STA - 03/07/95 HB 199 - CRIMINAL TRANSMISSION OF HIV Number 296 REPRESENTATIVE OGAN said the intent of HB 199 is simple: A person who knowingly has HIV and commits an act that is known to transmit HIV to others is guilty of a Class A felony. Number 320 BARBARA BRINK, Deputy Director, Alaska Public Defender Agency, testified via teleconference, stating the Alaska Public Defender Agency is concerned about the broad language of HB 199. Though the agency agrees with the goal of protecting the public's health, the prohibited behavior must be described more precisely to assure due process notice. The bill does not define "intimate sexual contact" and thus may not be constitutional. The bill lacks a definition of "reasonable efforts" and criminalizes conduct such as that of transmission of HIV from a mother to her fetus. It also includes organ donors who are already governed by stringent medical standards. It shifts the burden of proof, and only applies to people who are legally married at the time. Number 355 MS. BRINK reiterated she believes the intent of the bill is excellent, but use of the criminal code may not be the best way to achieve this goal. This bill makes it a Class A felony and may discourage people from getting tested for HIV so they won't know what their HIV status is and cannot be held liable; her agency wants to encourage voluntary testing. The spread of communicable disease is a serious issue in Alaska, but laws do not exist to punish people for spreading tuberculosis or hepatitis. Number 380 MS. BRINK continued she believes there are already laws in Alaska which could be utilized for punishing a person who deliberately and recklessly infect other people; for example, assault in the first degree if there was an intention to inflict injury, which would include intentionally transmitting the virus. Recklessly engaging in a harmful behavior is also punishable as assault in the second degree and carries a jail sentence of up to ten years. Given these concerns, she urged this bill not be passed from committee. Number 407 CHAIR JAMES said she "thought we were quite sure what behavior spreads HIV," contrary to Ms. Brink's statement. She also wondered if assault included rape, and whether there had ever been a penalty in the past for people failing to submit to quarantines for such things as smallpox. MS. BRINK replied she was unaware of any penalty for refusal to obey or stay in quarantine status. The assault charges she was speaking of were separate from rape charges; Alaska's assault charges are written so broadly, they in fact could cover consentual activity if that activity recklessly endangered another person. If a person engaged in brutal behavior which could result in HIV transmission, that would be an additional charge. Reckless behavior occurs when a person is aware that his or her behavior could injure another person and does it anyway. Number 454 MS. BRINK continued she did not see a definition of "intimate sexual contact" in the bill, though a companion senate bill does have the definition. In fact, there is still a lot of discussion among health care professionals as to exactly how the HIV virus can be transmitted, via which bodily fluids and via what bodily contact. Medical science is not clear on this; there is even a strong school of thought which doubts whether HIV causes AIDS at all.