Legislature(1995 - 1996)
1996-01-08 Senate Journal
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Full Journal pdf1996-01-08 Senate Journal Page 2063 SB 205 Governors transmittal letter dated January 8: Dear President Pearce: Under the authority of art. III, sec. 18, of the Alaska Constitution, I am transmitting a bill that replaces the joyriding provisions in the criminal mischief statutes with the new crime of vehicle theft, and provides that first degree vehicle theft is a class C felony. Last year I vetoed a bill also dealing with car theft. Unlike this proposed legislation, last years bill dealt only with juvenile offenders. It would have automatically waived all juveniles charged with joyriding to adult court, regardless of their age, their criminal history, and the seriousness of the offense. This would result in widely diverse and unfair treatment of juveniles who commit theft offenses--a juvenile who borrowed a snowmobile would have a permanent record, while another who stole valuable property during a burglary would be prosecuted as a juvenile, with no permanent criminal record. Further, the Legislature failed to fully fund the fiscal notes accompanying the bill. This bill changes the name of the prohibited conduct from joyriding or criminal mischief to vehicle theft; both imply a childish lark or prank, which is offensive to victims of the crime and is not an accurate description of this dangerous behavior. It creates two new sections in the criminal code--vehicle theft in the first and second degree. Vehicle theft in the first degree prohibits any taking of a motor vehicle, and raises the penalty for first time car thieves from a class A misdemeanor to a class C felony. Thus, the penalty for first time car theft is increased from a maximum one year in jail to a maximum five years in jail and the fine is raised from a maximum $5,000 to a maximum $50,000. Vehicle theft in the second degree prohibits a first offense theft of vehicles such as snowmachines and other off-highway vehicles. Vehicle theft in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor, which is the penalty provided for this offense in current law.