01/26/2005 08:30 AM Senate JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| Department of Law Overview | |
| SB65 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | SB 65 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
January 26, 2005
8:37 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Ralph Seekins, Chair
Senator Charlie Huggins, Vice Chair
Senator Gene Therriault
Senator Hollis French
Senator Gretchen Guess (via teleconference)
MEMBERS ABSENT
None
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
Department of Law Overview
SENATE BILL NO. 65
"An Act relating to certain weapons offenses involving minors;
to aggravating factors in sentencing for certain offenses
committed against a school employee; and providing for an
effective date."
HEARD AND HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 65
SHORT TITLE: OFFENSES BY MINORS/AGAINST TEACHERS
SPONSOR(s): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
01/19/05 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/19/05 (S) JUD, FIN
01/26/05 (S) JUD AT 8:30 AM BUTROVICH 205
WITNESS REGISTER
Ms. Susan Parkes, Deputy Attorney General
Department of Law (DOL)
310 K Street, Ste 507
Anchorage, AK 99501
POSITION STATEMENT: Delivered DOL overview.
Ms. Anne Carpeneti, Assistant Attorney General
Department of Law
PO Box 110300
Juneau, AK 99811-0300
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 65
Ms. Patty Ware, Director
Division of Juvenile Justice
Department of Health & Social Services
PO Box 110635
Juneau, AK 99801-0635
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 65
Ms. Carol Comeau, Superintendent
Anchorage School District
PO Box 196614
Anchorage, AK 99519
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 65
Sgt. Gil Davis, Sergeant
Anchorage Police Department
4501 S. Bragaw St.
Anchorage, AK 99508
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 65
Mr. Randy Ruaro, Assistant Attorney General
Department of Law
PO Box 110300
Juneau, AK 99811-0300
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 65
Mr. Bruce Johnson
Association of Alaska School Boards
th
1111 W 9 St
Juneau, AK 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 65
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR RALPH SEEKINS called the Senate Judiciary Standing
Committee meeting to order at 8:37:52 AM. He announced that the
committee would hear part of a review from the Department of Law
and advised that David Marquez was present.
8:38:30 AM
^Department of Law Overview
MR. DAVID MARQUEZ, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Department
Of Law, thanked the committee for the opportunity to provide the
overview. He noted that both attorney general Greg Renkes and
deputy attorney general Scott Nordstrand were unavailable, but
he would start the overview and complete it at a later time.
Alaska Statutes 44.23.020 sets forth the duties and powers of
the DOL. Its mission is to provide legal services to state
government and to prosecute crime. The department is divided
into three main sections: The Civil, Criminal, and
Administrative Divisions. The handouts to the committee include
a top-level organization chart, a 15-page budget report, and
DOLs 2004 accomplishments. He instructed the committee to its
website which includes the latest annual report.
8:41:00 AM
SUSAN PARKES, Deputy Attorney General, Criminal Division,
provided an overview on how the criminal division is organized,
and its main functions. She stated that Alaska has a unique DOL
system in Alaska in that the AG is appointed, as well as all of
the district attorneys. This system provides more consistency
within the criminal justice system and also gives her the
ability to shift resources as needs arise since everybody works
for her and the Governor. The criminal division's main function
is all adult criminal prosecution throughout the state. In a few
areas, municipal prosecutors handle a few misdemeanor cases, but
state prosecutors handle the bulk.
8:42:56 AM
She advised that last year one change in DOL was that the
criminal division became solely responsible for all juvenile
delinquency prosecutions as well. There are 13 offices
statewide, including four solo attorney offices: Barrow,
Dillingham, Kotzebue, and Sitka. The largest office is in
Anchorage with approximately 30 lawyers. Overall the department
has approximately 95 prosecutors and about 25 victim witness
paralegals. Witness paralegals play a key role in the division's
mission. They provide trial support to attorneys and carry the
main responsibility of fulfilling victims' rights. They are very
important to the mission.
8:44:39 AM
Last year DOL was given an increase of nine prosecutor
positions; three were federally funded, six through general
funds. This gave DOL the opportunity to do a better job handling
and processing cases. The caseload continues to increase,
especially with felonies, sexual assault, sexual abuse, a very
high incidence in violent crime. In 2002 they had 6,100 new
felony referrals throughout the state. Last year that increased
to 6,900. Misdemeanor referrals went up as well, from 22,000 in
2002 to 22,700 the next year.
8:46:09 AM
MS. PARKES reported that upcoming challenges are handling the
caseload, especially with the recent Blakely decision. She
appreciates the legislative effort of SB 56.
Another challenge is recruitment. Since the beginning of the
current fiscal year, they've hired 16 new prosecutors throughout
the state but are still down due to continuing turnover.
8:47:07 AM
They are losing experienced prosecutors mainly in remote and
rural areas where it is hard to find qualified attorneys who are
willing to take their families to those areas and be part of the
community and prosecute.
This year DOL has asked for 2 new paralegal positions, which
will add support to the new attorney positions.
MS. PARKES then offered to answer any questions.
8:48:09 AM
CHAIR SEEKINS addressed the comment made by Ms. Parkes regarding
staffing in rural areas and asked her to elaborate.
MS. PARKES elaborated that it is a tough lifestyle for
prosecutors to go to very small communities, especially the solo
offices where they would be the only prosecutor in the town.
They may be single. It's a very isolating position to be in
since the prosecutor can be the focus of the town and very
unpopular, with no support system. Housing can also be an issue.
If the spouse has a different career, it can be difficult for
them to find job opportunities. Those with children may find
limited school activities. Such issues limit DOLs ability to
get experienced prosecutors, which it needs in the solo offices.
8:50:06 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS stated his admiration for Ms. Parkes and added
that she represents the DOL very well.
8:50:44 AM
SENATOR FRENCH agreed with Senator Huggins and added that the
salaries in DOL are not competitive, especially in civil law. He
stated that if the salary disparities are not addressed it gives
them less of a chance to attract good people. He asked if there
was anything in the current budget proposal to address that.
8:51:44 AM
MS. PARKES said no and that remains an issue. Law school is
getting more expensive and people coming out of law school have
large debt, which makes it more difficult for them to go into
public service.
8:52:15 AM
In jest, CHAIR SEEKINS reminded the committee that his son is a
prosecutor who would like a raise.
MS. PARKES responded that she would be happy to give all her
employees a raise. They are hard working, dedicated people who
work very long hours mostly out of a sense of public service and
not to get rich.
8:52:58 AM
CHAIR SEEKINS agreed that they work long hours. He agreed that
pay is an issue and validated her earlier statement regarding
problems hiring prosecutors in remote areas. He added that the
court system has the same problem, and although they have
limited resources, they try to keep a local venue. He asked her
for a comment regarding a total challenge in the DOL in the
criminal division.
8:54:40 AM
MS. PARKES answered that it is a challenge for the whole system.
The Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) has
difficulty getting juvenile probation officers and social
workers. The result is that the system is always working
understaffed, which exacerbates the problem. Rural communities
suffer some of the worst social problems including alcoholism
and sexual offense. The areas of greatest need have the most
trouble getting qualified people.
8:55:58 AM
CHAIR SEEKINS thanked her for trying to fill that need.
SENATOR FRENCH offered to work on the problem on the DOL sub-
committee.
8:56:25 AM
CHAIR SEEKINS announced they completed the criminal law side of
the DOL review and thanked the participants.
SB 65-OFFENSES BY MINORS/AGAINST TEACHERS
8:56:59 AM
ANNE CARPENETI, Department of Law, Criminal Division, presented
SB 65. The bill addresses violence in the schools. She stated a
2003 survey revealed that 13% of Anchorage students were afraid
in school. The bill intends to address this by adopting an
aggravating factor in sentencing for school-related assaults.
The second concern is gun-related crimes by juveniles. The bill
includes another section, which addresses that problem. The
first is an aggravating factor, which applies at sentencing in
felony sentences to crimes against a person. These crimes
include homicide, assault, kidnapping, sexual offenses, robbery
and related matters. The proposed aggravating factor would allow
a judge to increase the sentence for a person who is convicted
of an offense prohibited under Alaska Statute 11.41, if the
person directed the crime against a school employee while on
school grounds, or at a school sponsored event.
8:59:36 AM
MS. CARPENETI continued, "Although aggravating factors apply
specifically to felony offenses, it is a statement of
legislative concern about particular behavior that we are free
to, and we often do, argue at misdemeanor sentences." She added
that it sends a message to both juveniles and adults that the
legislature takes violence in schools seriously.
In the second regard for gun-related crimes, minors are
prosecuted in the juvenile justice system. For very serious
crimes, 16 & 17 year olds are automatically waived to adult
court. Crimes include murder, manslaughter, assault in the first
degree, first-degree sexual assault, first-degree sexual abuse,
and arson in the first degree. The bill, in section 4, adds
misconduct involving weapons to those automatically waived to
adult court.
MS. CARPENETI continued:
Misconduct involving weapons in the first degree is a
Class A felony. It prohibits the following conduct:
Using a gun during a drug crime and drive-by shootings
under circumstances manifesting substantial and
unjustifiable risk of harm to persons or property.
Misconduct involving weapons in the second degree is a
Class B felony. It prohibits the following conduct:
Possession of a gun during a drug crime and second,
after having been convicted of a felony, either as an
adult or adjudicated for what would be a felony as a
juvenile, possessing a concealed weapon on school
grounds. Misconduct involving weapons in the second
degree also prohibits shooting a gun at a building
where there is likely to be a person in the building
or in a dwelling.
9:01:23 AM
MS. CARPENETI said that after talking to police and prosecutors
they are very concerned about the amount of this conduct, and
they support the waiver.
9:02:07 AM
MS. CARPENETI advised that Carol Comeau, superintendent of
schools for Anchorage, and Sgt. Gil Davis, Anchorage Police
Department, are both on line waiting to testify in support of SB
65.
SENATOR FRENCH asked how many juveniles are committing the A or
B felony gun crime while on school grounds statewide.
MS. CARPENETI answered that the Division of Juvenile Justice
will answer those questions. They don't have the figures because
they don't prosecute them.
9:03:15 AM
CHAIR SEEKINS asked Ms. Carpeneti to clarify an earlier
statement regarding possession of a weapon on school grounds.
MS. CARPENETI:
It's a class B felony, which makes it misconduct
involving weapons in the 2nd degree. For a person who
has already been convicted of a felony, or a juvenile
who has been adjudicated for a crime, that would be a
felony to possess a concealed weapon on school
grounds. And that would be one of the offenses that
under this bill would be automatically waived to adult
court for a 16 or 17-year old person.
9:04:10 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked if the age group of offenders was creeping
lower toward 14 year olds.
MS. CARPENETI said that the behavior creep was already there. In
terms of automatic waiver, the DOL and DHSS are firm that under
16 is not appropriate for automatic waiver. It is available for
discretionary waiver.
9:06:00 AM
GIL DAVIS, Sergeant in charge of Robbery and Assault, Anchorage
Police Department, advised he was notified about SB 65 yesterday
and doesn't have detailed testimony ready. He said there are
hellacious numbers of shootings in Anchorage. He reported that
last Friday a 17-year old fired a gun through the door into the
Dimond Mall. His friend had a pistol with the serial number
ground off. Patrol officers report that almost every juvenile
car has a stolen gun in it. He said that prosecutions in the
adult system, a class A felony, result in probation which, in
his opinion is much more effective in controlling the offenders
than the juvenile system.
9:08:30 AM
SGT. DAVIS added that having an adult weapons felony on record
enhances the further prosecutions. He said that SB 65 provides
them an added tool to deal with the juveniles in regards to
Project Safe Neighborhoods. Juveniles are not prosecuted at the
A and B level, they are staying in the juvenile system, and they
are not getting the attention they need. He cited several
instances where the police officers go to shootings constantly
but they can't prosecute.
9:10:55 AM
SGT. DAVIS said he would like to find a way to not have young
people driving around late at night with loaded guns in the car.
He said if children were going to commit big boy acts then they
should have to go to big boy jail.
Senator Therriault arrived.
SENATOR FRENCH asked how many of these cases exist per year.
SGT. DAVIS said he did a search and came up with 11 per year but
he wasn't confident that was a true number since it was just his
personal search and he didn't do a thorough search of the
database. He added that juvenile justice would have better
statistics.
SENATOR FRENCH asked if these crimes happened on school grounds.
SGT. DAVIS replied they were crimes that involved 16 and 17 yr.
olds that involved a weapon.
9:12:49 AM
CAROL COMEAU, Superintendent, Anchorage School District, offered
her strong support for SB 65. She reported that the Anchorage
School District has been working closely with the Anchorage
Police Department to increase student safety, and has been
working with US Attorney Tim Burgess on Project Safe
Neighborhood. Further, they have made great strides in educating
students to report dangerous behavior to ensure safety. She is
also seeing the spillover effect - when the juveniles get back
out into the community, it spills into the schools.
9:14:15 AM
She reported that they have not had many firearms on campuses in
the last few years because they have aggressively gone after it.
The second reason she supports the bill is in Section 3,
however, she would prefer expansion of the language. In number
31 it says, "While on school grounds or at a school sponsored
event..." they would like to include all school employees while
performing in their jobs, or something like that because they
have people assaulting school bus drivers, administrators, etc.
They have had to install silent alarms in many buildings because
of it.
9:15:51 AM
MS. CARPENETI clarified that in relation to the automatic
waiver, bad activity occurs not only in schools, but also
elsewhere in the community.
CHAIR SEEKINS asked Ms. Carpeneti why they would say it is a
worse crime if it's committed on school grounds than elsewhere,
in terms of the aggravating factor.
MS. CARPENETI replied that right now we protect police through
mandatory sentences, because they have a particularly dangerous
job. School employees have a job that requires them to be on
school grounds teaching and protecting children. She recognized
that it was a policy call for the committee to decide whether
they deserve more protection. She believes it is a good
legislative statement.
9:18:05 AM
SENATOR FRENCH commented that aggravators allow a judge to
increase a sentence but it isn't a mandate.
MS. CARPENETI agreed.
SENATOR FRENCH explained that he is struggling with the same
question on another bill regarding mandatory sentencing. He said
he thinks the core conduct of assaulting a teacher in front of
other kids for no reason is wrong. But if it's a landlord
dispute with a custodian in the parking lot, and an assault
ensues, then that's not really what they meant when the bill was
written. He added that he is more inclined to be in favor of the
aggravator.
9:19:35 AM
CHAIR SEEKINS asked if now the aggravator would have to be
decided by a jury if SB 65 passes.
MS. CARPENETI replied only for felonies.
CHAIR SEEKINS expanded on the issue of aggravators and used an
example of mall employees who work in the center of violence. He
asked the question if they also deserve extra protection. He
stated it is a legitimate concern, but how far do we go?
MS. CARPENETI agreed there were other concerns, but the DOL came
down on the side of teachers because of serious problems with
violence in school.
9:21:08 AM
CHAIR SEEKINS asked Ms. Comeau what does the data show of
violence in the schools, other than the survey previously
introduced.
MS. COMEAU asked the committee for some written questions and
advised she will get the data to the committee in a few days.
9:22:07 AM
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked Ms. Carpeneti if there is any reason
for the name of bill, "The School Violence Protection Act of
2005." He stated that there is other legislation protecting
kids in schools, and this bill doesn't encapsulate all of them.
MS. CARPENETI answered that the drafted bill is a work in
progress and that some think it does include other school and
non-school related violence. However, she agrees that the title
may no longer apply.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked if there is anything in the intent that
shouldn't just be covered in a letter of intent from the
committee. He added that the previously discussed survey might
not be accurate. He added that a lot of what is in the six-page
bill shouldn't be put into the statute; therefore he prefers a
letter of intent.
CHAIR SEEKINS affirmed that it has been the policy of this
committee to not include special titles or findings and intent,
but to cover it with a letter of intent.
MS. CARPENETI noted that the findings and intent section is in
uncodified law so it doesn't go into the statute book anyway.
9:25:17 AM
SENATOR GUESS asked for the definition of a school employee.
MS. CARPENETI answered there is no definition. School grounds
and school-sponsored events are terms that are used in other
sections of our statute but are not defined either and are not a
problem in terms of court interpretation. The intent tends to be
broad and Ms. Comeau wants to cover bus drivers, custodians, and
administrative staff. She offered to write definitions of these.
9:27:16 AM
SENATOR GUESS asked if the term 'school employee' had been used
and continued that she didn't know if a school bus driver was a
school employee or a district employee.
MS. CARPENETI answered that they need to make that more clear.
CHAIR SEEKINS replied that in Fairbanks, a school bus driver is
an employee of a contractor.
MS. COMEAU interrupted to say that wasn't necessarily true. In
Anchorage they have district school bus drivers who are employed
by ASD and they also have contractors.
CHAIR SEEKINS asked if it was her intent to cover only school
district employees.
MS. COMEAU answered it is their intent to cover anyone who is
engaged in performing their duties. If somebody assaults them,
they should be covered.
9:28:19 AM
CHAIR SEEKINS asked about volunteers.
MS. COMEAU replied it was a gray area but she would push hard to
cover anyone assaulted while working at the school. The focus
right now is school employees who are performing their job
functions.
SENATOR THERRIAULT identified that there are also food delivery
people, parents, and volunteers, people who may not be in the
classroom instructing. He stated the need to be clear about who
the bill applies to.
SENATOR FRENCH informed them that he volunteers at West High at
the Eagle's Cache Canteen selling food. He asked for clarity on
the Youth Risk Behavior Survey and wants to know if it applies
to Anchorage schools only.
9:30:48 AM
CHAIR SEEKINS said he is prone to look more favorably on the
bill if the definition of the people who are covered is expanded
beyond the narrow scope school employees.
MS. CARPENETI agreed they do need a definition due to all the
variables.
9:31:51 AM
RANDY RUARO, Assistant attorney general with the legislation and
regulation section DOL, testified that the survey was statewide.
It included 42 public high schools in 19 districts.
CHAIR SEEKINS commented about the uncodified title.
9:33:04 AM
PATTY WARE, Director, Division of Juvenile Justice, DHSS, added
she has worked closely with DOL on this bill. She advised she
talked about the numbers in the juvenile system. Section 4 will
expand the offenses to the adult system if the offender is 16 or
older.
Based on data from two fiscal years, FY 03-04, they had 40
referrals come in to the division that covered both misconduct
involving weapons in the first degree and in the second degree.
Of those 40, kids that were 16 or older at the time committed
26. Under SB 65, 13 additional juveniles would be waived per yr
into the adult system. These were serious offenses and they are
looking to reduce violence in the schools and community.
9:34:54 AM
She said in terms of the details about how many were on school
grounds, there are concerns about both issues of violence on
school grounds and non-school grounds.
The majority of misconduct involving weapons in the first
degree, most of those are not on school grounds. In terms of
misconduct involving weapons in the second degree, most of those
were on school grounds. Those were kids who had already been
adjudicated for a prior felony. The other most common, was eight
referrals on discharging a firearm at a dwelling. She offered to
answer questions.
9:36:09 AM
CHAIR SEEKINS announced a 5-minute recess.
9:43:18 AM
CHAIR SEEKINS came back on record.
BRUCE JOHNSON, Association of Alaska School Boards, stated the
board adopted a 2002 resolution that was revised in November
that deals with assault on school employees. He added that the
definition is more of a holistic look concerning people working
with young people. He urged a broad definition to cover many
people. He spoke of rural districts and identified many
challenges in the communities with assault and threats of
physical violence against school employees. He offered to help
fashion the wording on the bill.
9:44:51 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked what is the organizational position on
violence that starts at school but ends outside school grounds.
MR. JOHNSON admitted it is a difficult issue, and such
situations occur. If an incident carried over from the school
and started because of your role at the school, he would hope
that would be covered.
9:46:02 AM
CHAIR SEEKINS said he wants this to be a school violence
protection act. He recognized that the survey says 11 percent of
high school students are afraid in schools but he sees no survey
of school district employees, if they have been threatened. But
if we pass this law, it's a greater offense to assault an
employee than a student. He advised they work on SB 65 if they
want to address the issue of concealed weapons, or threats at
school. He would like to put all involved on an equal level. He
said he would prefer to look at a broader spectrum and asked Mr.
Johnson if his organization was opposed to that.
MR. JOHNSON replied no and assured he would work with the
committee.
9:48:33 AM
SENATOR FRENCH asked a question regarding carrying a weapon and
asked for a definition of the phrase.
MR. RUARO admitted that he can't answer the question and agreed
with Senator French that there are instances of carrying a
weapon legally.
SENATOR FRENCH said we have a good reduction in illegal weapon
carrying between 1995 and 2003 and asked if anyone knew why.
MR. RUARO answered that he can't answer that but his guess is it
is due to increased funding, posting peace officers at schools,
and other efforts.
9:50:33 AM
CHAIR SEEKINS said he doesn't want to see an adult come onto
school grounds to pick up a child, and, with a legal concealed
weapon in the car, get arrested.
9:52:05 AM
CHAIR SEEKINS asked for further questions. He said he would
prefer to look at the spectrum of people and come up with a more
acceptable group. He offered to carry the bill over and asked
for objections.
SENATOR GUESS asked to also define school grounds, especially
buses.
SENATOR HUGGINS stated support of CHAIR SEEKINS.
CHAIR SEEKINS announced he will carry the bill over and
adjourned the committee meeting.
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