04/05/2016 09:00 AM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB324 | |
| HB231 | |
| Confirmation Hearing: Department of Corrections | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 324 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 231 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
April 5, 2016
9:04 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Bill Stoltze, Chair
Senator John Coghill, Vice Chair
Senator Charlie Huggins
Senator Lesil McGuire
Senator Bill Wielechowski
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 324(STA)
"An Act relating to the Violent Crimes Compensation Board."
- MOVED CSHB 324(STA) OUT OF COMMITTEE
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 231(FIN)
"An Act extending the termination date of the Board of Parole;
and providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
CONFIRMATION HEARINGS
Alaska Department of Corrections
Dean Williams-Commissioner Designee
- CONFIRMATION ADVANCED
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 324
SHORT TITLE: VIOLENT CRIMES COMPENSATION BOARD MEMBERSHIP
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) LEDOUX
02/22/16 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/22/16 (H) STA
03/24/16 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
03/24/16 (H) Moved CSHB 324(STA) Out of Committee
03/24/16 (H) MINUTE(STA)
03/25/16 (H) STA RPT CS(STA) 7DP
03/25/16 (H) DP: SPOHNHOLZ, STUTES, KELLER,
TALERICO, VAZQUEZ, KREISS-TOMKINS, LYNN
03/30/16 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
03/30/16 (H) VERSION: CSHB 324(STA)
04/01/16 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/01/16 (S) STA
04/05/16 (S) STA AT 9:00 AM BUTROVICH 205
BILL: HB 231
SHORT TITLE: EXTEND BOARD OF PAROLE
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) LYNN
01/19/16 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/8/16
01/19/16 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/19/16 (H) STA, FIN
01/21/16 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
01/21/16 (H) Moved HB 231 Out of Committee
01/21/16 (H) MINUTE(STA)
01/22/16 (H) STA RPT 7DP
01/22/16 (H) DP: TALERICO, STUTES, VAZQUEZ,
GRUENBERG, KREISS-TOMKINS, LYNN, KELLER
03/15/16 (H) FIN AT 1:30 PM HOUSE FINANCE 519
03/15/16 (H) Heard & Held
03/15/16 (H) MINUTE(FIN)
03/24/16 (H) FIN AT 9:30 AM HOUSE FINANCE 519
03/24/16 (H) Moved CSHB 231(FIN) Out of Committee
03/24/16 (H) MINUTE(FIN)
03/25/16 (H) FIN RPT CS(FIN) 8DP
03/25/16 (H) DP: SADDLER, KAWASAKI, PRUITT, GARA,
WILSON, GUTTENBERG, MUNOZ, THOMPSON
03/29/16 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
03/29/16 (H) VERSION: CSHB 231(FIN)
03/30/16 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/30/16 (S) STA, FIN
04/05/16 (S) STA AT 9:00 AM BUTROVICH 205
WITNESS REGISTER
REPRESENTATIVE GABRIELLE LEDOUX
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of HB 324.
COURTNEY ENRIGHT, Staff
Representative LeDoux
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Addressed questions regarding HB 324.
GERAD GODFREY, Chairman
Violent Crimes Compensation Board
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Discussed the need for HB 324.
KATE HUDSON, Executive Director
Violent Crimes Compensation Board
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Concurred with Mr. Godfrey's testimony.
ESTHER MIELKE, Staff
Representative Lynn
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided an overview of HB 231.
KRIS CURTIS, Legislative Auditor
Legislative Audit Division
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Addressed HB 231 and reviewed the audit for
the Alaska Board of Parole.
JEFF EDWARDS, Executive Director
Alaska Board of Parole
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Addressed HB 231 and reviewed the audit for
the Alaska Board of Parole.
DEAN WILLIAMS, Commissioner-Designee
Alaska Department of Corrections
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions regarding his
confirmation as commissioner.
ACTION NARRATIVE
9:04:15 AM
CHAIR BILL STOLTZE called the Senate State Affairs Standing
Committee meeting to order at 9:04 a.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators McGuire, Coghill, Huggins, Wielechowski, and
Chair Stoltze.
HB 324-VIOLENT CRIMES COMPENSATION BOARD MEMBERSHIP
9:05:23 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE announced the consideration of HB 324.
REPRESENTATIVE GABRIELLE LEDOUX, Alaska State Legislature,
Juneau, Alaska, explained that HB 324 amends the membership of
the Violent Crimes Compensation Board in order to give the board
flexibility in recruitment. She detailed that the board had
problems recruiting for the medical doctor or osteopathic
physician board member designation. She revealed that HB 324
would add either a physician assistant or advanced nurse
practitioner to increase the pool of people.
CHAIR STOLTZE asked if the change included retired physicians.
9:07:21 AM
COURTNEY ENRIGHT, Staff, Representative LeDoux, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, replied that the change was just a
wording change and the board had previously been allowed to have
retired physicians.
CHAIR STOLTZE asked if a doctor retired from active practice
with a suspended license would qualify.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX replied that membership currently reads
"retired." She surmised that a retired doctor with a suspended
license probably would not qualify.
CHAIR STOLTZE specified that he meant voluntary license
suspension, similar to suspending one's insurance.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX answered correct.
9:08:57 AM
GERAD GODFREY, Chairman, Violent Crimes Compensation Board,
Anchorage, Alaska, stated that he would provide background
information on what necessitated HB 324. He detailed that on
three occasions during his 14-year tenure the board could not
fill the statutorily-required seat for a medical doctor. He
noted that the board has three members and a quorum was possible
with two members, but a medically-trained person brought insight
and experience to the meetings. He specified that a medically
trained person could look at medical billing records, understand
the scope of injuries from the crime, or identify individuals
that use the incident to have the state pay for their
prescription drug addiction.
MR. GODFREY summarized that the board has experienced challenges
in getting a practicing physician to commit the time required
for the medical-doctor's board seat. He said expanding the scope
of medical expertise that would be qualified to serve on the
board would make it easier to find someone to commit the time.
9:13:55 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE commended Dr. Regina Chennault for her past
contribution as a board member for the Violent Crimes
Compensation Board.
9:15:54 AM
MR. GODFREY thanked Chair Stoltze for being an advocate for the
Violent Crimes Compensation Board.
9:17:17 AM
KATE HUDSON, Executive Director, Violent Crimes Compensation
Board, Juneau, Alaska, concurred with Mr. Godfrey's testimony.
CHAIR STOLTZE closed public testimony on HB 324. He asked Ms.
Hudson to discuss the board's funding from the Permanent Fund
and the possible funding impact from the proposed changes to the
Permanent Fund.
9:19:00 AM
MS. HUDSON acknowledged that funding does come from the
Permanent Fund. She specified that the board has two funding
sources: withheld dividends to incarcerated felons in addition
to state and federal funding. She concurred that changes to the
Permanent Fund dividend would impact the way the board was
funded. She noted that the fiscal notes were indeterminate due
to the various bills that affect the Permanent Fund.
CHAIR STOLTZE pointed out that the bill has a zero-fiscal note.
9:21:14 AM
SENATOR COGHILL moved to report the CS for HB 324(STA) from
committee with individual recommendations and attached zero-
fiscal note.
9:21:21 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE announced that hearing no objection, CSSB 234(STA)
moved from committee.
9:21:37 AM
At ease.
HB 231-EXTEND BOARD OF PAROLE
9:24:09 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE called the committee back to order and announced
the consideration of HB 231.
9:24:51 AM
ESTHER MIELKE, Staff, Representative Bob Lynn, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, read the sponsor statement as
follows:
The Board of Parole currently serves in Alaska as the
authority over parole setting; it is currently set in
statute to be terminated on June 30, 2016. HB 231
originally extended the date to June 30, 2022, but the
most current version of the bill which was passed by
House Finance extends it to June 30, 2021; this is a
5-year extension.
The Division of Audit did an audit on the Board of
Parole last year and the audit includes an examination
of the board's performance in light of the 11-sunset
criteria of points provided within the Alaska statute.
The Division of Audit found the board to be in good
standing, but provided four recommendations to improve
their operations which address:
1. The accuracy and consistency of the information
contained in parole files;
2. Documentation of victim and offender
notifications;
3. Deficiencies in proposed regulation changes
methods;
4. The security of the Department of Corrections'
information system.
In response to the audit, the Board of Parole provided
responses to the identified recommendations; likewise,
the Department of Corrections generally agreed with
the recommendations.
HB 231 fulfills the constitutional requirement that
the state establish a parole system and accordingly
assist in keeping Alaskans safe.
As you can see the bill also has a fiscal note which
covers the board's operating costs which were included
in the recently passed budget.
9:26:36 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE asked Ms. Mielke to explain the change in the
extension date.
MS. MIELKE explained that typically the Board of Parole was
extended for eight years, but the Division of Audit suggested a
six-year extension due to the crime bill that was passed. She
noted that the current version of the bill was amended to five
years.
CHAIR STOLTZE asked Ms. Mielke to verify that the change was
made in House Finance.
MS. MIELKE answered yes.
9:28:30 AM
KRIS CURTIS, Legislative Auditor, Legislative Audit Division,
Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, explained that the
division looked at whether the Board of Parole was serving the
public's interest and whether it should be extended. She set
forth that the division concluded that the Board of Parole met
the constitutional requirement that the state establish a parole
system in addition to operating in a professional and efficient
manner. She stated that the Legislative Audit Division
recommended a six-year extension and added that four
recommendations were presented for operational improvements.
She specified that the first recommendation was for the
executive director to improve procedures to ensure the required
documentation for parole hearings was accurate and consistently
included parole files. She detailed that the division looked at
38-discretionary parole hearing files and several errors were
found such as risk assessment forms not being tabulated
correctly and parole applications were missing. She pointed out
that the division recommended a general documentation clean-up
because the errors did not impact the risk assessment.
MS. CURTIS explained that the second recommendation was for the
executive director, in coordination with the Department of
Corrections' management, to implement documentation standards to
ensure all offenders' and victims' notifications are made in
accordance to statutory requirements. She revealed that based on
a sample of parole files, the division found a general lack of
documentation that offenders and victims were being notified of
board hearings as required by law. She said the division
believes that notifications were happening because complaints
were not evident, but notifications could not be verified due to
a lack of documentation.
She detailed that the third recommendation was for the board to
ensure proposed regulations and all statutory requirements were
addressed related to its duties. She noted that the
recommendation was a housekeeping type of recommendation. She
explained that a statute requires the board to establish
regulation standards under which the suitability of a prisoner
for parole should be determined. She revealed that the
regulations in place during the audit described the risk
assessment matrix that had been used for many years as the tool;
however, the board implemented a new risk assessment tool in
2014 called the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) tool.
She divulged that when the board went to change the regulations,
the Department of Law recommended that any tool not be included
in order to avoid the trouble of changing regulations in the
future. She remarked that while the Department of Law's
recommendation was reasonable and efficient, the recommendation
does not comply with statute.
She explained that the fourth recommendation was for the
Department of Corrections Administrative Services Division's
director take steps to ensure that their Offender Management
System complied with security best practices. She revealed that
the division withheld details for the security finding to avoid
exploitation. She specified that the Legislative Audit Division
provided details to the Department of Corrections and corrective
action was taken.
She summarized that the Department of Corrections and the Board
of Parole concurred with the Legislative Audit Division's
recommendations.
9:32:06 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE noted that Ms. Curtis' audit gave a short shrift
to victims' rights. He opined that an abridgement of prisoners'
rights would have received a bigger section in the audit. He
pointed out that victims' rights was a prominent part of the
state's constitution. He added that he was not sure if the audit
reflected the seriousness of the violation.
MS. CURTIS replied that the notifications would have been worded
very strongly if the Legislative Audit Division really felt that
notifications were not happening. She specified that the
recommendation boiled down to a problem with the Department of
Corrections not using the management system for documentation on
the officer or institutional levels. She said the Legislative
Audit Division believed that notifications were happening, but
people were not taking the time to document how and when the
notifications were happening. She summarized that the
Legislative Audit Division thought that notifications
recommendation was a procedural issue as opposed to a victim or
offender issue.
CHAIR STOLTZE asked if the Legislative Audit Division had
contact with the Alaska Office of Victims' Rights on the
notification issue.
MS. CURTIS answered no. She specified that the Legislative Audit
Division kept its interactions with the board and the Department
of Corrections.
SENATOR MCGUIRE requested to address the executive director for
the Alaska Board of Parole. She asked that Mr. Edwards address
the four recommendations from the Legislative Audit Division.
She specified that the two areas that caused her the most
consternation were recommendations 1 and 2.
She addressed Recommendation 1 and asked what Mr. Edwards was
doing to respond to the audit in the area of risk assessment
forms. She stated that she was concerned that SB 91 would expand
the work the Board of Parole would do with notifications and
pointed out that errors were currently occurring. She remarked
that SB 91 would also increase reliance on risk assessment as a
tool as opposed to a simple financial requirement.
She stated that she shared Chair Stoltze's concern regarding
Recommendation 2 on notifying both parolees and victims. She
remarked that in many cases notifications were not occurring or
at a minimum were not occurring in less than 30 days in advance.
9:34:19 AM
JEFF EDWARDS, Executive Director, Alaska Board of Parole,
Anchorage, Alaska, addressed Recommendation 1 and noted that the
audit occurred when the board used an old risk-assessment tool
that was developed in the late 70s. He revealed that the board
brought in an expert and decided to change to the LSI-R
evaluation tool that was used by the Department of Corrections.
He remarked that LSI-R was a dynamic, data-driven tool that
analyzed up-to-date and accurate information.
9:39:47 AM
He concurred that SB 91 will have a significant impact on the
Board of Parole. He opined that the Alaska Criminal Justice
Commission attempted to recognize that the Board of Parole has
an active role in corrections and criminal justice. He pointed
out that the Board of Parole was one of the only agencies that
can actually release inmates early from prison.
He set forth that the board was happy with its process. He noted
that the board's recidivism rate was only 5 percent on
discretionary parole or early release. He disclosed that the
board has been trying to move in the directions that SB 91 has
outlined. He remarked that SB 91 solidifies legislatively the
direction the board will be moving into.
SENATOR MCGUIRE asked that Mr. Edwards address Recommendation 2
and respond to the many errors made in the victim and offender
notifications as well as why parole was not granted.
9:42:48 AM
MR. EDWARDS replied that the audit mentioned that the victim
notifications were not documented along with the prisoner
notification of granting or not granting parole. He said the
board acknowledges that documentation should have occurred. He
set forth that victims were included and the board was very open
and transparent during the victim process.
He stated that staff has been directed to conduct an exhaustive
review of every parole-applicant information packet to ensure
notifications are going out. He added that the board has worked
with the Division of Institutions for the Department of
Corrections in opening and expanding a knowledge base for a
specific area in the Offender Management System that includes
victim notification, dates when paperwork was sent out, and
officer commentary. He revealed that the officer commentary was
included in the board's parole information packets as well as
comments made by each victim.
MR. EDWARDS stated that victims have an impact on the parole
system. He said the board highly encourages victims to either
comment in-person, telephonically, or in writing. He said the
board makes every attempt to be inclusive and transparent. He
pointed out that the board has a pretty good relationship with
the Alaska Office of Victims' Rights. He asserted that the board
takes victims' statements very seriously. He admitted that
victims that testify before the board was an emotional event at
times and the board tries to be as sensitive as it can. He
voiced that the board feels that the documentation system has
been improved to makes sure there is a paperwork trail of dates,
times, and any comments made.
9:45:57 AM
SENATOR MCGUIRE stated that she appreciated Mr. Edward's
explanation on Recommendation 2. She said she encouraged her
colleagues to follow up prior to the sunset. She set forth that
victim notification should have a zero-failure rate. She noted
that one victim was not provided with an offender-release
notification. She pointed out that the state has very high rates
of domestic violence and assault. She remarked that she could
not imagine if the victim was a member of her family and they
were not notified.
CHAIR STOLTZE asserted that correctional officers did not
provide enough input on the issues of parole, probation, and
furloughs. He opined that correctional officers know the inmates
the best and asked how their input might be augmented in a
formal or informal fashion.
MR. EDWARDS revealed that he was a correctional officer at a
maximum-security prison 16 years ago. He detailed that he lived
with the inmates and recognized their challenges. He explained
that a correctional officer gains a certain knowledge and
respect through professional interaction with inmates. He
revealed that the board currently accepted written testimony or
statements from correctional staff on behalf of particular
inmates. He said including inmate input was not necessarily
mandated, but the board would be happy to look at having
correctional officers as part of the process. He disclosed that
the board consisted of two former correctional officers that
share the same interests and ideology as he does. He set forth
that the board was inclusive and welcomed expanding its
inclusiveness to the correctional staff because he agreed that
they offer insight as to day-to-day operations.
9:48:50 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE specified that guard input would provide both
positive and negative input. He stated that guards probably know
which prisoners were very redeemable and rehabilitable.
SENATOR MCGUIRE thanked Mr. Edwards for his comments on SB 91
and his work towards making the Board of Parole better. She
shared that the Legislature was looking into the high-cost
category of parole revocations and denials. She asked that Mr.
Edward think about Recommendation 1 regarding the lack of
communication regarding parole violations and the category's
high cost impact to the state.
MR. EDWARDS replied that he appreciated Senator McGuire's
comments and would adhere to her recommendation.
9:51:00 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE closed public testimony on HB 231.
SENATOR COGHILL asked when an audit commences prior to a sunset
date.
MS. CURTIS explained that audit timelines differ between boards,
commission and entities with sunset dates. She specified that
the audit for the Board of Parole was conducted the year before
the 2016 sunset date.
SENATOR COGHILL pointed out that the Board of Parole was making
changes as well as possible changes from pending legislation. He
asked if a 2021 sunset date would trigger an audit in 2020.
MS. CURTIS answered that work would start in 2021. She noted
that she was approached with a one-year termination date and
remarked that she did not know if the Legislative Audit Division
currently had the resources to do an audit in one year. She
revealed that in order to evaluate a board there has to be a
certain number of years which the board can accomplish what was
in SB 91 to actually be able to review the bill's impact on the
board. She disclosed that she advocated for a three-year minimum
before the Legislative Audit Division goes back in. She pointed
out that the audit's six-year recommendation was not reflective
of SB 91 because the bill was not in play during the audit, but
the Legislative Audit Division thought legislative oversight
earlier than the maximum eight years was prudent and with the
implementation of the new risk assessment tool, the division
settled on six years; however, an earlier audit in light of SB
91 made a lot of sense.
CHAIR STOLTZE stated that he favored a shorter timeline, but
noted that the committee was not making a final decision because
the finance committee was a safety in changing if necessary.
9:54:56 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE announced HB 231 would be held in committee.
9:55:13 AM
At ease.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING: DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
CONFIRMATION HEARING
Department of Corrections
10:04:50 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE called the committee back to order. He announced
that the committee would conduct a confirmation hearing for Dean
Williams as Commissioner of the Department of Corrections. He
called attention to a letter and asked if Commissioner Williams
received it.
10:05:48 AM
DEAN WILLIAMS, Commissioner-Designee, Alaska Department of
Corrections, Anchorage, Alaska, replied that he had not seen the
letter.
CHAIR STOLTZE asked if Commissioner Williams would like a copy
of it.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS answered yes, but noted that he felt
rushed in digesting the information and commenting during the
meeting.
CHAIR STOLTZE asked if the letter was discussed in the previous
committee.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS answered no.
CHAIR STOLTZE pointed out that in all fairness, the letter came
out the previous day and Commissioner Williams could come back
to respond.
10:06:32 AM
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS replied that he would answer any questions
pertaining to the letter.
CHAIR STOLTZE commented that his intent was to make sure the
letter was part of the document and assumed that others had seen
it. He said questions would be dealt with as they came up.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS acknowledged that there were people in the
room that both supported him as well as preferred someone else.
He announced that his intention was to lead both groups and
noted that he understood why some skeptics were unsure why he
was before the committee.
CHAIR STOLTZE said the committee's jurisdiction was the reason
why Commissioner Williams was before the committee.
10:08:04 AM
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS concurred with Chair Stoltze and noted
that his intention was to acknowledge all of the people, no
matter where they stood.
He detailed that he retired four years ago as a Tier-1 employee
after moving up in the juvenile correctional world and having a
good experience in the Department of Law. He detailed his
curriculum vitae as follows:
· Paralegal investigator for the district attorney's office
in Nome and Kotzebue.
· Worked on sex cases in Nome and Kotzebue preparing grand
jury cases, interviewing witnesses and addressing a myriad
of issues.
· Served as a certified reserve police officer.
· Moved from operating the state's smallest juvenile facility
to the largest.
· Did reform work at the end of his career in terms of
developing a school program to keep kids out of juvenile
facilities and prison.
He said upon retirement his intention was to move on and find a
"fun job." He detailed that after Governor Walker was elected,
he was asked to be a special assistant in public safety. After
six months, he was asked to work directly for the governor as a
special assistant. He said an issue came up with the Department
of Corrections and he suggested that the administration needed
to know where the problems were at. He specified that the
governor asked him to do the review of the Department of
Corrections because he wanted someone who had no other agenda
but to tell him the truth. He disclosed that the governor
promised that after the review that he would return as his
special assistant.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS detailed that after his review he was
asked to submit his name for consideration as commissioner for
the Department of Corrections and the governor made a decision
and chose him. He set forth that because of everything that he
had seen, he wanted to do something as commissioner. He asserted
that the commissioner title was not the reason why he was before
the committee. He stated that he would be happy to make the
changes that he thought needed to be made from another job, but
that was not what the calling was for him. He said he thought a
very long time about venturing into such a difficult place
knowing that he had just done the review. He admitted that he
did not enjoy the setup and he had great concern about it.
He summarized that his brief background overview encompassed 36
years when he left Ohio for a summer in Alaska in 1980.
10:12:54 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE asked what his goals were.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS replied that the department's staffing
situation was serious. He said forcing staff to work overtime
was a problem. He disclosed that the previous commissioner, Mr.
Taylor, had a study done on the department's staffing and the
study did a pretty thorough job on what the department should
have.
He suggested options to consider as follows:
1. Make sure the right people are in jail and the people who
can be dealt with outside should be out of jail.
2. Fill all of the correctional positions that the department
requested in the study to relieve staffing stress.
3. Send prisoners out of state and direct the savings to
bolster areas where the department was suffering the most.
10:16:19 AM
SENATOR MCGUIRE asked if the medical officers were organized.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS answered that nearly all of the medical
officers were organized except for doctors and nurse
practitioners that were on contract.
SENATOR MCGUIRE concurred with Commissioner William's report
that clearly there was a staffing issue. She asserted that
putting stress on an already stressful job by adding hours was
difficult. She added that another area was training and asked
that Commissioner Williams address the broader shift in the
corrections system from a "warrior model" to a "guardian model."
SENATOR MCGUIRE detailed that her inquiry on medical officers
pertained to finding out how many there were, how many were
needed, was the subject addressed, and what the intake
regulations were. She opined that the state has
deinstitutionalized the mentally ill by going from a community
based health-delivery system to an inmate population where 70 to
80 percent have an underlying mental-health problem. She added
that on top of mental health was co-occurring addiction.
She set forth that an initial evaluation should occur if
Alaska's prisons were going to become the state's mental
institutions and rehab facilities. She remarked that so many
deaths could have been prevented by an initial intake to
determine if a person was deathly intoxicated and needed a
medical facility, or if a person was borderline schizophrenic
with serious needs for medication.
10:19:57 AM
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS noted that he mentioned in his report
about the divided-command structures that has caused dysfunction
in medical situations at some facilities. He pointed out that
people with expertise have retooled medical care within
correctional facilities in other states and he was cuing up the
department to do the very same thing.
He remarked that a lot of bad things that have occurred inside
the correctional facilities happened where fragile people with
medical-care issues have come in and hospitals, no disrespect to
hospitals, have not wanted to deal with it. He said one case
involving a death occurred in Fairbanks where a man was drinking
hand-sanitizer, a situation that was not the only case. He noted
that a go-between issue played out in Bethel between the
hospital, police department, and the correctional officers. He
set forth that someone else with better expertise should tell
the department what they think was happening. He asserted that
neither he nor the doctors in the department have the expertise.
He disclosed that in the past, hospitals have approached the
Department of Corrections about medical care.
10:22:40 AM
He concurred that prisons have become the de facto psychiatric
hospitals where people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and
serious care issues are brought into a jail setting. He asserted
that a jail was not a good treatment environment for many people
and the issue presented special problems. He noted that he has
asked the person overseeing psychiatric-care issues to address
where the department was spending money. He added that the
department was also spending money on substance abuse, a hugely
important issue. He added that as a result for everything he has
seen, safety inside facilities for staff, inmates and the public
was also important. He said he has talked with staff and a real
frustration existed that not enough attention has been given to
safety.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS summarized that he does not have a magic
fix on all the things he mentioned within in a short period of
time. He set forth that he does have a vision for where the
department was at and where the division needs to go. He
disclosed that he has started to bring people in who see the
same vision and his hope was the staff was hearing that help was
on the way.
10:24:33 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE noted that he had once spoken at a correctional
officer academy graduation and during his speech he had called
attention to the administration's responsibilities to
corrections officers and their families. He remarked that
corrections officers have been portrayed as a villainous class
in movies. He asserted that corrections officers have one of the
toughest beats and folks do not know what goes on behind the
prison walls where officers spend 12 to 16-hour days. He pointed
out that Commissioner Williams said his biggest challenge around
staffing and personnel; however, a repeated criticism he has
heard from correctional officers is that Commissioner Williams
has not met with them. He asked that Commissioner Williams
address meeting with the Correctional Officers Association.
10:26:38 AM
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS replied that he had met with the
Correctional Officers Association a month ago. He noted that his
current schedule did not allow him to return to Anchorage very
often, but he was planning on meeting with a representative with
the organization after the committee meeting.
CHAIR STOLTZE replied that he was pleased that Commissioner
Williams was meeting with the Correctional Officers Association.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS commented that disagreeing was expected,
but a meeting with the Correctional Officers Association was a
place to start.
CHAIR STOLTZE noted that he appreciated the constructive step
taken for meeting with the Correctional Officers Association.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS noted that the Correctional Officers
Association presented a document on where they saw deficiencies
in staffing in addition to acknowledging officers getting
assaulted. He remarked that there were some areas of
disagreement in terms of where he wanted the department to go;
however, he noted that he has been in an "information vacuum"
during his first two month. He summarized that he has no pride
in what he was doing in moving the department forward.
CHAIR STOLTZE asked if Commissioner Williams meant "no
ownership."
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS agreed that he has "no pride in
ownership." He said he did not own the department, but rather
the department was owned by a bunch of people, including the
state. He remarked that the department was not for him to hold
with a tight fist, but to be operated openly. He detailed that
he asked two people to resign when he started, but promoted two
individuals from within: Clare Sullivan, Deputy Commissioner;
Bruce Busby, Director of Institutions. He stated that Ms.
Sullivan and Mr. Busby came up through the ranks and were well
respected by their staff. He set forth that the biggest part of
his job was not what he does, but what folks like Ms. Sullivan
and Mr. Busby will do and continue to do beyond his tenure. He
opined that, "We've done the right thing so far."
10:30:57 AM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI thanked Commissioner Williams for his
service and acknowledged his long history in the state working
in juvenile justice.
He revealed that he urged Commissioner Williams at their first
encounter to work with the corrections officers to try and heal
some of the wounds that existed. He said judging from the report
the committee received, Commissioner Williams did not work with
the corrections officers.
He referenced Commissioner Williams' administrative review from
November 2015 and remarked that the report was a scathing review
with some pretty big accusations leveled against the corrections
officers. He noted that Commissioner Williams' report was a huge
news story that was carried by various news outlets. He pointed
out that the report used the terms, "excessive force,"
"misconduct," and "lax or informal consequences for apparent
employee conduct," ultimately leading to comments from a public
outcry via media outlets and social networking sites where
corrections officers were threatened. He asserted that the
public outcry from Commissioner Williams' report was the reason
why so many corrections officer where in attendance at the
committee meeting because they felt improperly vilified.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI pointed out that Commissioner Williams'
report cited four deaths within the corrections system. He
asserted that deaths within the corrections system were
obviously tragic and unfortunate events. He called attention to
a death cited in the report of a gentleman named Mr. Kobuck. He
noted that Commissioner Williams implied that excessive force
was used on Mr. Kobuck and detailed the report's statement as
follows:
There does not appear to have been a clear and
immediate safety threat such as an assault or
attempted escape to warrant the level of force used.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI added that Commissioner Williams noted in
the report that there was a personnel investigation in the
Kobuck case.
He remarked that when the public heard the things reported in
Commissioner Williams' report, there was a concurrence in the
way Mr. Kobuck was handled; however, there was a whole different
side of the story that the public was not aware of.
He noted that the Department of Law conducted an investigation
that was done three months prior to Commissioner Williams'
report. He revealed that the Department of Law investigation
concluded that charges were not merited and detailed Mr.
Kobuck's charges as follows:
· First degree vehicle theft;
· Fourth degree theft;
· Driving with a suspended license;
· Reckless driving.
He added that Mr. Kobuck was in possession of a hypodermic
needle and noted that he indicated that he used heroin four
hours prior to his arrest. He detailed that the Anchorage Police
Department (APD) decided not to remove the needle from Mr.
Kobuck's pocket in order for the Department of Corrections to
address. He revealed that the Department of Law investigation
determined that Mr. Kobuck remained threatening to the APD
officers during the initial booking process. He detailed that
surveillance video from the incident shows Mr. Kobuck
threatening to kill the APD officers. He added that corrections
officers were also threatened in addition to Mr. Kobuck failing
to stop grabbing and fighting when ordered to stop.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked Commissioner Williams, knowing Mr.
Kobuck's actions during incarceration, if he felt there was a
clear and immediate safety threat to officers that warranted the
force that was used.
10:36:15 AM
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS answered no and specified as follows:
No I don't and you brought up a lot and my response
has to be rather lengthy in addition to who else is in
the room with me.
First of all, the deputy attorney general who oversaw
the decision, I think is on the phone, in terms of
what they were finding in that report.
Secondly, I have the lieutenant of the training
academy here about what is trained and what is taught
in the academy because this has been a real bone of
contention and you're appropriate Senator Wielechowski
for bringing the issue up and I appreciate it. But
here is what we have to understand and many of you
have been in either the prosecution business or law
business know that criminally, whether or not someone
is charged with a crime, is a whole separate thing
than whether or not civilly and we acted appropriately
as a state agency, as a state government and in that
particular case, and oh by the way, a claim has
already been filed in that case against the state in
regards to the death of Mr. Kobuck. But let me walk
through the differences between what you've asserted
and a chance you've giving me to respond to it and I
appreciate it. I want to go with the second question
about how this impacts in terms of the whole
relationship with the union and the members because
that's very important.
There's a couple of things, first of all, what Mr.
Kobuck's interaction was with the police department
and what happens inside the doors once someone is
admitted always is a difference. Mr. Kobuck was
handcuffed when this incident started with him, he was
already handcuffed behind his back and there was not a
safety concern about getting him under control and the
distinction between that is Lieutenant Wyckoff,
[Academy Supervisor, Alaska Department of Corrections
Training Academy], could explain much better than I
could because he has looked at the incident very
carefully and he is in the room too. There's a
substantial difference between what happens out on the
street or when a situation is out of control and you
have to get control of it, things are going south,
that's an entirely different threat scenario then what
this was with someone who was already in the facility.
Let me address the issue of who he was yelling at, at
the police officers, etc. Yes he was yelling at the
police officers, I think, but upon Lieutenant
Wyckoff's, and Mr. Hanlon and I are doing the review,
quite frankly considering whether or not he was
yelling at the police, he was mad at the police, a lot
of people arrested are mad at the police, but what
happens once he hits the door is an entirely different
matter. This situation was not out of control, he was
in handcuffs and you don't get on someone's back who
is already in handcuffs.
10:39:08 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE commented that he has gone on a police ride-along
and witnessed handcuffed individuals that proceeded to kick,
gouge and bite due to adrenalin-fueled rage because of drugs.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI noted that a blood toxicology test was done
after Mr. Kobuck died and the results came back positive for the
following drugs:
· Ethanol
· Amphetamines
· Phenobarbital
· Nordiazepam
· Chlordiazepxide
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI added that Mr. Kobuck had a criminal
history that goes back 20 years as follows:
· Five convictions for assault of conduct
· Two convictions for resisting arrest
· Challenged to fight corrections officers while previously
in prison
He noted that Mr. Kobuck's threats to kill people in the
corrections facility was on video tape without audio. He asked
Commissioner Williams to confirm that he removed the audio so
that people could not hear Mr. Kobuck's threats.
CHAIR STOLTZE pointed out that the committee-hearing proceedings
were not being held in a courtroom. He stated that he understood
the emotion, but asked that the exchange be done through the
chair.
10:41:21 AM
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS replied that he was shocked that Senator
Wielechowski would think that he purposely removed the audio
from the video tape. He said he could debate and disagree with
Senator Wielechowski about the premise that he was presenting
because the premise was not correct. He asked Senator
Wielechowski to talk to Lieutenant Wyckoff about what he trains,
whether or not someone who is already handcuffed should be taken
down and put into leg restraints. He asserted that someone who
dies in a similar way maybe fine for everyone else, but having
someone die was not fine and the department could do better than
that. He set forth that the reasons why the situation like Mr.
Kobuck's happens is due an over-stressed system that forces
officers to work overtime, polices are not updated for 20 to 25
years, training is not done regularly with employees, and the
end result is danger increases in all of the department's
systems. He pointed out that he never has vilified or blamed the
officers for a whole series of issues that have occurred. He set
forth that he has disagreed with people holding on to the
position that what happened to Mr. Kobuck could happen again. He
pointed out that people in the training academy and other law
enforcement personnel have said there are ways of handling
people so that people do not have to die; that was his goal
along with not vilifying or people when things go wrong. He
summarized that he respectively disagreed with Senator
Wielechowski's premise and stated that his intent was for the
department to go in a substantially different place.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI reiterated that Commissioner Williams
stated in his report that, "There does not appear to have been a
clear and immediate safety threat such as an assault or
attempted escape to warrant the level of force used." He
repeated that the video involving Mr. Kobuck did not include the
audio where he threatened to kill the officers. He asked
Commissioner Williams to comment on whether including the audio
would have been a relevant factor for the public.
10:43:55 AM
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS replied that regarding the issue of
whether or not Mr. Kobuck was threatening officers, he pointed
out that people come in all of the time that threaten and call
officers racial slurs. He reiterated that Mr. Kobuck was
handcuffed behind his back. He noted that Mr. Kobuck was in the
medical area beforehand and grudgingly cooperated, but he
refused to blow into the intoximeter. He pointed out that Mr.
Kobuck announced that he had a medical condition involving
cardiomyopathy. He stated that if Senator Wielechowski did not
believe him whether someone handcuffed should be taken down in
the fashion Mr. Kobuck was taken down, he asked that Senator
Wielechowski talk to the FBI agent and talk to Mark Mew,
[former] Anchorage chief of police. He asserted that he did not
think someone has to die who's in a situation like Mr. Kobuck.
He explained that recordings were not tracked during his review
because some rooms had audio and some rooms did not. He admitted
that he did not consider the audio to be a relevant factor. He
asserted that in hindsight he would consider the audio to be
relevant due to the fuss being raised, but also because a
specter of suspicion was caused. He said he would have done
things very differently if he had any idea the audio was going
to be an issue. He disclosed that Lieutenant Wyckoff reviewed
the audio and remarked that the person yelling was not Mr.
Kobuck.
He summarized that he did a very difficult review knowing that
his report was going to be criticized for no matter what was
found. He set forth that he and Mr. Hanlon looked very closely
at the incident involving Mr. Kobuck, but asserted that they did
the best job they could.
10:46:37 AM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI addressed the take-down of Mr. Kobuck and
noted that the Department of Corrections' policies and
procedures require that inmates being incarcerated remove their
clothes and be strip searched. He revealed that Mr. Kobuck
refused to take off his clothes, fought with officers and
threatened to kill them. He set forth that corrections officers
were caught in a "Catch 22" situation of either violating policy
or taking Mr. Kobuck down. He asked Commissioner Williams what
he expected the corrections officers to do in their situation
with Mr. Kobuck.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI reiterated that the Department of Law
investigated the incident with Mr. Kobuck and found no violation
whatsoever. He disclosed that the coroner that investigated Mr.
Kobuck found that there was no accident, no positional
asphyxiation, no homicide, no suicide and the manner of death
was undetermined. He set forth that stating, "Excessive force
was used and not having a clear and immediate threat," was
extraordinarily inflammatory to the corrections officers who put
their lives on the line every single day. He pointed out that
the corrections officers followed the policies to-a-T and not a
single one was disciplined for the incident with Mr. Kobuck.
10:48:37 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS commented that he would label the situation with
the Department of Corrections as "Personnel Management 101." He
encouraged the committee members not to wade through the
administrative review and try to figure out who is right or
wrong. He set forth that Commissioner Williams has the
credentials, but was hindered by doing his review prior to the
governor's appointment announcement. He summarized that the
current question pertained to confidence and not competence. He
set forth that the governor has to make a decision whether
Commissioner Williams can close the divide between the work
force and the commissioner. He asked what Commissioner Williams
has done since his nomination to reduce the divide.
10:53:26 AM
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS concurred that he has felt the burden of
doing a review and then finding himself in his current position.
SENATOR HUGGINS commented that the process was unfair to
Commissioner Williams.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS replied that he appreciated Senator
Huggins, but noted that his conviction was the reason why he was
positioned in his current spot. He conceded that the past few
months have been difficult, but he would not change it. He
remarked that the governor asked him to be commissioner because
of his vision for what needed to happen in a particular time. He
specified that part of his vision was the healing of
relationships which has occurred. He admitted that the
relationship between the commissioner and some employees has not
been good for a very long time.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS set forth that two things have to be done
about improving the relationship: bringing people forward that
have the confidence of employees and for the commissioner to
spend time at each correctional facilities. He stated that he
did not care whether or not he was the best commissioner for the
department, but he did care about what the mission was and its
direction.
He summarized that the issues that happen in another situation
like Mr. Kobuck and the department walks away and says, "We did
better than that you guys, good job, someone didn't die in that
situation, good job," and the staff can see that's what the
focus is versus hanging people out to dry or doing something;
that was where he was at and he would not be going through the
confirmation process if that was not where his head and heart
was.
10:57:26 AM
SENATOR COGHILL stated that he wanted to associate himself with
the remarks that Senator Huggins brought up. He stated that in
order to move forward the people in the corrections system have
to work with Commissioner Williams. He opined that huge
differences were made evident during the committee meeting and
he questioned whether the meeting was the right place to do
that. He commented that the huge differences of opinion and some
pretty clear accusations were either misstatements or out and
out lies that need to be dealt with. He stated that the loop has
to be closed between the leadership and the people who do the
work within the institution. He set forth that legislators have
to continually look at the confidence level and whether the
department can in fact move forward. He stated that the
department was at a critical point where the tension of not
having enough staff to carry out what was currently mandated. He
said prisons were not going away and management has to happen.
He asked Commissioner Williams if he was willing to try to close
the loop and noted that moving forward would not occur without
his willingness to move forward.
11:00:33 AM
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS replied that Senator Coghill's statement
was accurate. He noted that at the onset of his review he made a
statement that ultimately addressed the entire closing-the-loop
where his goal was to seek justice. He explained that seeking
justice meant walking humbly through the review experience. He
admitted that he did not bring all of the knowledge to the
department that was required to move forward. He set forth that
moving forward required people near him that possessed great
experiences, so the relationship factor was huge to him.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS admitted that a lot of damage was done
prior to his appointment and noted that he knew airing the dirty
laundry would be a sore point. He disclosed that his intent with
every union was to meet with all of them at the same time if he
was confirmed. He acknowledged that his report and confirmation
process addressed disagreements that occurred. He explained that
his job as commissioner was to work through the relationships,
have people understand that he was open to change without
interest in lording over them, and to be open to finding the
right leaders who can lead their sections. He noted that he has
a good relationship with the Board of Parole and his job was to
help them do their job. He opined that leadership was a complete
exercise in humility everywhere down the line. He set forth that
he has set a vision for how the department can do better than
what was done in the past. He said he wants anyone that can come
along to help him with his vision by providing their input and
identifying the things to address first. He specified that
moving forward was a "team process and not a Dean process."
He stated that he was very happy and admitted that he may not
sound happy during the committee meeting. He asserted that he
was very happy with the progress that has been made. He
disclosed that he has received tremendous praise from people
within the department. He noted that he received positive
feedback from the visits he has made to various correctional
facilities and promised that he would make more after the
legislative session.
He summarized that people have to know that you are out for the
best interest. He admitted that some people know that he is out
for the best interest and some do not, but he knew what he was
going to do.
SENATOR COGHILL pointed out that the corrections guards'
integrity "took a pretty good hit" from Commissioner Williams'
report and the Legislature would have to see some closing of the
disagreement moving forward. He declared that just because the
job was hard does not mean the job could not be done. He stated
that high morale for corrections officers was important and he
was desperately trying provide relief both in the jail
populations and the methodologies. He summarized that the
current issue was personnel related and the Legislature would
look and listen that Commissioner Williams was closing the loop.
11:05:37 AM
SENATOR MCGUIRE commented that she agreed with a lot of the
comments that were made. She asked that corrections workers in
attendance be acknowledged and called attention to the hard job
they had. She noted that she agreed with Commissioner Williams'
notation on his letterhead, "Walking Alaska's toughest beat."
She pointed out that Chair Stoltze, Senator Coghill and she have
been involved in peeling back the layers of problems with
corrections for a long time. She noted that based upon her
discussions with previous Department of Corrections
commissioners, complaints and concerns have been building for a
long time prior to Commissioner Williams' report. She pointed
out that she held hearings several years ago to address issues
of morale and training. She recalled one instance where two
corrections officers were afraid to testify under oath and
almost backed out. She detailed that the two officers served for
over 20 years and recounted the decline in training where new
hirees went from 60 hours of training down to a couple of hours
after a waiting period. She said the two corrections officers
felt the lack of training left them vulnerable and unsafe. She
added that the two corrections officers testified about
overcrowding, drug dealing inside the prisons and misconduct by
fellow officers. She revealed that the two officers did not feel
they had a safe place to make their complaint. She said the two
officers remarked that the Department of Corrections was without
a real vision plan on how growth would be carried out.
She recalled that the Legislature was investigated by the FBI in
the mid-2000s and opined that the legislators that were
ultimately cleared knew that the culture need changing. She
asserted that she embraced the need for change and encouraged
the people in the room to consider her actions. She concurred
with Senator Coghill that public corrections should be made to
Commissioner Williams' report where inaccuracies occurred;
however, the report highlighted places where there clearly was
reprehensible conduct that would not be known without the
report. She set forth that saying Commissioner Williams was not
qualified to be commissioner because there was ire, discontent
or embarrassment about things uncovered by the report was wrong.
She remarked that the commissioner for the Department of
Corrections is not just accountable to the employees, but to the
people of the State of Alaska. She asserted that what has been
happening in the state's prisons was unacceptable. She avowed
that she did not blame the men and women in the committee room
and noted that some in attendance had been the first people that
came to her to ask for more support and the need for more
training. She set forth that, "Commissioner Williams is the man,
in my opinion, that has been asked to do it and will do it." She
asked that corrections officers walk into their negotiations and
meetings to just stop and think about the legislative
investigation example that she gave.
SENATOR MCGUIRE opined that a culture shift in a different
direction has occurred regarding legislative and law enforcement
terms. She opined that many corrections officers have come up in
the ranks with a "warring" or "protect oneself" mentality;
however, she pointed out that there were also places where
corrections officers can be a guardian of public values where
things can be encountered differently through training.
She set forth that Commissioner Williams was an Alaskan who felt
that the Department of Corrections was his department where
every life matters. She stated that she was grateful that
Commissioner Williams was staying in the fight.
11:12:29 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE commented that he appreciated the sentiment that
all lives matter. He noted that safety concerns for corrections
officers was at a boiling point because of many personnel issues
and incredible challenges. He concurred that corrections have a
tough beat to walk and opined that their arm of the
administration of justice was the most challenging with few
constituencies due to the eagerness to reduce prison costs. He
remarked that prisons were expensive because they provided the
things that were constitutionally required through a series of
court cases and were also expensive because of officer safety.
He remarked that the Department of Corrections has unarmed
personnel that were far outnumbered where an incredible amount
of judgement, trust, and morale were critical. He opined that
guns cannot replace what good management will accomplish because
it just would never work.
He asked Commissioner Williams to formally introduce his staff.
11:14:20 AM
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS identified his staff members and commented
as follows:
· Lieutenant Wyckoff, Supervisor for the Alaska Department of
Corrections Training Academy.
· Bruce Busby, Director of Institutions, formally ran Lemon
Creek Correctional Center.
· Clare Sullivan (online), Deputy Commissioner, formally ran
the maximum-security facility at Spring Creek in Seward.
· April Wilkerson, Director for the Alaska Department of
Corrections-Administrative Services.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS stated that teamwork matters, including
the teamwork with employees. He said while there may be
disagreements about what certain things, he will continue to
listen and take everything very seriously. He set forth that he
would walk every day in humility about leading a very large
organization. He asked that the Legislature and everyone in the
room help him because singly he won't be able to do it.
11:16:00 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE announced that he would like to recognize the
"public safety warriors" who work in anonymity behind the walls.
He asked that the correctional officers in the room standup for
the committee to acknowledge them. He said he thanked the
correctional officers for their often unseen role in the
administration of justice. He noted that the correctional
officers had taken their day off to be part of the public
process. He thanked the committee and remarked that the meeting
was the most substantive confirmation hearing that the committee
has ever had. He opined that Commissioner Williams might take
something from the fact that rarely has there been a time when
all committee members have been engaged in the discussion as
well as there being so much public interest.
11:17:22 AM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Stoltze adjourned the Senate State Affairs Committee at
11:17 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 324 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2016 9:00:00 AM |
HB 324 |
| HB 324 Explanation of Changes.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2016 9:00:00 AM |
HB 324 |
| HB 324 Backup Document - VCCB Annual Report 2015.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2016 9:00:00 AM |
HB 324 |
| HB 324 Supporting Document - Letter - Violent Crimes Compensation Board 3-3-2016.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2016 9:00:00 AM |
HB 324 |
| HB 231 Summary of Changes ver A to ver E.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2016 9:00:00 AM |
HB 231 |
| HB 231 Division of Legislative Audit Sunset Review of DOC Board of Parole - 20-20092-15.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2016 9:00:00 AM |
HB 231 |
| HB 231 Legislative Audit Memo to HFIN - Parole Revocation Decisions - 03-22-2016.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2016 9:00:00 AM |
HB 231 |
| HB 231 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2016 9:00:00 AM |
HB 231 |
| Confirmation Hearing - RESUME -Department of Corrections Commissioner - Dean Williams.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2016 9:00:00 AM |
Appointment |
| SCR 16 Backup Document - LAA 4-1-16 Memo RE Seismic Retrofit & Life Safety Improvement Timeline.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2016 9:00:00 AM |
SCR 16 |