Legislature(2025 - 2026)
05/15/2025 01:00 PM House JUD
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB64 | |
| HB136 | |
| HB24 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 64-SURRENDER OF INFANTS; INF. SAFETY DEVICE
1:01:36 PM
CHAIR GRAY announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 64, "An Act relating to the surrender of infants;
and providing for an effective date."
1:01:49 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 1:01 p.m. to 1:03 p.m.
1:03:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FRANK TOMASZEWSKI, Alaska State Legislature, as
prime sponsor, introduced HB 64. He read the sponsor statement
[included in the committee packet], which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
In 2008 Alaska enacted its safe surrender law to
ensure that surrendered infants receive immediate care
for their safety and provide legal protection for the
relinquishing parent, thereby reduce potential infant
death due to illegal abandonment. Our current safe
surrender law requires a parent to directly relinquish
an infant to another individual.
Infant safety devices protect both relinquishing
parents and infants. Infant safety devices allow a
parent to surrender an infant anonymously through a
climate-controlled device at a designated facility.
Currently, twenty-two states authorize infant safety
devices. House Bill 64 would authorize the use of
infant safety devices as an additional method of
infant relinquishment under the safe surrender laws.
These devices would safely hold an infant with an
automatic lock and constant video surveillance while
immediately alerting appropriate personnel of the
surrender. Infant safety devices would be placed in
conspicuous areas with appropriate signage as
determined by the Department of Family and Community
Services (DFCS). An infant safety device may be
located at hospital, emergency department,
freestanding birth center, office of a private
physician, rural health clinic, municipal police
department, state trooper post, fire department, or
other facility designated by the DFCS commissioner.
The ability to relinquish an infant to a safe location
rather than an individual allows additional anonymity
for the relinquishing parent while still ensuring that
surrendered infants receive immediate medical care.
1:05:56 PM
DAVID GOFF, Staff, Representative Frank Tomaszewski, Alaska
State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Tomaszewski,
prime sponsor, read the sectional analysis for HB 64 [included
in the committee packet], which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
Section 1
Amends the child abandonment statute (AS 47.10.013(c))
to make a parent immune from prosecution if they
safely leave the infant in a safety device that is
fiscally affixed to allowable public agency facility.
Section 2
Amends the child abandonment statute (AS 47.10.013(d))
to conform to Section 1 abandonment for the person to
whom an infant is safely surrendered.
Section 3
Amends the child abandonment statute (AS47.10.013(e))
to include designated facility as a receiver of a
safely abandoned infant.
Section 4
Adds a new subsection to the child abandonment statute
to require receiving facilities to immediately notify
the nearest peace officer, community health aide,
physician, or hospital employee.
Adds a new subsection to specify what an infant safety
device must be equipped with and where it must be
located.
Section 5
Provides an effective date of July 1, 2026.
1:07:38 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP asked whether the bill is voluntary or if
the Department of Health (DOH) would "assign entities."
REPRESENTATIVE TOMASZEWSKI stated that the bill gives the
commissioner the discretion to make those designations.
1:08:51 PM
CHAIR GRAY asked whether the bill sponsor or his staff had
visited one of these [infant safety devices] "baby boxes."
REPRESENTATIVE TOMASZEWSKI said no, he had never seen or been
placed in a baby box.
1:09:23 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE shared her understanding that the Safe
Surrender of Infants Act allows parents to relinquish an infant
who is less than 21 days old, and asked whether the same
parameters apply in HB 64.
MR. GOFF confirmed that the bill would follow the same 21-day
rule. He explained that once the baby box door is opened, it
sounds a silent alarm in the fire station, hospital, emergency
room, or healthcare facility; after the baby is placed in the
basinet, the door locks upon closure and a second alarm is
sounded. If no one responds, local dispatch is notified to take
custody of the child.
1:13:12 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE sought to confirm that HB 64 would allow
any mother to surrender an infant under three weeks old
anonymously without judgment and the state would provide for
that child.
MR. GOFF responded affirmatively.
1:13:47 PM
CHAIR GRAY sought to confirm that any person, not just the
mother, could surrender the child. In addition, he asked about
constant surveillance, and whether a six-month-old baby being
placed in the box would eliminate the adult's right to
anonymity.
REPRESENTATIVE TOMASZEWSKI shared his understanding that
existing laws prevent the submission of a child by someone other
than the parent.
MR. GOFF clarified that the camera providing 24-hour
surveillance is inside the box to ensure the safety of a child,
not to capture the identity of the person relinquishing the
child.
REPRESENTATIVE TOMASZEWSKI added that cameras are everywhere, so
anonymity is subject to interpretation.
CHAIR GRAY pointed out that anonymity in smaller communities is
unlikely.
REPRESENTATIVE TOMASZEWSKI anticipated that the boxes would be
placed in larger hub communities, not the small communities.
1:18:35 PM
REPRESENTATIVE UNDERWOOD asked whether baby boxes are linked to
a reduction in abandonments.
MR. GOFF did not know the answer. He reported that 54 babies
had been submitted to baby boxes across the U.S.
1:22:02 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EISCHEID asked how many infants had been
relinquished under the Safe Surrender of Infants Act.
MR. GOFF responded that the numbers are not clear, but he was
aware of three babies that had been abandoned in Alaska.
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP referenced a letter from Chief Schrage at
the Anchorage Fire Department [included in the committee packet]
that testified to recent incidents of abandoned newborns in
Anchorage under the Safe Haven Law and spoke in support of HB
64.
1:23:59 PM
CHAIR GRAY asked what other states with baby boxes are doing
with regard to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).
MR. GOFF imagined that those states would be doing everything
they could to work with those agencies.
1:25:18 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease at 1:25 p.m.
1:25:51 PM
CHAIR GRAY opened public testimony on HB 64.
1:26:24 PM
LORI BRUCE, representing self, stated that she has studied safe
haven laws for over ten years and led an open letter to the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) that called for
federal oversight of these devices. The letter was signed by
100 clinicians and child welfare experts because of the growing
awareness of the harms and unintended consequences of baby
boxes. She said under present conditions, she strongly
recommends against the use of these boxes because they decrease
the likelihood of crisis intervention and increase unecessary
family separation. They also violate ICWA and are not regulated
by any government authority. She reported that three deaths
have been associated with boxes over the past year.
Additionally, context terms disallow providers from altering the
signs on the boxes that could inform at-risk parents of family
preservation and other options, which ties the hands of the
first responders by withholding legal options from at-risk
families. She said there's nothing that would stop an older
baby or toddler from being left in a box. She added that there
are many better ways to help these families.
1:30:10 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EISCHEID asked Ms. Bruce where she resides.
MS. BRUCE said she currently resides in Connecticut.
1:30:45 PM
NOELLE OZIMEK, representing self, informed the committee that
she is the former director of research and development at the
National Safe Haven Alliance and a reproductive biologist
currently based at Harvard Medical School. In running the safe
haven crisis hotline, she said she worked with many providers,
law enforcement officers, and parents looking to surrender their
children and came to the belief that baby boxes are not the best
way to end infant abandonment. When people come into hospitals
to surrender it provides the opportunity to intervene and
provide resources for parents and children. Baby boxes diminish
this opportunity, she said, and increases the liability for all
those involved if child is harmed or dies. She stated that a
box failure could kill an infant and the current boxes are
designed poorly. She reiterated her belief that the people who
panic and abandon infants should be provided with better
options.
1:35:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MINA asked how to regulate the inspection of baby
boxes to ensure their function.
MS. OZIMEK replied it's a difficult question to answer because
the boxes are patented in the U.S. by one provider, so that
company would need to be very involved in the testing process.
She suggested that an alternative route to be explored is baby
drawers, which would be more open to regulation and testing by
states or institutions.
1:36:20 PM
REPRESENTATIVE UNDERWOOD asked whether anyone has been charged
with a crime after surrendering their baby.
MS. OZIMEK said she has seen many cases of law enforcement
following people home and involving child protective agencies.
REPRESENTATIVE UNDERWOOD asked which state this occurred in.
MS. OZIMEK answered all across the U.S.
1:37:52 PM
CHAIR GRAY announced that public testimony would be left open on
HB 64.
1:38:08 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease at 1:38 p.m.
1:38:14 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TOMASZEWSKI, in response to public testimony,
opined that he would rather have a panicked parent leave their
baby in a warm box instead of outside on the side of the road.
He clarified that Alaska already has safe surrender laws, so
parents would not be charged with a crime for using the baby
box. He said the bill is intended to help struggling parents.
1:40:08 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MINA asked whether there are ways to provide
resources to parents in a panicked crisis situation, so they
don't default to abandoning their child.
REPRESENTATIVE TOMASZEWSKI agreed that providing parents with
additional information or a number to call on the box would be a
good idea.
1:41:29 PM
CHAIR GRAY asked whether a crime could be charged in the case of
severe drug exposure.
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP shared his understanding that as long as no
physical injury had occurred to the child prior to surrender, no
crime would be charged.
1:43:12 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked to hear from DOH. She shared her
understanding that the bill would enhance safe surrender laws
and is intended to provide resources that improve the safety of
both mother and child not charge them with a crime. She
suggested that other organizations could provide baby boxes for
infants in compliance with state law, and further clarified that
there is a process and resources available for surrendering a
child who is older than 21 days.
1:46:33 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MINA noted that trafficking and ICWA are
important points of discussion.
CHAIR GRAY asked whether safe haven laws allow parents to
surrender drug-exposed infants in person.
1:48:35 PM
CARLA ERICKSON, Chief Assistant Attorney, Department of Law
(DOL), said that would be grounds for a child in need of aide
(CINA) petition in a civil case, but she was unsure how it would
be handled on the criminal side.
REPRESENTATIVE MINA asked how the safe surrender law impacts
ICWA if an Alaska Native mother were giving her baby up.
MS. ERICKSON stated that ICWA requires the state to make efforts
to notify the Indian child's Tribe and allow them to participate
in the CINA petition. She said she's not familiar with any
cases in which the state was not aware of the identity of the
parents, which in turn allowed them to identify the child's
Tribe.
1:50:14 PM
CHAIR GRAY announced that HB 64 was held over.
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