Legislature(1993 - 1994)
03/05/1993 02:05 PM Senate JUD
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATOR TAYLOR introduced SB 84 (REVOKE DRIVER'S LICENSE IF USE FALSE I.D.) and invited the prime sponsor, SENATOR TIM KELLY, to review his bill. SENATOR KELLY critiqued previous history on the intent of the legislation in the last session, where it died in House Finance. He listed the supporters from the previous bill: Department of Public Safety, Health and Social Services, Municipality of Anchorage, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Bristol Bay Health Area Corporation, THE DAILY NEWS, the Alcohol Beverage Control Board, the Alaska Cabaret, Hotel, & Restaurant Retail Association, and the Anchorage Restaurant & Beverage Association. SENATOR KELLY explained SB 84 addressed the use of fraudulent licenses by minors to purchase alcohol in a number of ways. First, it would require that a hologram be placed over vital information on the license to prevent tampering. Second, the phrase "under 21" would be placed on the licenses of those who are 21 years of age, indicating to someone serving alcohol, the person is too young to be served alcohol. Besides being a deterrent to tampering, SENATOR KELLY said it would also prevent juveniles from attempting to purchase alcohol with a fake license. SENATOR KELLY explained driving privileges would be revoked for any individual caught using a fraudulent license to purchase alcohol, with revocation of 60 days for the first offense, and 12 months for any subsequent offenses. He said the legislation should provide an effective deterrent for minors considering the use of a fraudulent drivers license to purchase alcohol, thereby alleviating some of the abuses of alcohol by minors. SENATOR TAYLOR opened the meeting to discussion on the bill. Number 063 SENATOR LITTLE asked SENATOR KELLY to explain the costs as listed in the fiscal note. SENATOR KELLY deferred to his aide, JOSH FINK, who had worked on the previous legislation last year. MR. FINK deferred to JUANITA HENSLEY, who had prepared the fiscal note, and was testifying from Anchorage. SENATOR TAYLOR asked MS. HENSLEY, Chief of Drivers Services for the Division of Motor Vehicles, to answer SENATOR LITTLE'S questions about the fiscal note. MS. HENSLEY explained the Division of Motor Vehicles would be revoking about 1500 drivers licenses per year, as the result of the legislation. In order to process the revocation, she had asked for one full time hearing officer, because the law requires due process before a license can be revoked. Two full time document processors would be needed to do the paper work to actually revoke the license and to notify the person of the revocation. MS. HENSLEY outlined the cost and method for placing both the hologram and the holographic phrase "under 21" on the license, a process that can be done by the Polaroid Corporation, which has the means to place the hologram directly into the drivers license pouch. She said the cost to the state would be an additional $50,000 per year. MS. HENSLEY estimated the revenue from the increased drivers license fees, under SB 84, would be $815,000. She explained the cost to effectively operate within the legislation would be $215,700 for the first year, but would be reduced in the following years to $191,000. She suggested the fee, set at $5 for a duplicate drivers license, should be increased to at least $10 or $15, because it takes more time to process a duplicate drivers license than a renewal drivers license. Number 140 SENATOR LITTLE clarified the personnel costs would pay for one hearing officer and two document processors, and MS. HENSLEY said she was correct. In answer to a question from SENATOR LITTLE, MS. HENSLEY explained a law enforcement officer would confiscate the drivers license and send it to the Division of Motor Vehicles, which would then conduct the proper hearings to get the license revoked. SENATOR TAYLOR noted MS. HENSLEY'S estimation of 1500 revoked drivers licenses each year and asked if she believed the young people of Alaska were stupid enough to continue to use fraudulent licenses after seeing some of their friends lose their license. MS. HENSLEY claimed she had no way of knowing exactly how many under age drivers would have their license revoked, but she was quoting statistics from the ABC Board, which submits about 500 to 700 confiscated drivers licenses each year from bars or other liquor establishments. She said that did not take in to account those licenses confiscated by law enforcement throughout the state, but she hoped there would not be 1500 drivers licenses every year. She also hoped the legislation would be a deterrent. SENATOR TAYLOR felt the salient nature of the bill would cause younger people to understand the significant penalty for using phoney identification and disagreed with MS. HENSLEY'S figures of 500 to 700 confiscated drivers licenses in the future. He also disagreed with the fiscal note based on 1500 revoked licenses each year, citing the devastating effect of the penalty as a restraint. Number 192 SENATOR JACKO asked for the total cost for each individual to retrieve their license after it has been confiscated, and MS. HENSLEY explained the process of replacing the revoked license, beginning with a written test and a possible road test. She said it would be a $100 in addition to the regular license fee of $10. SENATOR TAYLOR quoted MS. HENSLEY'S estimate of $50,000 from the Polaroid Company and asked for the proposed number of licenses to be issued for this amount. MS. HENSLEY said last year the Division of Motor Vehicles issued in excess of 200,000 drivers licenses and I.D.'S, which included originals, renewals, and duplicates of both. She was told it would increase the cost of a license by 25 cents per license to place the hologram - which accounts for the $50,000. There was a surprised discussion at her statistics. SENATOR LITTLE spoke in favor of raising the fee for the duplicate drivers license higher than the original license fees, as a dis-incentive to tamper with their license and risk confiscation. SENATOR KELLY asked for how long a drivers license is valid, and MS. HENSLEY explained the licenses were valid for 5 years, with the exception of the duplicate drivers licenses, which is predicated on the time left on the original license. Number 244 SENATOR KELLY questioned when the holographic license would be issued, under 21 and 16 year old when they come in for their first license? MS. HENSLEY said the licenses would be issued to everyone who came into the office, and she explained those under 21 would receive a license with the holographic phrase on it. He said the object was to keep an under 21 year old person from using a license belonging to someone over 21. SENATOR TAYLOR thanked MS. HENSLEY for her interesting answers and asked SENATOR KELLY how he wanted to proceed on the bill. SENATOR KELLY indicated he had no problem with increasing the fees for duplicate licenses, and they discussed placing the change on page 6, line 14. SENATOR TAYLOR moved to amend SB 84 to raise the fee for duplicate licenses to $15. SENATOR HALFORD objected, saying he didn't want to increase fees in large amounts anywhere. SENATOR KELLY said the increase would be $2 per year and suggested $10 instead. SENATOR DONLEY clarified the bill would bring in more revenue than the costs, and SENATOR KELLY agreed. SENATOR JACKO thought it was to be a deterrent, and MS. HENSLEY said he was correct. SENATOR JACKO asked if the bill could specify the increased fee would only be for the confiscated licenses. There was a general discussion of the extra $100 on the renewal of a confiscated license. SENATOR KELLY asked for some elaboration from MS. HENSLEY on the fee structure and how long the present licenses have been at $3 for a duplication. MS. HENSLEY explained the fee was raise from $2 to $3 within the last ten years. SENATOR KELLY asked for the fee schedule for other states, and MS. HENSLEY said she would get the information for him. She explained that some people buy several to as many as 8 duplicates of their license to be retained for legal purposes or for resale. Number 313 SENATOR TAYLOR asked for the actual cost of processing a duplicate license. MS. HENSLEY estimated the actual cost of a renewal is $15, while an original costs $10, and if that person has to take a road test, its an additional $15. SENATOR LITTLE asked MS. HENSLEY if she was relating the cost to the consumer or the cost to the state. MS. HENSLEY was unable to give an accurate cost because of the cost of the related activities. SENATOR KELLY reviewed the cost structure to include personnel costs. SENATOR TAYLOR renewed his motion to amend the bill to increase the cost of a renewal license to $15. SENATOR KELLY thought the committee should consider the number of duplicates purchased by the drivers, which brought about some raillery. SENATOR JACKO didn't think the fee should be changed. SENATOR TAYLOR withdrew his motion. Number 396 SENATOR TAYLOR noted the following people in Anchorage who wished to testify: CAROL WILSON, ED O'NEILL, and MR. DORAN POWELL. When polled, all three were in favor of SB 84. SENATOR TAYLOR entertained a motion to move the bill from committee. SENATOR LITTLE moved to pass SENATE BILL NO. 84 (REVOKE DRIVER'S LICENSE IF USE FALSE I.D.) from committee with individual recommendations. Without objections, so ordered.
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