00 HOUSE CS FOR CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 9(JUD) 01 "An Act relating to the surrender of infants; relating to civil history; and providing for 02 an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04  * Section 1. AS 47.05.325(a) is amended to read: 05 (a) The Department of Health and the Department of Family and Community 06 Services shall establish by regulation civil history standards for denial of issuance or 07 renewal of a license or certification for an individual or for an entity within that 08 department's licensing or certification authority if the individual who is applying for a 09 license, license renewal, certification, or certification renewal is 10 (1) a biological or adoptive parent, guardian, custodian, or Indian 11 custodian of a child who is or was the subject of a child-in-need-of-aid petition under 12 AS 47.10 and the individual had custody of the child at the time the child was the 13 subject of a petition, unless the only basis in the petition for alleging that the child  14 was a child in need of aid under AS 47.10.011 was that the child was surrendered  01 in the manner described in AS 47.10.013(c); or 02 (2) the subject of a finding or circumstance described in 03 AS 47.05.330(a). 04  * Sec. 2. AS 47.05.330(a) is amended to read: 05 (a) The Department of Health and the Department of Family and Community 06 Services shall by regulation identify each database that department will review when 07 conducting a civil history check under AS 47.05.325 to identify each individual 08 (1) whom a court or the applicable department has found 09 (A) to have committed abuse, neglect, undue influence, or 10 exploitation of a vulnerable adult; 11 (B) under AS 47.32 or regulations adopted under AS 47.32, to 12 have significantly adversely affected the health, safety, or welfare of an 13 individual who is receiving a service from an entity licensed under AS 47.32; a 14 finding described in this subparagraph includes a decision to revoke, suspend, 15 or deny a license or license renewal, or the relinquishment of a license as part 16 of a settlement agreement; 17 (2) who has been subject to criminal or civil penalties for a violation of 18 AS 09.58, AS 47.05, AS 47.06, AS 47.07, AS 47.08, or regulations adopted under 19 AS 09.58, AS 47.05, AS 47.06, AS 47.07, or AS 47.08; 20 (3) about whom the applicable department or a court has made a 21 substantiated finding of child abuse or neglect under AS 47.10 or AS 47.14; 22 (4) who was a biological or adoptive parent, guardian, custodian, or 23 Indian custodian of a child at the time the child was the subject of a child-in-need-of- 24 aid petition under AS 47.10, unless the only basis in the petition for alleging that  25 the child was a child in need of aid under AS 47.10.011 was that the child was  26 surrendered in the manner described in AS 47.10.013(c); 27 (5) who, in the course of employment with the state, has been 28 terminated from employment or has had an allegation of assaultive, abusive, 29 neglectful, or exploitive behavior or actions substantiated; 30 (6) who, in this state or another jurisdiction, for reasons related to 31 abuse, neglect, undue influence, exploitation, or other reasons that are inconsistent 01 with standards for the protection of public health, safety, or welfare, has had a 02 professional license, certification, or similar professional designation revoked, 03 suspended, or denied, or has had a request for renewal of a professional license, 04 certification, or similar professional designation denied; 05 (7) whom another state or jurisdiction has identified on a civil registry 06 or database substantially similar to the databases identified under this section for 07 reasons substantially similar to the reasons identified in (1) - (6) of this subsection. 08  * Sec. 3. AS 47.10.013(c) is amended to read: 09 (c) A parent who is immune from prosecution under AS 11.81.500 and 10 chooses to surrender an infant shall surrender the infant in the manner described in this 11 subsection. Surrendering the infant in the manner described in this subsection 12 constitutes abandonment for purposes of this chapter. An infant's parent is considered 13 to have abandoned the infant safely, and, notwithstanding AS 25.20.030 and 14 AS 47.10.120, the parent's legal duty to support the infant is extinguished if 15 (1) the parent, without expressing an intent to return for the infant, 16 leaves the infant 17 (A) in the physical custody of a person who 18 (i) [IS A (A) PERSON] the parent reasonably believes 19 would provide for the health and safety of the infant and who would act 20 appropriately to care for the infant; 21 (ii) is a [(B)] peace officer, community health aide, 22 physician, or hospital employee; or 23 (iii) [(C) PERSON WHO] is employed by or is a 24 volunteer for a fire department or emergency medical service, if the 25 person is acting within the scope of the person's fire department or 26 emergency medical service duties; or 27 (B) in an infant safety device that  28 (i) is physically affixed to an exterior wall or located  29 inside of a hospital, emergency department, freestanding birth  30 center as defined in AS 47.32.900, health facility as defined in  31 AS 47.07.900 that is owned or managed by a tribal health  01 organization as defined in AS 17.30.200(d), office of a private  02 physician whether in individual or group practice, rural health  03 clinic as defined in AS 47.32.900, municipal police department,  04 state trooper post, or fire department; and  05 (ii) meets the requirements of (h) of this section; and 06 (2) there is no evidence the infant has been physically injured before 07 abandonment. 08  * Sec. 4. AS 47.10.013(d) is amended to read: 09 (d) A person to whom an infant is surrendered in the manner described in 10 (c)(1)(A)(ii) or (iii) [(c)(1)(B) OR (C)] of this section shall 11 (1) act appropriately to care for the infant; 12 (2) inform the parent that the parent may, but is not required to, answer 13 any questions regarding the name, identity, and medical history of the infant and 14 parents of the infant unless the parent chooses to contact the department under (3) of 15 this subsection; 16 (3) ask the parent if the parent wishes to relinquish the parent's 17 parental rights and release the infant for adoption; if the answer is affirmative, the 18 person shall contact the department so that the parent can discuss that option with the 19 department; 20 (4) immediately notify the nearest office of the department that the 21 infant has been surrendered in the manner described in (c)(1)(A)(ii) or (iii) [(c)] of this 22 section. 23  * Sec. 5. AS 47.10.013(e) is amended to read: 24 (e) An individual, agency, authorized facility, or entity that receives an infant 25 abandoned safely under (c) of this section is not liable for civil damages for failure to 26 discharge the duties listed in (d) of this section. 27  * Sec. 6. AS 47.10.013 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 28 (g) An authorized facility that receives an infant surrendered under (c)(1)(B) 29 of this section shall immediately notify the nearest office of the department that the 30 infant has been surrendered under (c)(1)(B) of this section. 31 (h) An infant safety device must be 01 (1) located in an area that is conspicuous and visible to employees of 02 an authorized facility; 03 (2) climate-controlled; 04 (3) clearly marked with appropriate signage that includes a statement 05 (A) that only a child less than 21 days old may be placed in the 06 infant safety device; 07 (B) that the parent may surrender the infant in person to an 08 employee inside an authorized facility; 09 (C) that the parent may call 911 to surrender the infant directly 10 to an emergency services provider; 11 (D) that the parent may call 211 or another statewide service 12 navigation provider to access resources related to family planning, human 13 trafficking, and domestic violence; and 14 (E) or quick response barcode that directs the person to 15 information regarding surrendering an infant as provided for under this 16 subsection on the department's Internet website; 17 (4) equipped with 18 (A) a system that automatically transmits a request to the 911 19 emergency system for the immediate dispatch of an emergency medical 20 services provider to the location of the infant safety device when the infant 21 safety device is opened; 22 (B) a video surveillance system that allows employees of an 23 authorized facility to monitor the interior of the infant safety device 24 hours a 24 day; and 25 (C) an automated lock that secures the infant inside the infant 26 safety device after deposit; 27 (5) installed, operated, and maintained according to the manufacturer's 28 guidelines and department regulations; and 29 (6) inspected upon installation and annually by the manufacturer or 30 manufacture's designee, and inspected monthly by the authorized facility in which it is 31 installed; inspections under this paragraph must be logged by the authorized facility 01 and must include testing of the device's alarms, cameras, climate control system, and 02 locks. 03 (i) The department may provide training to emergency medical service 04 providers, 911 operators, hospital staff, firefighters, law enforcement officers, and 05 employees of an authorized facility in how to implement and comply with the 06 requirements for the surrender of an infant as described in this section. 07 (j) If the department determines that an infant abandoned under (c)(1)(B) of 08 this section is an Indian child, the department shall immediately contact the Indian 09 child's tribe. 10 (k) In this section, "authorized facility" means a facility described in 11 (c)(1)(B)(i) of this section that has an infant safety device located at the facility. 12  * Sec. 7. This Act takes effect July 1, 2026.