02/21/2011 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY

        HB 133 - INCREASING NUMBER OF SUPERIOR CT JUDGES                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
1:16:36 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR GATTO announced  that the final order of  business would be                                                               
HOUSE BILL  NO. 133,  "An Act increasing  the number  of superior                                                               
court  judges designated  for the  third  judicial district;  and                                                               
providing for an effective date."                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
1:16:49 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DOUG  WOOLIVER,  Administrative Attorney,  Administrative  Staff,                                                               
Office  of  the  Administrative  Director,  Alaska  Court  System                                                               
(ACS), explained  that HB 133  was introduced by the  House Rules                                                               
Standing Committee  at the request  of the Alaska  Supreme Court.                                                               
Specifically,  HB 133  would  add two  new  superior court  judge                                                               
positions  to Alaska's  Third Judicial  District,  and these  two                                                               
judges would serve  on the civil court in Anchorage.   One reason                                                               
for requesting these  new positions is that such  judges have the                                                               
largest caseloads  in the state,  currently 687 cases  per judge,                                                               
and this high caseload results  from a combination of an increase                                                               
in the  number of unrepresented  litigants in  domestic relations                                                               
cases coming  before the courts, and  internal procedural changes                                                               
wherein more  status hearings are  taking place in child  in need                                                               
of aid  (CINA) cases, and  now once a  CINA case is  contested, a                                                               
superior court judge handles the case from then on.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MR.  WOOLIVER, with  regard to  those  procedural changes,  added                                                               
that although  they require more  superior court  resources, they                                                               
have  proven to  be very  beneficial for  the families  involved,                                                               
particularly since the goal of  the CINA statutes is get families                                                               
healthy  and the  children  back in  the home.    With regard  to                                                               
domestic relations cases  wherein at least one of  the parties is                                                               
unrepresented,  he  added  that  such cases  -  which  constitute                                                               
approximately  two-thirds  of  all domestic  relations  cases  in                                                               
Anchorage -  create a lot more  work for the court  and take more                                                               
time to  resolve because unrepresented  litigants tend to  file a                                                               
lot  more motions,  often  neglect to  address  the legal  issues                                                               
before the court, and don't  always come prepared with sufficient                                                               
documentation.   With  the  addition of  the  two new  positions,                                                               
although there would  still be the same number  of superior court                                                               
civil cases in  Anchorage, it is hoped that those  cases could be                                                               
resolved more quickly; furthermore,  the ACS has been instituting                                                               
and researching other programs and  changes in procedure that may                                                               
help it address its backlog of civil cases.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
1:29:29 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR GATTO  asked for  more information  about the  fiscal notes                                                               
accompanying HB 133.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MR. WOOLIVER  relayed that the  ACS's fiscal note  [of $1,440,800                                                               
for the  first year and  $930,400 for subsequent  years] reflects                                                               
funding   for  the   proposed  two   new   judge  positions   and                                                               
accompanying  in-court clerk  position, law  clerk position,  and                                                               
administrative   assistant  position   for  each   judge;  office                                                               
equipment/supplies   and   computer   hardware,   software,   and                                                               
licensing  and  fees  for  those  positions;  travel  costs;  and                                                               
capital   expenditures   for   remodeling   the   courthouse   to                                                               
accommodate the  new positions.  Those  capital expenditures have                                                               
also been included in the  ACS's capital budget request, however,                                                               
and so would be  removed from the ACS's fiscal note  on HB 133 if                                                               
they are fully funded in the capital budget.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR.  WOOLIVER then  ventured that  the Alaska  Judicial Council's                                                               
(AJC's) fiscal  note [of  $23,200 for the  first year  and $1,900                                                               
for subsequent years] reflects costs  associated with filling two                                                               
new judge positions  and amortized retention costs  for those two                                                               
positions, though  page 2 provides  a detailed breakdown  of [the                                                               
first  year's costs  if the  positions are  filled separately  as                                                               
well as  a detailed breakdown  of reduced costs if  the positions                                                               
are  filled  simultaneously].   With  regard  to the  [Office  of                                                               
Public  Advocacy's (OPA's)]  fiscal note,  he explained  that any                                                               
time new  judges are added to  the court system, there  are going                                                               
to  be  more hearings,  more  active  cases, more  courtrooms  to                                                               
cover, and therefore the costs  and staffing needs of the various                                                               
departments/agencies in the criminal justice  system are going to                                                               
increase as  well.  Both the  OPA and the Public  Defender Agency                                                               
(PDA) address CINA cases, he added.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
1:35:24 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
QUINLAN  STEINER,  Director,   Central  Office,  Public  Defender                                                               
Agency (PDA), Department of  Administration (DOA), indicated that                                                               
with the addition of two  new superior court judge positions, the                                                               
PDA would  need to  add an  attorney position  [and a  law office                                                               
assistant  position] to  address  the estimated  increase in  the                                                               
PDA's workload.   Currently,  the PDA's  civil division  has only                                                               
six  attorneys  available to  appear  before  ten superior  court                                                               
judges handling  CINA matters  in Anchorage,  and so  already has                                                               
problems getting attorneys in the courtrooms on a daily basis.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR GATTO relayed  that he's been informed  that the Department                                                               
of Corrections'  (DOC's) fiscal note [of  $111,400] is inaccurate                                                               
[in  that it  reflects  the  addition of  a  new adult  probation                                                               
officer position that would be addressing felony crimes].                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR. WOOLIVER surmised that because  HB 133 itself doesn't specify                                                               
that the proposed  new superior court judges  would be addressing                                                               
only  civil cases,  the DOC's  fiscal note  was probably  crafted                                                               
under the assumption that the  proposed new superior court judges                                                               
would be addressing criminal cases.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  GATTO  observed  that  the  Office  of  the  Governor  has                                                               
submitted a zero  fiscal note, and that the  Department of Public                                                               
Safety's (DPS's) fiscal note [of  $135,400 for the first year and                                                               
$117,300 for  subsequent years]  reflects the  addition of  a new                                                               
position.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
1:39:20 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SUE  STANCLIFF, Special  Assistant, Office  of the  Commissioner,                                                               
Department  of  Public  Safety  (DPS),  clarified  that  the  new                                                               
position  would be  for  a  court service  officer  who would  be                                                               
responsible for  handling court  paperwork and  maintaining order                                                               
in  the courtroom;  this additional  position is  being requested                                                               
based on an assumption that there  would be a new courtroom built                                                               
to accommodate  the two new  judges.  She mentioned  that because                                                               
domestic  relations cases  can often  become  very difficult  and                                                               
emotional,  court service  officers are  often needed  to provide                                                               
assistance.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  GATTO,  after ascertaining  that  no  one else  wished  to                                                               
testify, closed public testimony on  HB 133 but indicated that he                                                               
might reopen  it, and relayed that  HB 133 would be  held over in                                                               
order to address the DOC's fiscal note.