Legislature(2007 - 2008)BELTZ 211
03/13/2007 09:00 AM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing: State Commission for Human Rights | |
| Confirmation Hearing: Alaska Public Offices Commission | |
| SB92 | |
| SB33 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | SB 92 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 33 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 92-LIMITED LICENSE IGNITION INTERLOCK
CHAIR MCGUIRE announced the consideration of SB 92.
SENATOR FRENCH said the ignition interlock device is an
automatic check to prove that drivers are sober before driving
their cars. The idea is to put something between repeat drunk
drivers and their cars. SB 92 uses modern technology to combat
drunk driving in Alaska, which has one of the highest DUI
[driving under the influence] rates in the country. Many
convicted drivers are multiple offenders. In 2006, nearly one
third of Alaska's DUI cases involved a person that had been
convicted in the past. The device would be required during
probation for repeat DUI offenders and for first-time offenders
with a blood-alcohol level of over 0.15. In order for a repeat
offender to drive, the car must be equipped with the device, and
the cost of the device will be borne by the offender. If a judge
grants a limited license privilege to an offender during the
period of license revocation, the bill will require the device.
No one will argue that Alaska needs to lower its DUI statistics,
he stated, and SB 92 is a proactive step.
9:27:14 AM
SENATOR FRENCH said there are places in the state where it might
be impossible to install the device, and the bill leaves it to
the commissioner to delegate where its use is feasible. He noted
that in Unalaska the cost of the device would be over $1,000.
The idea is to get as many people as possible, and he suggested
that the use of the device will be feasible in the Railbelt and
other cities that can support the necessary technician. It is
not a magic bullet--there is always a way for someone to get
around the law--but Alaska needs to make it more difficult for
someone to drive drunk. The device will also allow someone who
is sober back behind the wheel, he concluded.
9:29:06 AM
SENATOR BUNDE said he supports the goal, and he has looked into
it before, but he was discouraged by the scofflaws that could
get around the system. He asked about cheating in other states.
MS. BABETTE MILLER, Owner, Smart Start, said she doesn't have
those numbers, but she can get them.
SENATOR BUNDE said the new interlocks are more sophisticated,
and he asked how they work.
MS. MILLER said the interlock system works by blowing and
humming into the unit for seven seconds. A voice detector
prevents someone from using an air tank.
9:31:19 AM
SENATOR STEVENS asked if the system detects that particular
individual, and what the costs are.
MS. MILLER said there is a new unit that takes a picture of the
individual blowing into the unit to verify identity, but it is
not approved for Alaska yet. She said her company charges $100
for installation and $125 a month for the lease.
SENATOR BUNDE said when someone builds a better lock, someone
finds a better hacksaw. He asked about a person required to use
an interlock in one town who went to another town to buy a car.
9:33:11 AM
SENATOR FRENCH said it is not a matter of where the car is
registered, but where the person will be driving. He assumes the
department will consider everything when granting a waiver to
drive. There are ways of checking where a person lives, he said.
9:34:07 AM
SENATOR BUNDE asked if the department will do a case by case
analysis of who will get a waiver.
SENATOR FRENCH said it could be a hybrid, and someone could be
exempted because of the disproportionate costs, and he
anticipates that there will be regional exemptions.
SENATOR BUNDE said some people will claim poverty, forcing the
state to pick up the tab.
SENATOR FRENCH said driving is a privilege not a right, and the
state will not pay. If a person can't afford a car, the state
doesn't offer a car. Likewise, if a person can't satisfy the
condition of the sentence, he or she will need to use public
transportation. There is a huge cost involved, but his sympathy
is with the ones hurt by drunk drivers.
SENATOR BUNDE said he agrees that the perpetrator must bare the
costs, and the state should not pay for the program.
SENATOR GREEN asked when the infraction actually occurs. She
asked if driving a different car is an offence.
9:36:36 AM
SENATOR FRENCH said the onus would be on the person; if driving,
he or she must be behind the wheel of a car with the device.
Family members can drive that car or a car without a device.
RODNEY DIAL, Lieutenant, Alaska State Troopers, said the
Department of Public Safety fully supports SB 92. Having this
device is not only a reminder to the driver; it is also an
indication to the rider. He has made hundreds of DUI arrests and
is constantly amazed at the number of drunk drivers who have a
sober passenger. "We are fairly excited about this, that this
will reduce some of the impaired drivers on our roads and make
Alaska highways safer," he stated.
9:39:26 AM
SENATOR BUNDE noted the sponsor's intention of exempting remote
areas because of the added costs. "If you can't afford an
interlock that's going to cost you $1,000, maybe you ought not
to drink." He noted there are places where bootlegged alcohol
costs hundreds of dollars a gallon, and "perhaps there is the
money available if there is the will."
9:40:24 AM
SENATOR FRENCH said one study shows repeat offenses are
decreased 80 percent in the first year of using the interlock
device. He pointed out one letter in support of SB 92 that notes
the harm done by repeat offenders. We can eliminate the killing
of innocent people--or keep downward pressure, he said.
SENATOR GREEN noted that court-imposed fines don't vary by
region and why Senator French is concerned about the variation
in the cost of the interlock device.
9:41:57 AM
SENATOR FRENCH said the fines are uniform. "We don't fine people
in Bethel $5,000 and people in Anchorage $1,000." If an ignition
interlock can be many times more expensive, "there has to be
some allowance for the fact that it is just not available
statewide." He said it may be feasible with future technology,
but for now, the disproportion costs need to be considered.
SENATOR STEVENS asked if it applies to other vehicles such as
snow machines.
MS. MILLER said the unit cannot be installed where it can't be
protected from the environment.
9:44:03 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said the legislature needs to continue the
pressure of getting the interlock devices in the communities.
[The bill] doesn't mention the cost of the device, she said.
Driving is a privilege, and the interlock device absolutely
reduces recurrence rates. It is incumbent on the legislature to
encourage the use and availability of the devices in outlying
areas. "Whatever it takes," she stated.
SENATOR BUNDE moved Amendment 1, as follows: Delete lines 12-15
on page 10, which give the Department of Administration the
ability to determine that interlocks are not available in some
places. With fines as high as $6,000, "it seems as if the cost
of another $1,000 for an interlock is not substantial." This is
a very broad allowance for the department to determine if the
device is unavailable. Someone in Talkeetna could make that
claim, he suggested.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said the net effect would be that someone who
didn't get the device would not be able to drive.
9:46:57 AM
SENATOR GREEN noted other references to the same thing.
SENATOR BUNDE withdrew his amendment and instead moved
conceptual Amendment 1 to "remove all references to making the
interlock device optional."
9:48:13 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said the drafter can look for any reference, and
she noted the references on page 2, 7, and 10. She said she will
object in order to hear Senator French's response.
SENATOR FRENCH said it boils down to proportionality. It is not
fair to charge one person $125 and another $1,000. He is willing
to wait for the technology to catch up with the rest of the
state and focus on the Railbelt and other urban areas.
SENATOR STEVENS said he has some concerns with the remote
villages that he is not familiar with. Villages don't have
public transportation, he noted.
9:50:08 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked if the Smart Start Company is in Alaska now.
MS. MILLER said yes, and the company goes to remote areas once
there are four to five people that need the service. The airfare
is not charged to them. "We bite that cost," she stated. "We do
that with approximately two remote areas at a time. We are
currently…expanding into as many areas as we can." She said she
is hiring contractors in outlying areas, including Dillingham,
Kodiak, Sitka, Ketchikan, and Juneau. There is a competitor in
Bethel, she added. The company tries to cover as many areas as
it can. There are two people on a list in Unalaska, "and once we
pull out of another area that we're in at a loss, if that area
still needs the service, we will go in to that area and install
the units and try to find a contractor there."
SENATOR BUNDE said the level of alcohol abuse in rural Alaska
exceeds the high abuse in urban Alaska. The bill deals with
traffic laws and only applies to state roads. Small villages may
not have state roads, he said, and asked if it would apply.
9:52:42 AM
SENATOR FRENCH said there are insurance laws that don't apply,
but you can get a DUI while sitting in a parking lot or in a
driveway. It is all encompassing, he said. He then asked Ms.
Miller if she charges the same fee throughout the state.
MS. MILLER said the installation cost is $50 more when flying to
an area, and the monthly price is same.
SENATOR STEVENS asked if the waiver is removed and if a person
in a place without access to the device drives sober, would he
or she would be in violation. He thinks the waiver should be
left in for the time being.
9:54:19 AM
SENATOR FRENCH suggested holding the bill until the department
figures out where the device will be required. It is important
to keep in mind that the bill is about repeat offenders.
9:55:09 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said the limited license is a privilege within a
privilege: "you're a repeat offender; you've broken the law
multiple times, and now we're allowing you to drive on a limited
basis, and in exchange for that very gracious privilege, we're
asking that an interlock device be installed to put you in
between your drinking problem and the wheel of your car." She
said she is leaning toward the amendment because of the
privilege part and that the interlock is maybe the only thing
that separates that alcoholic from the car and the drinking.
SENATOR BUNDE asked if a remote location adds an extra $50 for
installation, but the monthly fee is the same throughout the
state. He noted that a $1000 installation fee isn't reality.
MS. MILLER said that is true, but her competitor passes on the
airfare. Her company gives the option of paying the airfare if
an individual doesn't want to wait for four or five others
needing the service in the area.
9:57:29 AM
SENATOR STEVENS asked for the statistics of DUIs around the
state, because some villages may not have any DUIs.
CHAIR MCGUIRE requested information on airline costs and the
other company's policies.
SB 92 was held over.
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