SB 210: "An Act relating to crimes against children; establishing a new aggravating factor at sentencing in certain crimes against children; relating to criminal nonsupport; adding to the list of crimes against children that bar the Department of Public Safety from issuing to a person a license to drive a school bus; adding an exception to a provision that requires the Department of Health and Social Services to make timely, reasonable efforts to provide family support services to prevent out-of-home placement of a child; and providing for an effective date."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 210 01 "An Act relating to crimes against children; establishing a new aggravating factor at 02 sentencing in certain crimes against children; relating to criminal nonsupport; adding to 03 the list of crimes against children that bar the Department of Public Safety from issuing 04 to a person a license to drive a school bus; adding an exception to a provision that 05 requires the Department of Health and Social Services to make timely, reasonable 06 efforts to provide family support services to prevent out-of-home placement of a child; 07 and providing for an effective date." 08 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 09 * Section 1. AS 11.41.200(a) is amended to read: 10 (a) A person commits the crime of assault in the first degree if 11 (1) the [THAT] person recklessly causes serious physical injury to 12 another by means of a dangerous instrument; 13 (2) with intent to cause serious physical injury to another, the person
01 causes serious physical injury to any person; 02 (3) the person knowingly engages in conduct that results in serious 03 physical injury to another under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the 04 value of human life; [OR] 05 (4) the [THAT] person recklessly causes serious physical injury to 06 another by repeated assaults using a dangerous instrument, even if each assault 07 individually does not cause serious physical injury; 08 (5) the person is 18 years of age or older and intentionally causes 09 serious bodily harm to a child under 16 years of age who has a disability; or 10 (6) the person is 18 years of age or older and recklessly causes 11 serious bodily harm 12 (A) to a child under 12 years of age; or 13 (B) on more than one occasion to a child under 16 years of 14 age who has a disability. 15 * Sec. 2. AS 11.41.210(a) is amended to read: 16 (a) A person commits the crime of assault in the second degree if 17 (1) with intent to cause physical injury to another person, that person 18 causes physical injury to another person by means of a dangerous instrument; 19 (2) that person recklessly causes serious physical injury to another 20 person; or 21 (3) that person recklessly causes serious physical injury to another by 22 repeated assaults, even if each assault individually does not cause serious physical 23 injury; 24 (4) the person is 18 years of age or older and knowingly causes 25 serious bodily harm to a child under 16 years of age who has a disability; or 26 (5) the person is 18 years of age or older and recklessly causes 27 physical injury on more than one occasion to 28 (A) a child under 16 years of age who has a disability; or 29 (B) a child under 12 years of age. 30 * Sec. 3. AS 11.41.220(a) is amended to read: 31 (a) A person commits the crime of assault in the third degree if that person
01 (1) recklessly 02 (A) places another person in fear of imminent serious physical 03 injury by means of a dangerous instrument; 04 (B) causes physical injury to another person by means of a 05 dangerous instrument; or 06 (C) while being 18 years of age or older [(i)] causes physical 07 injury to a child under 12 [10] years of age and the injury would cause a 08 reasonable caregiver to seek medical attention from a health care professional 09 in the form of diagnosis or treatment; 10 [(ii) CAUSES PHYSICAL INJURY TO A CHILD 11 UNDER 10 YEARS OF AGE ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION;] 12 (2) with intent to place another person in fear of death or serious 13 physical injury to the person or the person's family member makes repeated threats to 14 cause death or serious physical injury to another person; 15 (3) while being 18 years of age or older, knowingly causes physical 16 injury to a child under 16 years of age but at least 12 [10] years of age and the injury 17 reasonably requires medical treatment; 18 (4) with criminal negligence causes serious physical injury under 19 AS 11.81.900(b)(56)(B) to another person by means of a dangerous instrument; or 20 (5) commits a crime that is a violation of AS 11.41.230(a)(1) or (2) 21 and, within the preceding 10 years, the person was convicted on two or more separate 22 occasions of crimes under 23 (A) AS 11.41.100 - 11.41.170; 24 (B) AS 11.41.200 - 11.41.220, 11.41.230(a)(1) or (2), 25 11.41.280, or 11.41.282; 26 (C) AS 11.41.260 or 11.41.270; 27 (D) AS 11.41.410, 11.41.420, or 11.41.425(a)(1); or 28 (E) a law or ordinance of this or another jurisdiction with 29 elements similar to those of an offense described in (A) - (D) of this paragraph. 30 * Sec. 4. AS 11.41 is amended by adding a new section to read: 31 Sec. 11.41.240. Definitions. In AS 11.41.200 - 11.41.240, unless the context
01 requires otherwise, 02 (1) "disability" means a permanent or temporary 03 (A) mental condition or impairment that causes a child to be 04 substantially incapable of understanding a consequence, of their own conduct 05 or the conduct of others, that would be reasonably obvious to a child with 06 ordinary mental capability who is substantially the same age; or 07 (B) physical condition or impairment, including a physiological 08 disease, disorder, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss, that substantially 09 limits the child's physical ability to participate in major life activities; 10 (2) "serious bodily harm" means physical injury that includes 11 (A) serious physical injury; 12 (B) substantial skin bruising, burning, or other skin injury; 13 (C) internal bleeding, including a subdural hematoma or 14 subarachnoid hemorrhage; 15 (D) a bone fracture; 16 (E) a skull concussion; 17 (F) a brain contusion; 18 (G) prolonged or extreme physical pain; 19 (H) prolonged or extreme swelling or injury to soft tissue; 20 (I) a cerebral edema; or 21 (J) a substantial strangulation; 22 * Sec. 5. AS 11.51.100(b) is amended to read: 23 (b) A person commits the crime of endangering the welfare of a minor in the 24 first degree if the person 25 (1) transports a child in a motor vehicle, aircraft, or watercraft while in 26 violation of AS 28.35.030; or 27 (2) recklessly exposes a child to the unlawful manufacture, use, 28 display, or delivery of a schedule IA, IIA, IIIA, IVA, VA, or VIA controlled 29 substance by allowing the child to be present during the unlawful manufacture, 30 use, display, or delivery when the person knows the unlawful manufacture, use, 31 display, or delivery is occurring or about to occur, unless the child's disabilities of
01 minority have been removed for general purposes under AS 09.55.590; in this 02 paragraph, "present" means physically present in a manner that creates an 03 immediate and substantial risk of ingesting or later testing positive for ingesting a 04 schedule IA, IIA, IIIA, IVA, VA, or VIA controlled substance. 05 * Sec. 6. AS 11.51.100(e) is amended to read: 06 (e) Endangering the welfare of a child under (b)(1) [(b)] of this section 07 [SUBSECTION] is a class A misdemeanor. 08 * Sec. 7. AS 11.51.100 is amended by adding a new section to read: 09 (g) Endangering the welfare of a child under (b)(2) of this section is 10 (1) a class B felony for exposure to the unlawful manufacture, use, 11 display, or delivery of a schedule IA or IIA controlled substance; 12 (2) a class C felony for exposure to the unlawful manufacture, use, 13 display, or delivery of a schedule IIIA or IVA controlled substance; or 14 (3) a class A misdemeanor for exposure to the unlawful manufacture, 15 use, display, or delivery of a schedule VA or VIA controlled substance. 16 * Sec. 8. AS 11.51.120(b) is amended to read: 17 (b) As used in this section, "support" includes 18 (1) monetary support required by a court or administrative order 19 from this or another jurisdiction; and 20 (2) necessary food, water, care, clothing, shelter, medical attention, 21 and education; however, there [. THERE] is no failure to provide medical attention to 22 a child if the child is provided treatment solely by spiritual means through prayer in 23 accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious 24 denomination by an accredited practitioner of the church or denomination. 25 * Sec. 9. AS 11.51.120(d) is amended to read: 26 (d) Criminal nonsupport is a class C felony if the support the person failed to 27 provide is 28 (1) necessary food and water; or 29 (2) monetary support required by a court or administrative order from 30 this or another jurisdiction and, at the time the person knowingly failed, without lawful 31 excuse, to provide the support,
01 (A) [(1)] the aggregate amount of accrued monetary child 02 support arrearage is $20,000 or more; 03 (B) [(2)] no child support payment has been made for a period 04 of 24 consecutive months or more; or 05 (C) [(3)] the person had been previously convicted under this 06 section or a similar provision in another jurisdiction and 07 (i) [(A)] the aggregate amount of accrued monetary 08 child support arrearage is $5,000 or more; or 09 (ii) [(B)] no child support payment has been made for a 10 period of six months or more. 11 * Sec. 10. AS 12.55.155(c)(18) is amended to read: 12 (18) the offense was a felony 13 (A) specified in AS 11.41 and was committed against a spouse, 14 a former spouse, or a member of the social unit made up of those living 15 together in the same dwelling as the defendant; 16 (B) specified in AS 11.41.410 - 11.41.458 and the defendant 17 has engaged in the same or other conduct prohibited by a provision of 18 AS 11.41.410 - 11.41.460 involving the same or another victim; 19 (C) specified in AS 11.41 that is a crime involving domestic 20 violence and was committed in the physical presence or hearing of a child 21 under 16 years of age who was, at the time of the offense, living within the 22 residence of the victim, the residence of the perpetrator, or the residence where 23 the crime involving domestic violence occurred; 24 (D) specified in AS 11.41 and was committed against a person 25 with whom the defendant has a dating relationship or with whom the defendant 26 has engaged in a sexual relationship; [OR] 27 (E) specified in AS 11.41.434 - 11.41.458 or AS 11.61.128 and 28 the defendant was 10 or more years older than the victim; or 29 (F) specified in AS 11.41.200 - 11.41.220 that is a crime 30 committed against a child and the defendant caused serious bodily harm 31 that resulted in a protracted and substantial impairment of the child's
01 mental health; in this paragraph, "serious bodily harm" has the meaning 02 given in AS 11.41.240; 03 * Sec. 11. AS 28.15.046(c) is amended to read: 04 (c) The department may not issue a license under this section to an applicant 05 who has been convicted of any of the following offenses within 20 years of the time of 06 application: 07 (1) sexual abuse of a minor in any degree under AS 11.41.434 - 08 11.41.440; 09 (2) sexual assault in any degree under AS 11.41.410 - 11.41.425; 10 (3) incest under AS 11.41.450; 11 (4) unlawful exploitation of a minor under AS 11.41.455; 12 (5) contributing to the delinquency of a minor under AS 11.51.130; 13 (6) a felony involving possession of a controlled or imitation 14 controlled substance under AS 11.71 or AS 11.73; 15 (7) a felony or misdemeanor involving distribution of a controlled or 16 imitation controlled substance under AS 11.71 or AS 11.73; 17 (8) promoting prostitution in the first or second degree under 18 AS 11.66.110 or 11.66.120; 19 (9) indecent exposure in the first or second degree under AS 11.41.458 20 or 11.41.460; 21 (10) endangering the welfare of a minor in the first degree under 22 AS 11.51.100(b)(2). 23 * Sec. 12. AS 47.10.086(c) is amended to read: 24 (c) The court may determine that reasonable efforts of the type described in 25 (a) of this section are not required if the court has found by clear and convincing 26 evidence that 27 (1) the parent or guardian has subjected the child to circumstances that 28 pose a substantial risk to the child's health or safety; these circumstances include 29 abandonment, sexual abuse, torture, chronic mental injury, or chronic physical harm; 30 (2) the parent or guardian has 31 (A) committed homicide under AS 11.41.100 - 11.41.130 of a
01 parent of the child or of a child; 02 (B) aided or abetted, attempted, conspired, or solicited under 03 AS 11.16 or AS 11.31 to commit a homicide described in (A) of this 04 paragraph; 05 (C) committed an assault that is a felony under AS 11.41.200 - 06 11.41.220 and results in serious physical injury or serious bodily harm to a 07 child; or 08 (D) committed the conduct described in (A) - (C) of this 09 paragraph that violated a law or ordinance of another jurisdiction having 10 elements similar to an offense described in (A) - (C) of this paragraph; 11 (3) the parent or guardian has, during the 12 months preceding the 12 permanency hearing, failed to comply with a court order to participate in family 13 support services; 14 (4) the department has conducted a reasonably diligent search over a 15 time period of at least three months for an unidentified or absent parent and has failed 16 to identify and locate the parent; 17 (5) the parent or guardian is the sole caregiver of the child and the 18 parent or guardian has a mental illness or mental deficiency of such nature and 19 duration that, according to the statement of a psychologist or physician, the parent or 20 guardian will be incapable of caring for the child without placing the child at 21 substantial risk of physical or mental injury even if the department were to provide 22 family support services to the parent or guardian for 12 months; 23 (6) the parent or guardian has previously been convicted of a crime 24 involving a child in this state or in another jurisdiction and, after the conviction, the 25 child was returned to the custody of the parent or guardian and later removed because 26 of an additional substantiated report of physical or sexual abuse by the parent or 27 guardian; 28 (7) a child has suffered substantial physical harm as the result of 29 abusive or neglectful conduct by the parent or guardian or by a person known by the 30 parent or guardian and the parent or guardian knew or reasonably should have known 31 that the person was abusing the child;
01 (8) the parental rights of the parent have been terminated with respect 02 to another child because of child abuse or neglect, the parent has not remedied the 03 conditions or conduct that led to the termination of parental rights, and the parent has 04 demonstrated an inability to protect the child from substantial harm or the risk of 05 substantial harm; 06 (9) the child has been removed from the child's home on at least two 07 previous occasions, family support services were offered or provided to the parent or 08 guardian at those times, and the parent or guardian has demonstrated an inability to 09 protect the child from substantial harm or the risk of substantial harm; or 10 (10) the parent or guardian is incarcerated and is unavailable to care 11 for the child during a significant period of the child's minority, considering the child's 12 age and need for care by an adult. 13 * Sec. 13. AS 47.10.086 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 14 (h) In this section, "serious bodily harm" has the meaning given in 15 AS 11.41.240. 16 * Sec. 14. AS 47.10.990(32) is amended to read: 17 (32) "support" has the meaning given in AS 11.51.120(b)(2) 18 [AS 11.51.120(b)]. 19 * Sec. 15. AS 11.51.130(a)(2) is repealed. 20 * Sec. 16. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).