Legislature(1999 - 2000)
04/13/2000 03:13 PM House HES
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 375 - INHALANT ABUSE Number 1957 CHAIRMAN DYSON announced the next order of business as House Bill No. 375, "An Act relating to abuse of inhalants." REPRESENTATIVE MARY KAPSNER, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor, came forward to present HB 375. She noted there is a committee substitute (CS) because a subcommittee had met on it. [The committee never formally adopted the CS as the work draft, but that is what they used as the working document.] This bill targets the problem of inhalant abuse, which is far reaching not only in Alaska but across the nation. Although the problem has been around for awhile, there has been a rise in inhalant abuse in recent years and last year there was an inhalant abuse conference in Bethel. She also noted her surprise in discovering that there is nothing in statute that says it is illegal to abuse inhalants. Therefore, she wanted to bring light to the situation as well as put it in statute to give the people in the villages a tool for leverage in law enforcement and the health profession to get abusers into treatment. She informed the committee that currently 37 states have legislation in the works and 24 states already have something established in statute to deter people from using inhalants. Number 1888 REPRESENTATIVE KAPSNER explained that the proposed CS would make inhalant abuse a class B misdemeanor under Title 47. On page 2, line 15 and page 2, lines 1-2, it gives a suspended imposition of sentence and has probation pending treatment. Her goal is not to make criminals out of inhalant abusers; it is to get them to treatment. Senators Murkowski and Stevens have garnered funds for an inhalant abuse treatment center in Alaska. In 1998, Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation did a study and found in 1996 and 1997, 161 Alaskans sought treatment for inhalant abuse at drug and alcohol treatment centers. Because of this federal appropriation, there is going to be a treatment abuse facility in Bethel. CHAIRMAN DYSON said he was surprised to find that people can have permanent damage from abuse of inhalants. He noted his further surprise in regard to the time it takes to detoxify, which he understand can be days, weeks and even longer. He asked Representative Kapsner if that was correct. REPRESENTATIVE KAPSNER said that is correct. She understands that the detoxification process can take up to 30 days. The cost of an inhalant abuser with brain damage is about $1.4 million over a lifetime. CHAIRMAN DYSON asked, after finding out that the next committee of referral for HB 375 is the Judiciary Committee, what the penalty is for a class B misdemeanor. REPRESENTATIVE KAPSNER answered $300 and asked Bob Buttcane to answer. Number 1750 ROBERT BUTTCANE, Juvenile Probation Officer, Division of Juvenile Justice, Department of Health & Social Services, came forward to answer. He said Alaska Statutes Section 12.55.135 indicates that a person convicted of a class B misdemeanor may be sentenced to a term not to exceed 90 days, so that would be the maximum jail time with no minimum. REPRESENTATIVE BRICE said he worked with Representative Kapsner on this legislation, and they got hung up on how to ensure that someone gets treatment without criminalizing the act itself. Many cases involve ten- or twelve-year old children huffing gasoline and thus the intention is not to establish these children as criminals, but to get them help. Although they tried to do some creative thinking, Legislative Legal and Research Services said it couldn't be done. They are trying to figure that one out. GARY TURNER, Village Service Manager, Village Services Department, Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation, testified via teleconference from Bethel. He has been working with inhalant problems since 1990 and has realized that an assessment and recommendation could be done on an individual, but there was nowhere to send a person with inhalant problems [because] he/she doesn't qualify for certain treatment centers, although some got into treatment centers in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Bethel. As mentioned earlier, Senator Murkowski and others helped Bethel get a treatment center, which will be available in 2001. In the past, Ivan M. Ivan tried to push legislation through to help provide leverage to get people into treatment as most people don't volunteer to come in for treatment because they don't believe they have a problem. MR. TURNER continued saying in the last year after the conference in Bethel, Representative Kapsner realized there was nothing in statute on inhaling. If someone was caught inhaling, a trooper couldn't do anything unless he could prove that person using inhalants was endangering himself/herself or others. The health corporation is supportive of a bill that will give them leverage to get someone into treatment. The health corporation doesn't want to make criminals out of children either as its primary concern is to get people help. Number 1483 BLAIR McCUNE, Deputy Director, Central Office, Alaska Public Defender Agency, Department of Administration, testified via teleconference from Anchorage. He expressed concern with Section 1, which criminalizes the conduct. From his experience, this is a serious problem for mostly young people, and he doesn't believe that criminalizing it is the answer. (Indisc.) The problem with involuntary commitment is there are not enough beds for people who want to get into treatment. Involuntary commitment for minors can generally be done by the parents, but it is a tricky process too. MR. MCCUNE suggested on page 1, line 6, instead of "inhales any substance" that inhalants be defined as "hazardous volatile material or substance" which is found in Section 12. He appreciated the work the subcommittee did trying to require a suspended imposition of sentence in these cases, but technically the Department of Law should be checked with for how that is worded. (Indisc.) Number 1316 REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL referred to page 1, line 7, and said when someone is reporting somebody, intent has to be proved. He asked Mr. McCune how hard proving intent would be in this case to avoid going off into being vindictive. MR. MCCUNE said that is a concern with the statute. He believes use of the term "hazardous volatile material" would take care of some of the problems. REPRESENTATIVE BRICE suggested that a good way to prove intent would be if someone had a plastic baggie full of glue, or he/she had a paper bag soaked in gasoline. Those are the things that are being talked about in HB 375. MR. MCCUNE said that his office hasn't been asked for a fiscal note, but if the statute was enforced in juvenile court there would be quite a few juveniles. Number 1194 REPRESENTATIVE KAPSNER pointed out that if nothing is done, the fiscal note would be a lot bigger. CHAIRMAN DYSON asked Captain Stockard what effect this bill would have on the state troopers. Number 1160 CHRIS STOCKARD, Captain, Division of Alaska State Troopers, Department of Public Safety (DPS), came forward to testify. He agreed that HB 375 provides another tool for the VPSOs [Village Public Safety Officer] and the police officers in the more remote communities. He said the DPS shares some of the concerns about criminalizing a behavior which is a medical addiction in nature. The reality is it is difficult to convince people that they need treatment. Sometimes having a judge say someone has to go into treatment can be an effective way of getting some people into treatment. However, he doesn't believe the department is going to set out to look for people to charge with abuse of inhalants, but it does provide an additional tool to use to get people help. CHAIRMAN DYSON asked Captain Stockard if there is any evidence in Alaska that people are using inhalants to exploit children, or that children are using inhalants to exploit other children. Number 1097 CAPTAIN STOCKARD answered he has never heard of any incidents, but it is certainly not impossible. CHAIRMAN DYSON asked if the giving of inhalants to another person should be criminalized. CAPTAIN STOCKARD commented that would raise some interesting problems. Giving an inhalant to another person with the intent that he/she use it illegally could certainly be criminalized, but the local hardware store could be in a lot of trouble for stockpiling gasoline or airplane glue. Therefore, it seems like it would be difficult legislation to write. Number 1033 REPRESENTATIVE GREEN suggested educating people of the dangers of inhalants to be proactive instead of being reactive to the problem. He hoped there would be a way to get this education into the school system. REPRESENTATIVE KAPSNER noted that process is already taking place in Bethel with the annual inhalant abuse conference, and there are some people talking to the school children. This bill would help bring attention to inhalant abuse and show that the legislature doesn't condone inhalant abuse and is trying to prevent it by making a statement that inhalant abuse is not acceptable. REPRESENTATIVE BRICE noted there is a tremendous amount of public effort through the DARE [Drug Abuse Resistance Education] programs and various other things. There have been assemblies in Fairbanks specifically on inhalant abuse. Number 0914 REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL suggested that when HB 375 goes to the Judiciary Committee the intent issue should be talked about. Number 0856 REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL made a motion to move CSHB 375, Version 1- LS1323\H, Luckhaupt, 3/28/00, from the committee with individual recommendations and indeterminate fiscal note. There being no objection, CSHB 375(HES) moved from the House Health, Education and Social Services Standing Committee.
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