05/04/2006 09:00 AM Senate FINANCE

                                                                                                                                
     SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 41(JUD)                                                                                
     "An Act relating to minimum  periods of imprisonment for the                                                               
     crime of  assault in the  fourth degree committed  on school                                                               
     grounds, on  a school bus,  at a school-sponsored  event, or                                                               
     at certain school district administration offices."                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
This was  the first hearing for  this bill in the  Senate Finance                                                               
Committee.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  BOB  LYNN,  the   bill's  sponsor,  informed  the                                                               
Committee that this bill had  passed the House of Representatives                                                               
with a  unanimous vote of  the members present. He  supported the                                                               
title  change adopted  by the  Senate  Judiciary Committee  which                                                               
expanded the scope  of an assault against a person  to include an                                                               
assault occurring "on  school grounds, on a school  bus", and "at                                                               
a school sponsored event".                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Representative Lynn pointed out that  the bill would also require                                                               
a  person convicted  of a  misdemeanor assault  occurring at  the                                                               
aforementioned locations to receive  a mandatory minimum sentence                                                               
of 60  days. This bill  would complement HB 88-CRIM  LAW: MINORS,                                                               
SCHOOLS, DRUGS, SENTENCES, which was  recently signed into law by                                                               
Governor  Frank Murkowski.  This bill  would address  misdemeanor                                                               
assaults, while  HB 88  would address  felony assaults  on school                                                               
employees made with a deadly weapon.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
Representative Lynn contended that  the mandatory 60-day sentence                                                               
specified  in  this  bill  was  an  "appropriate"  sentence.  The                                                               
message must  be sent that  assaults on school grounds  would not                                                               
be tolerated.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Lynn  disclosed  that,  being  a  retired  public                                                               
school teacher;  he personally understood "how  dangerous working                                                               
on   school  premises   could  sometimes   be".  He   noted  that                                                               
representatives from the Department  of Law, the Anchorage School                                                               
District, and the  Alaska Association of School  Boards, which is                                                               
on  record in  support  of  the bill,  were  available to  answer                                                               
questions. He urged the Committee to advance the bill.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
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Co-Chair Green appreciated  the work conducted on  this bill. She                                                               
directed  members'  attention  to a  Mat-Su  Valley  Frontiersman                                                               
newspaper  article titled  "Police: Student  urged into  fight by                                                               
mother" [copy  on file]  about a Wasilla  middle student  who was                                                               
urged  by  her  mother  and  another  adult  to  assault  another                                                               
student. The  school district  found they  could not  take action                                                               
against  the adults  for their  involvement.  She mentioned  that                                                               
Senator  Ralph  Seekins  has  also  recognized  the  validity  in                                                               
addressing such  a situation. Passage  of this  legislation would                                                               
delight school  districts for it  would provide them  the ability                                                               
to adequately address assault situations in the future.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Senator Stedman  asked whether the bill's  language might subject                                                               
junior high  or high school  boys who  might "get a  little rough                                                               
with each  other" when settling issues  to 60 days in  jail, were                                                               
such action to occur on school grounds.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
NANCY  MANLEY,  Staff to  Representative  Lynn,  deferred to  the                                                               
Department of Law.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
ANNE  CARPENETI,  Assistant   Attorney  General,  Legal  Services                                                               
Section-Juneau,  Criminal  Division,  Department of  Law,  stated                                                               
that the situation "would depend  on the circumstances". Students                                                               
fighting at  a school-sponsored  event would  be subject  to this                                                               
provision if "we could prove  beyond a reasonable doubt that they                                                               
were assaulting each other".                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Senator Stedman  questioned the  "leeway" a  judge might  have in                                                               
dealing with these  situations. "More often than  we'd like", the                                                               
reality is that such behavior does occur with young adults.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Ms. Carpeneti  understood the Senator's concern,  as she recalled                                                               
from her  high school experience  that "kids did push  each other                                                               
around".   However,   "it   would  be   unlikely"   under   those                                                               
circumstances that an assault charge  would be issued "unless the                                                               
fight was very serious".                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Ms.  Carpeneti clarified,  that, were  there cause  to prosecute,                                                               
youth  under the  age of  18 would  be prosecuted  under juvenile                                                               
law. This provisions in this bill  would apply to people 18 years                                                               
of age or older.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Green  pointed  out  that  internal  school  discipline                                                               
policies involving the principal,  the student's parents, and the                                                               
school's disciplinary committee would  first address an in-school                                                               
event.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
Ms.  Carpeneti anticipated  that juveniles  would be  involved in                                                               
"the vast  majority" of these situations.  This legislation would                                                               
not be applicable in those cases.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Senator Bunde  noted that a school  confrontation that "escalated                                                               
to a  really extreme  situation" could be  charged as  an assault                                                               
under  existing criminal  law. To  that point,  he asked  whether                                                               
this bill would impact existing assault laws.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Ms. Carpeneti  stated this legislation would  not affect existing                                                               
law. "There  is already  an aggravating factor  for this  kind of                                                               
conduct on  school grounds  that applied  to all  felony assaults                                                               
against a person".                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
Senator  Bunde  asked  whether this  bill  would  "increase  that                                                               
punishment" in the case of "a student upon student assault".                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Ms. Carpeneti  expressed that this  legislation would  not affect                                                               
juveniles; it would not apply to people under the age of 18.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Senator  Bunde  shared "a  very  unfortunate  event" in  which  a                                                               
parent  attending   their  child's   hockey  game   in  Anchorage                                                               
assaulted a  juvenile referee. He asked  whether this legislation                                                               
would  be  applicable to  such  a  situation  were it  a  school-                                                               
sponsored event.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Ms. Carpeneti affirmed it would. "It would apply to the adult".                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Green  referred to language  in Section 1(d)(1)  and (2)                                                               
of the bill,  beginning on page 1  line 6 through page  2 line 7,                                                               
which specified this legislation would  be applicable to a person                                                               
"who knowingly  directed the conduct constituting  the offense at                                                               
a uniformed  or otherwise clearly identified  peace officer, fire                                                               
fighter,  correctional employee",  emergency medical  technician,                                                               
paramedic, ambulance attendant, or  other emergency responder who                                                               
was engaged in the performance of  official duties at the time of                                                               
the assault or person on school  grounds or at a school sponsored                                                               
event.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
Ms. Carpeneti affirmed.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Green continued  that, rather  than the  target of  the                                                               
bill to  be two kids fighting  on a school playground,  the focus                                                               
of  the  bill would  be  to  provide  legal recourse  for  school                                                               
officials in  such cases as  that detailed in  the aforementioned                                                               
newspaper article about  the adult who "spurred the  child on" to                                                               
fight. The  school district was  frustrated when it found  it had                                                               
no  legal recourse  against the  adult. She  apologized, had  her                                                               
earlier remarks misled the discussion.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Wilken moved  to report  the bill  from Committee  with                                                               
individual recommendations and accompanying fiscal notes.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
There being  no objection,  SCS CS HB  41(FIN) was  REPORTED from                                                               
Committee with three  previous zero fiscal notes:  fiscal note #6                                                               
dated  January 28,  2006 from  the Department  of Administration;                                                               
fiscal  note #7  dated January  30, 2006  from the  Department of                                                               
Law;  and  fiscal  note  #8  dated  January  30,  2006  from  the                                                               
Department of Public Safety.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
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