 1/30/2018 1:30:00 PM |
HB 307 |
| HB 307 Sectional Analysis 1.26.18.pdf |
HMLV 1/30/2018 1:30:00 PM |
HB 307 |
| HB307 Fiscal Note DPS 1.28.18.pdf |
HMLV 1/30/2018 1:30:00 PM |
HB 307 |
| HB307 Fiscal Note MVA 1.26.18.pdf |
HMLV 1/30/2018 1:30:00 PM |
HB 307 |
| HB307- Supporting Document - SCRA Enhancements 1.29.18.pdf |
HMLV 1/30/2018 1:30:00 PM |
HB 307 |
| HJR017D.1(amendment).pdf |
HMLV 1/30/2018 1:30:00 PM |
HJR 17 |