Legislature(2013 - 2014)
04/18/2014 09:48 AM House FIN
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB195 || SB195 | |
| SJR23 | |
| SB64 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 64(FIN)
"An Act relating to theft and property offenses;
relating to the definition of 'prior convictions' for
certain theft offenses; establishing the Alaska
Criminal Justice Commission and providing an
expiration date; relating to the crime of custodial
interference; relating to the duties of the Alaska
Judicial Council; relating to jail-time credit for
offenders in court-ordered treatment programs;
relating to conditions of release, probation, and
parole; relating to duties of the commissioner of
corrections and board of parole; establishing a fund
for reducing recidivism in the Department of Health
and Social Services; requiring the commissioner of
health and social services to establish programs for
persons on conditions of release or probation that
require testing for controlled substances and
alcoholic beverages; requiring the board of parole to
establish programs for persons on parole that require
testing for controlled substances and alcoholic
beverages; relating to the duties of the Department of
Health and Social Services; and providing for an
effective date."
10:48:59 AM
Co-Chair Stoltze discussed that the committee would hear a
presentation on the bill.
JORDAN SHILLING, STAFF, SENATOR JOHN COGHILL, stated that
SB 64 had had 21 hearings since its introduction, the
summary of changes explaining the bills evolution could be
found in member packets (copy on file). He stated that the
bill had been created with the help of many experts in the
Department of Law, Corrections, the Court System, and the
Public Defender Agency. He introduced the PowerPoint
presentation: "Senate Bill 64 Omnibus
Crime/Corrections/Recidivism Bill" (copy on file).
Mr. Shilling spoke to Slide 7, "Bill Components":
· 24/7 Sobriety
· Alaska Criminal Justice Commission
· Probation Reform (P.A.C.E.)
· More Risk-Needs Assessments
· Recidivism Reduction Fund
· Limited Licenses
· Stricter penalties for attempted abduction
· Adjusting the Felony Theft Threshold
· Incentivizing Residential Treatment
· PTSD Mitigating Factor
· Confidentiality of Criminal Records
Vice-Chair Neuman expressed concern about the Recidivism
Reduction Fund. He believed that the Department of
Corrections (DOC) had not used the funding it had received
in FY14 through the Department of Health and Social
Services (DHSS) because DOC had not had the ability to
catch the shorter term people in need. He asked how it was
envisioned that the fund would work; where would the money
come from and how much money was expected.
Mr. Shilling understood that Vice-Chair Neuman's office was
in communication with DOC concerning movement of the fund.
He deferred the question to the department.
10:53:46 AM
RON TAYLOR, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS,
stated that $1 million had lapsed in terms of programming
funds for substance abuse treatment programs and sex
offender treatment programs.
Co-Chair Stoltze asked if it was due to the inability to
transfer the money to other programs.
Mr. Taylor replied that the funds designated for those
programs was not spent due to a number of factors and had
not been transferred to other programs.
Vice-Chair Neuman queried why the money available for drug
treatment programs was not being used by the department for
those programs.
Mr. Taylor replied that contracts with providers needed to
be vetted; additionally, when the contracts were
established it was on a fee for service basis; if no
services were provided on the contract then the department
did not pay the money. He said that it was discovered
toward the end of the fiscal year the money would lapse
because of the way that the contracts were structured. He
assured that the department was making efforts to ensure
that the money was getting where it needed be in addition
to working to include incentives in contract to ensure that
staffing was appropriate. He said that the sex offender
treatment program in Bethel had been the biggest problem
for the department because there had been no provider in
the area for several years.
Vice-Chair Neuman reminded the committee that there was an
amendment included in the operating budget directing
legislators to work with DOC to reduce recidivisms.
10:56:52 AM
Co-Chair Stoltze asked which of the provisions had
initially been a priority of the sponsor.
Mr. Shilling replied that the evidence based programs were
extremely important, the 24/7 Sobriety Program, the
Probation Reform Program (P.A.C.E.), and the Recidivism
Reduction Fund. He said that the purpose of the fund
differed from the funds previously mentioned; the purpose
of the fund was to provide resources for individuals that
had been incarcerated for a long time and had been recently
released. He stressed that one of the biggest drivers of
the recidivism rate was the way that prisoners were release
without resources to be successful outside prison.
Mr. Shilling shared that the provisions that had been added
to the original legislation were: the PTSD Mitigating
Factor, the Limited License provision, and Sections 2
through 4 concerning custodial interference were added in
Senate Judiciary. He related that all other provisions were
decided to be put into the bill during the interim as
directed by the bill sponsor.
Representative Munoz asked about the Limited License
provision.
Mr. Shilling pointed to Slide 23. He explained that the
third DUI was considered a felony DUI, and often the
offender would lose their license for the rest of their
life. He stated that it was the sponsor's belief that,
while the state had told them that they could not drive
anymore, those individuals were currently on the road and
without any accountability measures. He suggested that a
special license could be granted to those individuals and
referred to Slide 38, which listed details of the provision
found in Section 30:
A court may grant a limited license for felony DUI if:
· The person is participating in a court-ordered
treatment program
· Provides proof of insurance
· Has an ignition interlock installed on their
vehicle
· Enrolled in the ASAP program.
· Participating in 24/7 Sobriety
· Has not been granted a limited license before
Representative Munoz asked for details on the ASAP program.
Mr. Shilling answered that is was the Alcohol Safety Action
Program (ASAP), a drug screening and monitoring program. He
related that anyone who got a DUI in the state was enrolled
for a certain period of time. He added that the Limited
License had been structured in a way that the offender
would be fully accountable and there were no loopholes for
them to be a danger to the public.
Representative Munoz asked about the testing twice per day
related to the 24/7 Sobriety provision.
Mr. Shilling affirmed that that the 24/7 provision required
twice daily breathalyzer tests.
Representative Munoz understood that the alternate license
was an alternative to permanent revocation.
Mr. Shilling replied that it was an option for certain
felony DUI offenders with lifetime revocations that were
eligible for the therapeutic courts.
11:02:54 AM
Representative Munoz asked whether partial custody
interference and removal of a child for the state against
the wishes of the other parent fell under the provisions of
the bill.
Mr. Shilling answered no. He furthered that the Custodial
Interference section was geared towards non-relatives and
dealt only with custodial interference in the 2nd degree.
11:05:33 AM
Representative Guttenberg referred back to Section 30 of
the legislation. He wondered what would happen to
individuals who received the alternative license and then
continued to disregard the law.
Mr. Shilling answered that the same penalties would apply
to them as would for individuals with regular licenses. He
added that one aspect that was intended to change the
behavior was the requirement that they successfully
participate in the therapeutic courts.
Representative Guttenberg wondered what would happen if a
person received another DUI.
Mr. Shilling said that if another DUI was received under
the limited license the person would lose the limited
license and would not be eligible again for the limited
license. //
Representative Guttenberg asked at what point the person
would face jail time.
Mr. Shilling opined that the bill did not address the
question.
Representative Thompson expressed concern about proof of
insurance and thought language should be included that
mandated proof of insurance for the limited licensees.
Mr. Shilling pointed to Page 18, line 30 of the bill that
required an individual to provide proof of insurance.
11:09:08 AM
Representative Wilson had heard about two different 24/7
programs. She wondered which program was included in the
bill.
Mr. Shilling answered that the bill contained the felony
limited license program, the other program was a
misdemeanor limited license program that tied the 24/7
program to the license.
Representative Wilson understood the third DUI would be
considered a felony under the bill.
Mr. Shilling answered in the affirmative; in a 10-year
period.
Representative Wilson asked about the timespan between the
moment for felony conviction and eligibility for a limited
license and what the restrictions would be on the license.
Mr. Shilling deferred the question to the court system.
11:12:14 AM
TIFFANY THOMAS, DRIVER LICENSING MANAGER, DEPARTMENT OF
MOTOR VEHICLES, DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION (via
teleconference), relayed that there would be two different
mechanisms for a termination of revocation for a felony
offender. The first would be for those offenders that did
not have the opportunity to go through therapeutic court;
according to AS 28.35.030, the person would have a 10 year
minimum period of revocation before they could apply for a
termination. The second path would involve the people that
participated in therapeutic court; upon completion of
therapeutic court and successful participation on a limited
license they would be eligible to apply for a termination
of revocation through the department. She said that the
process could take 1 to 2 months.
Representative Wilson asked how long it would take a person
to get through the therapeutic court system before they
could begin driving again.
11:16:19 AM
Ms. Thomas replied that the court orders treatment program
would take 6 months and all other requirements would need
to be met. She thought it could take over a year before
they could apply for the termination process.
Representative Wilson asked for a definition of a limited
license.
Ms. Thomas replied that the division referred to it as an
unlimited limited because it was not restricted to work.
She said the limitations would be outlined in the bill.
11:17:54 AM
SB 64 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
11:18:27 AM
RECESSED
5:16:34 PM
RECONVENED
Co-Chair Stoltze called the meeting to order. He relayed
that the updated fiscal notes for HCS CSSB 195(FIN) and SJR
23 had not changed. The bills had reported out of committee
earlier in the day.
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