Legislature(1999 - 2000)
02/21/2000 01:47 PM Senate JUD
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SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
February 21, 2000
1:47 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Robin Taylor, Chairman
Senator Rick Halford, Vice-Chairman
Senator Dave Donley
Senator Johnny Ellis
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator John Torgerson
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 259
"An Act relating to criminal impersonation."
-HEARD AND HELD
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 30
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Alaska
relating to the repeal of regulations by the legislature.
-MOVED CS SJR 30(JUD) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION
SB 259 - No previous action to report.
SJR 30 - No previous action to report.
WITNESS REGISTER
Mr. Jim Pound
Senator Taylor's Office
State Capitol Building
Juneau, Alaska 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented SB 259 and SJR 30
Ms. Anne Carpeneti
Assistant Attorney General
Department of Law
P.O. Box 110300
Juneau, Alaska 99811-0300
POSITION STATEMENT: Supports SB 259
Lt. David Hudson
Alaska State Troopers
5700 East Tudor Road
Anchorage, Alaska 99507
POSITION STATEMENT: Supports SB 259
Mr. Blair McCune
Public Defender
900 West 5th Avenue, #200
Anchorage, Alaska 99501
POSITION STATEMENT: Supports SB 259
Mr. Glenn Hackney
AARP
1136 Sunset Drive
Fairbanks, Alaska 99709
POSITION STATEMENT: Supports SB 259
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 00-7, SIDE A
Number 001
CHAIRMAN ROBIN TAYLOR called the Judiciary Committee meeting to
order at 1:47 p.m. Present were Senator Halford, Senator Donley
and Chairman Taylor. The first order of business to come before
the committee was SB 259.
SB 259-THEFT OF IDENTITY
MR. JIM POUND, staff of Senator Taylor, stated the modification in
SB 259 will add the words "commit a crime" rather than just using
the word "defraud," allowing criminal intent for other uses of
false identification (ID). The crime will be a misdemeanor.
Criminal activity will include minors trying to buy alcohol and
cigarettes with false ID cards and the use of false ID to obtain a
checking account with the intent of fraud.
SENATOR HALFORD asked if there is anything the legislature can do
to help victims clear their record.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR commented the bill was drafted in a hurry and
everything has not been included. The true victim in this type of
crime is the person whose identity is stolen, and he would like
this legislation to motivate credit card companies and credit
reporting agencies to work with the victims in clearing their
records.
Number 370
MS. ANNE CARPENETI, Department of Law (DOL), stated DOL supports
this legislation. With a stolen credit card number a person can
obtain a social security number through a web site. With this
information people can open checking accounts, buy cars, open
accounts at department stores, etc. and do serious damage to a
persons credit. It can take years to clear a credit report that
has been damaged in this way.
MS. CARPENETI said DOL has been looking at this issue in a bigger
sense than just identity theft. The Governor has introduced a bill
that makes criminal impersonation a class B felony if an
identification item has been stolen and fraudulent acts are the
result thereby harming the persons financial reputation making this
person the victim of the crime. In the past the police have
considered the credit card companies, banks, department stores,
etc. the victims, rather than the individual with the problem. The
Governor's bill makes it a class B felony to harm someone's
reputation, bringing the current statute down to second degree
criminal impersonation which is a class A misdemeanor. In
addition, SB 259 fine tunes the theft and fraud statute by
replacing the term "access device" for a credit card so if a person
steals an access device, including a phone number, that person can
be prosecuted for theft of a credit card or fraudulent use of a
credit card.
MS. CARPENETI noted the Governor's bill also clarifies the law in
dealing with technology in regards to child pornography--creating
child pornography includes making an electronic portrait of a child
and putting it in a computer network. It also expands the criminal
use of a computer, which is a class C felony, by providing that it
is a violation of a statute to add misleading new information to a
computer which a person may have access to but they are going
beyond their authorization or they are accessing the system without
authorization. It prohibits a person without authorization from
getting proprietary financial information about other people and
going in and changing information they have no right to change. It
also prohibits encrypting (with no authorization to encrypt) and
decrypting information.
Number 662
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR thanked Ms. Carpeneti and asked her to work with
staff to provide a committee substitute to incorporate some of the
ideas she discussed.
MS. CARPENETI responded she would be happy to help.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR introduced Lt. David Hudson, Alaska State Troopers,
and asked him to work with Ms. Carpeneti and Mr. Pound in writing
a committee substitute.
MR. BLAIR MCCUNE, Deputy Director, the Alaska Public Defender
Agency, stated this is a difficult area of the law and the bill
will need some care in the drafting process. Banking and credit
law practices have changed a lot in the last few years because of
internet access and because of increases in credit card use. His
main concern is that the law should be drafted narrowly so that
minors purchasing alcohol and using false ID cards are not treated
on the same level as someone who is using someone else's identity
in a fraudulent way.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked Mr. McCune to assist in the drafting process
to help develop a more comprehensive bill.
MR. GLENN HACKNEY, AARP, stated that theft of identity is a real
concern for the senior community of Alaska. Many members of the
senior population have a long standing credit history and they are
concerned that nothing happen to that history. There are seniors
who will not use credit cards or the internet because of this
concern. Mr. Hackney stated he supports SB 259.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR stated the bill will be held in committee until a
committee substitute has been drafted.
SJR 30-REPEAL OF REGULATIONS BY LEGISLATURE
Number 1196
MR. POUND introduced the bill by saying the regulation process is
creating laws without the process of an elected official. The
process is based on a bureaucratic agenda with no one accountable.
Through the previous attorney general there is a ruling that the
Lt. Governor's signature is mandatory for a regulation. This
legislation will correct the problem, allowing the legislature to
change regulations that do not meet the original intent of statute.
SENATOR ELLIS commented this is the same legislation that has been
rejected by the voters several times, and he asked the Chairman why
he feels the outcome for this bill will be any different.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR responded this is a continuing education process
and he hopes that in the debate the public will understand that
some of the regulations passed, such as RS 2477, are regulatory
changes and not statutory changes which the legislature can not
change promptly.
SENATOR ELLIS asked if the Senate State Affairs Committee waived
this bill and if the Judiciary Committee is the only committee
considering this legislation.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said last year the bill went through two committees
and was passed by the Senate. The bill was sent to the House and
went through the full committee process but did not pass on the
floor of the House and, therefore, was not referred back to the
Rules Committee. Chairman Taylor has been advised that the bill is
not active and needs to be recreated. This is the same bill the
Senate passed last year.
SENATOR DONLEY moved SJR 30 out of committee with individual
recommendations.
SENATOR ELLIS objected.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked for discussion.
SENATOR DONLEY stated one of the top complaints from his
constituents concern regulations. It is hard to explain that the
legislature has limited powers over regulations that are adopted by
the executive branch. He feels if the public understood how
difficult it is to correct a mistake in the law they would approve
this legislation.
SENATOR DONLEY said the only way for the legislature to correct a
problem is by passing a bill that removes the authority of an
agency to do a specific regulation--which will be subject to veto
by the governor.
SENATOR DONLEY feels this legislation is important and will empower
the public by giving the legislature the power to act on their
behalf.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR commented that in the past the legislature repealed
regulations by resolution but a supreme court decision changed
this. This legislation will be overturning that supreme court
decision.
SENATOR ELLIS asked if Senator Donley believed that in the three
times the voters rejected this legislation they did not understand
what they were voting on, and that it only takes legislators to
educate them to change their minds.
SENATOR DONLEY responded no, but he has been amazed that in all the
people he has talked with no one remembers this issue being on the
ballot or how they voted.
Number 1605
SENATOR ELLIS commented that the issue has been on the ballot three
times and the public's position seems clear. There are individuals
who have problems with specific regulations but regulations are not
made for individuals but are made for the greater public good.
SENATOR DONLEY responded there are many members of the public who
feel regulations are not made for the greater public good but are
for the greater good of the bureaucracy that adopts them.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR commented that people are upset about the
regulation the Department of Environmental Conservation(DEC) passed
to raise the cost for a food permit from $75.00 to $400.00 annually
for day care centers.
SENATOR ELLIS asked if this is disconnected from this legislatures
attitude toward DEC's budget.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR responded yes and that no one in the legislature
imagined that DEC would have leveraged and utilized regulations to
the extent they are today--using them as a revenue source. Nor did
the legislature imagine that the Department of Fish and Game would
be using regulations to demand cash from Ketchikan fishermen with
the threat of being shut down.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said many times after regulations have been adopted
it is discovered they impact in ways that were not intended, and a
correction can take years.
SENATOR ELLIS asked if this is not why a governor is elected every
four years--holding him accountable for the executive branch.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR answered that you cannot wait four years for
accountability and there are laws against committing, before an
election, who will be appointed by the governor.
SENATOR ELLIS asked if some of the regulation problems could be
avoided if the legislature did a better job in writing the
statutes.
Number 1880
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR responded that what he is looking for is an
appropriate check and balance within the creation of the regulation
system.
SENATOR HALFORD stated that the public does not trust the
legislature and that the referendum process should be changed to
allow the initiative process to apply to the regulations. Once a
regulation is repealed by initiative it cannot be reinstated for a
longer period of time than the two years a statute takes. The
standard for regulations is too weak and the constitution should be
changed to say that no regulation should be permitted unless it is
essential for the express purpose of the statute. The public will
probably vote for this but it will hamstring the government.
SENATOR HALFORD commented the bill should be changed in some way so
that it will not be identical to the bill that passed last year.
SENATOR DONLEY asked for unanimous consent to withdraw his motion.
With no objection, the motion to move the bill was withdrawn.
After discussion by committee members on the rewording of SJR 30,
SENATOR HALFORD proposed that line 6 of SJR 30 be deleted and that
line 7 read:
A regulation found inconsistent with its enabling statute is
repealed by a resolution concurred in by a majority of the
members of each house.
SENATOR HALFORD moved to amend amendment 1. With no objection, the
amendment passed.
SENATOR HALFORD moved SJR 30 from committee with individual
recommendations.
SENATOR ELLIS objected.
The roll was taken on the motion. Voting yea: Senator Halford,
Senator Donley and Chairman Taylor. Voting nay: Senator Ellis
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR commented that there are two bills pending on the
direct election of the attorney general. A report from the
Privatization Task Force indicates the attorney generals office is
not found within the constitution but is a job created through a
legislative act. A bill is being drafted on the job description of
the AG and will be before the committee at a later date.
With no further business to come before the committee, CHAIRMAN
TAYLOR adjourned the meeting at 2:37 p.m.
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