2025-02-05                     Senate Journal                      Page 0187
SB 85                                                                                                                         
SENATE BILL NO. 85 BY THE SENATE RULES COMMITTEE                                                                                
BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR, entitled:                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
             "An Act relating to unauthorized publication and use                                                              
          of communications; and relating to eavesdropping."                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
was read the first time and referred to the Labor and Commerce and                                                              
Judiciary Committees.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
The following fiscal information was published today:                                                                           
 Fiscal Note No. 1, zero, Department of Public Safety                                                                           
                                                                                                                                

2025-02-05                     Senate Journal                      Page 0188
Governor's transmittal letter dated February 3:                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
Dear President Stevens:                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Under the authority of Article III, Section 18, of the Alaska                                                                   
Constitution, I am transmitting a bill requiring all parties to a                                                               
conversation to consent to the recording of that conversation.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
Alaska’s Constitution explicitly recognizes privacy as a fundamental                                                            
right. Under current law, only one party to a conversation must                                                                 
consent to be monitored or recorded, allowing any participant to                                                                
record without the others’ knowledge. This bill requires the knowledge                                                          
and consent of all parties, thereby protecting individuals’ right to                                                            
privacy.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Current law provides several exceptions to the consent requirement                                                              
and this bill preserves all of them. It also includes updated language,                                                         
consistent with relevant caselaw, to ensure that law enforcement can                                                            
continue criminal investigations using tools already available to them,                                                         
such as body-worn cameras and audio recorders.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
Alaska has long been a staunch protector of individual privacy rights.                                                          
The surreptitious recording of conversations is an unacceptable                                                                 
intrusion of privacy. I urge your prompt and favorable action on this                                                           
measure.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Sincerely,                                                                                                                      
/s/                                                                                                                             
Mike Dunleavy                                                                                                                   
Governor