Legislature(2003 - 2004)
02/24/2004 01:40 PM Senate TRA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SB 224-MINORS DRIVING AFTER CONSUMING ALCOHOL
CO-CHAIR THOMAS WAGONER called the Senate Transportation
Standing Committee meeting to order at 1:40 p.m. Present were
Senators Lincoln, Co-Chair Cowdery and Co-Chair Wagoner. The
first order of business to come before the committee was SB 224.
MS. CHRYSTLE LOWNDES, staff to Senator Cowdery, sponsor of SB
224, said the purpose of the bill is to lower the blood alcohol
level (BAL) from .08 to .02 for driving under the influence
(DUI) citations given to minors. Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV) data indicates that in 2003, almost 400 people under the
age of 21 were pulled over for driving after consuming alcohol.
Forty percent of them who had their licenses revoked had a .08
or higher BAL. Sixty percent had below a .08 BAL, but were still
driving under the influence.
CO-CHAIR COWDERY asked if other states have a .02 BAL.
MS. LOWNDES replied that most other states with a zero tolerance
law like Alaska's have this level. She elaborated that a .02
level allows for things like cough syrup, communal wine, mouth
wash, etc.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked if drinking and driving is already illegal
now.
MS. LOWNDES replied that the DUI statute, AS 25.35, says one is
driving under the influence of alcohol, an inhalant or a
controlled substance if the blood alcohol content is .08 or
higher.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked if anyone opposes the bill.
MS. LOWNDES replied that she has heard of no strong objections.
The Department of Public Safety (DPS) has voiced a little
concern over harshly treating under-age people.
SENATOR LINCOLN said although she wasn't opposed to the bill,
she thought DPS and the Division of Corrections should have
fiscal notes.
SENATOR THERRIAULT resounded Senator Lincoln's concern about
cost and added that revoking a license drives up the cost of
administration, because that action gets appealed often. He
suggested instituting a different penalty with a lower cost to
the state.
CO-CHAIR WAGONER asked how many under-age drinkers who were not
driving had been found in vehicles.
MS. LOWNDES replied that minors under the influence in a car
would receive a minor consuming. The driver might receive a
contributing to the delinquency of a minor citation depending on
the situation.
MS. CINDY CASHEN, Mother's Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), said
that MADD advocates a .02 BAL for those under 21 who drive. A
minor operating a vehicle after consuming (MOVAC) is a
misdemeanor like jaywalking or littering. She strongly felt that
someone who has been drinking and driving a two-ton vehicle
should not be considered the same as jaywalking.
Society expects accountability for a crime (jail time); it wants
the offender to remember not to do it again (license revocation
and vehicle impoundment); it also wants them to receive alcohol
treatment. "MOVACs are not effective in reaching these goals."
Kids just keep racking up the MOVACs. They are tomorrow's high-
risk drivers, because their BALs typically go higher every time
they are stopped. There is no reason to seek treatment with a
MOVAC; a DUI has credit.
MS. CASHEN said research has shown that drivers between 15 and
20 years old are more often involved in alcohol-related crashes
than any other comparable age group. The peak for fatal crashes
occurs at age 21.
She related that Alaska Youth Risk data shows the number of
people who drove a vehicle when drinking one or more times
preceding the survey was 12.3 percent in 1995; in 2003 it was
11.3 percent. The Lower 48 has a statistic of 13.3 percent. A
DUI would provide those youth with a big incentive to get into
treatment to not have their driver's license revoked.
SENATOR LINCOLN said she supported the bill, but reiterated her
concern about mandating stiffer penalties without providing
adequate funding for the supporting agencies. Alcohol treatment
funding, for instance, was reduced for adults last year and this
penalty would only add to the need for more funding. She asked
how many crashes occurred in Alaska that involved people under
21 years of age and how many were actually inebriated.
MS. CASHEN replied that 18 teenagers who were driving drunk were
lost between 1995 and 2001.
CO-CHAIR COWDERY asked what the committee thought about
exempting active military people from this law.
MS. CASHEN replied, "Absolutely not."
CO-CHAIR COWDERY asked her MADD's position on designated drivers
among youth.
MS. CASHEN replied that MADD does not support designated drivers
among youth. "We have zero tolerance. That's it. We will not
even consider it. We do not consider designated drivers because
that opens the door.... Just don't do it. It's not worth it."
CO-CHAIR COWDERY asked how an under-age drinker in a car who is
not driving would be impacted.
MS. CASHEN replied that peace officers must have probable cause
to pull over a driver and reasonable doubt to see if the
passengers are consuming.
CO-CHAIR COWDERY asked if juvenile penalties should carry over
to adult status if a person is almost 21.
MS. CASHEN replied that growing older does not affect the fact
that one chose to break the law and should have to deal with the
consequences.
SENATOR LINCOLN pointed out that juveniles are not put into
adult facilities and that female offenders are not going to be
housed in the same facility as male offenders and the treatment
centers cost a lot whether they are in Alaska or somewhere else.
She reiterated her serious concern about an unfunded mandate.
DMV has advised the committee that just because there's a law
doesn't mean the DUI numbers are going to drop, because the
enforcement component won't be increased.
MS. CASHEN said MADD agrees with her. "We need treatment; we
need accessible treatment. If we don't have accessible
treatment, then one of the parts of the puzzle falls apart...."
CO-CHAIR WAGONER asked emphatically and rhetorically, "When do
we start holding parents accountable, too?"
MS. JESSICA PARIS, MADD Youth In Action Program, related how
teens had done surveys at the High School about alcohol laws.
People seemed to know least that it's illegal for people under
21 to have a BAL that's over .00. About 50 percent of the people
thought the BAL was about .08.
Kids understand what a DUI is; the simpler the language, the
simpler the concept is to educate the people. She pointed out
that an adult's license is suspended for three months for DUI,
but suspended for only two months for a second MOVAC. So
changing the law would make it more consistent.
MS. PARIS said she preferred language for a MOVAC being changed
to any blood in the system because it would be easier for
juveniles to understand.
SENATOR THERRIAULT urged Finance committee members to look for
the hidden expenses in this bill and to find ways to cover it.
He moved to pass SB 224 from committee with attached fiscal
notes and individual recommendations. There were no objections
and it was so ordered.
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