04/24/2006 02:13 PM House JUD

SB 249 - REPORTING BAIL AND RELEASE INFORMATION                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
3:16:00 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR McGUIRE  announced that the  final order of  business would                                                               
be CS FOR SENATE BILL NO.  249(JUD), "An Act relating to criminal                                                               
justice information."                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:16:22 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CINDY  SMITH,  Staff  to  Senator  Hollis  French,  Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature, sponsor, explained on  behalf of Senator French that                                                               
in June of 2005, a domestic  violence call in his district to the                                                               
police resulted in  a hostage situation wherein a  shot was fired                                                               
at the police  and a SWAT unit was brought  into the neighborhood                                                               
before  order  was  eventually  restored.   Some  days  later,  a                                                               
neighbor noticed the defendant back  in the neighborhood near the                                                               
house [where  the hostage situation occurred];  the neighbor knew                                                               
that the  man had  been ordered  to stay away  as a  condition of                                                               
bail, but when  she called the police the response  was that they                                                               
didn't have access to the conditions  of bail and so had no legal                                                               
way of telling the man he couldn't be there.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS. SMITH said that in  subsequent meetings with court and public                                                               
safety officials, it  became clear that an  interagency group has                                                               
started the process of providing  important public safety data in                                                               
a  way that  law enforcement  agencies can  access.   [To further                                                               
those efforts],  Senator French has  introduced SB 249  to ensure                                                               
that conditions of bail are  specifically provided for as part of                                                               
the criminal justice information  system since those orders often                                                               
restrict otherwise legal behavior such  as driving a car or being                                                               
in  a  particular  physical  location.     The  Senate  Judiciary                                                               
Standing  Committee  added  a  provision  to  also  include,  for                                                               
similar reasons,  conditions of probation  and parole.   The bill                                                               
does  not seek  to establish  a particular  timeline; rather,  it                                                               
seeks  to  ensure  that  over time,  these  specific  issues  are                                                               
addressed.    She relayed  that  the  agencies affected  have  no                                                               
objections to the bill.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  McGUIRE, after  ascertaining that  no one  else wished  to                                                               
testify, closed public testimony on SB 249.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:18:02 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ANDERSON moved  to  report CSSB  249(JUD) out  of                                                               
committee  with individual  recommendations and  the accompanying                                                               
fiscal  notes.   There  being  no  objection, CSSB  249(JUD)  was                                                               
reported from the House Judiciary Standing Committee.