02/05/2008 08:00 AM House COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB327 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 327 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
February 5, 2008
8:03 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Anna Fairclough, Co-Chair
Representative Gabrielle LeDoux, Co-Chair
Representative Mark Neuman
Representative Kurt Olson
Representative Sharon Cissna
Representative Woodie Salmon
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Nancy Dahlstrom
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 327
"An Act relating to shipping, sending, transporting, or bringing
alcohol to a local option area and providing alcohol to others
in the local option area, including penalties for violations;
relating to furnishing alcohol to a minor and to civil penalties
for licensees whose agents or employees furnish alcohol to a
minor; relating to manslaughter as a direct result of ingestion
of alcoholic beverages brought in violation of a local option
prohibition; relating to reports of the court concerning certain
alcohol violations by minors; making conforming amendments; and
providing for an effective date."
- HEARD AND HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 327
SHORT TITLE: ALCOHOL: LOCAL OPTION/LICENSING/MINORS
SPONSOR(s): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
01/17/08 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/17/08 (H) CRA, JUD, FIN
01/31/08 (H) CRA AT 8:00 AM BARNES 124
01/31/08 (H) <Bill Hearing Postponed to 02/05/08>
02/05/08 (H) CRA AT 8:00 AM BARNES 124
WITNESS REGISTER
TALIS COLBERG, Attorney General
Department of Law
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 327, on behalf of the
administration.
ANNE CARPENETI, Assistant Attorney General
Department of Law
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During hearing of HB 327, answered
questions.
DOUGLAS GRIFFIN, Director
Alcoholic Beverage Control Board ("ABC Board")
Department of Public Safety
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During hearing of HB 327, answered
questions.
DIANE CASTO, Section Manager
Prevention and Early Intervention Section
Division of Behavioral Health
Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 327.
SUSAN MCLEAN, Chief Assistant Attorney General
Legal Services Section
Criminal Division
Department of Law
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During hearing of HB 327, related her
observations with regard to the impact of alcohol in Western
Alaska.
WALTER EVANS, Chief Probation Officer
Northern Region
Probation Services
Division of Juvenile Justice
Department of Health and Social Services
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During hearing of HB 327, related his
experience with minors consuming.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CO-CHAIR GABRIELLE LEDOUX called the House Community and
Regional Affairs Standing Committee meeting to order at 8:03:24
AM. Representatives LeDoux, Fairclough, Neuman, and Olson were
present at the call to order. Representatives Cissna and Salmon
arrived as the meeting was in progress.
HB 327-ALCOHOL: LOCAL OPTION/LICENSING/MINORS
8:03:49 AM
CO-CHAIR LEDOUX announced that the only order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 327, "An Act relating to shipping, sending,
transporting, or bringing alcohol to a local option area and
providing alcohol to others in the local option area, including
penalties for violations; relating to furnishing alcohol to a
minor and to civil penalties for licensees whose agents or
employees furnish alcohol to a minor; relating to manslaughter
as a direct result of ingestion of alcoholic beverages brought
in violation of a local option prohibition; relating to reports
of the court concerning certain alcohol violations by minors;
making conforming amendments; and providing for an effective
date."
8:04:21 AM
TALIS COLBERG, Attorney General, Department of Law, began by
relating that HB 327 is the product of many groups. This
legislation, he explained, prohibits a licensee from sending
alcohol in plastic bottles to a local option community. Plastic
bottles conceal the noise of glass bottles, and therefore
plastic bottles make it easier to smuggle alcohol into a
community that has decided not to have alcohol. He informed the
committee that HB 327 is supported by recommendations from the
hearings from the Rural Justice and Law Commission as well as
local law enforcement groups. This legislation also imposes
civil penalties on licensees whose employees are convicted for
furnishing alcohol to minors. The legislation has an escalating
scale of penalties in which the licensee would pay a civil
penalty of $500 for the first conviction; $1,000 penalty and
suspension of license for 7 days for the second offense within 5
years; and a $2,000 civil fine and suspension of license for 30
days for a third conviction within 5 years. Under HB 327, the
third conviction for bootlegging small amounts within a 10-year
period would result in a class C felony, which is an increase
from current law that provides for a class A misdemeanor for
bootlegging small amounts and a class C felony for bootlegging
larger amounts. The proposed legislation also adopts mandatory
minimum penalties for bootlegging that are the same as mandatory
minimum penalties for drunk driving, save the look-back
provision for bootlegging is for 10 years. Furthermore, the
legislation considers a person convicted of bootlegging eligible
for therapeutic court. The legislation also allows an
individual who causes the death of another due to that
individual bootlegging alcohol in a local option area to be
prosecuted for manslaughter. This is similar to legislation the
legislature adopted for the sale of methamphetamines that
directly caused another person's death.
8:07:29 AM
CO-CHAIR LEDOUX related her belief that those who import/export
alcohol in glass bottles would wrap them in order to avoid
breakage.
ATTORNEY GENERAL COLBERG said that no matter how the alcohol is
transported, there is likely to be an effort to conceal and
protect it. However, he opined that it's easier to transport
alcohol in plastic than glass.
8:08:43 AM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN directed attention to the sponsor
statement, which specifies that the legislation would create
further incentive to train licensees. However, he related his
understanding that licensees already go through a fairly
extensive training program.
ATTORNEY GENERAL COLBERG said that the premise of that provision
is based on the experience with tobacco. He mentioned a chart
that illustrates that when there's a serious enforcement effort
to punish those who haven't done a good job of training, there's
a significant decrease in the number of offenses. In the case
of tobacco, the penalty and the ability to enforce it seems to
have a beneficial impact that can be statistically illustrated.
8:09:58 AM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN opined that liquor store employees already
receive fairly extensive training to judge the age of an
individual and to understand the laws concerning alcohol.
ATTORNEY GENERAL COLBERG noted his agreement. He related his
observation that more establishments are carding everyone
served. The aforementioned, he opined, is one of the results of
the law and the knowledge that someone faces the consequences of
not following the law. Furthermore, it seems increasingly
apparent that the penalty attached to the training results in
employers ensuring [that employees receive training].
8:11:30 AM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN pointed out that upon a second offense,
there are civil fines and the license is suspended for seven
days and then for thirty days on the third offense. The
aforementioned is for offenses during a five-year period. He
opined that even with training, there will be mistakes. This
legislation places the onus on the employer, who provided the
training required by state law. Representative Neuman expressed
concern with infringing on the owner's business in this manner.
ATTORNEY GENERAL COLBERG said that Representative Neuman has
valid concerns and this is a judgment call for the committee
with regard to how to hold an owner accountable for the actions
of his/her employees. Pointing again to documentation on
tobacco, Attorney General Colberg acknowledged that although
[training] never completely eliminates offenses, the
consequences to offenses dramatically reduces the problem.
8:15:13 AM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN asked if Attorney General Colberg would
consider a different approach because it seems that the
penalties in HB 327 are a bit severe for business owners. He
said he would be willing to speak with Attorney General Colberg
later regarding a different approach.
8:15:54 AM
CO-CHAIR FAIRCLOUGH related that the first offense doesn't
appear to be a meaningful civil fine, and therefore she offered
to work with the administration to develop a more meaningful
penalty for a first-time offense. She then related that the
future success of a business is reduced when it's closed for
five days and thus a second offense could put some out of
business. Although Co-Chair Fairclough said she appreciated the
comparison of alcohol to tobacco, she pointed out that the
difference is that in the case of the tobacco endorsement a
particular product is removed, the availability of which impacts
only a particular revenue stream in an establishment. She
questioned whether a meaningful civil fine could be utilized
rather than business closures. Co-Chair Fairclough then
directed attention to the use of the language "municipality or
established village" on page 2, line 9, and asked if it covers
second class cities and the various types of boroughs.
8:18:28 AM
ANNE CARPENETI, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Law,
explained that the language "municipality or established
village" is used in the local option statutes, which is used
when describing local option communities. With regard to the
same language being used on page 5, line 5, Ms. Carpeneti
confirmed that it's current law and is used to refer to the
entities that adopt local options.
8:19:19 AM
CO-CHAIR FAIRCLOUGH then directed attention to page 4, line 24,
through page 5, line 6. She recalled that one of the issues
with the tobacco laws has been in regard to the need for a
meaningful hearing prior to applying penalties and allowing for
response. The [legislation] appears to limit the information
that can be brought forward. She questioned whether the
legislation provides an appropriate manner in which a licensee
can respond to the actions of an agent or the court.
MS. CARPENETI informed the committee that a similar procedure
was recently upheld by the Alaska Supreme Court for tobacco
enforcement. The issue, she noted, was a due process claim.
The court found that it was an adequate procedure for a licensee
to litigate the closure [of the business].
CO-CHAIR FAIRCLOUGH recalled legislation that attempted to
modify the appeals process in order to provide a meaningful
dialogue between the courts and the licensee. Although the
courts upheld the case, she said she wasn't certain that the
licensees are pursuing the matter further.
MS. CARPENETI offered to obtain information on the matter.
8:21:20 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA mentioned the costs of alcohol and the
damage it has done. She characterized mind-altering drugs as
poison, and pointed out that any other mind-altering drug is
heavily regulated. She acknowledged that alcohol is part of
Alaska and the costs of alcohol tend to be ignored as is the
related family crisis. Representative Cissna then inquired as
to how get this [legislation] passed. She further inquired as
to whether the administration is really ready to deal with
[alcohol]. The only way, she opined, to do so is to lay out the
costs of the very protected alcohol industry.
ATTORNEY GENERAL COLBERG acknowledged that in Alaska there is
clearly a correlation between crime and alcohol and substance
abuse. The local option attempts to address the problem in
locations where it's significantly worse. This legislation, he
noted, also attempts to address minor use of alcohol. Attorney
General Colberg noted that due to his position he has an
increased opportunity to visit rural communities where alcohol
is a very significant problem, particularly in areas with
minimal law enforcement. As pointed out by Representative
Salmon last year, laws aren't meaningful if law enforcement
isn't present. He noted that the administration, through the
Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO) Task Force, is trying to
address [an increased] presence of law enforcement in order to
make laws more meaningful. He then expressed the need to
interdict the problem before it gets to minors. This
legislation is a fairly broad-based effort to address these
problems because clearly the current system isn't working, as
evidenced by the grim statistics associated with alcohol and
drug abuse in Alaska.
8:28:14 AM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN turned attention to the mandatory
manslaughter provisions in HB 327. He posed a situation in
which a minor steals alcohol from his father's cabinet and
drives into a damp community and his friend drinks it and dies
from alcohol poisoning. Under the provisions of HB 327, would
the minor who stole the alcohol from his father be convicted of
mandatory manslaughter provisions, he asked.
ATTORNEY GENERAL COLBERG replied no, the provision merely opens
the penalty up to manslaughter. He explained that the provision
is trying to address one who is classified in the category of a
bootlegger. Bootlegging is fairly prevalent in rural Alaska and
the downside for bootlegging isn't very significant for
bootleggers. Therefore, HB 327 attempts to hold bootleggers
responsible for the consequences of performing illegal
activities in a community with a local option.
8:30:41 AM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN, referring to Section 8(1) on page 7,
related his understanding that the language of HB 327 would
result in the [minor who stole the alcohol in his previous
example] being charged with manslaughter [if his friend died
from alcohol consumption].
MS. CARPENETI pointed out that the language to which
Representative Neuman referred is current law. This legislation
adds paragraph (4) on page 7, lines 13-16, which is specific to
manslaughter in terms of illegal bootlegging of alcohol and that
alcohol causing the death of another directly.
ATTORNEY GENERAL COLBERG added that absent any change in law,
what Representative Neuman described could be prosecuted [as
manslaughter] because a reckless activity that leads to the
death of another could still arguably be manslaughter. In
further response to Representative Neuman, Attorney General
Colberg confirmed that HB 327 expands the law such that
[punishment of manslaughter] includes bootlegging in a local
option community.
8:33:00 AM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN, referring to the sectional analysis,
inquired as to how one can ensure that employees are trained and
able to avoid furnishing alcohol to minors.
ATTORNEY GENERAL COLBERG replied that it would require someone
to specifically monitor this particular activity. He opined
that if the consequences to one's livelihood and business are
more dire, one may be more willing to be directly involved or
assign someone to monitor activities.
MS. CARPENETI noted that she represents the Alcoholic Beverage
Control Board ("ABC Board") and thus is familiar with the laws
and requirements for training. Current law doesn't require a
person who serves alcohol to have training for the first 30 days
of employment, which is an example of a situation in which a
licensee might be more cautious and ensure that employees are
trained prior to serving alcohol. Ms. Carpeneti clarified that
an employee serving alcohol has to obtain training after 3o days
of employment.
8:35:18 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SALMON asked if HB 327 would result in the
prosecution of more bootleggers.
ATTORNEY GENERAL COLBERG answered that's the hope.
8:35:51 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SALMON highlighted the lack of law enforcement in
rural areas. He inquired as to how the state can enforce a law
such as that proposed in HB 327. He noted that he has known
bootleggers who have been bootlegging for 40 years.
ATTORNEY GENERAL COLBERG recalled that Representative Salmon
raised the same valid point last year during discussions of the
Rural Justice and Law Commission recommendations related to
bootlegging. He opined that it's likely that the Village Public
Safety Officer Task Force will make recommendations regarding
increasing manpower through the regional corporations and the
state's Department of Public Safety. These recommendations will
likely suggest more of a law enforcement presence in rural
Alaska in order to provide more meaningful enforcement of the
laws.
8:37:25 AM
CO-CHAIR FAIRCLOUGH asked if there was any discussion regarding
an endorsement for a screening process such that businesses
would be eligible to distribute to distribution centers or local
option communities. She pointed out that she's referring to an
endorsement that's similar to the tobacco stamp.
MS. CARPENETI specified that she didn't participate in the minor
drinking group.
CO-CHAIR FAIRCLOUGH surmised that [the legislation] attempts to
strengthen the law, but it seems that a scattered approach is
being taken such that businesses will have to train many
employees. She suggested a single-shot approach in which only
particular vendors are allowed to sale to distribution
[centers], which would allow for more specific training for
those communities with a local option. She asked if that runs
awry with other laws.
MS. CARPENETI deferred to Mr. Griffin, Alcoholic Beverage
Control Board ("ABC Board"). She noted that not many businesses
ship alcohol in response to a written order from a local option
community. She reminded the committee that last year the
legislature passed a law that required such businesses to
participate in a database in order to provide information as to
which business sent how much and to whom in what local option
area.
8:39:46 AM
DOUGLAS GRIFFIN, Director, Alcoholic Beverage Control Board
("ABC Board"), Department of Public Safety, reminded the
committee that due to the enactment of SB 128, a database
related to the sale of alcohol is being established. Currently,
19 package stores are registered with the ABC Board. He
remarked that an endorsement, as suggested by Co-Chair
Fairclough, may be appropriate because it would provide more
formality to the process. Package stores that wish to engage in
the written order process are required to notify the ABC Board
so that the board can keep the package stores up-to-date with
regard to changes in the local option and to the conviction list
for bootlegging. He opined that the aforementioned relationship
will become stronger as the database comes online. Furthermore,
a new position was created with the enactment of SB 128 and thus
more training will be provided. One of the benefits of the
implementation of the database is that it will strengthen the
board's relationship with package stores that do sell by written
order, he suggested. Since some of the package stores may not
be in total compliance with all aspects of the program, the hope
is to tighten that compliance with this written order process.
8:43:01 AM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN asked if less package stores ship alcohol
because of the database requirement included in SB 128.
MR. GRIFFIN related his sense that some of the 19 package stores
currently on the list may decide not to ship alcohol by written
order due to the hassle of the database requirement.
Furthermore, he suggested that probably not all 19 package
stores actively ship to rural Alaska. In fact, the bulk of
written orders are probably performed by four to five package
stores in the state.
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN related his understanding that any package
store in Alaska that wants to ship alcohol within the state,
must have a computer to be connected to the state's database.
MR. GRIFFIN specified that the database will go into effect by
July 1, 2008. He noted that the law required the ABC Board to
have consultations with the package stores, which has been done.
Presently, package stores don't have to have a computer, and
thus the paper records are to be kept for a year. Therefore,
the hope is that the database, with its list of those to whom
the package store can't sell alcohol, will make things easier
for package stores. He explained that the list will likely
utilize a unique identifier and thus help reduce identification
problems. Mr. Griffin related that the goal of the database was
to prevent bootleggers who were gaming the system and ordering
more than allowable from multiple package stores.
8:48:23 AM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN surmised then that HB 327 would require
use of a computer by package stores.
MR. GRIFFIN specified that the legislation, SB 128, requiring
the use of computers for the database passed last year. The
legislation, HB 327, before the committee today doesn't address
[the use of computers].
8:48:59 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SALMON inquired as to how one determines whether
the individual ordering the alcohol is of a legal age to do so.
MR. GRIFFIN explained that when an account is setup for a
written order some sort of government-issued identification has
to be provided to the package store. The written order is
literally a handwritten letter so that signatures can be
compared to the signature that originally setup the account.
8:50:55 AM
CO-CHAIR LEDOUX, referring to Section 8 paragraph (4) on page 7,
recalled that Attorney General Colberg said that the language
didn't refer to a mandatory manslaughter charge.
MS. CARPENETI explained that whenever a crime is allegedly
committed the police investigate and send the information to the
district attorney, who evaluates the facts based upon the law
and what the district attorney believes can be proven beyond a
reasonable doubt. Ms. Carpeneti said:
Whether you would be choosing manslaughter if there's
the death of a person, you would evaluate the facts
based on all of our homicide laws and fit whether the
facts could be proven to that particular level of
crime. But there's no mandate that says that a person
under these particular circumstances ... must be
charged with manslaughter under any of the various
theories of manslaughter in our current law or this
proposed additional one.
8:52:30 AM
CO-CHAIR LEDOUX posed a situation in which an underage teenager
steals alcohol from her father and gives it to her underage
boyfriend, who dies from alcohol poisoning. She inquired as why
manslaughter would be chosen in one instance but not another.
MS. CARPENETI pointed out that in the aforementioned situation
the underage teenager who took the alcohol from her father
wouldn't be charged at all since she's a juvenile, but the
Juvenile Justice System would review whether to file an
accusation. The same process would be followed in the adult
system. She reminded the committee that prosecutors exercise
discretion with regard to what he/she considers the just charge
in relation to how the facts fit into the law. In further
response to Co-Chair LeDoux, Ms. Carpeneti specified that in
Alaska an individual remains a juvenile until the age of 18.
8:55:32 AM
DIANE CASTO, Section Manager, Prevention and Early Intervention
Section, Division of Behavioral Health, Department of Health and
Social Services (DHSS), began by relating that DHSS believes HB
327 is very important and supports HB 327. Ms. Casto noted that
she also manages the tobacco control program, and therefore can
respond to some of the earlier questions regarding tobacco laws.
The department, she related, believes alcohol is a huge problem
in Alaska, particularly in Alaska's youth. As a national issue,
the problem of underage drinking has gained much attention over
the last few years. In 2002 the National Research Council and
Institute of Medicine were tasked with developing a national
strategy to reduce underage drinking. The aforementioned
resulted in the production of the "Reducing Underage Drinking:
A Collective Responsibility" in 2004, which became the
foundation for much of the work that states are doing now in
regard to developing state plans to reduce underage drinking.
Also in 2004 Congress established the federal Interagency
Coordinating Committee to reduce and prevent underage drinking
and in 2005 Alaska followed suit with the establishment of the
Alaska Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of
Underage Drinking. The Alaska Interagency Coordinating
Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking prepared the
"Plan to Reduce & Prevent Underage Drinking", which is currently
available for public comment. As part of Alaska's plan, in
March [DHSS] will host a series of 26 town hall meetings across
the state in order to obtain community insight. Ms. Casto
highlighted that throughout all these reports and committees,
the consistent [finding] is that one of the most effective
strategies to prevent and reduce underage drinking is to limit
and reduce access to alcohol for youth as well as changing the
attitude related to underage alcohol use. Alcohol is the number
one drug of choice for youth and is the most damaging and deadly
of drugs; it causes more accidents and death. She then
highlighted the high rates of suicide among youth in Alaska.
The suicide rates in Alaska for ages 15-24 are significantly
higher than the rate of suicide among the entire population.
Furthermore, in the nation youth have the lowest rates of
suicide while they have the highest rates in Alaska. Moreover,
almost 40 percent of all suicides are associated with alcohol in
Alaska, she related.
9:00:25 AM
MS. CASTO reminded the committee that every two years Alaska
participates in the Centers for Disease Control's Youth Risk
Behavior Survey (YRBS). In the 2007 YRBS, there are small but
significant reductions in the categories related to alcohol use
among youth. However, still 73.6 percent of the students in
grades 9-12 reported having at least one drink of alcohol on 1
or more days in the past 30 days. Ms. Casto then related a
study regarding the rates of lifetime dependence on alcohol,
which has found lifetime dependence on alcohol declines from
more than 40 percent when drinking begins at age 14 or younger
to 10 percent if drinking begins after age 20. In Alaska, 20.4
percent of students reported having their first drink of alcohol
prior to age 13. Therefore, approximately 40 percent of those
youth will become dependent on alcohol in their lifetime. She
related that 9.7 percent of high school students reported
drinking and driving at least once in the past 30 days, which is
a small decrease from 11.3 percent a couple of years ago.
9:02:43 AM
MS. CASTO turned to the portions of HB 327 that address minor
consuming, which are the provisions to: increase penalties for
those who sell alcohol to minors, develop a database that has a
more consistent tracking system with DMV, and access to alcohol
in damp/dry communities. She noted that the department supports
those provisions.
9:04:07 AM
MS. CASTO then addressed the issues related to the comparisons
of alcohol and tobacco penalties. She recalled mention of the
changes in tobacco laws due to the Holiday case, which the state
lost. The Holiday case related to due process and said that
existing laws didn't afford the owner/retailer due process when
his/her clerk was charged with selling tobacco to a minor.
Therefore, SB 84 included provisions to ensure that penalties
with due process was fair but firm. Alaska has the most
stringent laws related to tobacco. In fact, Alaska is the only
state with a mandatory fine for the first offense. In 2002 when
the laws increased the penalties for those who sell tobacco to
minors, the rates dropped significantly. She then highlighted
that currently there are three investigators for tobacco but
only one for alcohol. Often tobacco enforcement officers work
with the alcohol enforcement officer and they have discovered
that the same youth who have been denied tobacco products can
purchase alcohol. She opined that the aforementioned is due to
the leniency of the laws related to the sale of alcohol to
minors. Ms. Casto then recalled the court case involving
Tesoro, referred to by Ms. Carpeneti, in which the court upheld
that due process was provided. Therefore, there are some
differences of opinion on the matter. One of the major
differences between tobacco and alcohol penalties is that for
tobacco there is a ceiling and floor for the fines, and
therefore there is always some penalty. However, for alcohol
under current law only the clerk is given a fine and faces
potential jail time. In discussions with those who enforce the
law, Ms. Casto related her understanding that no fine is imposed
but rather a probationary action occurs and no penalty exists
for the first offense [of selling to a minor].
9:07:46 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA opined that if there were enough
enforcement officers for alcohol, then it's more likely that the
necessary enforcement would occur. She likened it to the
situation with the lack of VPSOs in rural Alaska.
MS. CASTO noted her agreement. She related her belief that part
of the success with tobacco is due to the ability to keep a
consistent group of enforcement officers. She then noted that
tobacco is different in that federal tobacco law mandates that
all states receiving a federal substance abuse, prevention, and
treatment block grant have to maintain a 20 percent or less sell
rate or a portion of those block grant dollars is lost.
Therefore, there's further incentive to maintain a healthy team
for tobacco.
9:10:05 AM
MS. CASTO concluded her testimony by emphasizing that the
critical difference [between alcohol and tobacco] is that [for
alcohol] there's not a concrete penalty for a first offense of
selling to a minor. Furthermore, currently in alcohol only
clerks are cited for infractions. With tobacco, the business
owners [face penalty for the actions of their employees], and
thus they have a stronger commitment to set the appropriate
example and not sell tobacco to minors.
9:12:05 AM
SUSAN MCLEAN, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Legal Services
Section, Criminal Division, Department of Law, informed the
committee that she has been a prosecutor in Alaska and has
prosecuted cases throughout the state. She said today she would
relate her observations with regard to how very different
Western Alaska is in terms of how alcohol impacts the
communities in the region. There is no place in Alaska with
more violent crime than Western Alaska, she related. Having
been the district attorney in Bethel, Ms. McLean opined that the
communities in Western Alaska have every reason to be dry.
Sadly, most of the cases with more tragic results involve
crimes committed by young people against family members while
other family members witness.
MS. MCLEAN noted that she returned to work for DOL two years ago
to start a rural prosecution program, the purpose of which is to
provide assistance to primarily Western Alaska and areas in
Alaska in which the attorneys are so overwhelmed that they need
outside help. In that capacity, Ms. McLean reviewed the cases
in Bethel that she was assigned and recalled that most often the
person who committed the crime doesn't remember what he/she has
done. Therefore, she opined that clearly the bootlegger who
brings alcohol into a damp/dry community for the third time
should face the deterrent of a felony crime. The typical
situation is that a bootlegger purchases a small bottle of
alcohol for under $10 and sells that bottle for a significantly
higher price, $150-$200, which illustrates the tremendous profit
motive in bootlegging.
9:17:24 AM
MS. MCLEAN then turned to the earlier hypothetical situation in
which a teenager takes alcohol from a parent and goes into a dry
area and provides it to someone who subsequently dies. With
regard to that situation, Ms. McLean said she didn't believe
that teenager could be charged with mandatory manslaughter
because the person who provided the alcohol would've had to
violate AS 04.11.010, which relates to the sale or barter of
alcohol. A person is not presumed to have provided alcohol for
sale or barter unless what was provided is more than 10.5
liters. Therefore, the aforementioned example lacks the element
of sale or barter and thus she didn't believe the teenager could
be charged with a crime.
9:18:59 AM
WALTER EVANS, Chief Probation Officer, Northern Region,
Probation Services, Division of Juvenile Justice, Department of
Health and Social Services, provided the following testimony:
I'd like to thank you for taking up this bill and
giving serious attention to the issue of alcohol,
particularly in our rural areas. By now, I'm sure
you're all familiar with the impact that alcohol abuse
is having on rural Alaska and Alaska's kids. I
witnessed this impact myself during the seven years I
spent as a juvenile probation officer serving Bethel
and the many villages on the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta.
During that time I witnessed first hand the way
alcohol makes young people, who are already impulsive
..., even more impulsive and indifferent to the
effects of their behavior on others. When they drink,
their ability to control their own actions is reduced
and their understanding and the consequences of their
actions becomes blurred. Our rural staff estimate
that between 50 and 80 percent of all crimes we see by
juveniles involved alcohol in some way, whether they
are intoxicated when they commit the crime or they
commit the crime to get alcohol or money to buy
alcohol. The cause and effect is clear: the more
readily alcohol is available to young people, the more
likely they are to commit crimes. The more we can
limit the access to alcohol by youth, the more we can
hopefully limit the crimes they commit because they're
intoxicated or addicted. This bill does a lot of
different things to keep alcohol out of the hands of
young people, but probably the most useful thing, from
our perspective in Juvenile Justice, is in seeking to
establish a tracking mechanism for minor consuming
cases. Currently, when an individual is cited for
underage drinking or possession, the justice system
has a difficult time establishing the number of times
the youth has been cited previously or whether
compliance with education or treatment requirements
from an earlier case was achieved. This bill lays the
ground work for an improved system of tracking minor
consuming offenses, hopefully resulting in a
coordinated approach across agencies working with
these youth to monitor and report on the outcomes
associated with the minor consuming offense.
9:21:57 AM
CO-CHAIR LEDOUX, upon determining no one else wished to testify,
closed public testimony.
9:22:05 AM
CO-CHAIR FAIRCLOUGH expressed the desire to set HB 327 aside and
have the administration review the civil penalties.
CO-CHAIR LEDOUX clarified that she didn't intend to report HB
327 from committee today.
9:22:29 AM
REPRESENTATIVE OLSON requested more information from the
Department of Corrections in relation to its indeterminate
fiscal note. He suggested that perhaps a hypothetical fiscal
note could be drafted in terms of the various classes of crimes.
9:23:01 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA opined that the sooner disincentives are
in place and the tougher they are the better. In fact, a more
costly first penalty for the offense is more effective in
successfully changing behavior.
[HB 327 was held over.]
9:24:29 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee meeting was
adjourned at 9:24:36 AM [stated as 8:22 p.m.].
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