Legislature(2023 - 2024)GRUENBERG 120
02/08/2024 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB259 | |
| SB46 | |
| HB265 | |
| HB286 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 259 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 265 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 286 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 46 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 259-COUNCIL ON HUMAN AND SEX TRAFFICKING
3:05:09 PM
CHAIR SHAW announced that the first order of business would be
HB 259 HOUSE BILL NO. 259, "An Act establishing the Council on
Human and Sex Trafficking; and relating to the Council on
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault."
3:05:41 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SARAH VANCE, Alaska State Legislature, provided
an overview of HB 259, as prime sponsor.
3:06:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE said that HB 259 creates the Council on
Human and Sex Trafficking in statute so its important work can
continue without interruption.
3:06:50 PM
CHAIR SHAW opened public testimony on HB 259.
3:07:16 PM
BRENDA STANFILL, Executive Director, Alaska Network on Domestic
Violence and Sexual Assault (ANDVSA), testified in support of HB
259. She mentioned that she spent a year working on the
strategic plan and is looking forward to working with the bill
sponsor to implement 24 regional programs with adequate staffing
to ensure these important cases are given adequate time and
attention.
3:08:46 PM
CHAIR SHAW noted that the bill sponsor is very passionate about
the issue.
3:09:15 PM
JOSH LOUWERSE, Director of Statewide Initiatives, Covenant House
Alaska, testified in support of HB 259. He said that through
his 15 years working at Covenant House Alaska, he has
participated in many task forces that were not mandated by law.
Due to high turnover, he noted the difficulty in keeping the
momentum of task forces alive. Putting the council into statute
would go a long way toward preventing and ending human and sex
trafficking in Alaska. He commended Representative Vance for
her hard work.
3:10:36 PM
BRITTANY MADROS, Tribal Government & Justice Division Director,
Tanana Chiefs Conference; Member, Council on Human and Sex
Trafficking, testified in support of HB 259. She noted that the
council voted to codify the Human and Sex Trafficking Council
and supports the one director/two board model. She noted the
importance of addressing human trafficking in urban and rural
communities of the state through collaboration with Tribes.
3:12:06 PM
SABRINA STRATFORD, representing self, told two stories of sex
trafficking in rural communities. She noted that sex
trafficking is what happens between "missing" and "murdered."
She said she supports HB 259 100 percent.
3:13:17 PM
TAMI TRUETT JERUE, Executive Director, Alaska Native Women's
Resource Center, testified in support of HB 259. She emphasized
the importance of remembering the rural communities and the
vulnerabilities rural residents face when entering urban areas.
3:14:18 PM
ADAM LEGG, Executive Director, Love Alaska, testified in support
of HB 259. He emphasized the importance of continued focus on
the issues of human and sex trafficking in urban and rural areas
around the state.
3:15:09 PM
CHAIR SHAW closed public testimony on HB 259.
CHAIR SHAW entertained amendments.
3:15:20 PM
CHAIR SHAW moved to adopt Amendment 1 to HB 259, labeled 33-
LS1075\B.3, A. Radford\C.Radford, 2/6/24, which read as follows:
Page 1, line 1:
Delete the second occurrence of "and"
Page 1, line 2, following "Assault":
Insert "; and providing for an effective date"
Page 1, line 6:
Delete "coordinate with"
Insert "select two of its members by majority
vote to serve on a joint hiring committee with two
members of"
Page 1, line 7:
Delete "jointly"
Insert "recruit and"
Page 3, following line 7:
Insert a new bill section to read:
"* Sec. 2. AS 18.66.050 is amended by adding a new
subsection to read:
(b) The commissioner of public safety or the
commissioner's designee shall chair the joint hiring
committee under (a)(1) of this section. Only one
representative from a department may serve on the
committee. If both the council and the Council on
Human and Sex Trafficking select a member from the
same department to serve on the joint hiring
committee, the presiding officer of the council shall
coordinate with the chair of the Council on Human and
Sex Trafficking to jointly determine which member will
serve on the committee."
Renumber the following bill sections accordingly.
Page 4, line 17:
Delete "coordinate with"
Insert "select two of its members by majority
vote to serve on a joint hiring committee with two
members of"
Page 4, line 18:
Delete "jointly"
Insert "recruit and"
Page 4, following line 22:
Insert a new subsection to read:
"(c) The commissioner of public safety or the
commissioner's designee shall chair the joint hiring
committee under (a)(9) of this section. Only one
representative from a department may serve on the
committee. If both the council and the Council on
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault select a member
from the same department to serve on the joint hiring
committee, the chair shall coordinate with the
presiding officer of the Council on Domestic Violence
and Sexual Assault to jointly determine which member
will serve on the committee."
Page 6, line 25:
Delete "sec. 4"
Insert "sec. 5"
Page 6, line 29:
Delete "sec. 4"
Insert "sec. 5"
Page 7, line 2:
Delete "sec. 4"
Insert "sec. 5"
Page 7, following line 2:
Insert a new bill section to read:
"* Sec. 8. This Act takes effect March 1, 2025."
3:15:36 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WRIGHT objected for the purpose of discussion.
3:15:55 PM
ROBERT BALLINGER, Staff, Representative Sarah Vance, Alaska
State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Vance, prime
sponsor, explained Amendment 1. It was offered by the
Department of Public Safety to address hiring an executive
director. The amendment also delays the effective date to allow
the current council to work with the new director before the
implementation of the council. The delayed start date would be
March 1, 2025. He made note of a few wording changes for
clarity and a title change to reflect the effective date. He
mentioned that each agency would submit two members to
participate on the Council for Domestic Violence and two members
for the Council for Human and Sex Trafficking.
3:19:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE reiterated the reason for the delayed start
date concerning the finalization of a report to the legislature
by the council near the start of the year. March was suggested
to allow for more time to complete the report before
transitioning to the new director. She noted that the current
governor's council is fully prepared to provide support to the
new director and staff.
3:20:29 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK asked if the governor's council can hold
meetings in the meantime.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE affirmed that the council would continue to
meet as usual. The next scheduled meeting is in March. She
didn't anticipate that there would be significant changes in the
council because the bill was modeled after the current council.
A new shared director and administrative staff would be hired
under HB 259.
3:21:34 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WRIGHT removed his objection.
3:21:58 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
3:22:23 PM
CHAIR SHAW announced that, there being no further objection,
Amendment 1 HB 259 was adopted.
3:22:39 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK moved to adopt Amendment 2 to HB 259,
labeled 33-LS1075\B.4, C.Radford, 2/6/24, which read as follows:
Page 1, lines 1 - 2:
Delete "; and relating to the Council on Domestic
Violence and Sexual Assault"
Page 1, line 4, through page 3, line 11:
Delete all material and insert:
"* Section 1. AS 39.25.110 is amended by adding a
new paragraph to read:
(46) the executive director of the Council
on Human and Sex Trafficking established under
AS 44.41.150."
Renumber the following bill sections accordingly.
Page 4, lines 17 - 21:
Delete all material and insert:
"(9) hire an executive director to oversee
the council; the executive director may hire staff;
the executive director is in the exempt service under
AS 39.25.110 and staff members are in the classified
service under AS 39.25.100."
Page 6, line 22, through page 7, line 2:
Delete all material.
3:22:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WRIGHT objected for the purpose of discussion.
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK described Amendment 2, which responds to
comments from the current director of the Council on Domestic
Violence and Sexual Assault. Amendment 2 would create an
executive director position for the new Council on Human and Sex
Trafficking to alleviate the potential overburdening of the
executive director who, under HB 259, would be responsible for
both councils.
3:24:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WRIGHT asked to hear from the bill sponsor.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE noted that the decision to have just one
executive director for both the Council on Domestic Violence and
Sexual Assault as well as the Council on Human and Sex
Trafficking was a collaborative idea put forward by the
governor's council to reduce the fiscal impact.
3:25:22 PM
BRYAN BARLOW, Deputy Commissioner, Office of the Commissioner,
Department of Public Safety; Chair, Governor's Council on Human
and Sex Trafficking, thanked Representative Vance. He explained
that the one director/two board model can work. The council is
important to victims in Alaska and there is no intent to the
dilute effectiveness of the council. He made note of fiscal
responsibility.
3:27:33 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked Deputy Commissioner Barlow if there
was a discussion of having two program coordinators. To oversee
the council is a lot of work. She noted that Alaska has the
highest rate of domestic violence and sexual assault in the
nation. She asked if different staffing levels have been
considered to effectively combat issues of domestic violence and
sexual assault in the state.
3:28:55 PM
MR. BARLOW agreed that the goal is not to dilute the
effectiveness of the current administrative staffing of the
Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. There will be
a new administrative assistant and program coordinator to ensure
there are adequate support staff to organize the work of the
councils.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY expressed her concern with understaffing.
She said that adequate funding is necessary for success.
3:30:35 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER noted the value of Amendment 2 and
acknowledged the overwhelming testimony. He suggested that
Amendment 2 could be revisited next year once the workload is
assessed by the director of the councils.
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON brought up the fiscal note for new
staff positions and sought to address the costs.
MR. BALLINGER said that Amendment 2 would include a new
executive director.
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON sought clarification and opined that
adding another coordinator position wouldn't have as much of an
impact as adding more support staff.
MR. BALLINGER said that currently the Council of Domestic
Violence and Sexual Assault has about 10 employees and an
executive director. The new council would add two employees and
share the existing executive director. He clarified that
Amendment 2 creates a new executive director position and
eliminates the need to share the existing executive director.
He noted a compromise to minimize the costs.
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON agreed.
3:34:56 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK provided wrap-up comments. She
emphasized the importance of data collection. Through Amendment
2, she sought the prevention of overburdening the current duties
of the existing staff. HB 259 is a valuable and noble effort to
combat a serious problem. She noted the substantial workload
increase that will likely occur with HB 259 as written. Adding
an executive director would help to prevent the dilution of the
functions of both councils. The problem is serious and there is
merit to appropriately tackling the issue.
3:36:01 PM
CHAIR SHAW announced that the objection was maintained.
A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Carrick and Story
voted in favor of Amendment 2. Representatives Carpenter,
Johnson, Allard, Wright, and Shaw voted against it. Therefore,
Amendment 2 failed to be adopted by a vote of 2-5.
3:37:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK moved to adopt Amendment 3 to HB 259,
labeled 33-LS1075\B.5, C.Radford, 2/6/24, which read as follows:
Page 4, line 28:
Delete "one member who"
Insert "two members, each of whom"
Page 5, line 3, following "agency;":
Insert "and"
Page 5, lines 4 - 5:
Delete all material.
Reletter the following subparagraph accordingly.
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK discussed the codification of a faith-
based position in the Council on Human and Sex Trafficking and
expressed concerns with statutorily designating a faith-based
person to the council in HB 259. Amendment 3 swaps the faith-
based seat for an additional victim advocate seat. Amendment 3
removes the designation of a faith-based person from statute.
She pointed out that victim advocates come from many different
organizational perspectives.
REPRESENTATIVE WRIGHT asked to hear from the bill sponsor.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE said she doesn't support Amendment 3. She
discussed the history of victims advocate organizations being
faith-based. She opined that adopting Amendment 3 would send a
message that faith-based organizations are not specifically
welcome on the council in statute. The composition of
membership was directed by the deliberation of the current
governor's Council on Human and Sex Trafficking. As bill
sponsor, she expressed her preference of adhering to the
council's work and consideration.
REPRESENTATIVE WRIGHT maintained his objection.
3:41:42 PM
A roll call vote was taken. Representative Carrick voted in
favor of Amendment 3. Representatives Wright, Carpenter,
Johnson, Allard, Story, and Shaw voted against it. Therefore,
Amendment 3 failed by a vote of 1-6.
3:42:25 PM
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON said that everyone who serves on the
Human and Sex Trafficking Council is highly devoted to victims'
advocacy.
CHAIR SHAW asked for a motion.
3:43:30 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WRIGHT moved to report HB 259, as amended, from
committee with individual recommendations and accompanying
fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 259 (STA) was
reported from the House State Affairs Standing Committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 286 Sectional Analysis version A.pdf |
HSTA 2/8/2024 3:00:00 PM HSTA 2/20/2024 3:00:00 PM HSTA 2/27/2024 3:00:00 PM |
HB 286 |
| HB 286 Sponsor Statement version A.pdf |
HSTA 2/8/2024 3:00:00 PM HSTA 2/20/2024 3:00:00 PM HSTA 2/27/2024 3:00:00 PM |
HB 286 |
| HB 259 - Alaska Governor's Council on Human and Sex Trafficking Data Summary Document January 2024.pdf |
HSTA 2/1/2024 3:00:00 PM HSTA 2/8/2024 3:00:00 PM |
HB 259 |
| HB 259 - Sectional Analysis2.pdf |
HSTA 2/1/2024 3:00:00 PM HSTA 2/8/2024 3:00:00 PM |
HB 259 |
| HB 259 - GCHST-Final-Report-Sept2022.pdf |
HSTA 2/1/2024 3:00:00 PM HSTA 2/8/2024 3:00:00 PM |
HB 259 |
| HB 259 Sponsor Statement - Alaska Council on Human and Sex Traffickings.pdf |
HSTA 2/1/2024 3:00:00 PM HSTA 2/8/2024 3:00:00 PM |
HB 259 |
| HB 259 Support Document - CHST Information 01.31.2024.pdf |
HSTA 2/1/2024 3:00:00 PM HSTA 2/8/2024 3:00:00 PM |
HB 259 |
| HB 259 Bill Presentation.pdf |
HSTA 2/1/2024 3:00:00 PM HSTA 2/8/2024 3:00:00 PM |
HB 259 |
| HB 265 - Sectional Analysis.pdf |
HSTA 2/1/2024 3:00:00 PM HSTA 2/8/2024 3:00:00 PM |
HB 265 |
| HB 265 Sponsor Statement - Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).pdf |
HSTA 2/1/2024 3:00:00 PM HSTA 2/8/2024 3:00:00 PM |
HB 265 |
| HB 265 Supporting Documents - Alaska bill looks to legally retire misleading term, ‘child pornography’ - Alaska Watchman.pdf |
HSTA 2/1/2024 3:00:00 PM HSTA 2/8/2024 3:00:00 PM |
HB 265 |
| HB 265 Supporting Documents - CALL IT WHAT IT IS - Child Rescue Coalition.pdf |
HSTA 2/1/2024 3:00:00 PM HSTA 2/8/2024 3:00:00 PM |
HB 265 |
| HB 286 Support Document Yani Morley.pdf |
HSTA 2/8/2024 3:00:00 PM HSTA 2/20/2024 3:00:00 PM HSTA 2/27/2024 3:00:00 PM |
HB 286 |
| HB 286 Presentation.pdf |
HSTA 2/8/2024 3:00:00 PM HSTA 2/20/2024 3:00:00 PM HSTA 2/27/2024 3:00:00 PM |
HB 286 |