Legislature(2009 - 2010)BELTZ 211
02/03/2009 03:30 PM Senate COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB85 | |
| SB19 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 85 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 19 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 85-ALCOHOL: LOCAL OPTION/LICENSING/MINORS
CHAIR OLSON announced the consideration of SB 85.
ANNE CARPENETI, Criminal Division, Department of Law (DOL),
Juneau, thanked the committee for hearing the bill. The governor
and the DOL have looked for ways to respond to requests by rural
Alaska to help address alcohol problems. The amount of alcohol
that a person can possess or take to a damp community is high.
Last year legislators in the House Finance Committee asked DOL
to change that. The advice of the DOL was to find all references
to these amounts in Title IV. SB 85 is the result of that
request. Under current law, every month, every adult can bring
in or possess 10.5 liters of distilled alcohol in a damp
community "without raising the rebuttable presumption that
transportation or the possession is for the sale of that
alcohol." The amount totals about 14 fifths of hard alcohol per
month (or 12 shots every day). Additionally, a person may
transport in or possess 32 bottles of wine and 12 gallons of
malt liquor, which is over 5 cases of beer for every adult for
every month. Many people can say they were having a party, and
those cases don't get prosecuted. SB 85 reduces these amounts
that give rise to the rebuttable presumption. It allows 3 liters
of hard or distilled alcohol per month per adult. These are
suggestions she said.
3:35:37 PM
MS. CARPENETI said SB 85 makes conforming amendments in Title IV
to other provisions in that title that refer to these amounts. A
few years ago a statewide database was created for people who
send alcohol in response to written orders to local option
communities. It requires them to keep track of who they send
alcohol to so people can't shop at numerous distributers. This
would change the amounts that a licensee can send. It also
changes the threshold amount after a person has been convicted
of bootlegging. Right now the threshold is over 10.5 liters of
distilled alcohol for a Class C felony and below that is a Class
A misdemeanor. The threshold would change for people who are
convicted of bootlegging. If they bootleg more than 3 liters of
distilled alcohol it would be considered a felony. Over the
years the state has tried to encourage licensees to train
employees not to sell to minors. Most licensees are very
responsible, but a few are not. Under current law there is no
definite consequence to a licensee if an employee or agent is
convicted of furnishing alcohol to minors. SB 85 would propose
civil penalties for owners or licensees if their agent or
employee is convicted. The first would be a letter of warning,
and the second would result in a $1,000 civil fine.
3:38:34 PM
MS. CARPENETI said SB 85 makes two corrections to legislation
that was adopted last year. Sections 4 and 5 offer a very
technical change. It deals with how judges read the changes in
the minor consuming bill from last year. The second correction
amends the mandatory minimums for bootlegging convictions. "Last
year the legislature adopted what we testified and suggested
would be the same mandatory minimum penalties for people
convicted of bootlegging as the mandatory minimum penalties for
people convicted of drunk driving." However, the definition of
"prior conviction" in drunk driving is different from the
definition for bootlegging. "So we didn't get it right in terms
of the mandatory minimums." For drunk driving the prior
convictions include the first two misdemeanors, and for
bootlegging they do not.
3:40:17 PM
SENATOR KOOKESH asked how the changes came about. Do they assume
there will be less use by minors by these amounts? Are there any
statistics to support the changes?
MS. CARPENETI said the focus is to lower the amount of alcohol
that gives rise to all the problems of crime.
SENATOR KOOKESH asked about the people who don't contribute to
crime. The assumption is that a person from rural Alaska buying
alcohol will get in trouble. "I'm a little uncomfortable with
that," because there are no statistics.
MS. CARPENETI noted those amounts of distilled alcohol and the
harm that it does to an individual's health. The bill simply
halves the amount of allowable malt beverage and wine -- down to
16 bottles of wine and 2.5 cases of beer per person per month.
For distilled alcohol, she looked at the number of ounces in a
bottle and arrived at a number that Senator Kookesh may disagree
with. She thought it was a starting point.
3:42:30 PM
SENATOR KOOKESH said he doesn't want anyone to think he is not
supportive, but the bill is aimed at rural Alaska, and people in
the rest of Alaska can buy all the booze they want. He noted
that there was a time when non-Natives were allowed to drink as
much as they wanted but Natives couldn't. "And you have to come
to a point where if next year you come to us and say I want to
cut it in half again, and you still don't have statistics, I'm a
little uncomfortable with that." He doesn't want to do it simply
because it presumes that there aren't people in rural Alaska
that can handle their alcohol.
CHAIR OLSON asked how the bill protects responsible drinkers
from being unduly inhibited in getting alcohol.
3:44:01 PM
MS. CARPENETI said that is the problem. These amounts are too
high for anyone, responsible or not. She recognizes that most
people in rural Alaska do drink responsibly. People agree that
the current law is too high, and maybe the bill sets amounts
that are too low. There are no statistics that she has seen.
There is a study from ISER [Institute of Social and Economic
Research] in 1999 that concluded that damp and dry communities
have a lot less accidental deaths and homicides, and the
conclusion blamed the alcohol.
SENATOR THOMAS said the law is presuming that only one or two
individuals are the only ones consuming the alcohol, "but
obviously that is probably not the case." He spoke of people
having friends or family over for dinner, and the amounts don't
look so severe. "I'm assuming that before this would even be
pursued with somebody, there would have to be some indication
that the person is actually selling the liquor illegally." He
wondered if there is a presumption of bootlegging regardless of
any other evidence.
3:46:34 PM
MS. CARPENETI said these are just rebuttable presumptions.
People can have parties. Prosecutors don't bring a case unless
they feel that they can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, and
it takes more than just an amount of alcohol. According to
Captain Mallard, cases are not brought based on that amount.
SENATOR THOMAS asked what penalties Page 2, Section 3 refer to.
MS. CARPENETI said the Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) Board can
take action against a license if a licensee has a pattern of
employing people who serve alcohol to minors.
SENATOR THOMAS asked if that would apply if the employee did it
and the licensee was not aware of it.
3:48:48 PM
MS. CARPENETI said Paragraph D refers to additional penalties on
the licensee, not the employee. If the ABC board sees a pattern
of a licensee allowing violations on his or her premises, the
board can suspend the license. That would be the other penalty.
SENATOR KOOKESH said, "You start ramping down the numbers, and
... the bootleggers are always going to get through one way or
the other." He said he comes from a dry community and doesn't
like bootleggers and is adamant about stopping alcohol abuse.
"Doesn't this drive the amount of alcohol per unit up even
higher?" Alcohol will be harder to get, so supply and demand
will raise the price of bootlegger products.
MS. CARPENETI sees that consequence.
3:50:28 PM
SENATOR KOOKESH asked the rationale for setting the current
amounts.
MS. CARPENETI said she believes it is a volume that is easily
shipped for a wedding or enough for the entire year. The bill
changes wine from 32 to 16 [bottles]. A case of wine is 12, so
neither fits neatly into a case. Beer has the similar issue.
3:51:57 PM
KEITH MALLARD, Commander, Alaska Bureau of Alcohol and Drug
Enforcement (ABADE), Alaska State Troopers, said the Department
of Public Safety (DPS) supports SB 85 because it will reduce the
flow of alcohol to rural Alaska, and with that will come a
reduction in alcohol-related violent crimes. He has worked in
rural Alaska. He told the committee that he has been in law
enforcement for 14 years. He has been stationed in Fairbanks,
Aniak, and Girdwood. When troopers intercept alcohol bound for
local option communities, there is a reduction of violent
crimes. Within the troopers, they say, "one bottle -- one
felony." About 80 percent of serious crimes are alcohol related.
He said he can't point to a study regarding a direct
correlation. Three years ago he worked with the University of
Alaska to evaluate the effectiveness of the ABADE alcohol
interdiction programs in an attempt to draw the correlation
between the flow of alcohol and crime. The data pool was too
small to draw conclusions. The researchers said that it is
impossible to predict the number of crimes that are prevented by
an alcohol seizure. But Mr. Mallard has worked and lived in
western Alaska, and he could always tell when a shipment of
alcohol made it to one of his dry communities. The calls for
service increased exponentially overnight. In 2006, ABADE
attempted to infiltrate and disrupt an alcohol and marijuana
dealer. The investigation resulted in 14 defendants and the
dismantling of the bootleg and drug trafficking. "We'll never
know the number of crimes we prevented ... by dismantling this
operation; however, the reports from the local chief and from
the law-abiding citizens ... were grateful regarding the
feelings of safety and peace that they were experiencing as a
direct result of our efforts." In 2008 ABADE investigators
forwarded 517 alcohol-related charges to the district attorney's
office. More than 1,029 gallons of alcohol were seized and that
is more than any prior year. That is equivalent to 5,194 750-ml
bottles, which has a street value of $750,000 million, "and
that's with only an initial investment of $51,000."
3:56:02 PM
MR. MALLARD said alcohol remains the most prolific controlled
substance within Alaska. For every dollar invested by a
bootlegger, he gets about $15.00 in return. Cocaine dealers get
about $1.50 for every dollar invested, and a marijuana dealer
gets a $4.00 return.
SENATOR KOOKESH asked if he has compared the statistics with
urban Alaska. "I get a little uncomfortable when you say for
every bottle you have one felony."
MR. MALLARD said that is just a mantra used within ABADE,
because it is not truly predictable. Statistically about 80
percent of violent crimes involve alcohol. It is just a
motivator without data to back it up.
3:57:16 PM
SENATOR KOOKESH said he would not want to live in an urban
center; there are more crimes there. He bets there are more
murders and violent crimes per capita in urban Alaska.
"I don't drink. I never have ... but I live in rural Alaska.
Somehow I feel a statistic like myself gets lost in the shuffle
of trying to take care of bootleggers." He is uncomfortable
getting lumped into "that whole big mass of rural Alaska, and
how bad we are out there."
MR. MALLARD said he is rather passionate about what he does. It
is not the case that ABADE is lumping in law-abiding citizens.
"We're going out there trying to protect people like you for the
violent offenders that victimize people within their community,
and alcohol is part of that."
SENATOR KOOKESH said he recognizes that. He thanked him because
he sees it every day, but he doesn't want to be lumped in.
3:58:51 PM
SENATOR FRENCH asked about the distribution system. What
percentage of illegal alcohol comes to western Alaska by air?
MR. MALLARD said he thinks most comes in cargo or passenger
planes. Last year probably more than 75 percent of the alcohol
came through aircraft importation. Initially it may come from an
urban center.
SENATOR FRENCH said it may come by snow machine at the end, but
how does it initially arrive? It doesn't come by barge to Bethel
in the first place?
MR. MALLARD said it comes by airplane.
CHAIR OLSON said Nome gets most of its alcoholic beverages from
a barge in the summer.
4:00:34 PM
SENATOR FRENCH asked if that was the legal or illegal
importation. "I think what the captain is saying is that the
illegal portion [comes by] airplane."
MR. MALLARD said yes. It likely comes from wet communities or
urban centers. "It's going to get to rural Alaska by aircraft;
however, often it will be taken into a hub community and then
from there, taken out by boat or snow machine."
SENATOR FRENCH said there are certain choke-points, and it is
probably going through Bethel. It makes sense. He asked if drug
dogs can detect alcohol in a closed container. Are there dogs
working at the airports?
MR. MALLARD said dogs can detect alcohol, but there are none
working at the airports on that. He said dogs don't distinguish
between alcohol and narcotics, so if it were legal to ship
alcohol into that community, there may be no legal standing to
get a search warrant. "If it was illegal to ship narcotics as
well as alcohol into a community, and you had a dog there, then
I think you might have a legal stand to get a search warrant." A
box could be searched because neither would be legal.
4:03:13 PM
SENATOR FRENCH surmised that it is the presence of damp
communities that complicates the use of drug dogs for alcohol.
MR. MALLARD said he was just referring to the physics of
training a dog. If a dry community wanted an alcohol-indicating
dog, it would be possible.
SENATOR FRENCH said in a dry community any indication of alcohol
is probable cause for a violation.
MR. MALLARD agreed.
SENATOR THOMAS asked if private planes are used.
MR. MALLARD said they are in some cases. There are a number of
hub communities that can have alcohol, and it can be brought in
by any means. From there it may travel by any means as well.
4:04:53 PM
SENATOR THOMAS asked if ABADE traces the illegal alcohol back to
the stores where it came from and brings it to the attention of
the stores. Perhaps the store owners can voluntarily limit the
amount of alcohol that is not going to a bar owner. "There is no
reason for me to go in and buy 30 cases of one kind of whiskey
and 30 cases of a certain vodka, and 30 cases of gin, as well as
100 cases of beer, or something, to make a shipment worthwhile
... to some particular community and sell that. But it must be a
relatively large amount to justify flying an airplane out,
taking the risk, and making the profit off of that."
MR. MALLARD said the alcohol database created last year by the
ABC board is a very useful tool. When persons have multiple
shipments, the database identifies them as over the limit. He
believes that once a person goes over the limit, it actually
restricts the ability to order more. A number of the people that
are interdicted are purchasing alcohol themselves and either
going to the freight or putting it in their luggage and not
claiming it. That is a crime in itself. The alcohol often isn't
traced back to where it was originally purchased, mostly because
of lack of personnel and time. Most distributers will abide by
the regulations and won't overtly avoid the restrictions.
4:08:05 PM
CHAIR OLSON asked about the chances of communities opting out of
local option if the alcohol limits get too restrictive.
MR. MALLARD said it is hard to say. The list of local option
communities varies all the time. Anecdotally he thinks it will
just reinforce a community's desire to stay dry.
4:09:15 PM
SENATOR THOMAS asked Mr. Mallard to repeat what the return on
bootlegging is.
MR. MALLARD said for every $1 that is spent, $15 comes back.
CHAIR KOOKESH thanked him for all he does in the villages.
4:09:44 PM
DIANE CASTO, Manager, Prevention and Early Intervention
Services, Division of Behavioral Health, Department of Health
and Social Services (DHSS), supports the bill. DHSS looks at
alcohol abuse in the entire state. If it were up to her, Juneau
would be damp. SB 85 is only for communities that have made a
choice to be damp or dry and limit the amount of alcohol coming
in. It is not for communities that do not want those kinds of
limitations. What does a "shot" mean and what is heavy drinking?
There are federal standards, but everyone reacts to alcohol
differently. A person's size, gender, race, and amount of food
consumed affect how quickly one gets intoxicated. "Moderate"
drinking is no more than one drink per day for women and two for
men. "Heavy" drinking for men is more than two drinks per day
every day. Women are heavy drinkers if they have over one drink
a day. Alaska has high rates of binge drinking, which would mean
that on a single occasion, and within two hours, a man would
have five drinks and a woman would have four drinks.
4:13:52 PM
MS. CASTO said 10.5 liters of alcohol a month per person is
allowed to be shipped now. That amounts to 12 shots of hard
liquor per person per day. That is a lot of alcohol. DHSS has
been working on the state epidemiological profile on substance
use, abuse, and dependency. The project was funded by the
federal government to assess alcohol and other drugs "and what
it looks like for the state of Alaska - give us a profile." It
looks at how much Alaskans are drinking and the consequences
including physical impairments like cirrhosis of the liver. It
includes deaths, accidents, and arrests as related to alcohol.
She will post it on the web soon. The report found that from
2001 to 2004 the leading causes of premature death, including
chronic liver disease, homicides, suicides, and unintentional
injury were all strongly associated with alcohol use. "Alaskans
consumed approximately 2.66 gallons of alcoholic beverages per
10,000 population, ages of 13 and over. So 2.66 gallons of
alcoholic beverages - you know you think about how many people
don't drink, and that's a lot of alcohol, and that's per 10,000
population." Hard liquor was consumed in Alaska 1.5 times higher
than the national average. A national household phone survey
found that at least 50 percent of adults in Alaska use alcohol
on a regular basis. People aged 18-34 years do the most binge
drinking. About 16 percent of all hospitalized injuries, 23
percent of motor vehicle crashes, and 31 percent of all fatal
accidents are associated with alcohol use. These are 2006
figures and they show a decline, but it is significant.
4:18:33 PM
MS. CASTO said fetal alcohol syndrome is a huge issue in Alaska.
DHSS is looking for ways to reduce alcohol problems. Many people
have an addiction, and they would prefer not to, so treatment is
important. Alcohol impacts all of us. SB 85 is one opportunity
to help the communities to enforce their own desires.
SENATOR THOMAS said there are alcohol problems across the state.
Prevention, intervention, and education are supposed to be
effective. Alaska creates more prisons all the time, "and this
seems to be almost the same situation to me, where we're going
to catch people and put them in jail," and they will probably go
back to what they were doing. "What are we doing to help at the
high school age or whatever to educate and intervene and make
sure kids understand the severe nature of the problems that
arise from abuse of alcohol and drugs?"
4:21:33 PM
MS. CASTO said that is her passion. "We are doing quite a bit
but always could do more." The amount of money Alaska spends on
prevention is very small compared to the money spent on
treatment and locking people up - the punitive approach.
Prevention often gets short changed by immediate needs. The
prevention budget for behavioral health is a little over $2
million statewide. There are programs to work with communities,
schools, and youth groups. Prevention programs aimed at younger
ages show that alcohol use can be reduced. People who start
drinking before the age of 15 are more likely to have an alcohol
problem later in life. DHSS also has an alcohol safety action
program for first time offenses. It's best to get to people
early. There is a program called "prime for life," which teaches
youth about alcohol, and such programs can change beliefs and
behaviors. After taking "Prime for Life", kids suddenly
recognize the dangers, and it may reduce binge drinking and
drunk driving. The grade schools are also targeted since kids
are starting to drink at younger ages. DHSS is trying to include
more adults in kids' lives. If a child feels connected and
supported by parents, teachers, or mentors, he or she is less
likely to start drinking. There are 63 community-based grants
across the state doing the things referred to by Senator Thomas.
4:25:19 PM
DWAYNE PEEPLES, Deputy Commissioner, Administration and Medical
Services, Department of Corrections, said there is an
indeterminate fiscal note, but it should be zero. The reduction
in bootlegging will have a concomitant reduction in adjudicated
assaults. He spoke of legislation that was passed that made
three-time assaults into felonies. Nome, Bethel, and Fairbanks
will be impacted by that. Anecdotal information is that a lot of
multiple assaults are associated with alcohol. The increase in
costs for arrests should be balanced by the decrease in assault
prosecutions. The department is in favor of the bill.
SENATOR THOMAS asked how many arrests are made for bootlegging,
and what the department does with confiscated liquor.
MR. PEEPLES said he only sees the arrests that are ultimately
adjudicated; both questions can by answered by the DPS.
4:28:22 PM
SENATOR KOOKESH said he has friends who drink and they buy
drinks in a quart, fifth, or six-pack. Why does the bill use the
liter as a measurement as well as gallon?
MS. CARPENETI said she used it because was in existing law.
Bottles come in liters. A fifth is 750 ml.
4:30:30 PM
CHAIR OLSON held the bill over.
4:31:06 PM
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB19 Branchflower Report.pdf |
SCRA 2/3/2009 3:30:00 PM |
SB 19 |
| SB 19 Fiscal Note.pdf |
SCRA 2/3/2009 3:30:00 PM |
SB 19 |
| SB19 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SCRA 2/3/2009 3:30:00 PM |
SB 19 |
| SB19 Relevant Statutes.pdf |
SCRA 2/3/2009 3:30:00 PM |
SB 19 |
| SB85 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SCRA 2/3/2009 3:30:00 PM |
SB 85 |
| SB85 Sectional Analysis.pdf |
SCRA 2/3/2009 3:30:00 PM |
SB 85 |
| SB85 Senate Journal Text.pdf |
SCRA 2/3/2009 3:30:00 PM |
SB 85 |
| SB85 Fiscal Note (no number).pdf |
SCRA 2/3/2009 3:30:00 PM |
SB 85 |
| SB85 Fiscal Note, Public Safety (replaces FN #4).pdf |
SCRA 2/3/2009 3:30:00 PM |
SB 85 |