HB 262 - PASSENGER SECURITY: TRANSPORT. FACILITY  1:58:16 PM CHAIR GATTO announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 262, "An Act relating to the offense of interference with access to public buildings or transportation facilities, when a person conditions access to a public building or transportation facility on consent to certain physical contact or to an electronic process that produces a picture of the private exposure of the person." 1:59:40 PM MILESANNA WHITE, Staff, Representative Sharon Cissna, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of the sponsor, Representative Cissna, explained that HB 262 relates to air-travel screening procedures currently taking place in Alaska, and, after providing a brief history of such procedures, proffered that passage of HB 262 would protect Alaskans from inappropriately- invasive searches. Specifically, HB 262 would make it a class A misdemeanor for a person to require another person - as a condition for access to a public building or transportation facility - to submit to a physical or electronic search of his/her body. 2:01:16 PM MARK SABEL, Staff, Representative Sharon Cissna, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Cissna, the sponsor of HB 262, provided a PowerPoint presentation. Referring to page 2 of that presentation, he said that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) conducts security screenings at 450 airports in the United States, screening both baggage and passengers. In response to two incidences that occurred after [the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001], the TSA has been using body scanners and invasive physical inspections at an accelerated rate; those two incidents occurred on airplanes originating outside of the U.S, one involving explosive compounds hidden in the sole of a shoe, and the other involving explosive compounds sown into an undergarment. He offered his belief that as a result of [the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001], passengers are now more likely to put a stop to a hijacker's efforts themselves; furthermore, no fatal bombing has occurred on an American airliner in over 50 years. MR. SABEL, in response to a question, offered his understanding that TSA employees don't carry weapons. Referring to page 3 of his PowerPoint presentation, he said that TSA employees - referred to as transportation security officers - have no police powers and must instead obtain assistance from actual law enforcement officers. He relayed that the TSA's budget is now at $8.1 billion, and includes funding for air marshals and for other duties the TSA performs. CHAIR GATTO observed that a statistic on that page indicates that there are over 58,000 people employed by the TSA. MR. SABEL, referring to page 4 of his PowerPoint presentation, said that Alaskans travel by air eight times more often than residents of other states do; that many Alaskans have sustained physical injury and/or emotional trauma; that in most of Alaska, traveling by air is the only option, particularly [in winter]; that many Alaskans must travel by air in order to obtain advanced medical care; and that per capita, Alaska has the highest number of military veterans and the fastest growing senior population. Furthermore, Alaska leads the nation in severe arctic weather, and in distances between communities, and so air travel is critical to Alaskans. 2:07:40 PM REPRESENTATIVE SHARON CISSNA, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor - noting that she, herself, was involved in an incident with the TSA in Seattle, Washington, during which she was subjected to what she characterized as a very invasive physical examination - proffered that HB 262 addresses a constitutional issue, from the standpoint of both the U.S. Constitution and the Alaska State Constitution, specifically that of the right of the people to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures. House Bill 262 would ensure that Alaskans have the ability to travel unhindered within Alaska, free from the fear that their persons will be violated, and would restore their constitutional rights. Currently, any difference in a person's physique detected via an electronic search engenders an additional, but this time physical, search by TSA personnel. Victims of domestic violence (DV), sexual assault, and sexual abuse of a minor crimes should not be subject to the inappropriate touching involved in a physical search, and, in fact, HB 262's proposed AS 11.76.118(a)(1) and (2) use the same descriptive language as the statutes addressing those crimes. REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA offered her understanding that Texas introduced legislation similar to HB 262, and mentioned that HB 262 might be preempted because of the U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause. She also mentioned that during a meeting of the Health Caucus, the Department of Law (DOL) provided information about the TSA, including a supposition that the issues of concern that have arisen as a result of the TSA's procedures haven't been resolved yet simply because they haven't been addressed by the court of proper jurisdiction. She further noted that as currently drafted, HB 262 doesn't specifically speak to the new TSA screening procedures recently instituted in Alaska's airports; indicated that thus far the federal government hasn't responded to any requests for assistance with the TSA; suggested that HB 262 be amended to adequately address the perceived problems; predicted that only through litigation would a solution really be found; and emphasized that legislation such as HB 262 is needed because of the high number of Alaskans who've suffered trauma but still find themselves needing to travel by air. REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA, in response to a question, proffered that Alaskans traveling by air need better security than the TSA is capable of providing; mentioned that other legislation has been introduced addressing opting out of having the TSA manage security at Alaska's airports; and offered her belief that the TSA's budget is as high as it is because of its use of full-body scanners. 2:25:34 PM CHAIR GATTO offered his understanding that some such scanners produce a detailed image of the individual, whereas other such scanners produce only a generic image. REPRESENTATIVE THOMPSON offered his understanding that because HB 262 provides an exemption for activities occurring in federal buildings, HB 262 wouldn't apply to TSA activities. REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA said that according to the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF), all [commercial] airports in Alaska are owned by either the state or by the local community, and that according to one airport manager, airports merely attempt to provide the TSA with adequate space to conduct its screenings, but those spaces are not then "owned" by the federal government. REPRESENTATIVE KELLER offered his belief that the federal government has "stepped over the line," and expressed appreciation for the sponsor's efforts. 2:32:18 PM PATRICIA ANDERSON, Co-director, Alaskans' Freedom to Travel USA, said she would be speaking in favor of HB 262, and recounted an incident in which she underwent a physical search at the Seattle airport, sharing her belief that a search of the severity that she was subjected to was unnecessary because the clothing she was wearing at the time couldn't conceal anything. Mentioning that she is a breast cancer survivor, she also shared her belief that full-body scanners aren't safe in terms of exposing people to high levels of radiation, and can't detect dangerous compounds anyway. Noting that she has been physically searched on several occasions, she pointed out that none of the searches were conducted in a consistent manner, though all were invasive. If the TSA is not going to comply with the Fourth Amendment, she opined, then the State of Alaska should exercise its Tenth- Amendment right in order to protect its citizens. MS. ANDERSON then offered other examples of instances where the TSA, in conducting its searches, behaved inappropriately towards people - including children - who were innocent of any wrongdoing, and characterized the establishment of various "trusted traveler" programs as divisive, allowing for unequal treatment of certain passengers. In conclusion, Ms. Anderson urged the committee to move HB 262 forward, venturing that there must be constitutional options available for ensuring the security of those traveling by air, options such as using dogs or explosives-trace detection technologies to scan travelers for explosives - in other words, options that don't involve touching people or taking pictures of their bodies, particularly given that radiation buildup in the human body is cumulative. CHAIR GATTO concurred, noting that others in the room are also cancer survivors. 2:44:11 PM THOMAS BROWN, Co-director, Alaskans' Freedom to Travel USA, remarking that the federal government is violating Fourth Amendment rights, predicted that the TSA, under its current procedures, would continue to target the most vulnerable of air travelers such as those with physical anomalies resulting from age, amputation, other surgeries, or other traumas. Referring to the TSA as a national and international embarrassment, he offered his understanding that even the State of Israel - which deals with terrorism far more than the United States - refuses to install the type of machinery that the TSA is using, and refuses to pat down its citizens the way the TSA is doing. Over the years, he relayed, he's lived in several different countries overseas and been in the vicinity when bombing attacks have occurred. Terrorism exists and should be dealt with, he opined, but said he expects his federal government to better allocate his tax dollars, adding, "I really don't see the usefulness, necessity, (indisc.), in putting body scanners in Ketchikan or Bethel - I don't see hoards of ... [mujahideen] coming through Kivalina trying to kill us." Instead, he relayed, he views the TSA as a bloated bureaucracy - nothing more than a job-creation program - that has not succeeded in arresting any actual terrorists. MR. BROWN said he is not necessarily suggesting replacement of the TSA, but rather that it's mission must be refined, particularly given that its current screening procedures are, without doubt, excessive and useless. In fact, he recounted, Israel's defense minister has called full-body scanners a laughable waste of money, and the type of physical searches the TSA is currently conducting would not have revealed either the terrorist with explosive compounds in his shoes, or the terrorist with explosive compounds in his undergarment. Simply having open borders is not the solution, but people do need to consider how the federal government is using tax-payer dollars. Again, countries that actually live with terrorism don't do the things that the TSA is doing, and America has become the brunt of many jokes and underhanded digs because of TSA screening procedures; "It's embarrassing to think that the greatest, freest country in the history of the planet is going to treat octogenarians and six-month-old children this way," he concluded. 2:49:28 PM CHAIR GATTO, speaking as a cancer survivor who grew up in what he referred to as a rough neighborhood in New York City, pointed out that profiling potentially-dangerous people was the only way for a person to survive such an upbringing; for example, if a person saw three men swinging chains walking towards him/her, the person crossed the street, and if the men then followed, the person ran for his/her life. The TSA, however, subjects everyone - whether it's an 80-year-old grandmother or a [college] student from Saudi Arabia - to the same treatment. This seems like a waste of money, time, and energy, he opined, particularly given how successful judicious profiling has been elsewhere - such profiling in the context of pinpointing potentially dangerous people is a survival mechanism, and to not engage in it while addressing a potentially-dangerous situation makes no sense. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN declared a potential conflict of interest in that because of past surgery, metal detectors sound an alarm when he goes through them. He added that he is uncomfortable equating TSA procedures with domestic violence (DV), as he's heard some do, considering such equating to be inappropriate given the issue before the committee. 2:52:36 PM REPRESENTATIVE CHRIS TUCK, Alaska State Legislature, recounted that prior to 1996, one could purchase a plane ticket and fly without showing identification (ID), and that that changed when Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight 800 exploded due to a mechanical failure. Originally thought to be the result of terrorist activities, the destruction of that plane resulted in the federal government taking steps to provide the public with a sense of security while flying, and instituting a requirement that people show ID before being allowed to board a plane was one of those steps. Consider, now, how many rights and freedoms people have given up in the 16 years since then just to be able to travel - and supposedly with their sense of dignity still intact. Current TSA screening procedures provide nothing more than "security theatre," he opined, doing nothing to keep travelers safe in reality. And such procedures, while they might have been useful right after [the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001], aren't currently addressing an existing threat. Security at airports used to be handled with "good old fashioned police work," he remarked, and that shouldn't have been replaced with the activities the TSA currently engages in. In conclusion, he said he can't help but wonder what impact restricting travel, as the TSA is currently doing, is having on Alaska's economy, and surmised that there must be better measures to put in place, particularly given that whole-body scanners can't detect explosive compounds anyway. 2:56:18 PM DIANE SCHENKER, Co-director, Alaskans' Freedom to Travel USA, offered her understanding that members' packets include, or will soon include, a letter from her organization that contains stories from other Alaskans about their treatment by the TSA; these stories detail how people are being touched during TSA screenings, with some of that touching fitting Alaska's statutory definition of sexual assault. The argument offered to justify such touching is that passengers have consented to it; however, consent given while under coercion isn't truly consent, and Alaskans who must travel by air for work or medical reasons are being coerced because they have no choice. There must be a way to prevent harm from coming to air travelers without violating their constitutional rights, she opined; for example, although there might be a crime problem in Alaska, the solution hasn't been to institute curfews or establish search checkpoints or forcibly take blood samples or break in to people's homes every night to search them. Under current TSA procedures, if Alaskans wish to travel by air, they must first, essentially, consent to being sexually assaulted. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN, in response to a question, said he objects to moving HB 262 from committee, adding that although current TSA screening procedures can be an inconvenience, he wants to feel that he's safe from terrorists when he flies. CHAIR GATTO expressed interest in hearing possible solutions to the problem of ensuring that airplanes are made safe from terrorists in a constitutional manner. Children, he pointed out, are being left in tears after TSA personnel physically search them because they've been taught by their parents that its wrong for anyone to touch them in that manner. CHAIR GATTO then relayed that HB 262 would be held over.