Legislature(2021 - 2022)GRUENBERG 120
03/05/2021 01:30 PM House JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB105 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 105 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
March 5, 2021
1:38 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Matt Claman, Chair
Representative Harriet Drummond
Representative Liz Snyder
Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins
Representative David Eastman
Representative Christopher Kurka
Representative Sarah Vance
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 105
"An Act relating to the duties of the commissioner of
corrections; relating to the detention of minors; relating to
minors subject to adult courts; relating to the placement of
minors in adult correctional facilities; and providing for an
effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 105
SHORT TITLE: DETENTION OF MINORS
SPONSOR(s): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
02/19/21 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/19/21 (H) JUD, HSS
03/05/21 (H) JUD AT 1:30 PM GRUENBERG 120
WITNESS REGISTER
TRACY DOMPELING
Director, Division of Juvenile Justice
Department of Health and Social Services
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified during the hearing on HB 105
MATT DAVIDSON
Social Services Program Officer
Division of Juvenile Justice
Department of Health and Social Services
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified during the hearing on HB 105
AMY GORN,
Chair
Alaska Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee
Wasilla, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 105
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:38:50 PM
CHAIR MATT CLAMAN called the House Judiciary Standing Committee
meeting to order at 1:38 p.m. Representatives Drummond, Kreiss-
Tompkins (via teleconference), Eastman, Kurka, Vance, Snyder
(via teleconference), and Claman were present at the call to
order.
HB 105-DETENTION OF MINORS
1:40:50 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN announced that the only order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 105, "An Act relating to the duties of the
commissioner of corrections; relating to the detention of
minors; relating to minors subject to adult courts; relating to
the placement of minors in adult correctional facilities; and
providing for an effective date."
1:41:15 PM
TRACY DOMPELING, Director, Division of Juvenile Justice,
Department of Health and Social Services, testified during the
hearing on HB 105. She stated that the proposed bill would
bring Alaska into compliance with recent changes to the Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), which had been
enacted in 1974 and reauthorized in 2018. She informed the
committee that the JJDPA is the primary federal legislation
which governs juvenile justice practices nationwide. She
emphasized that compliance with the JJDPA is mandatory to
maintain and avoid penalties to a major federal grant for the
division.
MS. DOMPELING explained that the proposed legislation would make
two changes to existing statute to bring the division into
compliance with the JJDPA. She explained that the first change
would be minors who have been waived into the adult criminal
justice system be held in the juvenile justice system until they
reach the age of eighteen. She added that current statute
allows that minors who are subject to automatic waiver or
discretionary waivers are held in adult jails and correctional
facilities. She stated that the second change would expand the
court findings necessary for non-delinquent minors to be held on
a temporary basis in a secured juvenile justice facility.
MS. DOMPELING offered that HB 105 is limited in scope and would
not have any impact on the crimes or sentences of minors who are
subject to waiver into the adult criminal justice system, nor
would there be any net fiscal impact.
MS. DOMPELING stated that, should the bill pass, it would
improve the conditions of confinement for minors who are held in
adult facilities. She stated that there exist difficulties in
managing minors who are held in adult facilities, and minors are
sometimes held in segregation units. She added that passage of
the bill would require agreements between the Department of
Corrections (DOC) and the Department of Health and Social
Services (DHSS) pertaining to the holding of minors in DOC
custody in the division's facilities. She added that DOC data
made available revealed that there are currently six youths
statewide that are held in its facilities.
MS. DOMPELING further explained that the second change proposed
in the bill deals with the limited circumstances in which non-
delinquent minors may be held temporarily in a secure juvenile
detention facility pending another placement and added that this
circumstance is very rare and most often pertains to minors who
are in custody of the Office of Children's Services who may have
run away or otherwise placed themselves in dangerous situations.
She added that, under these circumstances, the state seeks court
findings under Alaska Statute (AS) 47.10.141 allowing these
youth to be held securely for a short period of time pending
placement in a non-secure setting. She explained that the
updates to the JJDPA expand the court findings necessary, where
those minors can be held, and further limit the duration of time
that they are securely held. She emphasized that this
circumstance is rare; over the last three fiscal years, there
had been three instances each year in which a non-delinquent
youth had been held. She applauded the support of the governor
and the coordination between DOC and DHSS.
1:45:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked whether a minor who may have been
convicted of a particularly heinous or egregious crime,
exemplified by a minor recently having killed their mother in
Colorado, would be eligible for incarceration or, should the
bill pass, would the status of that individual change.
MS. DOMPELING answered by explaining that the bill would lead to
changes in the way the youth would be held. She said that the
youth would still be tried as an adult if they fell under the
automatic waiver statute; they would be held in the juvenile
justice facility until they reached the age of eighteen. She
added that there exist circumstances in which the division could
request the court rule that a juvenile be held in an adult
corrections facility after certain findings, such as in the case
of a minor who is extremely difficult to manage, whether they
meet the criteria for an automatic waiver or not. She stated
that in that circumstance, the division would not be subject to
a violation of the JJDPA.
1:47:42 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked for further clarification that, as
in a hypothetical case of multiple homicide, whether that minor
would be initially held with other minors until court
proceedings determined it was not appropriate.
MS. DOMPELING confirmed this as correct and added that the
automatic waiver statute pertains to youth aged sixteen and
seventeen years of age and, unfortunately, there are youths of
that age that do commit serious acts as described.
1:48:31 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN asked whether the practical effect of the changes
proposed in the bill could be that a sixteen-year-old , who is
tried as an adult and convicted of assault and sentenced to ten
years would stay in a juvenile facility until that youth turned
age eighteen, at which time they would be moved to an adult
facility.
MS. DOMPELING confirmed this as correct.
1:49:09 PM
MATT DAVIDSON, Social Services Program Officer, Division of
Juvenile Justice, Department of Health and Social Services,
presented the sectional analysis on HB 105 as provided in the
committee packet, which read as follows [original punctuation
included]:
Section 1: Amends AS 33.30.011(a) Duties of
commissioner to expand the duties of the Commissioner
of the Department of Corrections to enter into
agreements with the Department of Health and Social
Services for the detention and care of minors who are
waived into the adult criminal justice system.
Section 2: Amends AS 47.10.141(c) Runaway and missing
minors to reference a new subsection that adds new
requirements for court findings related to holding
non-delinquent minors in secure juvenile facilities.
Section 3: Amends AS 47.10.141 Runaway and missing
minors to add a new subsection to include expanded
requirements for court findings before a non-
delinquent minor can be held in a secure juvenile
facility.
Section 4: Amends AS 47.12.020 Jurisdiction to add a
new subsection related to the jurisdiction of the
Division of Juvenile Justice to detain and care for
minors under Department of Corrections custody.
Section 5: Amends AS 47.12.022 Applicability;
inclusion of certain persons as minors to make
conforming amendments to include minors subject to the
adult court processes in the definition of "minor" in
delinquency statute.
Section 6: Amends AS 47.12.030(a) Provisions
inapplicable to add a reference to the "autowaiver"
statute the new practice of holding minors subject to
adult court proceedings in secure juvenile facilities.
The section also includes the term "transported" to
the adult processes that apply to waived minors to
reflect current practices.
Section 7: Amends AS 47.12.100(a) Waiver of
jurisdiction to add a reference to the "discretionary
waiver" statute the new practice of holding of minor
offenders subject to adult court proceedings in secure
juvenile facilities. The section also includes the
list of adult court practices that apply to these
offenders.
Section 8: Adds a new section 47.12.105 Minor
offenders subject to adult court to describe the
process, requirement, and exceptions for holding minor
offenders in the custody of the Department of
Corrections in secure Division of Juvenile Justice
facilities until age 18. This section also describes
the court process and findings that may allow for
minors to be held in adult facilities in certain
circumstances.
MR. DAVIDSON drew attention to Section 6 and informed the
committee that AS 47.12.030(a) contains a list of offenses that
would qualify a minor for an autowaiver. He also noted that
Section 7 is the area of the bill that pertains to the line of
inquiry posed by Representative Eastman, in the example of
"particularly heinous" crimes, which occur very rarely. He also
exemplified a waiver, or "exception" may be sought in a
circumstance in which a minor is held in a community that does
not have a juvenile facility but has a [local] court, or in
which it would be inappropriate for a minor to be held in a
juvenile facility, such as the minor is extremely violent or is
very nearly 18 years of age.
1:56:08 PM
MR. DAVIDSON explained that the sectional analysis continuation
read as follows [original punctuation included]:
Section 9: Amends AS 47.12.150(a) Legal custody,
guardianship, and residual parental rights and
responsibilities to make conforming changes to clarify
that minors in the custody of the Department of
Corrections detained in Division of Juvenile Justice
facilities are subject to the same residual parental
rights as other minor offenders.
Section 10: Amends AS 47.12.160(e) Retention of
jurisdiction over minor to make conforming changes
to the dual sentencing provisions.
Section 11: Amends AS 47.12.240(a) Detention of minors
to make conforming changes.
Sections 12-13: Amends AS 47.12.250(a) Temporary
Detention and Detention Hearing to make
conforming changes.
Section 14: Amends AS 47.12.310(a) Agency Records to
apply the same confidentiality requirements
for information about waived minors as other minors
served by the Division of Juvenile Justice, unless
otherwise allowed by statute.
Section 15: Amends AS 47.12.310(b) Agency Records to
specifically allow information sharing between
the Division of Juvenile Justice and the Department of
Corrections about former juvenile offenders and
minors in DOC custody held in secure juvenile
facilities until age 18.
Section 16: Repeals sections for conforming purposes.
Section 17: Applicability clause applies to minors in
Department of Corrections custody on or after the
effective date.
Section 18: Revisor's instructions.
Section 19: Special effective date clause. This Act
takes effect on July 1, 2021.
MR. DAVIDSON added that Section 18 "Revisor's instructions"
pertains to the governor's executive order to bifurcate DHSS and
would update agency names and structures accordingly.
1:58:46 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN referenced Section 8 of the analysis and
asked how the process would work and on what timeline.
MR. DAVIDSON explained that the recent changes to the JJDPA
provide for a new process to be developed that does not yet
exist. He added that the timeline of determining a request of
the court to allow juveniles to be held in adult facilities is
quick and would pertain to very violent offenders. He added
that, since the process was still in development, he was unable
to answer specifically how long that process would take.
2:00:08 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE referred to Section 18 of the analysis and
asked, should the executive order to divide DHSS become enacted,
whether there would be an impact on how the division deals with
juveniles.
2:00:42 PM
MS. DOMPELING offered her understanding of Representative
Vance's question to be whether, should the division be housed
under a new department, there would be a change to how the
division handles youths.
2:01:00 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE stated that the legislature was considering
the executive order and asked whether the division would be
supported by the proposed changes.
MS. DOMPELING responded that, regardless of the department in
which the division is housed, there should not be an impact on
division staff, residents, or families which are served by the
division.
2:02:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked what facility is available for a
very violent individual should the court not [find that a youth
should be held in an adult facility].
MS. DOMPELING stated that there exist six detention facilities
in the state including a secure treatment unit for severely
violent juveniles, and the division does not typically hold
detention-type youth or pre-conviction youth in that type of
facility. She added that staff are trained in managing
dangerous individuals with a possible course of action to
include the secure treatment facility for an exceptionally
violent individual. She added that there are many circumstances
to contemplate in developing processes and the division strives
to take as many of those into consideration as possible.
2:04:02 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN opened public testimony for HB 105.
2:04:37 PM
AMY GORN, Chair, Alaska Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee,
testified in support of HB 105. She explained that the Alaska
Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee (AJJAC) is a governor
appointed committee which represents Alaska as a state advisory
group funded by the U.S. Department of Justice Juvenile Justice
Delinquency and Prevention Act, which funds the Alaska DHSS
Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). She added that state
advisory groups [such as AJJAC] guide compliance of the JJDPA
and stated that DJJ is compliant with all four areas of the Act.
She added that the JJDPA had been updated in 2018 when it was
reauthorized, and changes were made to the sight and sound
separation of adult and juvenile offenders. She stated the
importance of DJJ to remain in compliance with the JJDPA. She
suggested that the passage of HB 105 would improve the safety of
minor offenders, would prevent the segregation of juveniles and
possible isolation, and would positively impact recidivism
through the coordination of DJJ and DOC.
2:06:28 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KURKA asked what the consequences brought about
by noncompliance would be, should the bill not pass.
2:06:58 PM
MS. GORN answered that there could be financial penalties to
funding received through Title II grant funds.
MS. DOMPELING added that should the state be noncompliant with a
core requirement of the JJDPA there is an initial 20 percent
reduction in funding; and, of the remaining funds received,
fifty percent will be used to bring DJJ into compliance with the
core requirement. She stated that many program areas use the
Title II grant funds and the impact of penalties [as a result of
noncompliance] would affect grant recipients who provide non-
secure juvenile facilities. She noted that the funds are also
used for the electronic monitoring program throughout the state.
2:09:34 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN asked how much of DJJ funds are state, and how much
are federal, or what percentage is each.
MS. DOMPELING did not have the information readily available and
agreed to provide it to the committee.
CHAIR CLAMAN stated that his reason for inquiry was to
illustrate how much [funding] would be at risk should DJJ not
maintain compliance with the JJDPA.
2:10:58 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN closed public testimony on HB 105.
2:12:20 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Judiciary Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 2:12 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 105 v. A 2.19.2021.PDF |
HHSS 4/15/2021 3:00:00 PM HHSS 4/17/2021 3:00:00 PM HHSS 4/27/2021 3:00:00 PM HHSS 4/29/2021 3:00:00 PM HJUD 3/5/2021 1:30:00 PM HJUD 3/10/2021 1:30:00 PM |
HB 105 |
| HB 105 Transmittal Letter 2.18.2021.pdf |
HHSS 4/15/2021 3:00:00 PM HHSS 4/17/2021 3:00:00 PM HHSS 4/27/2021 3:00:00 PM HHSS 4/29/2021 3:00:00 PM HJUD 3/5/2021 1:30:00 PM HJUD 3/10/2021 1:30:00 PM |
HB 105 |
| HB 105 Sectional Analysis v. A 2.23.2021.pdf |
HHSS 4/17/2021 3:00:00 PM HHSS 4/27/2021 3:00:00 PM HJUD 3/5/2021 1:30:00 PM HJUD 3/10/2021 1:30:00 PM |
HB 105 |
| HB 105 Fiscal Note DOC-IDO 2.8.2021.pdf |
HHSS 4/15/2021 3:00:00 PM HHSS 4/17/2021 3:00:00 PM HHSS 4/27/2021 3:00:00 PM HJUD 3/5/2021 1:30:00 PM HJUD 3/10/2021 1:30:00 PM |
HB 105 |
| HB 105 Fiscal Note DHSS-PS 2.10.2021.pdf |
HHSS 4/15/2021 3:00:00 PM HHSS 4/17/2021 3:00:00 PM HHSS 4/27/2021 3:00:00 PM HJUD 3/5/2021 1:30:00 PM HJUD 3/10/2021 1:30:00 PM |
HB 105 |
| HB 105 Fiscal Note DPS-AST 2.12.2021.pdf |
HHSS 4/15/2021 3:00:00 PM HHSS 4/17/2021 3:00:00 PM HHSS 4/27/2021 3:00:00 PM HHSS 4/29/2021 3:00:00 PM HJUD 3/5/2021 1:30:00 PM HJUD 3/10/2021 1:30:00 PM |
HB 105 |
| HB 105 Fiscal Note JUD-ACS 3.4.2021.pdf |
HHSS 4/15/2021 3:00:00 PM HHSS 4/17/2021 3:00:00 PM HHSS 4/27/2021 3:00:00 PM HJUD 3/5/2021 1:30:00 PM HJUD 3/10/2021 1:30:00 PM |
HB 105 |