Legislature(2005 - 2006)CAPITOL 120
02/17/2006 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB400 | |
| HB384 | |
| HB353 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 384 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 400 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 353 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 384 - FINES AND OFFENSES 1:40:23 PM CHAIR McGUIRE announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 384, "An Act relating to fines and offenses; amending Rule 8(b), Alaska District Court Rules of Criminal Procedure; and providing for an effective date." [Before the committee was the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 384, Version 24-LS0985\Y, Luckhaupt, 1/30/06, which had been adopted as the work draft on 2/13/06.] 1:40:43 PM HEATH HILYARD, Staff to Representative Tom Anderson, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor, relayed on behalf of Representative Anderson that members' packets include a memorandum from the bill drafter, Gerald Luckhaupt, and two sectional analysis - one from the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and one from the Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G) - and that the bill drafter and a representative from the Department of Law (DOL) are available for questions. In response to comments, he noted that although the concept for the bill was originally very narrow in scope and only addressed concerns that the DPS had with certain portions of current statute, after discussions with the DOL and the drafter it was felt that it would be appropriate to also include proposed changes to certain other sections of statute, such as Title 16, which pertains to the ADF&G. 1:42:57 PM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG made a motion to adopt Conceptual Amendment 1, to narrow the title so that it is "as tight as possible." REPRESENTATIVE ANDERSON objected, characterizing Conceptual Amendment 1 as ambiguous. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG indicated that he is not opposed to having a long title. REPRESENTATIVE ANDERSON said he would maintain his objection at least until public testimony is heard. REPRESENTATIVE ANDERSON made a motion to table Conceptual Amendment 1. There being no objection, it was so ordered. 1:45:02 PM SARAH A. GILBERTSON, Legislative Liaison, Office of the Commissioner, Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G), relayed that she would be commenting on Sections 7, 9-11, and 13-19. She explained that many Title 16 statutes still read in part, "guilty of a misdemeanor, ... punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000", even though two years ago the legislature changed the definition of misdemeanor and raised the maximum fine to $10,000. Therefore, the ADF&G is asking that conforming changes be made to those statutes that were missed during the aforementioned revision; doing so would ensure that all of the ADF&G's statutes pertaining to misdemeanors would automatically conform with any future changes the legislature makes to the term, "misdemeanor". MS. GILBERTSON, in response to a request for more information, also noted that members' packets contain a sectional analysis from the ADF&G, and relayed that Section 7 proposes to change AS 16.05.407, which requires non residents to have a guide; that Section 9 proposes to change AS 16.05.783, which addresses the issue of airborne shooting; that Section 10 proposes to change AS 16.05.831, which addresses the issue of intentionally wasting salmon; that Section 11 proposes to change AS 16.05.905, which deals with alien persons engaging in commercial fishing activities. CHAIR McGUIRE observed that Ms. Gilbertson is simply summarizing the ADF&G's sectional analysis. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked whether the term, "alien person" - which is used in Section 11 - is redundant, given that all aliens are persons. 1:50:05 PM GERALD LUCKHAUPT, Attorney, Legislative Legal Counsel, Legislative Legal and Research Services, Legislative Affairs Agency (LAA), explained that Title 16 already uses the term, "alien person", adding that he is hesitant to alter that language via HB 384. CHAIR McGUIRE asked members to first review the sectional analysis before asking any further questions. 1:52:34 PM ALLEN STOREY, Captain, Division of Alaska State Troopers, Department of Public Safety (DPS), suggested that the language in Section 4 could be abbreviated to simply say that a violation of [AS 04.21.065] is a violation as defined under AS 11.81.900 and is punishable under AS 12.55.035(e)(7), and leave it at that. In response to questions, he noted that typically the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board ("ABC Board") handles violations of AS 04.21.065, and that although he has no problem with the language as it is currently proposed, he thinks a formatting modification might be in order; in this manner, should the penalty for a violation increase, no further change would be necessary for that provision of statute. CHAIR McGUIRE relayed that she would be reluctant to change that proposed language without hearing directly from the ABC Board, particularly given that as currently written, the language specifies that each day the violation continues would constitute a separate violation. In response to a question, she clarified that she is not suggesting that they delete Section 4, merely that they keep the proposed language as it's currently written. MR. STOREY, in response to a question regarding Section 5, offered his understanding that proposed AS 05.25.065(f) pertains to violations involving watercraft and diving. MR. LUCKHAUPT concurred, adding that it provides penalties pertaining to the boating safety program, to prohibited operation of certain boats in certain manners, and to the registration and numbering system. In response to further questions, he explained that Section 5 proposes to change the current fine of $500 for violating the aforementioned provisions to $750. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG indicated that he supports such a change. REPRESENTATIVE ANDERSON mentioned that he would be offering a couple of amendments. 2:02:25 PM MR. HILYARD indicated that those amendments pertain to Sections 32 and 40, which pertain to violations of an order or decision of the labor relations agency [and the railroad labor relations agency respectively]. REPRESENTATIVE ANDERSON made a motion to adopt [Amendment 2], which read [original punctuation provided but formatting changed]: Page 8, Lines 1-5, DELETE *Sec. 32 REPRESENTATIVE KOTT objected for the purpose of discussion. MR. HILYARD indicated that the change proposed via Section 32 was not specifically requested by any agency. REPRESENTATIVE KOTT removed his objection to [Amendment 2]. CHAIR McGUIRE asked whether there were any further objections to Amendment 2. There being none, Amendment 2 was adopted. 2:04:13 PM REPRESENTATIVE ANDERSON made a motion to adopt Amendment 3, which read [original punctuation provided but formatting changed]: Page 9, Lines 16-20 DELETE *Sec. 40 CHAIR McGUIRE objected for the purpose of discussion. REPRESENTATIVE ANDERSON relayed that the [Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC)] requested this amendment. MR. HILYARD indicated that both the labor relations agency and the railroad labor relations agency felt it would be best to delete Section 40. CHAIR McGUIRE removed her objection and asked whether there were any further objections to Amendment 3. There being none, Amendment 3 was adopted. 2:04:59 PM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG made a motion to take from the table Conceptual Amendment 1. There being no objection, it was so ordered. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG again made the motion to adopt Conceptual Amendment 1. CHAIR McGUIRE objected for the purpose of having Representative Gruenberg restate Conceptual Amendment 1. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said, "Tighten the title." REPRESENTATIVE ANDERSON asked Mr. Luckhaupt whether that would be possible. MR. LUCKHAUPT indicated that he could do that, though he warned that the title could become rather voluminous. CHAIR McGUIRE surmised that the goal of Conceptual Amendment 1 would be to prevent mischief with regard to fines and offenses. CHAIR McGUIRE removed her objection and asked whether there were any further objections to Conceptual Amendment 1. There being none, Conceptual Amendment 1 was adopted. MR. HILYARD, in response to a question, said he is not aware of any section of the bill that has not yet been discussed. CHAIR McGUIRE asked whether the bill contains any substantive changes not yet discussed. MR. LUCKHAUPT said he has attempted to make HB 384 similar to a revisor's bill but specifically focusing on the proportionality of fines pertaining to certain misdemeanors. 2:10:00 PM DEAN J. GUANELI, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Legal Services Section-Juneau, Criminal Division, Department of Law (DOL), offered his understanding that any of the penalties set out in the bill, whether the crimes are deemed misdemeanors or violations or infractions, require proof beyond a reasonable doubt. A lesser burden of proof would only apply in situations involving civil penalties. MR. LUCKHAUPT clarified that although the crimes addressed in the bill are non-criminal in nature they are still quasi- criminal offenses. 2:11:10 PM REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL moved to report the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 384, Version 24-LS0985\Y, Luckhaupt, 1/30/06, as amended, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 384(JUD) was reported from the House Judiciary Standing Committee.
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