Legislature(2009 - 2010)BELTZ 211
03/09/2009 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB51 | |
| SB19 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SB 19 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 51 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 51-MOTOR VEHICLE WINDOW TINTING
1:38:10 PM
CHAIR FRENCH announced the consideration of SB 51 and noted that
it is not his intention to move the bill today. [Before the
committee was CSSB 51(TRA).] Speaking as sponsor, he explained
that the bill is about illegal window tinting. The Spenard
Community Council said members of the public are concerned about
vehicles with darkly tinted windows traversing their
neighborhoods. Being unable to see who is in the car and
therefore who is in the neighborhood is worrisome. In the course
of their investigation they found that although it is illegal to
drive a car with windows that have dark tinting, it is not
illegal for a shop to install that product. The logical
outgrowth of that observation is to make the installation of
illegal window tint a citable offense.
1:39:36 PM
He noted that California, Nevada and Washington all allow the
imposition of jail time for installing tinting that is too dark.
When the bill was introduced last year he concluded that it was
too onerous to impose jail time for what is essentially a
traffic offense. SB 51 keeps the traffic infraction penalty in
place with a maximum fine of $300 for installing window tinting
that is too dark according to state regulation.
CHAIR FRENCH opened public testimony.
1:40:27 PM
KEN STATAFORA, Lieutenant, said he has been a police officer in
Anchorage for 31 years. Currently he is in charge of the traffic
section and has spoken to numerous patrol and traffic officers
who have legitimate complaints with dark window tinting. Two
safety issues are involved. One is that accidents can be
prevented if motorists are able to maintain eye contact with
adjacent drivers. The other is that it can tie officers' hands
if they can't see into vehicles when they're trying to locate a
driver or match a particular car to a driver. Another concern
relates to the medical exemption. The reality is that these are
essentially hand-written notes and APD would like to request
that they be an official standardized document that contains the
doctor's name and phone number for verification purposes.
LIEUTENANT STATAFORA stated support for the provision to require
a tint hologram to identify the installer and certify that the
installation complies with the law, but the biggest issue is
safety. Walking up to a vehicle is one of the most dangerous
jobs an officer faces and being able to see a suspect's action
has allowed him to avert serious harm or death numerous times.
"I'm sure that that claim is echoed by every law enforcement
officer in the state," he said.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked how much time he has spent in a patrol
car.
LIEUTENANT STATAFORA replied he spent 18 years on the graveyard
shift, 13 years working homicide and robbery cases. For 10 years
he was on the SWAT team and was responsible for stopping
numerous vehicles and taking violent suspects into custody.
RODNEY DIAL, Lieutenant, Alaska State Troopers, Department of
Public Safety (DPS), said DPS supports SB 51. The bill is not
about changing standards; it is a means of keeping businesses
from installing a product that makes a vehicle illegal.
LIEUTENANT DIAL explained that last week in Ketchikan he used a
certified tint meter on a series of foreign and domestic
vehicles. On average, the driver's and passenger's side windows
with factory installed light tint blocked 28 percent to 30
percent of all light, which is legal under current Alaska law.
He then applied a medium tint on top of the stock factory tint
and retested the windows. The combination blocked between 68
percent and 72 percent of all light. This is essentially darker
than sunglasses, he said. If you were to apply a medium tint on
top of windows that lawfully block 60 percent of light, the
result would be a window that blocks over 90 percent of all
light.
Currently 45 states and the District of Columbia have net tint
standards, which take into account after market tinting. Auto
Trim Design is advocating a film standard to allow application
of a 35 percent film atop stock factory tinted windows. This
means that some windows would block 90 percent of all light,
which is particularly dark at night. For perspective, cosmetic
sunglasses allow four times more light to pass through and it's
recommended that they not be worn at night. Relaxing the
standards to make everyone happy really isn't an option, he
said. The industry standpoint is that customers want medium or
dark tint, but the current standards help keep law enforcement
officers, pedestrians and other drivers safe. He asked the
committee to maintain the current tint standards and pass SB 51.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked how much time he has spent in a patrol
car where he has had to deal with tinted windows.
LIEUTENANT DIAL replied nearly his entire career. About 12 years
have been devoted to exclusive patrol functions and most of that
time was in rural communities where there were few if any
streetlights. Tinted windows were a bigger concern in those
areas.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked if there is much tint on vehicle
windows in rural Alaska.
LIEUTENANT DIAL said no, but he ran into it on a frequent basis
when he worked at the Talkeetna and Glennallen road posts.
BOB BOSWOOD, President, Auto Trim Design, Fairbanks, said he
opposes the current tinting regulations because they are too
restrictive to allow his business to survive. His business is to
tint windows and he feels that applying a 35 percent medium film
allows sufficient view into a vehicle so as to not be a safety
issue. He has spoken to numerous police officers and troopers in
the Fairbanks area and 99 percent had no problem with that level
of film. "Nor did they feel that they were at risk in pulling
that vehicle over once they've lit them up at night," he said.
MR. BOSWOOD disputed the statement that 35 percent tint atop
factory tint blocks 90 percent of the light. Rather, it allows
between 28 percent and 32 percent light transmittance. He said
he would support tint laws like California, Nevada and
Washington have, but he would note that all those laws are less
restrictive than Alaska's tint laws. He relayed that all his
customers sign a waiver acknowledging that the tint does not
comply with Alaska regulations. He expressed the view that SB 51
will not stop people from applying dark tint, but it will put
some reputable businesses out of business.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked if the current regulations require an
installer to apply a hologram.
CHAIR FRENCH said it's a new requirement in the bill on page 2,
lines 2-3; it's not part of current regulation.
STEVE VINCENT, General Manager, Auto Trim Design, Fairbanks,
said Fairbanks Police Chief Dan Hoffman stated in a letter that
he would support a reasonable lessening of the current tint laws
so long as they comport with the majority of other state
standards and allow adequate visibility to approaching law
enforcement officers. North Pole Police Chief Paul Lindhag also
sent a letter supporting 35 percent light transmission on the
front windows of vehicles.
MR. VINCENT told the committee that he has a medical waiver
because of a family history of melanoma. 70 percent UV block on
a window is not sufficient to stop the growth of melanoma or
cancer cells, he said. Current law doesn't give people the
opportunity to take preventative steps; they have to wait until
they've been diagnosed with a cancer problem. He said he resents
that he has a medical waiver, but his truck is targeted because
there is no sticker to identify that he has a medical waiver.
CHAIR FRENCH thanked him for the suggestion about an identifier
for a medical waiver.
2:04:48 PM
TATE OLSON, Technician, Auto Trim Design, Fairbanks, said he has
worked hard for the last two years to become proficient at
installing window tint. In that time he has tinted many vehicles
and some are official. In his opinion 35 percent tint is a film
that is very visible. The factory tint is very light. He sees
work that he's done every day and he can see these drivers
fully.
CHAIR FRENCH, finding no further testimony, closed public
testimony and announced he would hold SB 51 for potential future
action.
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