Legislature(1997 - 1998)
04/03/1998 09:05 AM Senate HES
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE
April 3, 1998
9:05 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Gary Wilken, Chairman
Senator Loren Leman, Vice-Chairman
Senator Lyda Green
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Jerry Ward
Senator Johnny Ellis
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 25
Relating to Step Family Day.
PASSED SCSSS HCR 25 OUT OF COMMITTEE.
SENATE BILL NO. 237
"An Act extending the termination date of the Council on Domestic
Violence and Sexual Assault."
HEARD AND HELD.
PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION
SSHCR 25 - No previous Senate committee action.
SB 237 - See HESS minutes dated 3/4/98.
WITNESS REGISTER
Representative Fred Dyson
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, Alaska 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of SSHCR 25.
Annette Kreitzer, Committee Aide
Senate Labor and Commerce Committee
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, Alaska 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Discussed changes made in CSSB 237.
Jayne Andreen, Director
Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
P.O. Box 111200
Juneau, Alaska 99811-1200
POSITION STATEMENT: Supports CSSB 237.
Anne Carpeneti
Criminal Division
Department of Law
P.O. Box 110300
Juneau, AK 99811-0300
POSITION STATEMENT: Explained provisions of CSSB 237.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 98-30, SIDE A
Number 001
CHAIRMAN WILKEN called the Senate Health, Education and Social
Services (HESS) Committee to order at 9:05 a.m. Present were
Senators Leman, Green, and Chairman Wilken. The first order of
business before the committee was HCR 25.
HCR 25 - STEP FAMILY DAY
REPRESENTATIVE FRED DYSON, sponsor of the measure, gave the
following testimony. Many "blended" families are living all across
North America: approximately 70 percent of American families fall
under that description. An international organization, the
Stepfamily Foundation, Inc., is trying to set aside a day to honor
step families and to date, 30 countries have adopted legislation to
do so. The foundation publishes a newsletter, and has a web page,
chat room, and consulting service to provide advice for step
families and to exchange ideas. HCR 25 is a simple bill and has no
associated cost. The measure recognizes the existence of these
families and the particular challenges and struggles they face.
Number 058
SENATOR LEMAN referred to Representative Dyson's sponsor statement
and questioned the statement that says, "...of the 83.5 million
households in American, close to 70% of them are step families. By
the year 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than half
of Americans will be living in step families versus the nuclear
family." He asked if that number is skewed because it takes into
account single parent families.
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON said that was correct according to the
international organization.
SENATOR LEMAN asked if the step family category includes single
parent families in which one spouse died.
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON said no.
SENATOR LEMAN asked if a new union would have to take place first.
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON said that is correct, and added that those
families always have struggles.
CHAIRMAN WILKEN asked if 70 percent of American families are step
families and half of the population is estimated to live in those
families. He also questioned whether including the source of those
statistics and including a definition of what a step family is in
line 1 of the resolution would improve it.
Number 108
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON replied he will defer to the wish of the
committee, but he thought the resolution itself will fade into the
background the day after it is established, and that it will not
get much circulation.
SENATOR LEMAN moved to adopt a conceptual amendment, subject to
slight revisor changes, beginning on line 3 as follows:
"WHEREAS the Stepfamily Foundation has estimated that at least
half of all Americans are members or relatives of step
families; and"
and to include a basic definition of a step family.
CHAIRMAN WILKEN announced there being no objection, the conceptual
amendment was adopted.
Number 134
SENATOR LEMAN moved to report HCR 25 as amended from committee.
There being no objection, the motion carried.
Number 152
SB 237 - COUNCIL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SEXUAL ASSAULT
SENATOR LEMAN moved to adopt the proposed committee substitute for
SB 237. There being no objection, the motion carried.
ANNETTE KREITZER, legislative aide to the Senate Labor and Commerce
Committee, gave the following explanation of the committee
substitute for SB 237. Sections 1, 2, and 3 amend court referrals,
protective orders, and probation conditions so that batterers'
programs will meet the standards set by, and programs approved by,
the Department of Corrections. Section 4 amends the duties of the
Department of Corrections to ensure that this program's standards
are set by, and approved by, that department. Section 5 extends
the CDVSA by four years which is the maximum extension allowed
under AS 44.66. 010(c). Section 6 amends Rule 404(b)(3) to ensure
that if a defendant relies on a defense of consent, evidence of
other sexual assaults is admissible. Section 7 amends Rule
404(b)(4) to clarify for judges that evidence of prior acts of
domestic violence is not limited to convictions only. This change
will allow the prosecution to produce evidence of previous acts of
domestic violence. The court rule changes apply to proceedings on
or after the immediate effective date of this act. Section 9 takes
effect January 1, 1999. The state is mandated to have the programs
in place and the standards set, with the expectation that anyone
referred to a batterer's program after January 1, 1999 would be
attending a state-approved program. Section 10 provides for an
immediate effective date for the rest of the sections in the bill.
This language is also part of SB 316. The sponsor is well aware
that the language appears in other bills but he felt that state
approval and funding of batterers' programs should be part of the
CDVSA program.
Number 196
SENATOR GREEN asked whether any approval process for batterers'
programs exists at this time.
MS. KREITZER said some standards have been established but no
mandate requiring the courts to refer offenders to state-certified
programs exists. Apparently a wide range of programs exists but
only two are state approved.
JAYNE ANDREEN, Director of the CDVSA, explained the Domestic
Violence Act of 1996 included language to require courts to refer
offenders to approved programs only, however, the courts have
interpreted that language much more broadly than what was intended.
SB 316, and the language in SB 237, are attempts to tighten the
language so that the courts will order offenders to state approved
programs only.
SENATOR GREEN asked if a timely process exists to provide for state
approval of these programs.
MS. ANDREEN responded yes, it has taken awhile to establish a
process that people can follow through on, due in part to funding
for actual monitoring of the programs, but an application process
was established in August. Two of 14 applications have been
submitted to CDVSA. Two factors are delaying application
submission: one is that the incentive is low since courts are
already using the unapproved programs; and second, the Department
of Corrections is in the process of revising its regulations.
Number 229
SENATOR GREEN asked if the January 1, 1999 date is reasonable.
MS. ANDREEN said it is reasonable and that she initially suggested
an effective date of October 1.
MS. KREITZER added that she and staff from Senator Parnell's office
are concurrently reviewing the regulations regarding the
implementation of state certified programs. They will be tracking
that process closely to see if problems occur, stemming from the
way the regulations are written, that restrict organizations from
applying.
Number 243
CHAIRMAN WILKEN asked how Ms. Andreen expects the $116,000 in the
budget for batterers' programs to be used.
MS. ANDREEN replied this year CDVSA received $60,000 for a
batterers' programs grant which was awarded to Tongass Community
Counseling Center. CDVSA has already issued an RFP competitive
grant proposal for programs to apply for funds. CDVSA will be
following its standard granting procedure and will be making awards
at the end of June for FY 99.
Number 251
CHAIRMAN WILKEN asked if the amount for FY 99 will be $116,000.
MS. ANDREEN said the total amount will be $166,000.
CHAIRMAN WILKEN asked whether that money will be allocated by
region or by application.
MS. ANDREEN said the grants will be allocated by application.
CDVSA reviews each application on its own merits and makes the
decisions accordingly.
CHAIRMAN WILKEN asked if any regional consideration is given.
MS. ANDREEN said that is one of the criteria CDVSA looks at but
more importantly, CDVSA wants to make sure it is funding the most
effective services available.
CHAIRMAN WILKEN asked how long batterers' programs have been in
place.
MS. ANDREEN replied batterers' programs have been in place since
the early 1980s.
Number 267
SENATOR GREEN asked Ms. Andreen to speak to the ineffectiveness of
batterers' programs.
MS. ANDREEN answered the effectiveness of batterers' programs and
the question of whether or not they should be funded or subsidized
with state funds is the subject of a nationwide controversy. One
problem with batterers' programs is the lack of a solid
understanding of how effective they are. Studies have determined
that no set criteria for defining effectiveness exists. Most
studies only look at offenders' re-entry into the civil or criminal
justice system. Some studies have reported that when offenders
attend batterers' programs, they simply become smarter offenders
and learn how to avoid that system for the following 12 month
evaluation period. The Center for Disease Control has funded a
contract to do an intensive study of batterers' programs around the
country. The study is now in its third year and is being extended
for two more years. Those conducting the study are experiencing a
high success rate in tracking offenders once they leave a program.
They are not just checking criminal and civil records, they are
also interviewing the offenders and interviewing past and current
partners to get a broader scope. This study is also comparing the
effectiveness of different programs and the different modalities
used. She noted 40 to 60 percent of offenders who are referred to
a program never attend so it is important to have a strong systemic
response for those offenders. She stated a success rate of about
25 percent of all offenders ordered to a program seems to be a safe
estimate.
SENATOR GREEN asked what the current standard is for allowing a
previous accusation, or anything other than a conviction, to be
entered as evidence in a current case.
MS. KREITZER responded that at present no standard exists and
judges are applying that information differently to different
cases.
Number 317
ANNE CARPENETI, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Law,
informed committee members that under Section 7, for prior acts of
domestic violence, courts generally allow introduction of the
evidence without a conviction. She noted she spoke with John
Richards, a municipal attorney in Anchorage, who said the
Municipality of Anchorage is having great success in getting this
evidence admitted. A few judges are concerned that the use of the
term "crimes involving domestic violence" requires a prior
conviction which is why this bill makes it clear that a prior
conviction is not required to allow the evidence to be admissible.
SENATOR GREEN stated this section concerns her. She asked what the
bar would be to admit evidence of a prior act.
MS. CARPENETI replied the court would only admit the evidence when
indications exist that it is reliable.
SENATOR GREEN questioned how that can be assured in statute since
the bill says a previous act, not convictions, can be admitted.
MS. CARPENETI explained the Evidence Rules require a court, before
evidence is admitted, to be satisfied that the evidence is
reliable.
Number 344
SENATOR GREEN asked if the defendant would have the right to
respond and the right to counsel for the previous acts, or whether
the evidence could be an accusation.
MS. CARPENETI responded SCSSB 237 does not require that the
offender be charged with the previous act. She added experts agree
that victims are more likely to not pursue a prosecution for
complex reasons. In many domestic violence cases, prosecutors have
no victim. Prosecutors rely on the testimony of police officers
which often involves their observations. She noted that is one
reason that this type of evidence is extremely helpful.
MS. ANDREEN maintained that domestic violence is an ongoing cycle
that increases in severity over a period of time. She stated it is
important to establish a pattern of behavior and that the case is
not built on an isolated incident. CDVSA is comfortable that the
process the court goes through to determine whether evidence is
reliable will ensure that this provision is not abused.
MS. CARPENETI added Rule 404(b) allows evidence of prior acts as
they relate to various other charges, for example, in Section 6,
Rule 404(b)(3) allows evidence of prior acts of sexual assault in
certain circumstances when the charge is sexual assault or
attempted sexual assault. The courts have been applying that rule
without requiring a conviction for the use of the prior evidence as
long as the court is assured that the evidence is accurate and
reliable.
CHAIRMAN WILKEN stated he would hold SCSSB 237(HESS) in committee,
until the following Wednesday. There being no further business to
come before the committee, CHAIRMAN WILKEN adjourned the meeting at
9:30 a.m.
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