SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE May 4, 1996 11:10 a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Senator Robin Taylor, Chairman Senator Lyda Green, Vice-Chairman Senator Mike Miller Senator Johnny Ellis MEMBERS ABSENT Senator Al Adams COMMITTEE CALENDAR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 2(FIN) "An Act providing for incarceration of certain nonviolent offenders in boot camps operated by the Department of Corrections; making prisoners who complete the boot camp program eligible for furloughs and discretionary parole; allowing the Department of Corrections to contract with a person for a boot camp program; creating the Boot Camp Program Advisory Board in the Department of Corrections." CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 433(JUD) am "An Act relating to an exemption to the unauthorized publication or use of communications and the prohibition against eavesdropping for certain law enforcement activities." CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 372(L&C) am "An Act relating to the authority of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to exempt certain restaurant or eating place licenses from requirements relating to operation of a restaurant and to food sales; and providing for an effective date." PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION HB 2 - No previous Senate committee action. HB 433 - No previous Senate committee action. HB 372 - No previous Senate committee action. WITNESS REGISTER Representative Ed Willis State Capitol, Juneau, AK 99801-1182¶(907)465-2199 POSITION STATEMENT: prime sponsor of HB 2 Jerry Shriner, Special Assistant Office of the Commissioner Department of Corrections 240 Main St., Ste. 700, Juneau, AK 99801¶(907)465-4640 POSITION STATEMENT: supports HB 2 Del Smith, Deputy Commissioner Department of Public Safety P.O. Box 111200, Juneau, AK 99811-1200¶(907)465-4322 POSITION STATEMENT: representing governor-prime sponsor of HB 433 Anne Carpeneti, Assistant Attorney General Criminal Division Department of Law P.O. Box 110300, Juneau, AK 99811-0300¶(907)465-3428 POSITION STATEMENT: representing governor-prime sponsor of HB 433 Representative Norman Rokeberg State Capitol, Juneau, AK 99801-1182¶(907)465-4968 POSITION STATEMENT: prime sponsor of HB 372 Mia Costello, Aide Representative Norman Rokeberg State Capitol, Juneau, AK 99801-1182¶(907)465-4968 POSITION STATEMENT: prime sponsor of HB 372 ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 96-47, SIDE A Number 001 CSHB 2(FIN) BOOT CAMP FOR NONVIOLENT OFFENDERS CHAIRMAN ROBIN TAYLOR called the Judiciary Committee meeting to order at 11:10 a.m. and brought up HB 2 as the first order of business before the committee. Number 010 REPRESENTATIVE ED WILLIS, prime sponsor of HB 2, stated the bill would set up a boot camp program within the Department of Corrections. The program would free up beds in the prison system. Federal funding is being proposed for such programs. Number 035 JERRY SHRINER, Special Assistant to the Commissioner, Department of Corrections, stated the department supports HB 2. The program would be structured in such a way as to free up beds in prisons. While the cost of probation services would be higher, that cost would still be substantially lower than the costs associated with incarceration. The emphasis in these types of programs is on work, vocational training, and substance abuse treatment. SENATOR GREEN asked if this program would duplicate the one at Fort Richardson. MR. SHRINER stated the programs are similar, but the difference is in the age of the target group. The program at Fort Richardson is made up of juveniles who are not necessarily offenders. The program set up by HB 2 would be made up of young, adult offenders. Number 095 SENATOR MILLER offered a conceptual amendment on page 3, lines 21- 22, that the members from the House and the Senate be appointed by the Speaker and the President respectively, instead of being appointed by the Governor. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR, hearing no objection to the amendment, stated it was adopted. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR stated he toured a boot camp prison program in Arizona, and he supports HB 2. He thinks the recidivism rate with boot camp programs is lower than that of regular prison sentences. Number 155 SENATOR ELLIS made a motion to discharge SCS CSHB 2(JUD) from the Senate Judiciary Committee with a unanimous do pass. Hearing no objection, CHAIRMAN TAYLOR stated the motion carried.  CSHB 433(JUD) am POLICE CAN INTERCEPT SOME COMMUNICATIONS CHAIRMAN TAYLOR brought up CSHB 433(JUD) am as the next order of business and then stated the committee would recess to a call of the chair, until approximately 1:30 p.m., in order to give the administration an opportunity to testify on HB 433. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR called the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting back to order at 1:50 p.m. DEL SMITH, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Public Safety, representing the governor - prime sponsor of HB 433, stated the bill would allow law enforcement officers to resolve dangerous situations by a narrowly defined exemption to the eavesdropping laws. He urged support for HB 433. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked Ms. Carpeneti to review HB 433 for the committee. ANNE CARPENETI, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, Department of Law, stated that there is no specific exception for eavesdropping during a hostage situation. HB 433 was drafted to address that situation, so that in an emergency, peace officers can use a listening device. Number 232 CHAIRMAN TAYLOR commented it appears to be significantly limited to barricade situations, hostage situations, and situations where a person is threatening to use explosives illegally. HB 433 attempts to scoot around the violation of First Amendment rights to privacy. We do not lightly allow that invasion. He wants on the record that peace officers will have the right to eavesdrop only in very limited, emergency situations. MS. CARPENETI noted that if there is time, law enforcement would seek a warrant, but in exigent circumstances that would not be necessary. SENATOR TAYLOR cautioned the department to seek warrants if there is an opportunity to do so. MR. SMITH agreed with Senator Taylor that seeking a warrant is the best way to go, if at all possible. Number 261 SENATOR GREEN made a motion to discharge CSHB 433(JUD) am from the Senate Judiciary Committee with individual recommendations. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR, hearing no objection, stated the bill was discharged from committee. CSHB 372(L&C) am LIQUOR LICENSES CHAIRMAN TAYLOR brought up CSHB 372(L&C) am as the next order of business before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The chairman stated the committee would stand in recess to a call of the chair to await a Senate committee substitute for HB 372 which would combine Senator Halford's bill and Representative Rokeberg's bill. SENATOR ELLIS asked if there was a title problem. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR stated he hasn't seen any of that work yet. He hasn't yet seen that any of those problems are bothering anybody. SENATOR ELLIS commented that the only thing worse than fish wars are liquor wars. Committee staff informed the committee that the committee subsitute was on its way. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR called a brief at ease to await the scs. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR called the committee back to order and stated that committee members have had a chance to perform a cursory review of the proposed committee substitute. The chairman stated he does not understand the changes the Senate CS makes, and asked Representative Rokeberg to walk the committee through them. REPRESENTATIVE NORMAN ROKEBERG, prime sponsor of HB 372, stated he is also absorbing the same information the Judiciary Committee members are trying to absorb. The primary differences in Section 1 are that subsection (e) is no longer allowed as an exemption for the new category of exempt licenses, which for purposes of discussion he will call the tavern licenses. The tavern licenses would now have to meet the 50/50 food requirement under the restaurant license. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if what Representative Rokeberg is referring to as taverns, others refer to as brewpubs. REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG responded no. In the state of Alaska, we have the beverage dispensary license, the restaurant license, and the 10% exempt license. In addition, we have the brewpub provision, which specifies that a person can produce 75,000 gallons or less on premises, but they have to have a beverage dispensary license. To be a brewpub, you have to have a beverage dispensary license. There are several businesses in the process of opening up in Anchorage which avoided the cost of a beverage dispensary license by acquiring a brewery license and a restaurant eating place license. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR called a recess so that Representative Rokeberg could return to the floor of the House for a vote on the railroad bill. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR called the committee back to order. MIA COSTELLO, Aide to Representative Norman Rokeberg, prime sponsor of HB 372, stated the bill would repeal the exemption for businesses with a brewery license and a restaurant eating place license with the 50/50 food provision. SENATOR ELLIS asked if the 50/50 food rule is gross for the whole establishment, or is it per customer. MS. COSTELLO responded the rule is applied as a gross to the sales of the establishment. She stated that the next change is to allow businesses with brewery and restaurant eating place licenses to have entertainment until 11:00 p.m. Number 360 SENATOR ELLIS asked what the rationale was for the change from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. MS. COSTELLO thinks it was a compromise. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR added that's about the time the Anchorage Symphony gets done. SENATOR ELLIS asked who it was a compromise between. MS. COSTELLO responded it is her understanding that the compromise occurred because establishments wanted to be able to have entertainment and attract people. But people aren't eating dinner at 10:00 and 11:00 p.m.: they're drinking. SENATOR ELLIS asked Ms. Costello to explain what portion of the scs is from the Rokeberg bill and what portion is from the Halford bill. MS. COSTELLO stated originally SB 372 still allowed those people who received exemptions to be exempt from the 50/50 food provision. The scs does not allow that. In Section 2, the change was from 6:00 p.m. originally, to 11:00 p.m. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR stated HB 372 would grandfather in those businesses who already have a brewery and a restaurant eating place license. SENATOR ELLIS asked why we would want to prohibit new businesses from getting brewery and restaurant eating place licenses. MS. COSTELLO responded she cannot answer that question. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR thinks that previously, businesses had to purchase a beverage dispensary license to have a brewpub business. SENATOR ELLIS thinks that businesses with beverage dispensary licenses and brewpub businesses felt that businesses with combination brewery and restaurant eating place licenses would be in competition with them. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR thinks HB 372 would stop competition at a lower entry fee. SENATOR ELLIS stated he never knew there was a state policy to prohibit brew-pubs. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR thinks that the current trend is to cut back on the availability of alcohol, but businesses with combination brewery licenses and restaurant eating place licenses were expanding alcohol sales and competing directly with brewpubs that owned liquor dispensary licenses. He asked Ms. Costello if he is relating things she has heard that are driving HB 372. Number 463 MS. COSTELLO replied yes. The other change to the bill is Section 4, which states that the ABC Board will have a public hearing on or before the first of next year to discuss the changes in HB 372. There are a number of people on hold for these licenses, and the board has issued a moratorium on issuing the licenses until HB 372 passes. SENATOR ELLIS asked how long the moratorium has been in place and how many licenses are being held up by the moratorium. MS. COSTELLO stated she knows of four, three of which have been issued by the board in the Anchorage area. There are five applications that are being held up by the moratorium. Whether or not more have applied since that time, which was about two months ago, she does not know. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if there would be nine new establishments selling alcohol in Anchorage. MS. COSTELLO replied that three businesses have received these types of licenses and will be grandfathered in under this bill. The others would not be grandfathered in if HB 372 passes. SENATOR GREEN asked if this is outside the purview of the ABC board at this time. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR responded that without HB 372, the ABC Board would be forced to issue more licenses. SENATOR MILLER made a motion to adopt SCS CSHB 372(JUD). The committee substitute was adopted by a vote of three yeas, one nay, and one absent. Voting for adoption were Senators Taylor, Miller, and Green. Voting against adoption was Senator Ellis. Senator Adams was absent. SENATOR ELLIS asked how the title change will be handled. SENATOR MILLER stated a title change resolution will be adopted in the Rules Committee. MS. COSTELLO added that a title change resolution has already been drafted and Senate Judiciary Committee staff has a copy of that resolution. SENATOR MILLER made a motion to discharge SCS CSHB 372(JUD) from the Senate Judiciary Committee with individual recommendations. SENATOR ELLIS objected. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked that the roll be called on the motion. The motion was adopted by a vote of three yeas, one nay, and one absent. Voting for the motion were Senators Taylor, Miller, and Green. Voting against the motion was Senator Ellis. Senator Adams was absent. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR adjourned the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting at 2:20 p.m.