CSSB 151(FIN): "An Act relating to police officer training; establishing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Review Commission; relating to missing and murdered indigenous persons; relating to the duties of the Department of Public Safety; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 151(FIN) 01 "An Act relating to police officer training; establishing the Missing and Murdered 02 Indigenous Persons Review Commission; relating to missing and murdered indigenous 03 persons; relating to the duties of the Department of Public Safety; and providing for an 04 effective date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 18.65.240(a) is amended to read: 07 (a) A person may not be appointed as a police officer, except on a 08 probationary basis, unless the person (1) has satisfactorily completed a basic program 09 of police training approved by the council, which includes at least 12 hours of 10 instruction regarding domestic violence and at least 12 hours of instruction regarding 11 sexual assault, as those terms are defined in AS 18.66.990, [AND] (2) possesses other 12 qualifications the council has established for the employment of police officers, 13 including minimum age, education, physical and mental standards, citizenship, moral 14 character, and experience, and (3) has completed cultural training supervised by
01 an indigenous coordinator or indigenous entity in the state that is related to 02 addressing the rates of missing and murdered indigenous persons. The council 03 shall prescribe the means of presenting evidence of fulfillment of these requirements. 04 * Sec. 2. AS 44.41.020 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 05 (k) Within 60 days after the first report concerning a missing person is filed 06 with a local or state law enforcement agency, if the person's location has not been 07 determined, the Department of Public Safety shall submit a missing person report to 08 the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System database. 09 * Sec. 3. AS 44.41 is amended by adding a new section to read: 10 Sec. 44.41.023. Investigators for missing and murdered indigenous 11 persons. The Department of Public Safety shall employ at least two persons in the 12 department to investigate cases involving missing and murdered indigenous persons 13 and act as liaisons between law enforcement agencies, communities in the state, and 14 federally recognized tribes. 15 * Sec. 4. AS 44.41 is amended by adding new sections to read: 16 Article 2. Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Review Commission. 17 Sec. 44.41.140. Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Review 18 Commission. (a) The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Review Commission 19 is established in the Department of Public Safety. 20 (b) The commission consists of nine members, including 21 (1) the commissioner of public safety, or the commissioner's designee; 22 (2) the commissioner of family and community services, or the 23 commissioner's designee; 24 (3) one member from a municipal police department, appointed by the 25 governor; 26 (4) one member who is a village public safety officer, village public 27 officer, or tribal police officer, appointed by the governor; 28 (5) one member from a victim advocacy organization or similar service 29 provider, appointed by the governor; 30 (6) one member from an Alaska Native tribal organization or entity, 31 appointed by the governor;
01 (7) two members from the legislature, serving as ex officio nonvoting 02 members, one of whom shall be appointed by the president of the senate and one of 03 whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; and 04 (8) one member who is a prosecutor with prosecutorial experience in 05 homicide cases, appointed by the attorney general. 06 (c) Public members of the commission appointed under (a)(3) - (6) and (8) of 07 this section serve for three years and may not serve more than two consecutive terms 08 on the commission. 09 (d) Vacancies on the commission shall be filled in the same manner as original 10 appointment. 11 (e) The commissioner of public safety or the commissioner's designee is the 12 chair of the commission. 13 (f) Members of the commission receive no compensation but are entitled to 14 per diem and travel expenses authorized for boards and commissions under 15 AS 39.20.180. 16 (g) The commission shall review unresolved cases involving missing and 17 murdered indigenous persons from different state regions that are identified by the 18 Department of Public Safety to 19 (1) examine the trends and patterns related to missing and murdered 20 indigenous persons; and 21 (2) make policy, practice, and service recommendations to the 22 Department of Public Safety to encourage collaboration and reduce cases involving 23 indigenous persons. 24 (h) A person attending a meeting of the commission or a member or staff of 25 the commission may not disclose information obtained during the review of a case by 26 the commission. 27 (i) Documents, materials, and reports obtained or compiled by the commission 28 or a designated representative of the commission in the course of reviewing a case 29 involving a missing or murdered indigenous person under this section are confidential 30 and are not public records under AS 40.25.110 - 40.25.125 or subject to discovery or 31 subpoena in connection with a criminal or civil proceeding. A person may not be
01 compelled to disclose information relating to the documents, materials, and reports 02 through subpoena, discovery, or testimony in a criminal or civil proceeding. Nothing 03 in this subsection prohibits a member of the commission from prosecuting a criminal 04 case or otherwise participating in a civil or criminal proceeding as part of, or relating 05 to, the member's normal course of employment if the criminal case or civil or criminal 06 proceeding involves a case reviewed by the commission. The confidential status of 07 documents, materials, or reports obtained by the commission does not preclude the 08 discoverability or subpoena of those documents, materials, or reports from other 09 agencies or sources. This section does not affect whether a document, material, or 10 report obtained or compiled by the commission is otherwise publicly available. 11 (j) A member of the commission who knowingly uses documents, materials, 12 reports, or information for a purpose not authorized under (f) or (g) of this section or 13 discloses information in violation of this section is subject to a civil penalty of not 14 more than $500 for each instance of unauthorized use or disclosure. 15 (k) Meetings of the commission are closed to the public and not subject to the 16 provisions of AS 44.62.310 - 44.62.319 (Open Meetings Act). Meetings shall take 17 place not less than four times each calendar year, at least one of which shall take place 18 in person. 19 (l) The Department of Public Safety shall confer with the commission to 20 establish standardized methods for investigating missing person reports, including for 21 investigating missing persons reports and data collection for cases involving missing 22 indigenous persons. 23 (m) The Department of Public Safety may collaborate with the commission 24 for public outreach purposes. 25 (n) The commission shall prepare a report of the commission's findings and 26 recommendations. Not later than January 1 every three years, the commission shall 27 submit the report to the senate secretary and chief clerk of the house of representatives 28 and notify the legislature that the report is available. The commission shall make the 29 report publicly available through the Department of Public Safety. 30 (o) In this section, "commission" means the Missing and Murdered Indigenous 31 Persons Review Commission.
01 * Sec. 5. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 02 read: 03 REPORT ON INVESTIGATIVE RESOURCES. The Department of Public Safety 04 shall conduct a needs assessment to determine how to increase protective and investigative 05 resources for identifying and reporting cases of missing and murdered indigenous persons 06 within the state criminal justice system. The department shall work with the governor's office 07 to convene meetings with tribal and local law enforcement agencies, federally recognized 08 tribes, and Alaska Native organizations to determine the scope of the issue, identify barriers, 09 and determine methods for creating partnerships to increase reporting and investigation of 10 cases involving missing and murdered indigenous persons. The department shall conduct its 11 work with tribal entities based on the state's government-to-government relationship with 12 federally recognized tribes in the state. The department shall also work with federal law 13 enforcement agencies to identify ways to increase information sharing and coordinate 14 resources. Not later than January 1, 2027, the department shall submit a written report on the 15 needs assessment to the senate secretary and chief clerk of the house of representatives and 16 notify the legislature that the report is available. 17 * Sec. 6. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 18 read: 19 TRANSITION: TRAINING. Notwithstanding the requirements of AS 18.65.240(a), as 20 amended by sec. 1 of this Act, a person holding a certificate issued under AS 18.65.240 on or 21 before the effective date of sec. 1 of this Act has two years from the effective date of sec. 1 of 22 this Act to comply with the requirements of AS 18.65.240(a), as amended by sec. 1 of this 23 Act. 24 * Sec. 7. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 25 read: 26 TRANSITION: COMMISSION MEMBERS. Notwithstanding AS 44.41.140(b), 27 added by sec. 3 of this Act, the initial public members of the Missing and Murdered 28 Indigenous Persons Review Commission appointed under AS 44.41.140(b) are appointed to 29 initial terms as follows: 30 (1) the members appointed under AS 44.41.140(b)(5) and (8) serve for two 31 years
01 (2) the members appointed under AS 44.41.140(b)(3), (4), and (6) serve for 02 three years. 03 * Sec. 8. Section 5 of this Act is repealed January 1, 2027. 04 * Sec. 9. This Act takes effect January 1, 2025.