01/27/2009 09:00 AM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB77 | |
| Overview: Department of Public Safety | |
| Overview: Department of Administration | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 77 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
January 27, 2009
9:01 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Linda Menard, Chair
Senator Albert Kookesh
Senator Joe Paskvan
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Kevin Meyer, Vice Chair
Senator Hollis French
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 77
"An Act relating to the Joint Armed Services Committee and its
Homeland Security and Emergency Management Subcommittee; and
providing for an effective date."
MOVED CSSB 77(STA) OUT OF COMMITTEE
Overview: Department of Public Safety
HEARD
Overview: Department of Administration
HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 77
SHORT TITLE: EXTEND JOINT ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE
SPONSOR(S): SENATOR(S) WIELECHOWSKI
01/22/09 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/22/09 (S) STA
01/27/09 (S) STA AT 9:00 AM BELTZ 211
WITNESS REGISTER
SENATOR BILL WIELECHOWSKI
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau AK
Juneau AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented SB 77 as sponsor.
JOSEPH MASTERS, Commissioner
Department of Public Safety (DPS)
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave an overview of DPS.
ANNETTE KREITZER, Commissioner
Department of Administration (DOA)
Juneau AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave an overview of DOA
ACTION NARRATIVE
9:01:15 AM
CHAIR LINDA MENARD called the Senate State Affairs Standing
Committee meeting to order at 9:01 a.m. Senators Menard,
Paskvan, and Kookesh were present at the call to order.
SB 77-EXTEND JOINT ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE
CHAIR MENARD announced the consideration of SB 77, which
reauthorizes the Joint Arms Service Committee. The committee was
created so the legislature could provide support for Alaskans in
the military and influence decisions affecting it.
9:02:42 AM
SENATOR BILL WIELECHOWSKI, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor of
SB 77, said the Joint Armed Services Committee was created in
1999 when Alaska was being considered as the site for deployment
of a national missile defense system. Also, at that time, the
Base Alignment and Closure Commission was closing vital military
installations in Alaska. The committee was created to give the
legislature a voice in the national debate on these issues. It
has 16 members and has been very successful in representing
Alaska's interests in matters related to maintaining a strong
military presence in the state. Alaska has the highest
percentage of military veterans in the country. The committee
was active in advocating for the establishment of a missile
defense site at Fort Greely, and it continues to play a vital
role monitoring developments that might affect Alaska. This May,
the committee will host a ceremony for those who have lost their
lives in combat. Medals will be presented to family members in
recognition of their service and sacrifice. The committee will
sunset, and SB 77 reauthorizes it and makes is permanent. A
permanent committee is warranted because of the strategic role
Alaska plays in the security of the nation. The original SB 77
sought to reauthorize both the committee and its homeland
security subcommittee. But a committee substitute (CS) was drawn
up because the subcommittee has not been active. Its purpose was
to review confidential materials related to homeland security,
but the members were no longer allowed to get clearances to do
that in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11,
2001. He suggested moving the CS.
9:05:54 AM
SENATOR KOOKESH asked if there are other committees of referral.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said no. The CS takes out the repealer
language.
9:06:38 AM
SENATOR PASKVAN moved to adopt the CS to SB 77 [labeled 26-
LS0373\E] as the working document. Hearing no objection, Version
E was before the committee.
SENATOR KOOKESH moved to report the CS to SB 77 [labeled 26-
LS0373\E] from committee with individual recommendations and
attached fiscal note(s). Hearing no objection, CSSB 77(STA)
passed out of committee.
^Overview: Department of Public Safety
9:07:44 AM
CHAIR MENARD announced the committee would hear an overview from
the Department of Public Safety.
JOSEPH MASTERS, Commissioner, Department of Public Safety (DPS),
Anchorage, said he is awaiting confirmation. He provided a
presentation packet for the committee.
9:09:56 AM
COMMISSIONER MASTERS named the main divisions of the department,
including administrative services, statewide services, fire and
life safety, state troopers, and wildlife troopers. The DPS also
houses several boards and councils, including the Alcoholic
Beverage Control Board, Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual
Assault, the Police Standards Council, and the Fire Standards
Council. The troopers have the bureaus of alcohol and drug
enforcement, investigations, judicial services, highway patrol,
the village public safety officer programs, and the training
academy. The DPS responded to over 119,000 calls for service
last year. Generally about 10 percent of the calls are later
referred to the justice system for prosecution. The DPS handled
13 homicides in 2008, and all of those have been solved. There
are 6 ongoing homicide investigations that the troopers are
assisting other departments with.
9:12:24 AM
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said there is a cold case unit with 72 open
cases from previous years. Four full-time investigators are
working these cases, and they have closed 29 and continue to
make progress. He noted some of the cases, including one in the
past week in Sitka. In the area of drug and alcohol enforcement,
the DPS has seized illegal substances worth about $20 million
(street value). Marijuana growing and meth [methamphetamine] lab
investigations have declined, and he attributes some of that to
new laws limiting the availability of precursors to meth. Users,
however, are getting their products in other ways, and there is
an increase in drug importation seizures. There is also an
increase in heroin cases. The 291 arrests for alcohol
importation in 2008 was a 30 percent increase over the previous
year.
9:14:38 AM
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said, "We continue to have issues with
sexual assault and sexual abuse of minors, and the most
significant area seems to be continuing in the Bethel region."
There were 337 sexual assaults and 375 sexual abuses of a minor
in the last year, which is a reduction over previous years. The
Bureau of Judicial Services continues to be very active and
busy. It continues to experience increases in the number
prisoners that need to be dealt with and the number of
courtrooms and transports. He said over 67,000 transports "were
experienced last year, which is a fairly significant increase
over the year before." The DPS is working with the court system
to reduce unnecessary transportations for hearings. DPS also
added seven court service officer (CSO) positions for rural
areas, specifically two for Bethel, two for Nome/Kotzebue, one
in Dillingham, one in Kenai, and one in Anchor Point. In these
areas troopers are doing those duties full time, so it will free
them up for other duties.
9:16:36 AM
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said there were 740 search and rescues last
year with 289 "saves". There were 62 highway fatalities in 2008,
and 19 were alcohol related. Both are less than last year, but
there are still too many. A new effort is the creation of the
Bureau of Highway Patrol, which is a dedicated unit to focus on
highway safety in conjunction with the Department of
Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. There are 22 vacancies in the troopers and 5 in
the wildlife troopers. The academy starts in February, and the
recruitment selection process is being finalized. He anticipates
offering 22 jobs to fill that academy. There will also be
lateral transfers, so he expects to have all trooper positions
filled by 2010. There is ongoing recruitment for the CSO
positions. Going into Fiscal Year 2010, he expects 37 new
positions, which will have direct impacts on public safety.
9:18:41 AM
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if the COSs will take a burden off the
troopers so they can fulfill their other trooper duties.
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said that is correct.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked the cost difference between a CSO and a
trooper.
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said he can get that, but it is a
substantial savings [to the state].
9:19:33 AM
SENATOR KOOKESH asked if there is a program to evaluate VPSOs
[Village Public Safety Officers] for entering the trooper
academy. He expressed concerned about keeping VPSOs in the
program and giving them a chance to go to a "higher level." Most
VPSOs are Native, he noted.
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said the DPS has always encouraged VPSOs to
apply. Commissioner Masters was a VPSO when he started his
career in the early 1980s, and he took opportunities that were
available. There are internal barriers for VPSOs to move up, and
one is moving from their communities to take advantage of open
positions. One recent thing they did was to look at upward
mobility within the law enforcement system, not necessarily
within the VPSO program itself. The standards council voted to
accept VPSO basic training toward certification of a police
officer with additional training that would meet the statutory
requirements.
9:21:31 AM
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if there are concerns with the applicant
pool - "as far as the quintile that they may be at and whether,
once they are retained, whether there's been any difficulty
keeping the troopers … [with] all the money invested in them for
this training and all of that. What are your thoughts on that?"
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said it is a constant balance, and he
doesn't want to lower standards to allow unsuitable candidates
into the ranks that will need to be dealt with later, either
through high turnover or as problem employees. That aspect of
the process has not changed, so "we're hoping and anticipating
that we haven't made any changes that would increase unsuitable
candidates." There are more applicants in this past year, and he
believes the process is intact and not compromised. The reality
is, no matter how one tries to select the best people, some get
through the system that are unsuitable (very few) and some "find
that it is not necessarily the job that they had signed up for -
no matter how much you tell them what the job is."
9:23:24 AM
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if the number of qualified applicants is
declining.
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said, in general, law enforcement has
experienced a decline in applicants. There has also been a
fairly significant change in the social make-up of the
applicants - their backgrounds and how they view life. There are
some challenges there. The department, now and in the past, has
experienced attrition and turnover of about 20 to 25 percent
going into the academy. He is hoping that the lateral hire pool
can help fill those.
9:25:05 AM
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said the department has 10 contracts with
nonprofit corporations filling 51 VPSO [positions] statewide.
The FY 2010 funding will allow 60 positions. Some have been
funded through federal grant money, which the DPS continues to
apply for. The grants enable the DPS to provide more frequent
and higher quality training for VPSOs and villages with VPSOs.
On July 1 the base wage of a VPSO went up from $17 to $21 per
hour. It looks like that is drawing in more applicants. The
turnover rate for existing VPSOs seems to be declining.
9:27:01 AM
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said 19 VPSOs started in the recent academy
and there are now 12 remaining, and those 12 are expected to go
on to the communities. Troopers go through training before going
into the field, but there is one academy a year for VPSOs, and
they start in the field immediately with close supervision. Pay
and benefits, community support, and support from troopers are
important in keeping employees. The department is trying to
increase the number of village oversight visits. Last year there
were 2,340 visits, which seem like a lot, but it can be
improved. Over the past several years, the VPSOs have received
increased training in DUI [driving under the influence],
domestic violence, and sexual assault enforcement. They are
becoming more and more valuable. Last year, VPSOs conducted 238
domestic violence and assault arrests and 57 DUI arrests. That
is up from previous years. They take the burden off of troopers.
9:29:20 AM
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said DPS continues its probation and parole
RSA [reimbursable services agreement] with the Department of
Corrections. The RSA allows the department to pay VPSOs a
slightly higher wage for helping corrections with those
functions. It is beneficial for the state and for corrections,
because people released from institutions can go back to their
communities and the VPSOs can assist with the oversight. The DPS
is taking advantage of Drug Abuse and Resistance Education
training for the VPSOs. About 20 VPSOs have been trained.
9:30:34 AM
SENATOR KOOKESH asked if recommendations from Senator Olson's
task force on VPSOs have been implemented.
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said there were several recommendations and
the most important was raising VPSO wages, and that has been
done. There was also concern regarding the need for support,
training, and housing. DPS has made headway with upgrading
offices and holding facilities but not with housing. The
department continues to work on that.
9:31:41 AM
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said the Alaska Wildlife Troopers have
investigations, enforcement, and aircraft sections. In 2008, the
wildlife troopers conducted over 58,000 resource-user contacts,
which are up from the previous year. The contact to violation
ratio is 8.5 percent for 2008, which is a decrease from the
previous year. It appears that contacts reduce violations.
Another big area for wildlife troopers is recreational boater
safety. The number of deaths has been tragic. In the 1980s
[Alaska] averaged 40 deaths per year. There are combined efforts
of the U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Natural Resources, and
the wildlife troopers to increase safety and encourage the use
of personal floatation devices in rural as well as urban areas.
The number of deaths in 2007 was 17, and in 2008 it was 12, and
he hopes to see that trend continued toward zero.
9:34:07 AM
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said the wildlife troopers continue
cooperative efforts with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and
the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). With NMFS there is
a joint enforcement agreement to assist with resource
protection. It allows state oversight on joint fisheries in
areas where current funding would not allow. Many of those areas
are in the Bering Sea, western Aleutians, and Kodiak. It also
funds some public safety technicians that assist the troopers.
It has been a very beneficial program for the state. Since last
year the troopers have had a focus on protecting wild stocks of
salmon. Computer forensics is a growing area within the wildlife
troopers to help retrieve and document evidence of crimes in
commercial and sport hunting and fishing. The DPS is now
dedicating one position to focus on "the computer aspect of
these crimes." The challenge in the wildlife troopers continues
to be relative inexperience levels. The DPS is looking at
reinstituting lateral transfers into the division from other
experienced wildlife enforcement offices, including state,
federal, and out-of-state offices.
9:36:41 AM
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said the Division of Fire and Life Safety
is comprised of the Life Safety Inspections Bureau, Plan Review
Bureau, Training and Education Bureau, Office of Rural Fire
Protection, and the Joint Pipeline Office. Fire deaths in 2007
were 24, and in 2008 there were 19. There has been a significant
spike in frequency of fire deaths in 2009 that may be attributed
to the cold snap and heating with alternative fuels. To increase
the efficiency of the division there are 11 jurisdictions that
have the expertise to help with inspections. There is a two-year
audit cycle for those jurisdictions, and it will allow better
oversight. The division did 1,543 inspections, which is an
increase of 143 percent from 2007 with a compliance rate of 35
percent. The division has other cooperative efforts including a
new annual fire and building officials forum. The forum unites
state personnel with building managers and fire service
professionals to talk about common issues in the fire and life
safety realm. Initially that idea was met with skepticism, but
now the outside partners are wholeheartedly embracing it.
9:39:59 AM
COMMISSIONER MASTERS made note of the Raven Island interactive
fire safety computer game where kids can play online. The DPS is
opening an office of oil and gas system facilities, an expansion
of the joint pipeline office that is operating for plan review
and inspections. It expands the unit to do inspections along all
of the pipelines that are under state control, not just the
Alyeska line. The natural gasline will be included, if built.
9:40:58 AM
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said the Division of Statewide Services
needs to develop the technologies that are available, including
a good records management system and the ability to share data
with other divisions, agencies, and departments. There are
initiatives moving forward now. The DPS is requesting funding
for the Alaska Law Enforcement Information Sharing System
(ALEISS) in 2010. ALEISS connects agencies and their records.
For example, a trooper near the border could run suspect
description information through a system used by all
participating agencies. So far it has been very successful.
Alaska is not currently a contributing member but the Juneau,
Anchorage, Kenai, and Seward police departments are. Getting DPS
information will double the capability of the system. "We're
currently 75 percent of the users of the system now, just from
our intelligence department and our drug units. So we already
know it's a critical system, we just gotta get connected in."
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said the noncompliance rate of registered
sex offenders is about 4.5 percent. There are 2,458 registered
sex offenders and 7,802 concealed handgun permitees. The
Automated Fingerprint Identification System processed over
60,000 fingerprint cards last year; 26,000 were for criminals.
9:44:25 AM
COMMISSIONER MASTERS noted the Office of Professional Standards
in DPS. Internal investigations with DPS have been conducted by
supervisors and field commanders. Those have been done well, but
they tend to lag because supervisors are overtaxed. This office
will bring those investigations under the commissioner's office
with trained investigators, so these complex cases can be done
quickly. It will also allow for better monitoring. DPS is
looking at software to track trends and to use as an early
warning tool to flag potential problem officers. The Alaska
Police Standards Council was legislatively expanded last year to
include two line officers. The Alaska Fire Standards Council is
offering training and certification to 6,100 career firefighters
and volunteers. The Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual
Assault (CDVSA) provided funding to 24 victim service programs
across the state, servicing over 8,000 victims. It participated
in 77 training sessions for law enforcement advocates.
9:47:10 AM
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said CDVSA will focus on strategic planning
with local and state entities to boost prevention efforts. The
Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) Board has a new director who is a
long-time Alaskan and was a police chief in Soldotna. He expects
to see "great strides" with her. The ABC board has had a short-
term investigator in the last few years. It has been a very good
program so the position was made permanent. The crime lab has
had a backlog in DNA and case analysis because of staff
vacancies. Over the last year the lab has filled all of the
positions -- some are in training. So the backlog has
significantly decreased. There were 8,000 backlog DNA samples,
and the lab is catching up by 2,000 per month. The lab had 4,500
cases submitted last year, and 78 percent were turned around
within 30 days. The lab renewed its national accreditation. It
has some challenges but it is the best run lab in the state. The
quality of personnel and procedures are at the national level,
so the lab is one of the finest in the country.
9:50:15 AM
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said the current lab lacks for space. There
are 42 scientists in a lab built for 23. The biggest emerging
trend is the advancements in DNA testing. "Low-copy" and
mitochondrial DNA testing are new and much more effective. The
existing lab doesn't have the space to support these procedures.
Last session, the legislature allocated money for a new lab. The
land lease is near completion, and the design work was completed
and is under validation review.
9:52:55 AM
SENATOR PASKVAN asked what court records officers need access to
while on the street.
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said if he were an officer on the street,
it would be valuable to have writs, domestic violence
restraining orders, conditions of release, and any information
in the Alaska Public Safety Information Network, which is housed
in DPS and is part of an initiative for mobile data terminals -
laptops within the patrol cars. Some laptops are being tested in
western Alaska. Real-time information is valuable.
9:55:00 AM
CHAIR MENARD asked about the retention of officers, and if he
hears grumbling about defined benefits.
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said he has had conversations with some
department employees and many conversations with labor unions.
He hesitates to express an opinion as there are arguments both
ways. "Whether or not the existing system is a detriment to
recruitment and retention, those arguments certainly are out
there, and I'm hearing them."
9:56:36 AM
The committee took an at-ease.
^Overview: Department of Administration
10:03:13 AM
CHAIR MENARD announced the committee would hear an overview from
the Department of Administration.
ANNETTE KREITZER, Commissioner, Department of Administration
(DOA), Juneau, said she provided information to the committee
describing the DOA. She included a summary of DOA's executive
working groups. Administrative Order 237 created an executive
working group on issues of recruitment and retention. The
information also includes a list of the contracts that the state
enters into to save money.
10:04:32 AM
CHAIR MENARD noted that Senator Kookesh left the room, and she
introduced committee aide Deborah Prater.
10:04:54 AM
COMMISSIONER KREITZER said DOA has three main parts but one main
function. It is the place where the legislature will put an
agency when it wants it to have an arm's distance from other
agencies that it might have to rule against. For example, the
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) resides in
the DOA instead of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
because AOGCC may have to rule against DNR. The DOA also
provides centralized services to other departments. It houses
the Office of Public Advocacy and the Public Defender's Office.
The main function of DOA is to save the state money by
centralizing services so functions like payroll are not
replicated across each department. The AOGCC, the Alaska Public
Broadcasting Commission, the Alaska Public Offices Commission,
and the Violent Crimes Compensation Board are under DOA, and the
commissioner's role is to work with them and offer services.
Instead of having the volunteer members knowing how to recruit
members of the board, the DOA provides that expertise. The DOA
works with those groups in preparing budgets, personnel issue
and potential legislation.
10:07:11 AM
COMMISSIONER KREITZER said it's a fine line to walk, because
they are independent. Centralized services handle all labor
grievances and arbitrations for state agencies. Commissioner
Kreitzer negotiates the contracts with the 11 state employee
unions. Recent work has focused on recruitment and retention.
10:08:30 AM
COMMISSIONER KREITZER noted the Office of Administrative
Hearings. An issue within a department previously went through
division directors or to a commissioner. Commissioners might
side with a director, and it left some people with the
impression that commissioners were just rubber stamping director
decisions and not sitting as an unbiased reviewer. Senator
Therriault sponsored the legislation that created the Office of
Administrative Hearings. It works well for an objective person
to make a determination. It is like going through a judge and
not someone in the agency. The service is provided for many
state agencies. Division of Motor Vehicles is something she
could talk about "forever." Risk Management assesses risk for
the state. Enterprise Technology Services is the backbone for
communications for the state. The Division of Finance has the
new online checkbook. The governor wanted to make state
purchases more open, and the division did it for a very low
cost. It is basically an excel spreadsheet. Other states ask for
advice on how to do the same thing. She said it is a very
searchable system, and it will be refined over time.
10:11:30 AM
COMMISSIONER KREITZER said the State Travel Office is under the
Division of Finance, and it is designed to bring down the cost
of travel. The state could never say what it spent on travel,
and this office can do that. The office provides travel reports
to managers as well. Travel management reports are helpful to
make sure people only travel when necessary. It has changed
behavior, because people used to buy expensive tickets that
could be upgraded to first class. It saves the state money.
10:13:58 AM
COMMISSIONER KREITZER spoke of the Division of General Services
and the state's purchasing power. Outreach is working, she said,
"because now when we have meetings and we go and talk to groups
who are representing municipalities, we'll have people stand up
and say 'I've used it; it works; it's helpful.'" The
commissioner said she used to run a rural Alaska clinic, and a
big issue would have been getting oxygen, so this type of
contract approach can help small communities where they need
every dime. The DOA has made an effort to get the word out to
communities on how they can save money. The Public Defender
Agency is constitutionally mandated, and it provides a defense
for persons who can't provide their own. "Sometimes people don't
like the idea that we have to defend the adults but
constitutionally we don't have to defend the children, but
that's the way that it is." The Office of Public Advocacy also
has the guardian ad litem and the CASA (Court Appointed Special
Advocate) program. The DOA houses the Retirement and Benefits
Division. She is cognizant that legislators are only in Juneau
for 90 days and will quickly respond to questions for them. She
introduced two staff: Deputy Commissioner Kevin Brooks and
Administrative Services Director Eric Swanson.
10:17:39 AM.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:17 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Senate State Affairs DPS Overview(1 27 09) (final).ppt |
SSTA 1/27/2009 9:00:00 AM |