Legislature(2007 - 2008)BELTZ 211
02/07/2008 09:00 AM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB317 | |
| SB223 | |
| SB185 | |
| SB77 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 317 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 223 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 185 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 77 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 185-SEX OFFENDER/CHILD KIDNAPPER REGISTRATION
CHAIR MCGUIRE announced the consideration of SB 185.
9:23:11 AM
SENATOR BILL WIELECHOWSKI, Alaska State Legislature, said SB 185
requires sex offenders to register their email addresses and
other internet identifiers. It will keep Alaska at the forefront
of the battle against sexual predators by updating the sex
offender registry list. Alaska has one of the highest usages of
the internet in the country, but it is a way for predators to
enter our homes in search of children who may think nothing of
spending hours chatting with strangers. A child may be chatting
with a sexual predator, and there is currently no way to know.
This would give law enforcement a tool to keep track of the
activities of convicted sexual predators, and to catch and
punish them when they break the law. This will put Alaska at the
forefront of the battle against sexual predators. Three states
are already doing it, and 17 states are considering it. The
Surviving Parents Coalition, Alaska Department of Public Safety,
Anchorage Police Department, Alaska Internet Crimes against
Children Taskforce, and Alaska Peace Officers Association all
support SB 185.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said he intended to make the email register
public, and now he has concerns. The Department of Public Safety
has requested it not be public.
9:26:15 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said she appreciates the bill and she has a bill
that might merge with SB 185. It is a great idea. She asked
about the problem of people owning multiple email addresses.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said there have been questions about
combating this when someone can have 15 email addresses. But a
person will have to register all addresses. It is difficult, but
there are some complex investigatory tactics to catch internet
predators. This will assist in catching them.
SENATOR BUNDE said this is a goal of any parent, but he asked
how it will work.
9:28:25 AM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said there different ways to do it. If the
information is made public, any parent can do a search if he or
she has suspicion. If it is not made public, a parent can call
and ask if a particular email address is owned by a sexual
predator. Currently a person can see where every sexual predator
lives in the state. The way the bill is written, the name would
not now pop up; a person would have to call the DPS and ask.
9:29:51 AM
SENATOR BUNDE said it will still be public because a person can
call and ask about a specific email.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said yes.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said an amendment will be offered that represents
"that tension between wanting parents to have that information
to know - to be able to call -- but having it public, the
concern is that other sex predators will then have access to
other sex predators' email addresses. And there's a whole
subcultural thing about that."
SENATOR BUNDE said, "We don't need internet bathhouses."
CHAIR MCGUIRE said, "Exactly." The middle ground may be that the
list is confidential, but a parent can call and find out.
9:31:02 AM
SENATOR STEVENS asked if the sponsor is saying this could be a
tool for internet providers and internet security firms that
could block such emails from children.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said groups like Facebook and MySpace are
now setting parameters, and the goal is that those types of
sites can coordinate with DPS.
SENATOR STEVENS said it sounds like a person will be able to
actually block information coming into a home computer.
9:32:28 AM
SENATOR BUNDE noted that hard drives keep information so that if
a predator was investigated and erased information, he would
still have addresses in his computer.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said the information found on people's
computers is pretty amazing. That technology is available.
KATHY MONFREDA, Chief, Criminal Records and Identification
Bureau, Department of Public Safety (DPS), said she manages the
sex offender registry. DPS is supportive, but the issue of
making the list public is not crystal clear - "that's our one
concern." The electronic addresses should not be public but they
should be available to law enforcement. The federal Adam Walsh
Act [2006] and the "Sex Offender Registration Notification Act"
addresses a lot of these issues. The federal government has set
up the "SMART Office", which stands for Sentencing, Monitoring,
Apprehending, Registering and Tracking sex offenders. The Adam
Walsh Act requires the state to collect electronic addresses.
The proposed guidelines will be finalized soon, and electronic
addresses will not be on a public website. Software is being
developed for the states so that the public can enter any email
address and it will query the database for the entire country.
There is no guarantee that a particular address isn't an
offender just because it isn't on the list.
9:35:53 AM
SENATOR STEVENS asked why it should not be made public.
MS. MONFREDA said she has two concerns. A public list will allow
predators to communicate with each other, and it could promote
vigilantism. If the predators communicate, they could transmit
illegal information back and forth. The government would be
giving a means to these offenders to communicate.
SENATOR GREEN asked, "Haven't we already passed that by the
release of information that's available about their residence,
their description, their vehicle?"
MS. MONFREDA said current law covers addresses, not email
addresses. She wants that clarified.
SENATOR GREEN asked if it is already public.
MS. MONFREDA repeated her answer.
SENATOR GREEN said she doesn't "see the difference in an address
and the other things available." She has never looked into it,
but people have told her that a sex offender lives down the
street, "and I recognize the picture. To me we've already opened
that door and gone in. I don't know how we turned back, because
there's certainly ample opportunity for contact to be made,
currently, if we're furnishing an address. Is there not
currently a picture?"
MS. MONFREDA said, "Yes, of course."
9:38:50 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said the identity of the sex offenders is already
made known through the registry, so it is not a matter of that
being made public "and how they might feel." But by providing
their email addresses, "are we actually assisting them in
reaching out to other offenders?" She questioned the likelihood
of an offender getting the physical address of another and
visiting each other to share child pornography. It is far easier
to get on the internet to invite a person into a chat room to
share that information.
SENATOR GREEN asked, "That's a bad thing?" She said she
shouldn't have said that, but there is ample opportunity for
people "who are so inclined" to be in touch with each other. She
is not sold on this. "I was shocked when we first allowed all
the information to go out and be public." She was surprised at
how much was available. "That's another penalty onto, perhaps, a
served penalty." Regardless of how distasteful it is, "I don't
see why we would suddenly restrict the information."
MS. MONFREDA said the concern is the convenience of being able
to communicate instantly electronically.
DAVID SCHADE, Director, Division of Statewide Services, DPS,
said Ms. Monfreda has communicated everything.
9:41:36 AM
RON TIDLER, Sergeant, Anchorage Police Department, said the
Alaska ICAC [Internet Crimes Against Children] Task Force
supports SB 185 with the same concerns as Ms. Monfreda.
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked him to address Senator Green's question of
why excluding sex offender email addresses is important to
public safety.
MR. TIDLER said, as stated before, the ability for these
offenders to get together in their own private chat rooms is a
concern. There is also the concern of the public having access
to this list of sex offenders and sending anonymous harassing
emails. For law enforcement, having the list of the email
addresses of sex offenders will assist in investigations.
SENATOR GREEN asked the success rate of registration, and if the
information is kept up to date. Under current law, are the
offender registrations 100 percent effective or what? Do you
always find people who have not registered?
9:44:27 AM
MS. MONFREDA said about 90 percent of offenders are considered
compliant. Noncompliant offender lists are given to law
enforcement to try to track them down.
SENATOR GREEN asked if any sex offender must register.
MS. MONFREDA said the law requiring registration is specific.
SENATOR GREEN asked how the state follows up on those not
registered.
MS. MONFREDA said a website posts the compliant and noncompliant
offenders. Law enforcement seeks out noncompliant offenders
using their last known address.
SENATOR GREEN asked, "Regardless of whether they have actually
filled out the paperwork and registered, you place their name on
the offender list?"
9:46:16 AM
MS. MONFREDA said noncompliant convicted sex offenders will be
shown on the website as such.
SENATOR STEVENS noted the two reasons for not making the email
address list public: it will give predators a chat room, and it
may encourage vigilantism. One officer said these people may get
harassing emails. He said he gets a lot of harassing emails of a
political nature. "So what? So what if a parent sends a
harassing email to a known predator?"
9:47:24 AM
MS. MONFREDA said it will impact law enforcement agencies when
sex offenders file complaints for harassment.
SENATOR STEVENS said he is not sure that harassing emails is
that bad.
MS. MONFREDA said it is illegal.
9:48:08 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said there are two amendments, and Amendment 1 is
the matter of the list being public or not. The DPS feels that
publishing the list would assist sexual predators in networking.
The committee took an at-ease from 9:49:16 AM until 9:49:58 AM.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said the bill, if amended, will still require the
DPS to collect email addresses, but they will be confidential
and not on a website. Parents can call and find out if an email
is on the list, but it won't be open to other sex offenders.
SENATOR BUNDE said he is inclined to support the amendment. If
the state provides an opportunity for illegal harassment, "I can
see clever attorneys suing the state on behalf of these people."
SENATOR GREEN asked if such lawsuits would be against the state.
SENATOR BUNDE said yes -- if the state provided the lists.
SENATOR GREEN said she questions that. "I don't think the
state's the party to this." The harasser would be sued.
9:52:06 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said she dealt with a case of a polar bear
mauling, and just because it was on state land...
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said his initial intent was to make the
list public, and he never thought about it being a way for sex
offenders to share child pornography. People in DPS and across
the nation recommend against a public list. He said he is open.
Line 8 refers to a residence address, and that is requested by
the department so that work email addresses aren't included.
That is probably good -- so people don't harass employers.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said people have work emails, and "my
understanding is that that change … will limit it to just
people's residence addresses."
SENATOR GREEN asked if it refers to their email access at the
place of work.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said right now the bill requires
registering an address, "so just to clear up any confusion,
because fast food restaurants -- things like that -- they may
employee sex offenders. And I don't think when you go on a sex
offender list anyone wants their small business or large
business showing up on the sex offender list." He doesn't think
people want work emails to show up, and that is appropriate.
9:54:43 AM
SENATOR GREEN asked, "Isn't the activity we're trying to stop
already illegal?"
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said it is not.
SENATOR GREEN asked about pornographic material.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said child pornography is illegal. This
bill will require sexual predators to register their email
addresses. An offender could be having a chat with a 14-year-
old, posing as a 14-year-old himself, and that is legal as long
as there is no enticement.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said it is just one other layer. There will be
offenders using an email address without registering. There are
people registering to addresses that aren't theirs. There are
all kinds of things that can happen, but the bill addresses one
more layer to get information about an individual.
SENATOR BUNDE said to remember that enticement of children is
not a one-time incident. There is a long courting process. When
someone is emailing with a child, he may not be explicit at that
point, but it could be a process.
9:56:43 AM
SENATOR GREEN asked if this makes it illegal for a sex offender
to communicate with an unknown person.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said it does not, it only requires them to
register their email address.
SENATOR GREEN noted that it would take an intervener, like a
parent, to call the troopers.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said yes.
SENATOR GREEN asked how often will that really happen.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said many parents take active rolls, and
should, in their children's email communications.
9:57:36 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said it will play out the way it does now. Mothers
will notice sex offenders and share the information with other
mothers, and they will ask who their child is talking to. It is
no different than being cleared to play with someone. Calling
DPS will be another tool for a parent, she explained.
SENATOR STEVENS said he likes the second paragraph of the
sponsor statement. "I think what [that paragraph] says is if
this becomes a tool, there will be internet security firms that
can either block children from getting these messages or it
could warn parents that their children are getting messages from
someone they shouldn't be getting it from." By taking out the
public aspect, will that advantage be voided?
9:59:03 AM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said that is a good question. This is a
first step. But the information won't be private; it is just not
on an open website. The DPS could still have an arrangement with
MySpace or Facebook to provide such information.
SENATOR STEVENS sees a disadvantage in not making the list
public.
SENATOR BUNDE noted that if this amendment passes, a parent
could contact the DPS about an email address.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said it is not his amendment. His concern
is the language that says the information is confidential and
not subject to public disclosure. He has some of the same
questions. Maybe an attorney can clarify it. He asked if parents
can still get that information and share it with internet
providers and security firms.
SENATOR BUNDE said a responsible company should be able to
prevent those registered emails from its service.
10:01:58 AM
ANNE CARPENETI, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division,
Alaska Department of Law, said the bill requires sex offenders
to register email addresses and other internet identifier
information, and it makes it illegal to fail to register. Law
enforcement doesn't want to create an internet chat room for
exchanging child pornography, because the information is so easy
to get. The intent of the amendment is to not do that, but keep
it available to law enforcement. So "confidential" might not be
the right word, because the information should be available to
parents. A sex offender residential address list benefits a
neighborhood, but the internet is nationwide.
10:04:24 AM
SENATOR GREEN asked if there is somewhere else in the statute
that provides for the descriptions or the qualifications of the
person who's requesting the information. It doesn't say parent
or law abiding citizens. "This too could be the other predator."
MS. CARPENETI said she thinks there are regulations in terms of
people asking for information.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said she will set aside SB 185 to make sure it is
crafted as well as it could be.
MS. MONFREDA said she agrees that the word "confidential" may
create a problem, but the SMART office intends to create a
national address database for parents and internet companies.
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked her to look at Amendment 1 before Tuesday to
make sure the bill accomplishes its goal.
CHAIR MCGUIRE withdrew Amendment 1 and set SB 185 aside.
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