02/28/2019 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS

         HB  14-ASSAULT; SEX OFFENSES; SENT. AGGRAVATOR                                                                     
                                                                                                                              
3:33:48 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  KREISS-TOMKINS  announced  that   the  final  order  of                                                               
business would be HOUSE BILL NO.  14, "An Act relating to assault                                                               
in the  first degree; relating  to sex offenses; relating  to the                                                               
definition  of  'dangerous  instrument';  and  providing  for  an                                                               
aggravating factor  at sentencing for strangulation  that results                                                               
in unconsciousness."                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
3:34:17 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE JOHN  LINCOLN, Alaska State Legislature,  as prime                                                               
sponsor  of HB  14,  paraphrased from  the  sponsor statement  as                                                               
follows [original punctuation provided]:                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     House   Bill  14   (HB  14)   classifies  the   act  of                                                                    
     ejaculating on a person without  their consent as a sex                                                                    
     crime   and   recognizes    the   serious   nature   of                                                                    
     strangulation  to  the   point  of  unconsciousness  by                                                                    
     classifying  the  act  as   first  degree  assault  and                                                                    
     including  it in  the list  of aggravating  factors for                                                                    
     sentencing.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     In the fall  of 2018 a plea  deal agreement illuminated                                                                    
     the  fact that  ejaculating on  a person  without their                                                                    
     consent could  not be  prosecuted as  a sex  offense in                                                                    
     Alaska. This  bill enhances sexual assault  statutes by                                                                    
     adding   unwanted  contact   with   ejaculate  to   the                                                                    
     definitions of  sexual assault in the  third degree and                                                                    
     sexual abuse of a minor  in the third degree, depending                                                                    
     on the age of the victim.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
     HB   14   also    acknowledges   the   seriousness   of                                                                    
     strangulation. Strangulation  is prevalent  in domestic                                                                    
     violence  incidences,  and  56% of  women  murdered  in                                                                    
     Alaska in  2017 were killed  by an intimate  partner. A                                                                    
     study published  by the  Journal of  Emergency Medicine                                                                    
     found that a prior  non-fatal strangulation increases a                                                                    
     woman's  likelihood of  becoming a  homicide victim  by                                                                    
     700%,  and  non-fatal  strangulation  preceded  43%  of                                                                    
     domestic  homicides. This  bill recognizes  the gravity                                                                    
     of  strangulation  as  a precursor  to  future  violent                                                                    
     crimes.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE LINCOLN  thanked the  following:  49th  Rising, No                                                               
More Free  Passes, the  Alaska Network  on Domestic  Violence and                                                               
Sexual Assault  (ANDVSA), the Public Defender  Agency (Department                                                               
of Administration  (DOA)), Department  of Law  (DOL), Legislative                                                               
Legal Services, and the co-sponsors of HB 14.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:36:36 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR FIELDS moved to adopt  the committee substitute (CS) for                                                               
HB 14  [Version 31-LS0182\E, Radford,  2/26/19].  There  being no                                                               
objection, Version E was before the committee.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
3:37:19 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ROSE  FOLEY, Staff,  Representative  John  Lincoln, Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature, on  behalf of Representative Lincoln,  prime sponsor                                                               
of HB 14,  paraphrased from the sectional analysis  for Version E                                                               
as follows [original punctuation provided]:                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Section   1:   Amends  AS   11.41.200(a),   classifying                                                                    
     strangulation  to  the   point  of  unconsciousness  as                                                                    
     assault in the first degree.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
     Section 2: Amends  AS 11.81.900(b)(15), clarifying that                                                                    
     "dangerous instrument"  with relation  to strangulation                                                                    
     includes hands or "other body parts".                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     Section 3:  Amends AS  11.81.900(b)(60), to  include in                                                                    
     the  definition  of  sexual  contact  "the  defendant's                                                                    
     knowingly causing the victim  to come into contact with                                                                    
     ejaculate".                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Section    4:    Amends   AS    12.55.155(c),    adding                                                                    
     strangulation to  the point  of unconsciousness  to the                                                                    
     list  of  aggravating  factors   to  be  considered  at                                                                    
     sentencing.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Section   5:  Establishes   that  the   provisions  are                                                                    
     applicable  only to  crimes committed  on or  after the                                                                    
     effective date of the legislation.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
[HB 14 was held over.]