04/08/1994 01:15 PM House JUD

  CSSB 321 - FINGERPRINTING AND CRIME RECORDS                                  
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN PORTER:  "The next bill to be considered, and we'll                 
  be considering this, not moving it, is CS for SB 321."  Rep.                 
  James asked if a similar bill had not already been passed.                   
  Chairman Porter acknowledged this and recognized DEAN J.                     
  GUANELI, DEPARTMENT OF LAW, to speak on SB 321 and its                       
  origins, but first he presented some background himself.                     
                                                                               
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN PORTER:  "Let me see if I can track why we're                       
  hearing this bill, for the information of the committee.                     
  Dean, if I am misspeaking, or this doesn't sound correct to                  
  you, let me know.  The bill that we heard had part of this                   
  bill in it, and part of this bill was not in it.  This bill                  
  basically contains two sections:  (1) addressing the                         
  fingerprint part of the criminal records bill that we heard;                 
  (2) participation by the state in a VICAP (Violent Criminals                 
  Apprehension Program) program which I'm sure Dean will tell                  
  us about.  The portion that we are in effect rehearing was                   
  deleted from the bill that we sent to the Senate for some                    
  reason.  Consequently, this bill with the new section and                    
  the other bill as it now remains if both passed would meet                   
  and surpass the goals of the original bill we have heard."                   
                                                                               
  REP. NORDLUND:  "It would surpass?  It wouldn't be equal to                  
  the original bill?"                                                          
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN PORTER:  "It would be more than the bill that we                    
  heard originally because within this is this participation                   
  in the VICAP program which isn't in that other bill and                      
  wasn't in that other bill.  Was that fair?"                                  
                                                                               
                                                                               
  DEAN J. GUANELI, Chief, Legal Services Section, Assistant                    
  Attorney General, testified regarding CS HB 321.  He said,                   
  "Almost.  The bill that passed the House, I think it was                     
  close to unanimously, if not unanimously, is working its way                 
  through the Senate and it still is intact.  The fingerprint                  
  provision (is) in this bill, because of Senator Halford's                    
  fear that the APSIN bill would not make it all the way                       
  through the Senate, and it was his feeling, and I agree,                     
  that kind of the linch pin of that whole program is the                      
  mandatory fingerprinting provision.  And so he said, `Well,                  
  I'll throw that into this bill, as well, so that we can make                 
  sure that if nothing else happens, at least the mandatory                    
  fingerprinting provision will get through.'                                  
                                                                               
                                                                               
  "I believe that the House bill has a good chance of making                   
  it through the Senate.  And, if it does, then we will have                   
  the fingerprinting provision in that, as well.  But that's                   
  the reason why you have it in here.  The fingerprinting                      
  provision was stripped out of the Senate's version of the                    
  APSIN bill, which I think is still working its way through                   
  the Senate.  I know it's a little confusing, but that's the                  
  situation.                                                                   
                                                                               
  "In any event, the other portion of this bill makes the                      
  state law enforcement agencies a participant in what's known                 
  as the VICAP program: it's the Violent Criminals                             
  Apprehension Program in conjunction with the FBI.  What that                 
  does is, it collects information about solved and even                       
  unsolved murders in states.  The FBI compiles that                           
  information and they keep track of serial killers in that                    
  way.  They've found it very helpful in tracking these people                 
  as they move through the states and trying to put together                   
  little pieces of investigations  - an agency in one state                    
  will do an investigation, an agency in another state will do                 
  an investigation, and the FBI will sort of meld those                        
  together, find out that there are similarities and try to                    
  apprehend the person before he kills again.  So, this                        
  requires, then, the police agencies in Alaska to submit                      
  reports to the FBI, and if the FBI says, `Yes, that's the                    
  report we're interested in,' then some additional                            
  information goes to the FBI that then can help us solve,                     
  perhaps, some unsolved killings.  That's what the second                     
  part of the bill does.  So I hope that that answers the                      
  questions about this procedurally and substantively."                        
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN PORTER:  "Is there anyone else that wishes to                       
  testify on SB 321?  Any other questions for Dean?  Seeing                    
  none, what is the wish of the committee?"                                    
                                                                               
  REP. JAMES:  "I thought we don't want to do this."                           
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN PORTER:  "I'm sorry, that's right.  We're going to                  
  hold the bill for right now.  Are there any other questions                  
  about the bill before we put it away?"                                       
                                                                               
  REP. CLIFF DAVIDSON:  "Are we waiting for something on the                   
  bill?"                                                                       
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN PORTER:  "Yes."                                                     
                                                                               
  REP. DAVIDSON:  "Politics?"                                                  
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN PORTER:  "Politics."                                                
                                                                               
  REP. NORDLUND:  "Somebody wants to kill the other bill in                    
  the Senate, is basically what we're saying here, and this                    
  one is hedging our bets; at least, providing for the                         
  important part of the other bill."                                           
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN PORTER:  "Fair enough."                                             
                                                                               
  REP. NORDLUND:  "You couldn't say that, but I can say that."