CSHB 246(FIN): "An Act restricting the release of certain records of convictions; relating to misconduct involving marijuana by persons 18, 19, or 20 years of age; amending Rule 17(h), Alaska Rules of Minor Offense Procedure; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 246(FIN) 01 "An Act restricting the release of certain records of convictions; relating to misconduct 02 involving marijuana by persons 18, 19, or 20 years of age; amending Rule 17(h), Alaska 03 Rules of Minor Offense Procedure; and providing for an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 06 to read: 07 LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It is the intent of the legislature to reduce barriers to 08 employment for people who have been convicted of low-level marijuana possession crimes 09 that would be legal on January 1, 2023. By protecting records of those low-level crimes from 10 certain types of criminal history background checks, it is the legislature's intent to increase the 11 likelihood that people convicted of those low-level crimes will become contributing members 12 of society. 13 * Sec. 2. AS 11.71.060(a) is amended to read: 14 (a) Except for minor misconduct involving marijuana under AS 17.38.055,
01 or as authorized in AS 17.30 or AS 17.38, a person commits the crime of misconduct 02 involving a controlled substance in the sixth degree if the person 03 (1) uses or displays any amount of a schedule VIA controlled 04 substance; 05 (2) possesses one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures, or 06 substances of an aggregate weight of 07 (A) less than one ounce containing a schedule VIA controlled 08 substance; 09 (B) [REPEALED] 10 (3) refuses entry into a premise for an inspection authorized under 11 AS 17.30. 12 * Sec. 3. AS 12.62.160(b) is amended to read: 13 (b) Subject to the requirements of this section, and except as otherwise limited 14 or prohibited by other provision of law or court rule, criminal justice information 15 (1) may be provided to a person when, and only to the extent, 16 necessary to avoid imminent danger to life or extensive damage to property; 17 (2) may be provided to a person to the extent required by applicable 18 court rules or under an order of a court of this state, another state, or the United States; 19 (3) may be provided to a person if the information is commonly or 20 traditionally provided by criminal justice agencies in order to identify, locate, or 21 apprehend fugitives or wanted persons or to recover stolen property, or for public 22 reporting of recent arrests, charges, and other criminal justice activity; 23 (4) may be provided to a criminal justice agency for a criminal justice 24 activity; 25 (5) may be provided to a government agency when necessary for 26 enforcement of or for a purpose specifically authorized by state or federal law; 27 (6) may be provided to a person specifically authorized by a state or 28 federal law to receive that information; 29 (7) in aggregate form may be released to a qualified person, as 30 determined by the agency, for criminal justice research, subject to written conditions 31 that assure the security of the information and the privacy of individuals to whom the
01 information relates; 02 (8) may be provided to a person for any purpose, except that 03 information may not be released if the information is nonconviction information, [OR] 04 correctional treatment information, or criminal justice information as described in 05 (f) of this section; 06 (9) including information relating to a serious offense, may be 07 provided to an interested person if the information is requested for the purpose of 08 determining whether to grant a person supervisory or disciplinary power over a minor 09 or dependent adult; and 10 (10) may be provided to the person who is the subject of the 11 information. 12 * Sec. 4. AS 12.62.160 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 13 (f) An agency may not release criminal justice information of a criminal case 14 in which the defendant 15 (1) was convicted under AS 11.71.060, or a municipal ordinance with 16 similar elements, for possession of less than one ounce of a schedule VIA controlled 17 substance; 18 (2) was 21 years of age or older at the time of commission of the 19 offense; 20 (3) was not convicted of any other criminal charges in that case; and 21 (4) requests that the agency not release the records. 22 * Sec. 5. AS 17.38 is amended by adding a new section to read: 23 Sec. 17.38.055. Misconduct involving marijuana by persons 18, 19, or 20 24 years of age. (a) A person 18, 19, or 20 years of age commits the offense of minor 25 misconduct involving marijuana if the person knowingly uses or displays any amount 26 of marijuana or possesses less than one ounce of marijuana. 27 (b) A violation of this section must be charged and filed with the court as a 28 separate case and may not be combined or joined with any other minor offense or 29 criminal charge in one action at the time of filing. 30 (c) Minor misconduct involving marijuana is a violation punishable by a fine 31 of not less than
01 (1) $125 for a first violation; or 02 (2) $250 if the person has previously been convicted under this section. 03 * Sec. 6. AS 17.38.370 is amended to read: 04 Sec. 17.38.370. Bail forfeiture for certain offenses. The supreme court shall 05 establish by rule or order a schedule of bail amounts that may be forfeited without 06 court appearance for a violation of AS 17.38.030 - 17.38.055 [AS 17.38.030 - 07 17.38.050]. 08 * Sec. 7. AS 22.35 is amended by adding a new section to read: 09 Sec. 22.35.040. Records concerning criminal cases for marijuana 10 possession. The Alaska Court System may not publish on a publicly available Internet 11 website the court records of a 12 (1) criminal case in which the defendant 13 (A) was convicted under AS 11.71.060, or a municipal 14 ordinance with similar elements, for possession of less than one ounce of a 15 schedule VIA controlled substance; 16 (B) was 21 years of age or older at the time of commission of 17 the offense; and 18 (C) was not convicted of any other criminal charges in that 19 case; or 20 (2) violation of AS 17.38.055, or a municipal ordinance with similar 21 elements, if the violation was charged separately and was not joined with any other 22 minor offense or criminal charge at the time of filing. 23 * Sec. 8. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 24 read: 25 DIRECT COURT RULE AMENDMENT. Rule 17(h), Alaska Rules of Minor 26 Offense Procedure, is amended to read: 27 (h) Joinder Limits. A prosecutor may not join a violation of AS 04.16.049 or 28 04.16.050, AS 17.38.055, or a similar municipal ordinance with a related criminal 29 charge. 30 * Sec. 9. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 31 read:
01 PRIOR COURT RECORDS. The Alaska Court System shall, to the extent practicable, 02 remove court records existing before the effective date of this Act that meet the requirements 03 of AS 22.35.040(1), enacted by sec. 7 of this Act, from the court system's publicly available 04 Internet website. 05 * Sec. 10. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 06 read: 07 APPLICABILITY. AS 11.71.060(a), as amended by sec. 2 of this Act, AS 17.38.055, 08 enacted by sec. 5 of this Act, and AS 17.38.370, as amended by sec. 6 of this Act, apply to 09 offenses committed on or after the effective date of this Act. 10 * Sec. 11. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 11 read: 12 CONDITIONAL EFFECT. AS 17.38.055(b), enacted by sec. 5 of this Act, takes 13 effect only if sec. 8 of this Act receives the two-thirds majority vote of each house required by 14 art. IV, sec. 15, Constitution of the State of Alaska. 15 * Sec. 12. This Act takes effect January 1, 2023.