02/10/2012 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY

           HB 303 - SUSPENDED IMPOSITION OF SENTENCE                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
2:04:51 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR GATTO  announced that the  next order of business  would be                                                               
HOUSE BILL NO.  303, "An Act relating to  suspended imposition of                                                               
sentence for certain criminal offences."                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
2:05:14 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  LES  GARA,  Alaska  State  Legislature,  sponsor,                                                               
explained  that  HB 303  would  allow  people  who have  had  the                                                               
imposition  of  their sentence  suspended  -  known as  suspended                                                               
imposition  of  sentence   (SIS)  -  [and  have   been  issued  a                                                               
certificate by  the court to  the effect  that the court  has set                                                               
aside] the  conviction, to state  when questioned that  they have                                                               
never  been convicted  [of the  crime they  were sentenced  for],                                                               
with that statement  then being considered to be true.   The bill                                                               
is  intended to  address  situations  in which  a  person -  when                                                               
applying for  something - is  asked whether he/she has  ever been                                                               
convicted  of  a  crime.    Some  other  states  will  expunge  a                                                               
conviction from  a person's criminal  record, but  expungement of                                                               
record is not  available in Alaska, and the  Alaska Supreme Court                                                               
has indicated that under the  wording of existing statute, when a                                                               
person granted  an SIS [and  issued a certificate]  is responding                                                               
to the  question of whether he/she  has ever been convicted  of a                                                               
crime,  he/she must  answer "yes,"  [because he/she  actually was                                                               
convicted and the  conviction was merely set aside].   He offered                                                               
his  understanding  that  under  current   law,  an  SIS  is  not                                                               
available when the underlying crime  is a crime against a person;                                                               
HB 303 would not change that.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GARA  relayed  that   an  amendment  labeled  27-                                                               
LS1192\M.1,  Gardner, 2/8/12,  in  members'  packets would  limit                                                               
HB 303's proposed  change to AS  12.55.085(e) such that  it would                                                               
then  only apply  in situations  involving  a misdemeanor  crime;                                                               
that amendment read [original punctuation provided]:                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     Page 1, line 7, following "subsection":                                                                                
          Insert "for a misdemeanor offense"                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Page 1, line 8, following "the":                                                                                       
          Insert "misdemeanor"                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GARA,  in  response to  questions,  offered  some                                                               
examples of the types of crimes  for which a court might grant an                                                               
SIS, noted that some felony crimes  are also eligible for an SIS,                                                               
and  surmised,   therefore,  that  limiting  the   bill  via  the                                                               
aforementioned amendment would be the best approach.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
2:15:51 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KELLER  pointed  out   that  a  person  can't  be                                                               
sentenced without  first being  convicted, and  with an  SIS, the                                                               
court merely refrains from imposing  the sentence; therefore, the                                                               
change proposed by  the bill would essentially allow  a person to                                                               
lie on applications,  for example, with regard  to whether he/she                                                               
was ever convicted.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GARA  - indicating a  belief that setting  aside a                                                               
conviction was equivalent  to removing it, that if  it's been set                                                               
aside, it  doesn't exist anymore  - opined  that if a  person has                                                               
been granted an SIS [and  been issued a certificate], then he/she                                                               
should be allowed to state  on applications that he/she has never                                                               
been convicted.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  PRUITT  mentioned  that   he  has  concerns  with                                                               
HB 303's proposed change.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG  suggested that  HB 303 be  amended such                                                               
that  the court  -  on  a case-by-case  basis  -  would have  the                                                               
discretionary authority to  permit a person to  state that he/she                                                               
has not been  convicted, or such that the person  would then have                                                               
the right to specify that the conviction had been set aside.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR GATTO relayed that HB 303 would be held over.