Legislature(1993 - 1994)
04/08/1993 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 returned SB 155 (USE OF RENTED PROPERTY/LAW VIOLATIONS) to committee and clarified which teleconference sites were available for testimony. He then called on DAVID SKIDMORE, Aide to the prime sponsor, SENATOR STEVE FRANK, to testify. Number 454 MR. SKIDMORE explained SENATOR FRANK had introduced SB 155 in response to constituent concerns over the seeming impunity for abuses that the tenants were enjoying, and he reviewed the changes proposed to the statutes concerning the landlord-tenant relationship. MR. SKIDMORE said SENATOR FRANK had two amendments to propose. The first one dealing with prostitution, which he explained was designated as assignation, and defined as 8- LSO376\K.16, Chenoweth, 4/2/93. SENATOR TAYLOR moved to adopt Amendment #1 as designated by SENATOR FRANK. SENATOR LITTLE questioned whether a person has to be convicted or just have an assignation of the act of prostitution, and MR. SKIDMORE said the amendment would include "assignation" as a grounds for which a neighbor could take another neighbor to court, given the failure of a landlord to take care of a problem. He said assignation related to the nuisance abatement statute. The court would have to determine if a nuisance does exist, that assignation had taken place, in order for a tenant to be evicted. SENATOR LITTLE clarified it would require a court determination in this case. SENATOR TAYLOR wondered why assignation was being discussed when the amendment did not refer to it. MR. SKIDMORE apologized saying the term was described by MR. CHENOWETH, but was now an obsolete term. He said it was currently designated as "illegal activity involving a place of prostitution." SENATOR TAYLOR thought this was a better definition and would answer some of the questions from SENATOR LITTLE. Number 516 SENATOR TAYLOR returned to Amendment #1, which was passed without objections. SENATOR TAYLOR moved Amendment #2, 8-LSO376\K.17, Chenoweth, 4/2/93 for SENATOR FRANK. He asked MR. SKIDMORE for an explanation. MR. SKIDMORE referred the committee members to page 9, line 10, Section 18, which makes the tenant's obligations more stringent by eliminating the qualifying adjectives from AS 34.03120. Paragraph (1) amends AS 34.03.120(a)(5) in Section 18 and refers to substantial damages caused by the landlord. There was a discussion on the placement of the amendment, which was inserted on page 10, beginning with line 16, while the conditions for the eviction were contained in paragraph (1) on page 9, beginning with line 22. SENATOR TAYLOR checked to see that everyone understood Amendment #2, before it was adopted without objections. SENATOR TAYLOR asked MR. DONLEY how he wished to offer his amendments. SENATOR DONLEY moved to adopt Amendment #3, 8-LSO376\K.3, Chenoweth, 3/19/93. He was asked to explain his amendment. TAPE 93-40, SIDE B Number 001 SENATOR DONLEY explained his amendment would change the amount of the security deposit to the value of three months rent, but the subsection would not apply to a rental unit if the rent exceeded $1000 a month. He explained the practical aspects of the amendment in relation to the rental of a house. SENATOR TAYLOR asked MR. SKIDMORE if SENATOR FRANK had any objection to Amendment #3, and he indicated all of SENATOR DONLEY'S amendments had been approved by the sponsor. SENATOR TAYLOR moved Amendment #3 without objections. SENATOR DONLEY moved to adopt Amendment #4, 8-LSO376\K.6, Chenoweth, 3/18/93 and explained the time requirements in the statute for the summons and continuance are clumsy at present. He further explained the reasoning behind his amendment dealing with shortening to less than two days the summons in actions for forcible entry and detainer. SENATOR TAYLOR moved Amendment #4 without objections. SENATOR DONLEY moved to adopt Amendment #5, 8-LSO376\K.7, Chenoweth, 3/19/93. He explained the amendment deals with the inability of landlord to protect their property if the tenant does not pay the utility bill, and he described the aftermath of frozen pipes. Number 515 SENATOR DONLEY explained that not paying the utility was a breach in the obligation of tenancy, and the amendment allows the landlord to recover and protect the property. Another provision in the amendment deals with the changing of locks by tenants, making it impossible for the landlord to have access for emergencies. He gave some examples where the locks could be changed, as long as a set of key were given to the landlord within 5 days along with a written notice of the change. The third provision of this amendment requires the landlord to notify when the utilities are turned off. They discussed various agreements that can be made between the landlord and tenant. In answer to a question by SENATOR JACKO on the utilities, SENATOR DONLEY gave an example of abuses of utility agreements, where tenants turn off the utilities sooner than expected. In most of his scenarios the landlord gets stuck with the last month's bill. Number 111 SENATOR LITTLE asked if he had heard from any utility companies regarding the amendment. SENATOR DONLEY said it was in the House version last year, but the utilities prefer the utility agreements. He said it was clearly the burden of the landlord to ask the utilities for the agreement. SENATOR TAYLOR asked SENATOR DONLEY why he changed the two mandatory provisions that existed on page 9, lines 11 through 26, Section 5 and 6 of the amendment. SENATOR DONLEY said it was a style change by DAVID DIERDORFF, Revisor of Statutes. They decided it was more grammatically correct. SENATOR LITTLE asked about SENATOR DONLEY'S use of "ordinary and nonabusive," and whether nonabusive was ever defined. She discussed her reluctance to use an undefined word. SENATOR TAYLOR clarified it was not SENATOR DONLEY'S amendment and that it was a language change. They decided to asked MR. SKIDMORE, who defended the use of "nonabusive" rather than reasonable. SENATOR TAYLOR described some of the abuses by tenants of equipment, and he thought this was SENATOR LEMAN'S choice, but he wasn't sure it was a legal definition. He told SENATOR LITTLE that lawyers often use Black's Law Dictionary for definitions. Number 177 SENATOR LITTLE wanted to make a point of her objection to nonabusive as an undefined word and as a substitute for deliberately or negligently in the statute. She gave some reasons for her objections. SENATOR TAYLOR agreed some of her objections were warranted, and there was some discussion on the word, nonabusive, within the committee, with SENATOR DONLEY supporting the word, nonabusive, over deliberately or negligently. There was general agreement on his description of major destruction by tenants. SENATOR JACKO asked if it was a reason to throw out a tenant, and SENATOR DONLEY said it was more of a fine tuning of existing requirements. SENATOR LITTLE explained why she thought unreasonably should stay in the amendments, and SENATOR TAYLOR explained why it was difficult to prove what is a reasonable level of disturbance from tenants. Number 263 MR. SKIDMORE referred to SENATOR FRANK'S Amendment #2, paragraph (3) to address the concerns expressed by SENATOR LITTLE. He read from the amendment: "(3) constituting noncompliance by the tenant with the rental agreement, other than a provision of the rental agreement that addresses an obligation imposed by AS 34.03.120(a), detrimentally affect the landlord's investment in the premises, the quiet enjoyment of the premises by other tenants, or the use and occupancy of adjacent premises." SENATOR TAYLOR suggested the committee members might want to act on parts of Amendment #5, but there was no agreement. SENATOR TAYLOR adopted Amendment #5 without objections. SENATOR TAYLOR moved to adopt SENATOR DONLEY'S Amendment #6, 8-LSO376\K.8, Chenoweth, 3/18/93. SENATOR DONLEY gave an example of his provision in the amendment to allow landlords to remove personal property not covered by the rental agreement. Presently, there is no legal access to do this. In answer to questions by SENATOR JACKO, SENATOR DONLEY explained how the amendment differs from existing law. Number 317 SENATOR TAYLOR said SENATOR DONLEY'S Amendment #6 was adopted by the committee without objections. SENATOR TAYLOR explained SENATOR DONLEY'S Amendment #7 was identified as 8-LSO376\K.9, Chenoweth, 3/19/93. SENATOR DONLEY said this amendment was clean-up language in reference to the rights of the landlord to access the dwelling unit except as referenced. SENATOR TAYLOR asked if there was a definition for "abandoned" or "surrendered." SENATOR JACKO said there was no precise definition, and SENATOR TAYLOR gave an example of transients who abandon property. SENATOR DONLEY said that was addressed in a later amendment, Amendment #10, that adds: "The landlord may reenter the dwelling unit and, if there is evidence that the tenant has abandoned the dwelling unit, unless the landlord and tenant have made a specific agreement to the contrary, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement," to AS 34.03.230(b) to terminate tenancy. Number 382 SENATOR JACKO thought it was difficult to be a tenant. SENATOR DONLEY explained many of the problems have not been addressed for a long time, and he reviewed some of these problems. SENATOR JACKO said his family owned an apartment building, and they had not encountered some of the severe problems addressed by the amendments. SENATOR DONLEY claimed he did want protection for tenants, also, but he wanted to give landlords tools to deal with a small percentage of tenants, who have learned to use the system unfairly. He explained it was tragic for the good tenants, because they all pay an additional price for rent for all of the intentionally bad tenants. He thought it would help the good tenants. Number 448 SENATOR JACKO continued to defend the present practices as a cost of doing business, and he was concerned about the rights of the tenants. SENATOR TAYLOR summarize some of the possible horror stories on both sides of the landlord/tenant transactions. MR. SKIDMORE thought SENATOR DONLEY'S time frame of seven days was reasonable, and he recited current statutes as proof. SENATOR TAYLOR adopted Amendment #7 with no objections. SENATOR TAYLOR identified SENATOR DONLEY'S Amendment #8 as 8-LSO376\K.10, Chenoweth, 3/19/93. SENATOR DONLEY explained this amendment would allow landlords to serve a notice to quit tenancy upon a tenant if they fail to keep the utilities current. He said it added to the list for notice of eviction. SENATOR JACKO triggered a discussion with other members of tenants living without utilities, the abuses, the options, and the court proceedings. Number 537 SENATOR LITTLE asked for more explanation on the amendment, and SENATOR DONLEY explained it was more than non-payment, it was a disconnect. He read from the amendment to explain, "the landlord may deliver a written notice to the tenant advising that .... the tenancy will terminate five days after the tenant's receipt of the notice" if they don't reconnect the utilities. SENATOR TAYLOR gave some further explanation on the discontinued service ..... TAPE 93-41, SIDE A Number 001 .... and SENATOR DONLEY said Alaska Legal Services provides the defense for tenants. With no further objects, SENATOR TAYLOR declared Amendment SENATOR DONLEY moved to adopt Amendment #9, 8-LSO376\K.11, Chenoweth, 3/18/93, and explained it was a very important provision for relations between landlords and tenants. He quoted current statutes dealing with falling behind on the rent, and the offer by the tenant to pay less than full rent. He explained how this would effect the notice of eviction and the relationship with the tenant so he included: "A landlord who has given written notice to the tenant under this subsection may accept a partial payment of the rent due under the rental agreement and extend the date for the eviction accordingly." He said it would allow mitigation among the parties. Without objection, Amendment Number 080 SENATOR TAYLOR defined SENATOR DONLEY'S Amendment #10 as 8- LSO376\K.12, Chenoweth, 3/19/93. SENATOR DONLEY explained this amendment was discussed previously in reference to an amendment, which would allow the landlord to enter a possible abandoned dwelling unit. Amendment #10 was adopted without objection. SENATOR TAYLOR defined SENATOR DONLEY'S Amendment #11 as 8- LSO376\K.13, Chenoweth, 3/18/93. SENATOR DONLEY explained Amendment #11 deals with a confusing portion of the law, which elicits the question, "How do you deal with property that has been abandoned or left behind by a tenant." In addition, he read his succinct changes to the archaic structure of the original language in the statute. SENATOR TAYLOR pointed out the contrasting directions in the amendment, and SENATOR DONLEY checked for the context of the amendment in the statutes. They agreed there were specific requirements, which they planned to research at a later time. SENATOR TAYLOR moved Amendment #11 from committee without objections. Number 158 SENATOR LITTLE proposed another amendment, Amendment #12, 8- LSO376\K.18, Chenoweth, 4/6/93, which would change the title of the bill and would insert new sections in the bill to provide for mediation between the tenant and the landlord in order to avoid court action, which is presently the only solution for disputes. She explained that many states already have realized benefits from mediation between landlords and tenants, and she thought her amendment would be fair to both parties. SENATOR LITTLE further explained it had to be agreed upon by both parties before mediation took place, and either party could withdraw from mediation at any time. She said it wouldn't slow down the proceedings, but would make it less expensive for both parties if they agree to resolve a problem. She concluded her explanation of Amendment #12 with the benefits of the procedure, to save the state money, and work out problems without court participation. SENATOR JACKO asked SENATOR LITTLE why her amendment didn't require mediation first, and she said it may not be appropriate in all cases. She said she was following along with permissive laws provided in other states. SENATOR JACKO asked if her amendment was similar to that of other states. SENATOR TAYLOR said, in most other states, they did not adopt the landlord/tenant laws similar to those of Alaska, and said he didn't know of another state with such liberal laws as Alaska. He gave some history on the bill from previous years and said there were many problems in Alaska that needed to be addressed. SENATOR JACKO asked about amending her amendment to make mediation a requirement instead of permissive. SENATOR TAYLOR thought such an amendment would destroy the aim of the original purposes of the bill and add an additional layer on the legislation that currently exists - that would make it intolerable to people. Number 224 SENATOR JACKO defended the mediation requirement, and SENATOR TAYLOR suggested it would be difficult to find the tenant to mediate. He said the tenant will intentionally dodge the landlord who is trying to serve them with the eviction notice. SENATOR JACKO suggested using a requirement to reasonably attempt to mediate, which wouldn't be used if the tenant was avoiding contact. SENATOR DONLEY thought it could be a suggestion that landlords might want to include in their rental agreements mediation clauses. He claimed the problem with mediation would be that it wouldn't resolve anything, and he explained his reasons. He didn't have a problem with adding a suggestion for mediation so long as it is not mandatory. Number 289 SENATOR JACKO said he didn't dispute SENATOR DONLEY, but was expressing his concern for tenants in general, and that landlords may abuse some of the tenants. SENATOR TAYLOR described constitutional problems with denying someone their right to go to court, which would make the mandatory aspect of the amendment unconstitutional. SENATOR JACKO continued to protect the reasonable mediation feature of the legislation. SENATOR LITTLE said she would continue to research the possibilities. SENATOR TAYLOR moved for adoption of Amendment #12. Without objections, so ordered. SENATOR TAYLOR referenced a proposed amendment, Amendment which "Proposed for addition to the forcible entry and detainer law (AS 09.45.070 - 09.45.160) in SB is a new section, bill section 6. It would add AS 09.45.125 and, in essence, give the landlord, who prevails in a forcible entry and detainer action the right to apply to the court immediately for a writ of assistance to secure the eviction of the tenant." SENATOR DONLEY moved Amendment #13. Without objections, so ordered. SENATOR DONLEY moved to pass CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 155(JUD) from committee with individual recommendations. There were objections from SENATOR LITTLE. Roll call placed the vote at 2-2, and the bill stayed in committee.
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