Legislature(2011 - 2012)CAPITOL 120
03/14/2012 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
Audio | Topic |
---|---|
Start | |
HB50 | |
HB128 | |
HB359 | |
Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ | HB 50 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | HB 128 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | TELECONFERENCED | ||
+= | HB 359 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 50 - ACCESS TO LICENSED PREMISES 1:02:53 PM CHAIR GATTO announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 50, "An Act relating to the purchase of alcoholic beverages at a club and to access by certain persons under 21 years of age to a club's licensed premises when alcoholic beverages are present." 1:03:12 PM REPRESENTATIVE DAN SADDLER, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor, referred to HB 50 as an "access" bill, and assured the committee that the bill wouldn't allow anyone under age 21 to consume alcohol legally. [Section 1 of] HB 50, he proffered, would make it easier for military personnel to "enjoy companionship in the clubhouses of service and patriotic organizations" by removing the language in AS 04.11.110(d) which stipulates that active- duty military personnel may purchase alcoholic beverages sold under a club license only on special occasions when extended the privilege by patriotic organizations; specifically, Section 1 would delete the phrase, "upon special occasions" from AS 04.11.110(d)(3). He indicated a belief that this provision would only apply to those active-duty military personnel "who are over the age of 21." [Section 2 of] HB 50, he proffered, would allow active-duty military personnel under age 21 to access the premises of patriotic organizations licensed as clubs under AS 04.11.110 if such personnel are guests or members of the club; specifically, Section 2 would delete from AS 04.11.110(g) the [exclusionary] reference to AS 04.16.049, and would add to AS 04.11.110(g)(2) the words, "is a guest or member of the club and". He indicated a belief that this provision would not allow [underage] active-duty military personnel to consume alcohol. REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER offered his understanding that excluding underage active-duty military personnel from such clubs can erode "unit" cohesion and reduce morale. In conclusion, he reiterated that HB 50 won't allow underage active-duty military personnel to consume alcohol legally, additionally offering his belief that the bill simply clarifies that active-duty military personnel "over 21" don't have to wait for a special occasion [to purchase alcohol served under the club license], and that underage active-duty military personnel can visit patriotic clubs if they are members or guests. 1:05:52 PM REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER, in response to questions, said that a person must be at least 17 years of age to enlist in the military, and, if not yet 18 years of age, must also obtain permission from his/her parent or guardian; and that under Alaska law, anyone under the age of 21 may enter and remain in a licensed premises if accompanied by a parent, a guardian, [or a spouse who is at least 21 years of age]. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG questioned why Section 2 of the bill is proposing to delete from AS 04.11.110(g) the [exclusionary] reference to AS 04.16.049; noted that the bill doesn't address spouses of active-duty military personnel; and suggested that the bill be changed to also apply to such spouses. REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER replied: Much of the justification for this, as presented to me by the [Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)], was for the purpose of allowing younger-aged soldiers to attend clubs, meetings, that were unit based, and that basically [were] an off-duty kind of unit call. I had not considered whether spouses would be included in that, or whether it would be important for them to attend privately. ... I would be glad to entertain that kind of amendment .... REPRESENTATIVE HOLMES - with regard to Section 2's proposal to delete from AS 04.11.110(g) the [exclusionary] reference to AS 04.16.049 - explained that doing so is necessary because Section 3 of HB 50 is proposing to add to AS 04.16.049(a) a new paragraph (4) specifying that a person under 21 years of age may enter or remain in a licensed premises if he/she is permitted to do so under AS 04.11.110(g), which, again, under the bill, is being altered to provide just such an allowance for underage active-duty military personnel who are guests or members of the club. 1:10:41 PM SHIRLEY GIFFORD, Director, Alcoholic Beverage Control Board ("ABC Board"), Department of Public Safety (DPS), said she understands the desire to maintain relations between military personnel, and, having been "pretty much raised up in a paramilitary organization," how important having the ability to socialize with other members is to camaraderie. However, she warned, HB 50 would be very, very difficult to enforce. And although the bill wouldn't allow underage persons to drink alcohol legally, exposing them to an environment [in which everyone else is drinking] could result in them drinking too regardless that doing so would be illegal. Alaska has over 80 clubs of the type addressed by the bill, but the ABC Board has only 5 investigators, and sometimes obtaining access to such clubs for purposes of inspection/enforcement is difficult. On that issue, she noted that a couple of years ago she had suggested that the ABC Board be issued a card granting it access to such clubs for inspection purposes - to ensure that underage persons are not being provided alcohol - but the suggestion was turned down. In conclusion, she said, "I think that this is going to be very difficult, I think it exposes underage persons to a dangerous product - a legal product, but a dangerous one nonetheless - and I am in opposition of this bill." CHAIR GATTO acknowledged that perhaps underage military personnel could be provided alcohol in such a club, but pointed out that if the changes proposed by HB 50 don't work out, then the law could be changed again later. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN disclosed that he is a member of a couple such clubs, and characterized their environments as being "pretty darn good." REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER, in response to a question, offered his understanding that in such clubs, non-members are not allowed to order anything. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG disclosed that he, too, is a member of such a club. REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER, in response to questions and comments, explained that although the bill is not specific with regard to the location of any such clubs, it is proposing changes to the language in both AS 04.11.110(d)(3) and AS 04.11.110(g)(2) that specifically addresses patriotic organizations which sell alcohol under a club license. He added that existing AS 04.11.110(b) specifies what types of entities could obtain such a club license. 1:20:14 PM CHAIR GATTO, after ascertaining that no one else wished to testify, closed public testimony on HB 50. REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER characterized Ms. Gifford's comments as offensive. MS. GIFFORD, in response to questions, relayed that AS 04.11.110(b) reads in part: (b) A club license may only be issued to a club, fraternal organization, patriotic organization, or social organization that has been (1) chartered by a state or national organization for a period of two consecutive years before application for a license under this section; or (2) chartered by a national organization and the national organization has maintained a chartered club or organization within the state for a period of at least 20 years. MS. GIFFORD added that that statute does not differentiate with regard to such a club's physical location, and reiterated that there are 80 such clubs in Alaska. In response to a further question, she noted that AS 04.11.250 pertains to two-year conditional contractors' permits, which address the sale of beer and wine on military and naval reservations. 1:25:22 PM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG made a motion to adopt a conceptual amendment, "to expand the bill to include the spouses of active- duty military personnel if they meet the other requirements here, and that would mean that they must be accompanying the military personnel and be a guest of the member of the club." REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG, in response to comments and questions, indicated that he would be withdrawing his conceptual amendment until it could be drafted properly; pointed out that Section 1's proposed AS 04.11.110(d) doesn't currently address the spouses of guests of club members; and clarified that he wants the permissions that HB 50 would grant to active-duty military personnel to also be granted to their spouses when accompanying them. CHAIR GATTO relayed that HB 50 would be held over.
Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
---|---|---|
CSHB 128 (TRA) Hearing Request.pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 128 |
CSHB 128 (TRA) Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 128 |
CSHB 128 (TRA).pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 128 |
CSHB 128 Crash Data.pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 128 |
CSHB 128 Explanation of Changes.pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 128 |
CSHB 128 Letter of Support Allstate.pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 128 |
HB 128.pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 128 |
HB50 ver A.pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM HL&C 4/4/2011 3:15:00 PM |
HB 50 |
HB50 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM HL&C 4/4/2011 3:15:00 PM |
HB 50 |
HB50 Sectional Analysis.pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM HL&C 4/4/2011 3:15:00 PM |
HB 50 |
CSHB 128 Letter of Support APDEA.pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 128 |
CSHB 128 Letter of Support APOA HB 15.pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 15 HB 128 |
CSHB 128 Letter of Support NSC HB 15.pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 15 HB 128 |
CSHB 128 Letter of Support State Farm.pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 128 |
CSHB 128 Studies and Articles.pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 128 |
HB0128-2-2-030212-DPS-N.pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 128 |
HB0128-1-2-030212-LAW-N.pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 128 |
HB 50 support documents - emails.pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 50 |
HB 50 fiscal note.pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 50 |
HB 359 ACLU Review 2012 03 04 (2).pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 359 |
Bell v State.pdf |
HJUD 3/14/2012 1:00:00 PM |