01/28/2022 01:30 PM House JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation(s): Report on Alaska Court System Operations|| Presentation(s): Report on Alaska Court System Operations | |
| HB246 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 246 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 51 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
January 28, 2022
1:37 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Matt Claman, Chair
Representative Liz Snyder, Vice Chair
Representative Harriet Drummond
Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins
Representative David Eastman
Representative Christopher Kurka
Representative Sarah Vance
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION(S): REPORT ON ALASKA COURT SYSTEM OPERATIONS
- HEARD
HOUSE BILL NO. 246
"An Act restricting the release of certain records of
convictions; and providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
HOUSE BILL NO. 51
"An Act relating to aggravating factors considered at
sentencing."
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 246
SHORT TITLE: ACCESS TO MARIJUANA CONVICTION RECORDS
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) KREISS-TOMKINS
01/18/22 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/7/22
01/18/22 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/18/22 (H) JUD, FIN
01/19/22 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
01/19/22 (H) Heard & Held
01/19/22 (H) MINUTE(JUD)
01/28/22 (H) JUD AT 1:30 PM GRUENBERG 120
BILL: HB 51
SHORT TITLE: AGGRAVATING FACTORS AT SENTENCING
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) JOSEPHSON
02/18/21 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/8/21
02/18/21 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/18/21 (H) STA, JUD
04/24/21 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/24/21 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
05/05/21 (H) STA REFERRAL MOVED TO AFTER JUD
05/05/21 (H) BILL REPRINTED
01/21/22 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
01/21/22 (H) Heard & Held
01/21/22 (H) MINUTE(JUD)
01/26/22 (H) JUD AT 1:30 PM GRUENBERG 120
01/26/22 (H) Heard & Held
01/26/22 (H) MINUTE(JUD)
01/28/22 (H) JUD AT 1:30 PM GRUENBERG 120
WITNESS REGISTER
NANCY MEADE, General Counsel
Office of the Administrative Director
Alaska Court System
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented a report on the Alaska Court
System's operations; Answered questions during the hearing on HB
246.
CLAIRE GROSS, Staff
Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: On behalf of Representative Kreiss-Tomkins,
prime sponsor, presented HB 246.
LISA PURINTON, Chief
Criminal Records and Identification Bureau
Department of Public Safety
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
246.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:37:57 PM
CHAIR MATT CLAMAN called the House Judiciary Standing Committee
meeting to order at 1:37 p.m. Representatives Eastman, Vance,
Drummond, and Claman were present at the call to order.
Representatives Snyder, Kreiss-Tomkins, and Kurka (via
teleconference) arrived as the meeting was in progress.
^PRESENTATION(S): Report on Alaska Court System Operations
^PRESENTATION(S): Report on Alaska Court System Operations
1:38:39 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN announced that the first order of business would be
a presentation on the operations of the Alaska Court System.
1:40:05 PM
NANCY MEADE, General Counsel, Office of the Administrative
Director, Alaska Court System (ACS), discussed ACS's general
operations, budget, calendar year (CY) 2021 accomplishments, and
jury trials. The ACS covers 40 total locations with 766
positions. She stated that 100 percent of the funds received by
the court system is deposited directly into the general fund.
She referred to a document [included in the committee packet],
titled "Alaska Court Case Filings Statewide." She listed the
following: felony filings decreased in fiscal year 2021 (FY 21);
civil protective orders had been steadily decreasing since FY
17; and minor offenses in the district court filings decreased
significantly. She stated that two new programs were created in
response to the COVID-19 pandemic: a judge-led criminal
settlement project and a training for agency attorneys led by a
panel of experienced public defenders, prosecutors, and judges.
In response to the pandemic, remote clerical processes and
teleconference technologies were implemented. The court system
faced staff shortages of 90 positions in total. Jury trials
were generally suspended throughout the pandemic unless
mitigation efforts could protect the public. There was a total
of 112 criminal jury trials in CY 2021.
1:58:13 PM
MS. MEADE, in response to a question from the committee, said
that jury trials via video streaming were held for noncriminal
matters. She explained that the presiding judge could grant
requests for a jury trial throughout the general suspension
period; however, few requests were made. The court's rules on
trial-day limits were suspended during the pandemic, and most
people held by the Department of Corrections in the prison
population were pretrial. During the pandemic, people convicted
of misdemeanors were released on their own recognizance to avoid
filling up the facilities with low level offenders. In CY 2021,
there were 5,500 bench trials, of which most were civil. She
acknowledged that there were movements in other states to
prohibit cash bail to resolve the arbitrary inequity it creates.
In Alaska, jail was typically set by judges on an individual
basis; however, a bail schedule was used for misdemeanor cases.
Per Alaska Statutes, suspended imposition of sentence and
suspended entry of judgement were used under limited
circumstances. She pointed out that on January 1, 2022, the
number of pending felony cases was 7,300, compared to 4,600 on
January 1, 2019, and this demonstrates an increased backlog.
Pending misdemeanors increased from 8,000 to 12,000. Fewer than
1 percent of misdemeanor cases made it to a jury trial. She
added that felonies had a 2.5 percent trial rate. She expressed
the hope that cases would start resolving as trials resumed at a
more typical pace. She added that the vast majority of cases
were settled with a guilty plea.
2:35:24 PM
MS. MEADE concluded her presentation and reported that trials
were proceeding "full steam ahead" as of January 10, with
necessary mitigation measures in light of the COVID-19 Omicron
variant. She stated that trials were streamed online to limit
the number of people in the room. She discussed the additional
impacts of staff shortages and inexperienced attorneys.
HB 246-ACCESS TO MARIJUANA CONVICTION RECORDS
2:47:47 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 246, "An Act restricting the release of certain
records of convictions; and providing for an effective date."
He stated that Legislative Legal Services is authorized to make
technical and conforming changes to the bill.
2:49:26 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS moved to adopt Amendment 1 to HB
246, labeled, 32-LS1300\A.1, Radford, 1/24/22, which read:
Page 1, line 1:
Delete "restricting"
Insert "requiring a notification with"
Page 1, line 4, through page 2, line 28:
Delete all material.
REPRESENTATIVE SNYDER objected.
2:49:45 PM
CLAIRE GROSS, Staff to Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins,
Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of the prime sponsor,
Representative Kreiss-Tomkins, explained that Amendment 1 would
"clean up" language to be more consistent. She stated that the
reference to "criminal justice information" has a separate
definition from "criminal history records information." She
added that the inclusion of a reference to the latter term could
unintentionally result in the court system's involvement.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked for the definition of criminal
justice information.
MS. GROSS referred to AS 12.62.900, which defines criminal
justice information as any of the following: a record of
traffic offenses maintained for the purpose of regulating
driver's licenses, or a record of a juvenile subject to the
jurisdiction of a court under AS 47.12. She added that
subsection (a) referenced criminal history record information,
subsection (b) referenced non-conviction information, subsection
(c) referenced correctional treatment information, and
subsection (d) referenced information related to a person to be
located, whether or not that person is wanted in connection with
the commission of a crime.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked whether the proposed bill would
result in a broader restriction of information which appears on
a criminal background check.
MS. MEADE suggested that the question should be directed to the
Department of Law or to the Department of Public Safety. She
stated that criminal background checks are not a function of the
court system.
CHAIR CLAMAN offered his understanding that the change from
"criminal history information" to "criminal justice information"
was proposed to reduce the amount of the implications to the
court system's record keeping.
MS. GROSS agreed with Chair Claman's understanding.
2:57:02 PM
LISA PURINTON, Chief, Criminal Records and Identification
Bureau, Department of Public Safety, answered Representative
Eastman's question by explaining the difference between the two
terms. She explained that, in AS 12.62.900, the primary
difference pertains to identifying information and non-
conviction information and that "criminal justice information"
is broader and specifically includes non-conviction information,
and "criminal history information" includes past conviction
information and identifying information. She added that
"criminal history information" would appear on the "any person"
background checks.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked whether a larger body of
information would be withheld, should Amendment 1 be adopted.
MS. PURINTON offered her understanding that there would be no
effect on the information to be released.
REPRESENTATIVE SNYDER removed her objection. There being no
further objection, Amendment 1 was adopted.
[HB 246 was held over.]
3:00:43 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Judiciary Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 3:01 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska Court System Trial Court Case Filings Statewide 1.28.2022.pdf |
HJUD 1/28/2022 1:30:00 PM |
|
| HB 246 v. A 1.7.2022.PDF |
HJUD 1/19/2022 1:00:00 PM HJUD 1/28/2022 1:30:00 PM HJUD 1/31/2022 1:00:00 PM |
HB 246 |
| HB 246 Sponsor Statement v. A 12.2.2021.pdf |
HJUD 1/19/2022 1:00:00 PM HJUD 1/28/2022 1:30:00 PM HJUD 1/31/2022 1:00:00 PM |
HB 246 |
| HB 246 Sectional Analysis v. A 1.19.2022.pdf |
HJUD 1/19/2022 1:00:00 PM HJUD 1/28/2022 1:30:00 PM HJUD 1/31/2022 1:00:00 PM |
HB 246 |
| HB 246 Fiscal Note DPS-CJISP 1.14.2022.pdf |
HJUD 1/19/2022 1:00:00 PM HJUD 1/28/2022 1:30:00 PM HJUD 1/31/2022 1:00:00 PM |
HB 246 |
| HB 246 Fiscal Note JUD-ACS 1.18.2022.pdf |
HJUD 1/19/2022 1:00:00 PM HJUD 1/28/2022 1:30:00 PM HJUD 1/31/2022 1:00:00 PM |
HB 246 |
| HB 246 v. A Amendments #1-5 HJUD 1.28.2022.pdf |
HJUD 1/28/2022 1:30:00 PM |
HB 246 |
| HB 51 v. A 2.18.2021.PDF |
HJUD 1/21/2022 1:00:00 PM HJUD 1/26/2022 1:30:00 PM HJUD 1/28/2022 1:30:00 PM HJUD 1/31/2022 1:00:00 PM |
HB 51 |
| HB 51 Sponsor Statement v. A 1.21.2022.pdf |
HJUD 1/21/2022 1:00:00 PM HJUD 1/26/2022 1:30:00 PM HJUD 1/28/2022 1:30:00 PM HJUD 1/31/2022 1:00:00 PM |
HB 51 |
| HB 51 Fiscal Note CRIM-CJL 1.14.2022.pdf |
HJUD 1/21/2022 1:00:00 PM HJUD 1/26/2022 1:30:00 PM HJUD 1/28/2022 1:30:00 PM HJUD 1/31/2022 1:00:00 PM |
HB 51 |
| HB 51 v. A Amendments #1-10 HJUD 1.26.2022.pdf |
HJUD 1/26/2022 1:30:00 PM HJUD 1/28/2022 1:30:00 PM HJUD 1/31/2022 1:00:00 PM |
HB 51 |