04/27/1995 03:05 PM House STA

 SB 80 - MUNICIPAL POLICE SERVICES                                           
                                                                               
 Number 217                                                                    
                                                                               
 CHAIR JAMES said we only had a few minutes, but SB 80 would be                
 heard next.  The sponsor, Senator Steve Rieger, was there and she             
 called him forward to present a sponsor statement.  She received a            
 note from her Committee Aide that Anchorage Mayor Mystrom called              
 with strong opposition to this legislation, saying it would create            
 severe damage to public safety.                                               
                                                                               
 SENATOR STEVE RIEGER came before the committee with his sponsor               
 statement, saying that SB 80 is the culmination of a grassroots               
 effort to try to find an interim solution to an ongoing problem in            
 the Anchorage area.  The bill is a measure to allow a citizenry,              
 which has expressed a desire and willingness, to pay for the cost             
 of their public safety protection.  This will have a positive                 
 affect on the Department of Public Safety's operating budget.  It             
 would help every legislator who has public safety enforcement in              
 their area, and it is clearly a local option, and a self-                     
 determination issue and has received a full hearing in the district           
 he represents.  He thought it was a local annexation issue and this           
 was probably the reason for the call from Mayor Mystrom.  Senator             
 Rieger said it does not, in any way, preclude any local annexation            
 issues.  There is inflammatory rhetoric from downtown Anchorage,              
 but he urged the committee to recognize that was not their concern,           
 as state officials.  Their concern was about a local effort, and a            
 desire and willingness to pay, if they should allow it to happen.             
 Senator Rieger said this bill would prevent that from happening.              
                                                                               
 Number 252                                                                    
                                                                               
 CHAIR JAMES asked if this bill passed, if he would have the                   
 authority and wish to pay the Department of Public Safety for                 
 protection, and where the people would come from who would provide            
 the protection.  She asked if they would take people from other               
 areas, which might result in those areas being short of protection.           
                                                                               
 SENATOR RIEGER said additional money would go into the department,            
 which would pay for additional troopers for backup.  Not only would           
 there be no erosion for anybody else's services, this bill would              
 provide an override financially to contribute to the rest of the              
 system.  The additional people put on in public safety would serve            
 as an additional backup if there were a special need anywhere in              
 the state.  There would be a financial and manpower benefit to all            
 areas of the state.                                                           
                                                                               
 Number 265                                                                    
                                                                               
 CHAIR JAMES said she supported this bill when it passed last year.            
 The reason was that it might relate to her area, the Healy area,              
 which needed a trooper.  They had been working to get a trooper               
 there for two years.                                                          
                                                                               
 TED BACHMAN, a Lieutenant with the Alaska State Troopers in                   
 Anchorage, wanted to put on the record that the department strongly           
 opposes this bill, as Mayor Mystrom did.  He had a number of                  
 reasons, and one was that it draws from other areas of the state.             
 The bills says it won't, but it will.  If this bill passes, Mr.               
 Bachman said, they would be under a contractual obligation to                 
 provide a certain number of troopers to particular areas.  They are           
 not under contractual obligation now, to provide positions anywhere           
 else in the state; positions are provided on a management decision            
 basis.  A statement was made that troopers would act as backup for            
 other areas of the state.  This could present problems if an                  
 emergency called troopers out of the contract area.                           
                                                                               
 Number 308                                                                    
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE SCOTT OGAN mentioned being involved in the fire                
 department and asked if they could get a mutual aid agreement with            
 the APD that would cover it.                                                  
                                                                               
 LIEUTENANT BACHMAN answered that he did not know that they would              
 need a mutual aid agreement.   He thought they could get one, but             
 he did not know if he could respond adequately.                               
                                                                               
 CHAIR JAMES queried whether this bill spells out exactly what would           
 be in that contract agreement.  She thought those things could be             
 included in the contractual agreement so it would work for both               
 parties.                                                                      
                                                                               
 LIEUTENANT BACHMAN said that to an extent some of the things could            
 be accounted for, although it says in the bill that "the contract             
 will be for direct services to the contract area."  That was                  
 another point they objected to.  They could not account for the               
 indirect services: for instance, criminal investigation units, drug           
 investigation units, and laboratory services.  All these things               
 would come to the contract area by virtue of the fact that the area           
 was being served by the state troopers.                                       
                                                                               
 CHAIR JAMES thanked Lieutenant Bachman for his statement and said             
 time was running out.  Her feeling was that there were other areas            
 of the state that do not have police powers and might be able to              
 get more police protection by contracting with the state troopers.            
 If they had that opportunity they could have more troopers, and               
 everyone would be better off.                                                 
                                                                               
 Number 343                                                                    
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE ED WILLIS asked where the bill will go next if they            
 passed it out of committee.  He had mixed feelings about it.                  
                                                                               
 CHAIR JAMES determined from the committee that it would go to                 
 Finance.                                                                      
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE WILLIS said he would feel better about it knowing              
 it was going to another committee.  If it got to the floor he                 
 wondered if he would vote for it.  He resented actions being taken            
 outside of the local jurisdiction, and Anchorage is a first class             
 home-ruled city and there are ways to address it.                             
                                                                               
 CHAIR JAMES asked if there was anyone who wanted to move the bill             
 out.                                                                          
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE OGAN said he was having problems with the bill.                
 Public Safety is against it, the mayor is against it, and the                 
 richest area of the state is not willing to pay for its own police            
 protection.                                                                   
                                                                               
 Number 367                                                                    
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE GREEN said he would move to pass the bill out of               
 committee.  He was not sure of its chances, however.                          
                                                                               
 CHAIR JAMES asked if there were any objections.                               
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE OGAN objected.                                                 
                                                                               
 CHAIR JAMES said that since there were only four members present,             
 since Representative Robinson was called to HESS, and one member              
 objected, the bill could not be moved out.