03/26/2018 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY

          SB 148-BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR POLICE/TRAINING                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:02:51 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN announced  that the only order of  business would be                                                               
SENATE BILL  NO. 148, "An  Act relating  to powers of  the Alaska                                                               
Police Standards  Council; and relating to  background checks for                                                               
admission  to police  training programs  and  certification as  a                                                               
police officer."                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:03:54 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE    EASTMAN   referred    to    [Section   1,    AS                                                               
12.62.400(a)(19)] page 2, lines 28-31, which read as follows:                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
               (19) admittance to  a police training program                                                                
     under  AS 18.65.230  or for  certification as  a police                                                                
     officer   under   AS   18.65.240   if   that   person's                                                                
     prospective  employer   does  not  have  access   to  a                                                                
     criminal justice information system.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  EASTMAN   asked  why   this  was  not   an  issue                                                               
previously, or if it was an issue, how was it handled.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:04:43 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
BOB  GRIFFITHS,  Executive   Director,  Alaska  Police  Standards                                                               
Council  (APSC),  Department  of Public  Safety,  reiterated  his                                                               
testimony from  the previous  hearing and  advised that  prior to                                                               
last year, the Alaska Police  Standards Council (ASPC) was deemed                                                               
a law  enforcement agency.   Under that  authority, he  said, the                                                               
ASPC  routinely ran  fingerprints  as a  law enforcement  agency,                                                               
except,  two  years  ago,  unbeknownst   to  the  ASPC,  the  FBI                                                               
reclassified  the  Police  Standards   Councils  as  a  licensing                                                               
agency,  thereby,  losing  its access  to  the  fingerprint-based                                                               
background  checks.   In order  to gain  back that  authority, he                                                               
advised  that  SB  148  adds  it to  the  list  for  occupational                                                               
licenses on pages 1-2 of SB 148.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:05:58 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KREISS-TOMKINS moved  to report  SB 148,  labeled                                                               
30-GS2594\A out of committee  with individual recommendations and                                                               
the accompanying fiscal notes.   There being no objection, SB 148                                                               
passed out of the House Judiciary Standing Committee.