03/21/2020 09:00 AM House FINANCE

HOUSE BILL NO. 290                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     "An   Act  establishing   an   alternative  to   arrest                                                                    
     procedure  for  persons  in acute  episodes  of  mental                                                                    
     illness;  relating to  emergency  detention for  mental                                                                    
     health evaluation; and relating  to licensure of crisis                                                                    
     stabilization centers."                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
10:29:38 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Johnston OPENED Public Testimony.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
ANDREE MCLEOD,  SELF, ANCHORAGE (via  teleconference), spoke                                                                    
in  opposition  to  the bill.  She  stated  the  legislation                                                                    
impacted   people    who   experience    acute   psychiatric                                                                    
emergencies and the development  of organizations with staff                                                                    
and it  had not  been vetted through  the Health  and Social                                                                    
Services Committee or the Labor  and Commerce Committee. She                                                                    
stated that  "we're all  aware and  we're all  desperate for                                                                    
easy  fixes to  our  broken mental  healthcare system."  She                                                                    
believed there was  a tendency to grasp for  almost any fix.                                                                    
She thought  the bill  was ill  conceived. She  stressed the                                                                    
need for a  comprehensive package to fix  the broken system.                                                                    
She  pointed out  that  the  bills all  had  impacts on  the                                                                    
system. She opined  that bills should not  move forward when                                                                    
they were not  vetted by the right  committees. She appealed                                                                    
to members  to vote against  the bill  and to include  it in                                                                    
part of a comprehensive package in the future.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
Ms.  McLeod   stated  that  the  bill   criminalized  mental                                                                    
illness. She  stressed that the  arrest followed  the person                                                                    
who  had an  acute psychiatric  emergency, which  had severe                                                                    
ramifications  for  the person  going  forward.  She used  a                                                                    
hypothetical scenario  where a  person was  arrested because                                                                    
they lashed out and hit  someone while having a heart attack                                                                    
or  some  kind  of  extreme  emergency  due  to  high  blood                                                                    
pressure. She  asked members to  consider that  the symptoms                                                                    
of a  person's illness could  create a criminal  record. She                                                                    
mentioned  HB 312  sponsored by  Representative Matt  Claman                                                                    
that had passed  several years earlier. She  believed it had                                                                    
criminalized mental  illness. She stated that  people in API                                                                    
or any medical  facility who exhibit symptoms  that could be                                                                    
deemed threatening could be arrested  and taken to jail. She                                                                    
emphasized that  the court  record followed  the individuals                                                                    
and impacted  their jobs and  future living  situations. She                                                                    
reiterated  her desire  to see  HB 290  brought back  in the                                                                    
future as part of a comprehensive package.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Johnston   CLOSED  Public  Testimony.   She  asked                                                                    
Representative  Claman to  provide a  reintroduction of  the                                                                    
bill.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
10:33:40 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MATT CLAMAN,  SPONSOR, highlighted that there                                                                    
had been questions at the  last hearing about the definition                                                                    
of acute  behavioral health crisis.  He read  the definition                                                                    
included  in an  email  from the  Department  of Health  and                                                                    
Social  Services:  a  situation  in  which  an  individual's                                                                    
behavior or  state of mind  puts that individual at  risk of                                                                    
hurting  themselves or  others or  prevents them  from being                                                                    
able  to  care for  themselves  or  function safely  in  the                                                                    
community  as a  result of  a mental  health diagnosis  or a                                                                    
substance  abuse disorder.  He explained  that the  bill did                                                                    
not include the definition because  it was common in the law                                                                    
for the courts  to look at what they refer  to as the "plain                                                                    
meaning rule."  He elaborated that  from the  perspective of                                                                    
the Department  of Law's Civil  Division, the  plain meaning                                                                    
rule would  take the definition  of acute  behavioral health                                                                    
crisis and  recognize that it included  both substance abuse                                                                    
and  behavioral health  issues.  The  division believed  the                                                                    
bill was  inclusive of the broad  terms and there was  not a                                                                    
need for a  more specific definition in  statute. He offered                                                                    
to provide a longer introduction and/or answer questions.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Johnston asked  Representative  Claman to  address                                                                    
the  concerns raised  in public  testimony. She  stated that                                                                    
the  bill was  more  about  keeping people  out  of jail  as                                                                    
opposed to putting them in jail.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Representative Claman  agreed. The  purpose of the  bill was                                                                    
to  divert individuals  who were  appropriate for  treatment                                                                    
away  from  a  repeat  cycle where  they  were  not  getting                                                                    
successful treatment in  jail. He detailed that  many of the                                                                    
individuals could be  stabilized in a short  period of time.                                                                    
He  shared that  states  that used  the crisis  intervention                                                                    
model had much better results  and police officers found the                                                                    
method in  the bill  was a  better way  to work  with repeat                                                                    
offenders  in  the community.  He  explained  that they  had                                                                    
actually been  able to reduce criminal  behavior and achieve                                                                    
savings  in  terms of  psychiatric  care  and public  safety                                                                    
expenses.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
10:36:28 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Foster  MOVED  to  REPORT  CSHB  290(JUD)  out  of                                                                    
committee   with   individual    recommendations   and   the                                                                    
accompanying fiscal notes.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Representative Carpenter OBJECTED.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
A roll call vote was taken on the motion.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
IN  FAVOR: Ortiz,  Wool,  Josephson,  Knopp, LeBon,  Foster,                                                                    
Johnston                                                                                                                        
OPPOSED: Sullivan-Leonard, Tilton, Carpenter                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
The MOTION  PASSED (7/3). There being  NO further OBJECTION,                                                                    
it was so ordered.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
CSHB 290(JUD)  was REPORTED  out of  committee with  six "do                                                                    
pass"    recommendations,    three    "no    recommendation"                                                                    
recommendations, and  one "do not pass"  recommendation; and                                                                    
with one  previously published zero impact  note: FN1 (LAW);                                                                    
one previously published indeterminant  note: FN2 (DPS); and                                                                    
two previously published fiscal  impact notes: FN3 (DHS) and                                                                    
FN4 (DHS).