Legislature(2015 - 2016)HOUSE FINANCE 519
03/24/2016 09:30 AM House FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB231 | |
| HB222 | |
| HB77 | |
| HB247 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 77 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 231 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 222 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 247 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE BILL NO. 77
"An Act relating to training regarding disabilities
for police officers, probation officers, parole
officers, correctional officers, and village public
safety officers; relating to guidelines for drivers
when encountering or being stopped by a peace officer;
relating to driver's license examinations; and
relating to a voluntary disability designation on a
state identification card and a driver's license."
Ms. Pierson read a portion of the Sponsor Statement:
The goal of HB77 is to improve communications between
law enforcement and corrections professionals who
interact with people who have non-apparent
disabilities, whether these disabled individuals
encounter the "systems" as victims, witnesses, or
alleged perpetrators.
Ms. Pierson reported that the bill had three parts; a
training component, a voluntary option to have an
identifying mark on a driver's license denoting the driver
had a disability, and an added section in the driver's
manual in which questions could appear on the written
driver's test.
Co-Chair Thompson OPENED public testimony
10:17:13 AM
RICK WEBB, WALLBUSTERS, FAIRBANKS (via teleconference),
supported the bill. He believed education was very
important. The bill would help to change preconceived
ideas. He noted that the bill would not equate to a "Get-
out-of-jail-free" card. He provided a personal story about
his friend in a wheelchair who had been arrested for drunk
driving. He emphasized that the legislation was about equal
treatment not special treatment. He thanked the committee
for its time.
10:20:05 AM
JUANITA WEBB, WALLBUSTERS, FAIRBANKS (via teleconference),
supported the legislation and understood the importance of
the bill. She opined that the bill was about educating
people. She thanked the bill sponsor for bringing the
legislation forward and urged committee members to pass the
bill along.
Co-Chair Thompson CLOSED public testimony.
10:21:44 AM
Representative Wilson supported the bill. She expressed
concerns about having identification without having any
backup about the type of disability. She wondered if it
would be an issue to only see that a disability existed
rather than specifying the disability type.
Co-Chair Thompson commented that the intention of the bill
was not to highlight a person's disabilities but to begin a
conversation between an officer and the person who was
stopped.
10:22:30 AM
CHAD GOEDEN, ALASKA STATE TROOPERS, SITKA (via
teleconference), understood concerns around the balance of
privacy and an officer having enough information to make
the best decisions. Since it was a voluntary option he
suggested the inclusion of a provision that enabled people
to determine how much information they wanted to make
available. Information could be added to the dispatch
system rather than on a license so that the information
could be provided to an officer upon calling into dispatch
Representative Wilson stated that it had been brought to
her attention that even with a designation there had been
issues with people getting nervous and having difficulty in
providing information. She was wondering if the objective
of the legislation could be accomplished through changing
regulation since it was voluntary. She added that even with
a simple designation more information could smooth over a
situation.
Representative Gara thought it would be best to make it
clear that the person had some sort of disability rather
than specifically designating a disability. It was an alert
to officers that there was an issue and to further
investigate. He liked the way the bill was currently
written and thought it struck a better balance.
10:25:39 AM
Vice-Chair Saddler was co-sponsoring the bill. He expressed
concerns about placing too much responsibility on the
police to have a positive outcome between the disabled
person and law enforcement. He encouraged disabled people
to help police knew of the person's situation. He thought
meeting with police officers and school resource officers.
He also suggested the use of identification bracelets. He
recommended that parents review appropriate responses when
interacting with police officers such as complying, being
respectful, and answering questions. He opined that a
person could not legislate common sense.
Vice-Chair Saddler continued that the responsibility for a
positive outcome between anyone and police officers was a
shared responsibility. He believed that the legislation
offered police officers additional information and was a
good step that he would support.
Representative Gattis asked Officer Goeden to walk her
through what would be included in training if the bill were
to pass. Office Goeden asked whether she meant what the
troopers would do for training or what an officer would do
if they came in contact with a person with the proposed
mark on their license.
Representative Gattis supposed she meant both but most
importantly wondered what a law enforcement officer would
do when stopping someone with a disability. She thought
that an officer would have to be trained. Officer Goeden
suggested that when troopers made a traffic stop they
positioned their car so that there was a safe lane of
travel to get up to the vehicle. The law enforcement
vehicle would have overhead flashing lights front and rear.
Officers would try to be aware of several things
simultaneously such as oncoming traffic, movements in the
car, number of people in the car being pulled over, and
what the passengers were doing. The troopers would identify
themselves, ask the driver for identification and proof of
insurance, ask for any legal reason for why they were
stopped, and give them a decision as to whether a citation
would be issued.
10:28:42 AM
Representative Gattis asked what the officer would do
differently than the standard protocol when stopping a
person with a designation on their driver's license.
Officer Goeden replied that it would depend on how much
detail was provided with the designation. It would also
depend on the driver's behavior. For instance, if a person
was acting unusual or extremely nervous an officer might
ask whether there was anything they should be aware of. It
all hinged on getting to the point where the law officer
was looking at a person's driver's license to see a special
designation.
Representative Gattis relayed that Officer Goeden had
answered her question.
10:30:38 AM
Representative Guttenberg liked the bill because he thought
it addressed problems from both the side of the trained
officer and the motorist. He was very concerned with public
safety officers having an adequate level of training. He
asked if there was specific training to handle stops made
with vehicles having handicap license plates.
Officer Goeden responded that the academy's recruits went
through an 8 hour crisis intervention training. The
training covered hidden and visible disabilities including
how to recognize them and how to deal with them. He had
never specifically spoken with the instructor about an
approach change if an officer saw a handicap license
placard. He hoped that a visual indicator would provide a
clue that the person might have a disability.
Co-Chair Thompson thanked Officer Goeden for being
available for questions.
Vice-Chair Saddler reviewed the zero fiscal note from
Department of Administration.
Vice-Chair Saddler MOVED to report CSHB 77 (FIN) out of
Committee with individual recommendations and the
accompanying fiscal note(s). There being NO OBJECTION, it
was so ordered.
CSHB 77 (FIN) was REPORTED out of committee with a "do
pass" recommendation and with a new zero fiscal note from
the Department of Administration.
10:33:46 AM
AT EASE
10:35:54 AM
RECONVENED
10:35:54 AM