04/25/2001 01:48 PM House FIN

HOUSE BILL NO. 49                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act extending the termination date of the Board of                                                                     
     Parole; and providing for an effective date."                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
LARRY JONES,  EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,  BOARD OF PAROLE  testified                                                                   
in support  of the  legislation. He noted  that the  Board of                                                                   
Parole supports the extension  of the sunset date to June 30,                                                                   
2006. The  Board is made  up of five  citizen members  and is                                                                   
tied to every element of the justice  system. He stressed the                                                                   
importance  of  the  Parole  Board  and  emphasized  that  it                                                                   
represents the most humanized  aspect of the criminal justice                                                                   
system. Parole  is not a  right; it  is a discretion  and the                                                                   
privilege  of  parole rests  solely  with the  Parole  Board.                                                                   
Public  safety  is  the  number  one  factor  in  considering                                                                   
parole. He  observed that the  state of Alaska  saves between                                                                   
$10  - $12  million dollars  in  hard bed  costs by  allowing                                                                   
prisoners   to  go  into   the  public   sector  with   close                                                                   
supervision.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Vice-Chair  Bunde observed  that the  Legislative Budget  and                                                                   
Audit  Committee  report  supports a  longer  extension.  Mr.                                                                   
Jones  agreed that  a longer  extension would  be useful.  He                                                                   
emphasized  that extensive  financial  review is  unnecessary                                                                   
due to  the size of  the Board. He  explained that  the Board                                                                   
chose a  2006 review date based  on its past  experiences. He                                                                   
pointed out  that Alaska has  a constitutional mandate  for a                                                                   
parole  system. He  said that  an increase  to 2010 would  be                                                                   
welcomed.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Lancaster  noted   that  there  was  a  small                                                                   
concern  regarding overseeing  parolees by  the Board  and/or                                                                   
the Administration.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
Mr.  Jones  explained   that  all  parolees   are  under  the                                                                   
jurisdiction of  the Board, but  supervision is  conducted by                                                                   
the  Department  of  Corrections.  Only about  4  percent  of                                                                   
revocation  hearings  are discretionary  parolees.  Mandatory                                                                   
parolees are  released without personal interaction  with the                                                                   
Parole Board.  The supervision provided by the  department is                                                                   
sufficient in the mind of the Board.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
Vice-Chair Bunde  MOVED to ADOPT  Amendment 1:  delete "2006"                                                                   
and  insert  "2008". There  being  NO  OBJECTION, it  was  so                                                                   
ordered.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Representative Hudson  MOVED to report  CSHB 49 (FIN)  out of                                                                   
Committee with  the accompanying fiscal note.  There being NO                                                                   
OBJECTION, it was so ordered.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CSHB 49 (FIN) was REPORTED out  of Committee with a "do pass"                                                                   
recommendation  and with a  previously published  zero fiscal                                                                   
note (#1) by the Department of Corrections.