04/14/2012 09:00 AM Senate FINANCE

HOUSE BILL NO. 56                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act making arson in the first degree and arson in                                                                      
     the second degree serious felonies for purposes of                                                                         
     application of the crime of conspiracy."                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  MAX GRUENBERG,  stated that  the legislation                                                                    
added 1st and  2nd degree arson to the  crime of conspiracy.                                                                    
He  explained  that a  conspiracy  was  an illegal  criminal                                                                    
agreement to commit  a crime, and one act  in furtherance of                                                                    
the crime.  He stated  that conspiracy  was easier  to prove                                                                    
than the  completed crime or  an attempt, which  required "a                                                                    
substantial step  towards the  completed crime."  He related                                                                    
that  1st  degree  arson  was  the  intentional  burning  or                                                                    
explosion  of property  that  put a  human  life in  danger,                                                                    
while arson in  the 2nd degree was  the intentional starting                                                                    
of a fire  or an explosion of a building.  He explained that                                                                    
arson was a very difficult  crime to prove because often the                                                                    
evidence  was  destroyed  and  stated   that  a  very  small                                                                    
percentage  of arsons  were proven.  He  concluded that  the                                                                    
legislation  was necessary  because  in a  number of  cases,                                                                    
arsons were  conspiracies to destroy property  for insurance                                                                    
purposes.  He  furthered  that in  many  cases,  the  person                                                                    
behind  the  arson  was  nowhere  near  the  scene  and  the                                                                    
evidence  was long  gone. He  shared that  conspiracy worked                                                                    
similar  to  solicitation  in  that  completion  was  not  a                                                                    
prerequisite for prosecution and  conviction. He stated that                                                                    
conspiracy  was  one  degree below  the  actual  crime;  for                                                                    
example, arson  in the 1st degree  was a class A  felony, so                                                                    
conspiracy to commit the crime would be a class B felony.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Stedman  discussed a  zero  fiscal  note from  the                                                                    
Department of  Law, a zero  fiscal note from  the Department                                                                    
of Public Safety, and an  indeterminate fiscal note from the                                                                    
Department of Corrections.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
9:58:07 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DAN JAGER,  FIRE MARSHALL,  CAPITAL CITY  FIRE/RESCUE, spoke                                                                    
in support  of the bill. He  stated that he was  a member of                                                                    
the Alaska  Association of Fire and  Arson Investigators and                                                                    
the  Alaska Fire  Chiefs Association  and  that both  groups                                                                    
strongly   supported   the   legislation.  He   shared   his                                                                    
experience as fire investigator in  Alaska over the last ten                                                                    
years.  He  related that  arson  was  a difficult  crime  to                                                                    
investigate  and  that   it  had  less  than   a  2  percent                                                                    
conviction  rate across  the country.  In  2011, there  were                                                                    
over 35  fires classified as  arson or suspicious  in nature                                                                    
in  Juneau  alone.  The  property  destroyed  by  the  fires                                                                    
included  vehicles,  structures,  open  fields,  and  school                                                                    
parks. He stated  that in Juneau, there were  three cases in                                                                    
which  suspects  were  identified  and  were  in  the  legal                                                                    
system. One  of the  cases in the  legal system  involved an                                                                    
adult male who  set fire to an aerial ladder  truck that had                                                                    
two  firemen  still  inside  of it.  He  furthered  that  in                                                                    
December, two  juveniles, ages 7  and 12 lit  separate fires                                                                    
in the  local Fred Meyer  and Wal-Mart stores and  that just                                                                    
the day prior,  a teenager had confessed to  setting fire to                                                                    
an outdoor restroom several times  over the past few months.                                                                    
He related  that arson  was a crime  that was  often planned                                                                    
and carried out  by more than one person.  He concluded that                                                                    
HB 56 was  an important bill to fire  investigators and that                                                                    
currently, arsonists  could only be charged  with that crime                                                                    
if  it was  completed or  attempted. He  explained that  the                                                                    
passage  of  the  bill  would  provide  stronger  punishment                                                                    
whether  or not  the  conspirators completed  the arson  and                                                                    
concluded  that  the  legislation  could  benefit  open  and                                                                    
active cases  in Juneau, as  well as other  areas throughout                                                                    
the state.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
10:00:41 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
HB  56  was   HEARD  and  HELD  in   committee  for  further                                                                    
consideration.