Legislature(2007 - 2008)BELTZ 211
01/23/2007 09:00 AM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB55 | |
| SB49 | |
| SB36 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 55 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 49 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 36 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 36-SENTENCING FOR ALCOHOL-RELATED CRIMES
CHAIR MCGUIRE announced the consideration of SB 36.
9:29:41 AM
DAVE STANCLIFF, staff to Senator Gene Therriault, noted that
legislation similar to SB 36 was before the Senate last year.
Senator French added language during the Senate Judiciary
Committee hearings, he said. SB 36 is based on the premise that
certain members of society are transformed under the influence
of alcohol, predisposing them to drive under the influence and
commit acts of domestic and sexual abuse. If these people had
not used alcohol, their lives would be very different, he
stated. Prohibiting alcohol as a condition of probation allows
some of these people to live productive lives--until the
probation is over. "A very, very sad saga for some folks," he
commented. SB 36 will allow "the person that is sitting in
judgment of these offenders" to impose up to a lifetime ban on
the use of alcohol. The bill only includes those who commit
serious crimes, felonies, have more than two accounts of driving
under the influence, or who caused serious damage while driving
under the influence. Mr. Stancliff gave an example where a
domestic abuse victim could report an offender when drinking
begins instead of after a crime is committed. If law enforcement
is called, interdiction can occur before the crime, he stated.
9:33:23 AM
MR. STANCLIFF said the bill will protect the person that is back
in the society--not just during probation--but for life. The
fiscal notes are indeterminate, he said, but there is reason to
believe that SB 36 will cause some people to go back "into the
system" and others to stay out. He said SB 36 is designed for
model citizens who become monsters after alcohol consumption.
9:36:56 AM
SENATOR GENE THERRIAULT, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor of SB
36, said the bill started with a lifetime ban on alcohol
consumption and now provides for "up to" a lifetime ban.
Drunken driving offenses and other irresponsible actions result
in state expenditures, he said.
9:36:16 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked how the bill is different from the suspended
imposition of sentences where a court can modify a sentence to
reflect certain conditions. She gave the example of suspending
part of a sentence if the offender stops using alcohol. She
asked why that isn't working.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said current sentencing can't go beyond what
the statute allows. Allowing a prohibition of alcohol
consumption for a lifetime is longer than any current sentencing
guidelines, he surmised. SB 36 is not a replacement, but another
tool to use. He said he imagines the law being used in instances
where a person completely changes with alcohol consumption.
9:37:57 AM
SENATOR BUNDE said not all people who abuse alcohol are
alcoholics. He asked about other drugs, like "crack."
SENATOR THERRIAULT said alcohol is not illegal, crack is. If a
person's first drink leads to bad consequences, the courts will
be able to impose "this extra step."
SENATOR BUNDE said marijuana is quasi legal in Alaska. The bill
is intended to keep people from hurting themselves and he asked
about the use of seatbelts.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said SB 36 is aimed at protecting others.
9:39:50 AM
ANGELA SALERNO, Advocacy Coordinator, Advisory Board on
Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Department of Health and Social
Services, said the board is not in favor of SB 36. Further
criminalization and incarceration of people with alcohol
addiction will not be an effective strategy. Alcoholism is a
chronic disorder, she noted. Studies have shown that 54 percent
of all alcohol abuse patients can be expected to relapse, and 61
percent of those will have multiple relapses. She said those are
statistics for people who were lucky enough to get treatment,
and 35,000 Alaskans who needed treatment did not get it in 2004.
"We've dropped the ball," she stated. State funding for
treatment has dropped by over $18 million between 2002 and 2007.
In fiscal year 2004, funding for substance abuse treatment in
Alaska's prisons was slashed, and fifteen programs disappeared.
"Prisoners with alcohol addictions hit the street without
treatment or support for successful re-entry." Criminalizing and
incarcerating has the potential to make things worse. If
criminality is driven by addiction to alcohol, there is no way
to break the cycle. The prisons are already full. She
recommended treatment for these criminals. Alaska's drug courts
are the beginning, but it is a small, small step, she said.
9:43:04 AM
MS. SALERNO recommended California's 2000 voter-initiative
model, which requires that offenders of nonviolent, drug-related
crime be offered probation and community-based treatment in lieu
of prison. Outcomes of this model show that more than 140,000
people were diverted from incarceration to treatment during the
first four years, and half were getting treated for the first
time. The number of people incarcerated in state prisons for
drug possession fell by 32 percent and negated the construction
of a new prison. It saved the state over half a billion dollars.
For every dollar invested in treatment, four dollars are saved
in the costs of the criminal justice system. She said treatment
works, and asked the committee not to take "this expensive and
ineffective path."
9:44:31 AM
MS. SALERNO said the board finds it alarming how much the state
has dropped the ball on treatment for alcohol abuse. Medicaid
does not cover the treatment, so the state has to cover it. She
said it will save money in the long run and help families and
communities in addressing this serious public health problem.
9:45:06 AM
SENATOR BUNDE said he helped cut the treatment programs because
they weren't effective. He said people who voluntarily join a
program like AA had higher success rates than people who went
into the state program. The state programs had low success
rates, he said. He said the California model has "kept them out
of prison, but I don't know if it kept them sober."
SENATOR FRENCH said the California program is aimed at
nonviolent offenders, but SB 36 is aimed at violent offenders.
He asked for a reevaluation.
MS. SALERNO said she believes that "we are addressing the issue
of prevention." She said crimes fueled by alcohol become worse
because the individual has not been given treatment. She said
she is not against punishment to those who are a threat to
society, but many people are in prison because of inadequate
treatment resources. Treatment works, relapse happens, but many
people find recovery, she concluded.
9:47:33 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked for committee discussion.
SENATOR GREEN said she opposed the legislation last year and she
agrees with Ms. Salerno. She expressed concerned that the law
will be unenforceable. It doesn't work to tell an alcoholic not
to drink, she said, so she is not supporting the bill.
9:48:41 AM
SENATOR BUNDE said people who are forced into programs by courts
have a low success rate. Drunk drivers and domestic violence
offenders create new victims, so he wants the state to put its
money into incarceration instead of ineffective rehabilitation.
He said he will support SB 36.
9:49:20 AM
SENATOR FRENCH said the bill is not a magic bullet, but may help
prosecutors to "stack the deck so heavily against an offender
that that person is then forced into treatment." An individual
on probation for a second driving-while-intoxicated offence may
be offered a six-month suspension and is facing 18 months in
jail for having a drink, he said. It is a good tool for a
prosecutor striking a deal for someone to get treatment.
9:51:12 AM
SENATOR GREEN asked if that is what the drug court is designed
for--to strike that bargain. She said that prohibiting drinking
"are just lost words" to an alcoholic.
9:52:04 AM
SENATOR FRENCH said there are no words to change the heart of an
alcoholic. The consequences of the addiction are so severe that
"at some level I think we just have to strike a balance and a
trade off between what may not be the perfect tool and doing
something." He said drug courts are the preferred model, but
they are not available everywhere and to everyone in the state,
and this bill is at least doing something.
9:53:10 AM
SENATOR GREEN asked if the drug court is for felonies.
SENATOR FRENCH said the drug court is for felonies and the
therapeutic court is for misdemeanors.
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked if Senator Therriault "considered making it
a misdemeanor."
SENATOR FRENCH said his understanding is that the first offense
is a misdemeanor and the second offense is a felony.
9:53:56 AM
SENATOR THERRIAULT said SB 36 is not a tool available to the
court for all crimes that involve alcohol; it is for "specific
cases where there's been an attack on another person or multiple
drunk driving cases." It cannot be applied indiscriminately but
where alcohol triggers gross irresponsibility or aggression.
The judge would be able to use it as a tool for someone who goes
on an abusive bender, for example, but who is not an alcoholic.
The court would want testimony to determine if someone changes
dramatically when drinking, "like flipping a switch." The
prosecutor could use it in sentencing as a permissive tool and
not to be applied to every alcohol-related case.
9:56:32 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE suggested SB 36 would include crimes where there
is serious bodily injury, assaults, and repeated drunk driving.
The opposing sides agree on the harm caused, but the question is
what to do about it. She asked if other states have used it with
success, or are there just more people in jail who come out and
drink again and "get their next felony."
9:57:21 AM
SENATOR THERRIAULT said there is no other state that has used
this tool, but Alaska has a severe alcohol problem. Other states
watch to see what Alaska does, he noted. SB 36 is an opportunity
to put this in Alaska's tool box. Alaska citizens are looking
for creative ways to solve the state's big alcohol problem.
9:59:00 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said her reservation is that crimes of alcoholism
disease are dealt with by imprisonment, and she asked if it
breaks the cycle or just gets the person further from recovery.
Therapeutic courts were created because the same people would
keep going back to jail because of alcoholism. It was the
innovative approach of mandatory treatment to cure the
underlying disease. She expressed concern that SB 36 might not
do that. She will hold the bill until Thursday to let committee
members mull it over. She said she gets the point, and certainly
the victims of the crimes should not suffer because the criminal
has a disease. Chair McGuire asked if there should be more money
in Alaska's therapeutic courts instead. "What is the likelihood
that you're going to get treatment, or are we just going to put
you in another jail and you're going to mark the days until you
get out to have your next drink and commit your next crime."
10:01:19 AM
SENATOR THERRIAULT said the bill is not in place of treatment; a
person can still be encouraged to get treatment.
SENATOR GREEN asked about an exemption or alternate treatment
for those with alcoholism and co-occurring disorders. That needs
to be looked at, she said.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said the court would have that information on
the defendant. This is a permissive tool and not automatic. It
can be tailored to the individual. This tool can be used on
those with a history of violent crimes.
SB 36 was held in committee.
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