Legislature(2013 - 2014)CAPITOL 120
03/11/2013 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB81 | |
| HB104 | |
| HB108 | |
| HB104 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 81 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 104 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 108 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 108 - SURCHARGE ON FINES/ELEC. CITATION FUND
2:07:30 PM
CHAIR KELLER announced that the next order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 108, "An Act relating to electronic citations;
creating the electronic citation fund; and providing for an
effective date." [Included in members' packets was a proposed
committee substitute (CS) for HB 108, Version 28-LS0383\O,
Wayne, 2/21/13.]
The committee took an at-ease from 2:08 p.m. to 2:12 p.m.
CHAIR KELLER [although no motion was recorded] announced that
the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 108, Version 28-
LS0383\O, Wayne, 2/21/13, was before the committee as the
working document.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG objected.
2:12:23 PM
REPRESENTATIVE PEGGY WILSON, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor,
said that HB 108 would allow [Alaska's law enforcement agencies]
to add a surcharge of $10 on what she referred to as, "all
minor-offense tickets," as a means of funding the purchase and
maintenance of electronic-citation equipment used to issue
electronic citations. She offered her understanding that over
75 percent of Alaska's law enforcement officers are currently
using or becoming familiar with such equipment, and that its use
dramatically reduces the time it takes to issue and process
citations, thereby reducing associated costs. Such equipment is
currently being paid for by federal grants, but such grants are
being eliminated. Without passage of HB 108, she predicted, the
costs associated with such equipment would have to be paid for
by the State. Under HB 108, those costs would instead be passed
on to offenders; the bill would amend current statute
authorizing the assessment of a $10-surcharge on [certain
offenses/violations/infractions in certain situations] for
purposes of police training, such that it would instead
authorize the assessment of a $20-surcharge.
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON offered her understanding that the
Alaska Court System (ACS) would be able to make any resulting
necessary conforming changes to its operations and to citation
forms with its existing budget and staff. Legislation similar
to HB 108 was adopted six years ago in Illinois and has been
very successful. Members' packets contain letters of support
from two Illinois counties, [as well as a letter of support from
the Fairbanks Police Department]. She offered her understanding
that many others - including the Department of Public Safety
(DPS), the Division of Alaska State Troopers, the Alaska
Association of Chiefs of Police, Inc. (AACOP), the Municipality
of Anchorage (MOA), the [City of Fairbanks,] the City and
Borough of Juneau (CBJ), and the [City of Ketchikan] - also
support HB 108, believing it will greatly help Alaska. In
conclusion, she urged the committee to pass HB 108, offering her
belief that doing so would improve safety - for both the public
and law enforcement officers - and would eliminate certain tasks
performed by the ACS.
REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER questioned whether [law enforcement
agencies in] Alaska's rural-hub communities such as Nome,
Bethel, Kotzebue, and Barrow would be making use of electronic-
citation equipment and have access to the funds generated by
HB 108.
2:18:46 PM
ELIJAH VERHAGEN, Intern, Representative Peggy Wilson, Alaska
State Legislature, on behalf of the sponsor, Representative
P. Wilson, said yes, and indicated that Nome is currently using
some form of electronic-citation equipment and that many rural
law enforcement agencies are being outfitted with electronic-
citation equipment through what he referred to as an Anchorage-
based "track steering committee." He offered to provide the
committee with a list of participating law enforcement agencies.
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT asked who would determine how the
collected surcharge funds shall be spent.
MR. VERHAGEN pointed out that language on page 2, lines 28-31,
of Version O read in part, "The legislature may make
appropriations from the fund to the Department of Public Safety
for the purchase and maintenance of equipment and supplies that
are used by the state or by municipalities to issue electronic
citations". Should the bill pass, he surmised, the Department
of Public Safety (DPS) would be promulgating regulations to
address that issue, and someone within the DPS would be
responsible for distributing the collected surcharge funds.
Furthermore, language on page 2, lines 18-21, read in part, "The
department and the administrative director of the Alaska Court
System may enter into agreements with each other and with other
state agencies and municipalities to provide a statewide system
to administer electronic citations". He indicated a belief,
therefore, that under that language, any law enforcement
agencies interested in [obtaining electronic-citation equipment
and receiving electronic-citation surcharge funds] could simply
enter into such an agreement with the DPS. Most rural law
enforcement agencies would never be able to afford such
equipment on their own, he ventured.
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON, in response to a question, reiterated
that the electronic-citation equipment currently being used in
Alaska is being paid for by federal [grants, but such grants are
being eliminated;] that therefore without passage of HB 108, the
costs associated with the continued use of such equipment are
going to have to be paid for by the State, whereas under HB 108,
such costs would instead simply be passed on to offenders; and
that [the ACS] would be able to make any resulting necessary
conforming changes to its operations and to citation forms with
its existing budget and staff.
2:24:30 PM
MR. VERHAGEN, in response to a question regarding paying for a
citation at the time of receipt via credit card, offered his
understanding, based on a demonstration he'd seen of the
electronic-citation equipment currently being used by the Juneau
Police Department (JPD), that such isn't possible yet because
the information necessary to complete such a transaction isn't
entered into the system until the law enforcement officer
uploads it from his electronic-citation equipment upon returning
to the police station. In response to a question about paying
for a citation via the Internet, he surmised that it probably
varies by municipality, and offered to research that issue
further.
CHAIR KELLER - referring to [the language on page 1, lines 5-8,
of Version O that read in part, "A citation ... may be created,
executed, transmitted, or stored electronically"] - sought
confirmation that that language is not intended to allow for the
[future] use of "a radar camera that can send tickets in the
mail," for example.
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON offered her belief that the language on
page 2, lines 28-31, through page 3, line 1, of Version O would
preclude such, but, if it doesn't, she would be amenable to
[adding] language that would; that existing bill language read
in part:
The legislature may make appropriations from the fund
to the Department of Public Safety for the purchase
and maintenance of equipment and supplies that are
used by the state or by municipalities to issue
electronic citations. Nothing in this section creates
a dedicated fund.
CHAIR KELLER opined that [that language] doesn't yet
sufficiently describe what the collected surcharge funds would
be used for. For example, perhaps a definition of what
constitutes an "electronic citation" could be added to HB 108.
He also noted that the bill would [nonetheless] establish a
separate fund within the general fund (GF) from which
appropriations may be made.
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON indicated that she would be amenable to
adding such a definition.
MR. VERHAGEN, in response to a question, offered his
understanding that an electronic citation may be signed
electronically.
2:32:10 PM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON - in response to a question regarding
the meaning of that aforementioned language, specifically that
which read, "The legislature may make appropriations" -
reiterated that the goal is to provide [Alaska's law enforcement
agencies] with a means of funding the purchase and maintenance
of electronic-citation equipment and supplies used to issue
electronic citations, without requiring those agencies to come
before the legislature for that funding.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG suggested, then, that further review of
that language was therefore warranted.
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT cautioned against allowing policy
decisions to be made by the department via language addressing
funding.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG removed his objection to adopting
Version O as the working document.
CHAIR KELLER [again] announced that Version O was before the
committee.
2:34:22 PM
RODNEY DIAL, Lieutenant, Deputy Commander, A Detachment,
Division of Alaska State Troopers, Department of Public Safety
(DPS), in response to the question posed earlier regarding
providing for citations to be paid for at the time of receipt,
relayed that that raises a concern about the appearance of law
enforcement officers soliciting funds; [also, providing for such
early payment] might result in citation recipients then being
discouraged from contesting their citations in court as allowed
by law. Of the electronic-citation software currently being
used by the DPS - Traffic and Criminal Software - he said, "It's
an application that combines a laptop computer in our patrol
vehicles, ... computers in the central office, and data
communications that allow us to prepare and issue electronic
citations." The use of electronic-citation equipment, in
reducing the amount of time spent "on the side of the road,"
increases productivity and the safety of both officers and
citation recipients, he relayed. The majority of Alaska State
Troopers in close connection with the road system are currently
using electronic-citation equipment, and [the DPS] is expanding
usage whenever it's able to. Maintenance and software licensure
currently cost approximately $62,000 per year, and hardware -
including computer terminal, mount, scanner, and printer -
currently costs approximately $7,500 per vehicle; federal funds
received through the Alaska Highway Safety Office (AHSO) are
currently being used to pay [those costs]. In closing, he said
[the DPS] supports HB 108 as a means of maintaining its
electronic citation program and expanding its usage throughout
the state.
2:36:50 PM
KEITH BRIN, Clerk of the Circuit Court, Lake County, Circuit
Court of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Second Judicial
District, Circuit Court, Illinois Courts, concurred that HB 108
is very similar to [legislation] adopted years ago in Illinois.
[In Illinois,] he relayed, electronic citations are very popular
with law enforcement and the courts; electronic citations are
typed rather than handwritten, they can be sent electronically
to the court by the issuing officer, and they can be
automatically incorporated into the court's record-management
system. The use of electronic-citation equipment greatly
reduces the time it takes to issue and process citations,
thereby reducing associated costs. The surcharge currently
imposed on offenders in Illinois for purposes of financing
electronic-citation projects is $5, and government systems have
been improved via the use of such funds. Government officials
in Illinois therefore support the law authorizing the surcharge,
and it's been used as model legislation in 17 other states.
CHAIR KELLER ascertained that no one else wished to testify on
HB 108.
2:43:24 PM
NANCY MEADE, General Counsel, Administrative Staff, Office of
the Administrative Director, Alaska Court System (ACS), in
response to questions, indicated that the ACS did work with the
sponsor's staff and did speak with the DPS in order to ensure
that the ACS would be able to implement any changes required
under Version O of HB 108, though the ACS is neutral with regard
to the policy issue raised by the bill, that being whether to
create an electronic citation fund. The ACS already collects
surcharges on some electronically-filed [citations] and
distributes those funds to the Alaska Police Standards Council
(APSC) for purposes of law enforcement training, and the Alaska
Supreme Court has already adopted rules addressing electronic
citations, and so may not necessarily need to adopt additional
rules or issue any orders as a result of the bill's passage. In
response to the question posed earlier regarding paying for a
citation via the Internet, she relayed that such is already
possible.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG referred to the language on page 2,
lines 30-31, that read in part, "for the purchase and
maintenance of equipment and supplies that are used by the state
or by municipalities to issue electronic citations." He asked
Lieutenant Dial whether that language ought to be broadened in
order to provide for the funding of other types of equipment as
well.
LIEUTENANT DIAL indicated that that issue would be researched.
Ideally, should the changes proposed by HB 108 become law,
the DPS would encourage those municipal law enforcement agencies
wishing to participate in a statewide electronic-citation
program, to adopt a statewide standard; adopting such a standard
would reduce software-licensing costs. He said he envisions
that a working group would be formed to address such issues.
[HB 108, Version O, was held over.]
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| CSHB 104 (JUD) ver. O.pdf |
HJUD 3/11/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 104 |
| CSHB 108 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HJUD 3/11/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 108 |
| CSHB 108 Sectional Analysis.pdf |
HJUD 3/11/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 108 |
| CSHB 108 Explanation of Changes.pdf |
HJUD 3/11/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 108 |
| CSHB 108 ver. O.pdf |
HJUD 3/11/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 108 |
| HB 108 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HJUD 3/11/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 108 |
| HB 108 Sectional Analysis.pdf |
HJUD 3/11/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 108 |
| HB 108 ver U.pdf |
HJUD 3/11/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 108 |
| HB 108 Fiscal Note-Dept. Public Safety.pdf |
HJUD 3/11/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 108 |
| HB 108 Fiscal Note-Dept. of Administration.pdf |
HJUD 3/11/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 108 |
| HB 108 Letter of Support Lake County Circuit Court.pdf |
HJUD 3/11/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 108 |
| HB 108 Letter of Support Dupage County.pdf |
HJUD 3/11/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 108 |
| HB 108 Letter of Support-Fairbanks Police.pdf |
HJUD 3/11/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 108 |