HB 199-VPSO FIREARMS  9:42:45 AM CHAIR LYNN announced the final order of business was HOUSE BILL NO. 199, "An Act relating to Department of Public Safety regulations allowing village public safety officers to carry firearms." 9:43:05 AM REPRESENTATIVE BRYCE EDGMON, Alaska State Legislature, as sponsor, presented HB 199. He prefaced his introduction of the proposed legislation by offering an overview of the Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO) program. He said the program was established "in the late '70s and early '80s" to provide safety to outlying rural communities that did not have access to regular law enforcement presence. He stated that the program has, for the most part, been successful. He said there were 125 VPSOs working in the early '90s, but currently, of the authorized 120-plus authorized positions there are 92 or 93 working VPSOs. He explained the reasons for the ebb and flow in the numbers of VPSOs are related to circumstances in the particular communities and underscore one of the fundamental issues of the program, which has been turnover. 9:44:45 AM REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON said having grown up in Dillingham, a rural part of the state, he is familiar with the circumstances surrounding the VPSO program. He said his research in preparing to present HB 199 has taught him to appreciate what VPSOs do throughout rural Alaska. He expressed pride in some of the changes that have occurred in rural Alaska over the years in the areas of transportation, health care, and education, as well as opportunities for living a subsistence/cash lifestyle; however, he said the increased use of hard drugs and pervasive use of alcohol have resulted in increased violence in rural Alaska communities. He indicated that these problems have created a more lethal environment in which VPSOs must operate. 9:46:11 AM REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON explained that all this came to a head on March 19, [2014], when a VPSO lost his life in the line of duty. He said on a recent trip home, he listened to harrowing accounts of the experiences of two VPSOs, who sometimes dealt with perpetrators with high powered rifles and other arms that put a VPSO in danger. Representative Edgmon said he introduced HB 199 to require [the commissioner of the Department of Public Safety] not to prohibit VPSOs from carrying firearms. He emphasized that under HB 199, VPSOs would have to meet minimum standards and training in order to qualify to carry firearms. REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON relayed that he has been contacted by many not-for-profit organizations around the state, as well as members of the rural community, and he said he thinks the support [for HB 199] is widespread. He said there are a few communities that have some trepidation and may not want to have an armed VPSO; however, the way HB 199 is structured, that decision would be made between the department, the regional Native association, and the community itself. 9:49:18 AM REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON said there is a fiscal note of approximately $62,000 a year, which is based on the department's premise that about 20 VPSOs would be sent to the training academy in Sitka, Alaska. He said the fiscal note is broken down into three components: travel; liability, under the services component; and commodities, including the cost of the firearms, holsters, and ammunition. REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON relayed that last week he learned of a VPSO program oversight issue, which the department is currently in the process of rectifying. He recommended the committee invite Captain Steve Arlow to explain the oversight and have the deputy commissioner provide details about the training program that would be offered under HB 199. He said during the last legislative session, the department began putting regulations into effect that would not prohibit a regional association in a community to work towards the process of getting a VPSO armed. He said the thrust of the bill is to make the proposed change in perpetuity and to help legitimize the program, in terms of any secondary issues that may follow the arming of VPSOs in Alaska. In response to the chair, he confirmed that under HB 199, the arming of VPSOs would be optional for rural communities. 9:51:44 AM STEVE ARLOW, Captain, C Detachment Commander, Division of State Troopers, Department of Public Safety (DPS), testified that he has run the Alaska VPSO program for the last eight years. He brought to the attention of the committee an event wherein a nonprofit organization hired a VPSO with a felony conviction. In response to the chair, he said conviction was for a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) incident, which resulted in the harm of another individual, but he indicated that there were no firearms involved. He said there is a procedure, written in regulation 13 AAC, which gives guidelines on what investigators are supposed to consider and what they can and cannot approve in a person's background. The regulation makes clear that a person with a felony conviction cannot enter into the VPSO program and a nonprofit cannot use state funds to hire someone with a felony conviction as a VPSO. Nevertheless, he pointed out that there is regulation that allows the commissioner of DPS or his designee to review any denials in the process by a nonprofit, if the nonprofit requests the review. He said that is what happened in the aforementioned case. He said this case came to his desk after an investigator reviewed the background, which showed that the person interested in becoming a VPSO was from the community, and his father had been a VPSO for over 20 years. The application was the first the department had received from this village since the father had left. CAPTAIN ARLOW stated that it is challenging to find people who will fill VPSO positions, and the nonprofit organization said the community really supported the selection of the individual as its VPSO; he had only one felony event, and that was twelve years ago. He said he reviewed the case yesterday and it appears it is complex, because the details are unclear. He said there is a letter from the district attorney, who wanted to decline prosecution because of insufficient evidence, but the case went forward and a plea agreement was made to a different level of assault, but it was still a felony. He said it also appears that the information surrounding the event is "a little muddy." He offered further details. CAPTAIN ARLOW explained that he shared this information as an example not only of why there are guiding regulations, but also why there is a stipulation that allows a commissioner or his/her designee to "look at these on a case-by-case basis to determine" whether each meets "the intent of the law, the letter of the law." He said this is the only individual in the program who has the background of a felony conviction. He said, "We don't make it a practice, but it is something that in this case we did have one." In response to follow-up questions, he reiterated that the person was convicted of a felony, and he said the person is still working as a VPSO and appears to be doing a very good job. 9:57:20 AM CHAIR LYNN asked what the entry pay is for a VPSO. CAPTAIN ARLOW answered it is currently $25 an hour, and there could be benefit packages included, depending on which nonprofit employs the VPSO. Further, he said in some instances the communities provide housing and stipends for fuel "and other things" for those living in a rural village. 9:57:56 AM REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES recollected that the sponsor had said there are currently 93 VPSOs working, and she asked how many villages that covers. Also, she asked how long a rural community might expect to wait until an armed Alaska State Trooper arrived. CAPTAIN ARLOW answered that currently there are 69 communities serviced by VPSOs; however, some VPSOs are assigned to hub communities that touch other communities beyond those 69. Regarding response time, he relayed that having been the detachment commander for Western Alaska for many years, he can say that there are times Alaska State Troopers have arrived in villages the same day, even within hours of an event. He said there are not enough troopers to respond to all communities simultaneously, but they do their best to respond to calls and have to prioritize them. REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES said having lived out in Bush communities, response time is a concern. She added, "Thus the need for this legislation." 10:00:28 AM CHAIR LYNN said he thinks HB 199 is an important bill. 10:00:30 AM CHAIR LYNN closed public testimony. 10:01:08 AM CHAIR LYNN reopened public testimony. [HB 199 was held over.]