Legislature(2025 - 2026)GRUENBERG 120
04/29/2025 03:15 PM House STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HJR10 | |
| HCR2 | |
| HB170 | |
| HB1 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 1 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HJR 10 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HCR 2 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 170 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 170-REPORTING VIOLENT CRIMES
3:27:10 PM
CHAIR CARRICK announced that the next order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 170, "An Act relating to a failure to report a
violent crime."
3:28:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ROBYN NIAYUK BURKE, Alaska State Legislature, as
prime sponsor, introduced HB 170. She said that HB 170 seeks to
increase the penalty for not reporting a violent crime, from a
Legal Violation to a Class B Misdemeanor.
3:28:57 PM
LA CRETIA WILSON, Staff, Representative Robyn Niayuk Burke,
Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Burke,
prime sponsor, presented the sectional analysis to HB 170
[including in the committee file], which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
Section 1 amends AS 11.56.767 (d) changing failing to
report a crime from a violation to a class B
misdemeanor.
Section 2 adds an applicability clause as amended by
section 1 of this act which applies to offenses
committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
This means the State cannot retroactively charge a
defendant.
MS. WILSON proceeded to discuss crime rates in Alaska. She said
that it has remained consistently above the national average for
more than four decades, including rural areas of the state. She
said that these violent crimes consist of murder, attempted
murder, kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, sexual penetration, or
attempted sexual penetration.
MS. WILSON noted that Kathleen Joe Henry joins a "long list" of
women who have lost their lives due to a violent crime. She was
sexually assaulted and murdered in 2019. Her killer showed her
dead body to another individual who failed to report the crime.
That individual remains free to this day. She stated that
failing to report a violent crime is currently a legal violation
that involves a fine of up to $500. She said that HB 170 would
increase this penalty to a Class B Misdemeanor, punishable with
a jail sentence to 90 days, and a maximum fine of up to $2,000.
She noted that a higher penalty for failure to report violent
crimes could prevent the escalation of violent crime and help
save victims being murdered.
MS. WILSON highlighted that the Urban Indian Health Institute
collected data in 71 cities across 29 states in an attempt to
highlight the crisis of "missing murdered indigenous women and
girls." She said that there are challenges with appropriate
data for this type of study due to underreporting, racial
misclassification, and other reasons. She said that in 2024 the
Alaska Criminal Justic Data Analysis Commission found that many
victims felt that they were not taken seriously by people in the
criminal justice system. She commented that early prevention,
awareness measures, and financial compensation were available
for victims. She said that the Alaska Native Public Safety
Officers "don't wait" campaign has attempted to educate the
public that someone doesn't need to wait 24 hours to report a
missing person or a violent crime.
3:31:51 PM
CHAIR CARRICK announced that the committee would hear invited
testimony on HB 170.
3:32:23 PM
AMBER NICKERSON gave invited testimony in support of HB 170.
She remarked that under the current language of Alaska Statute
(AS) 11.56.767, the failure to report a violent crime against an
adult is not mandated. By strengthening the statute, police and
investigators can have a meaningful tool to go after individuals
who conceal serious crimes. She said that people that have
already come forward and reported these crimes would not be
affected by strengthening the law. She said the legal changes
would target those who stay silent.
MS. NICKERSON explained that the weakness in the current statute
was exposed in the case involving Ian Calhoun and Brian Steven
Smith. She remarked that even Deputy Attorney General John
Skidmore acknowledged in a commentary to the Alaska Beacon that
under Alaska law there is no duty for citizens to report crime
and aid enforcement. She remarked that this was not acceptable.
She said that by changing the violation to a Class B
Misdemeanor, law enforcement can treat these cases with the
seriousness that they deserve. She said that alleviation for
the failure to report violent crimes was needed and Alaska needs
to do better. She noted that when researching other state penal
codes, Ohio and Texas had similar penalties for failure to
report these types of crime.
3:34:48 PM
ANTONIA COMMACK gave invited testimony in support of HB 170.
She said that her advocacy started in 2017 when her friend Robin
was murdered by her partner in front of their young children.
Her other friend Cristen Huntington was violently beaten,
murdered, and stuffed into a vacant apartment closet by her
partner in 2020. She said that this is the reality for many
Alaska Natives today. She said that she was not there to
exclusively advocate for Native Alaskans' safety but for safety
for all. She said that Ian Calhoun's case illustrated that
there are already people who are not being held accountable for
failing to report a violent crime. She reiterated that Deputy
Attorney General John Skidmore wrote about this topic in the
Alaska Beacon, but only after protests were held to raise
awareness. She said that not only have Ian Calhoun's actions
been acknowledged by Mr. Skidmore, but the states prosecutor
Brittany Dunlop revealed that Brian Smith, the killer, had
bragged to Ian Calhoun about "having fun" regarding the murder
and had likely showed Ian Calhoun the deceased body. She said
that there was no remorse or regret, only amusement. She
highlighted that Ian Calhoun's court view record was clean
despite all these things. She remarked that Ian Calhoun later
notified to the killer that her body was discovered by law
enforcement and he clearly had intimate knowledge of the violent
crime. She inquired about why others had been charged with
failure to report but Ian Calhoun was not penalized. She said
that the goal of the proposed legislation is to give police the
tools they need to hold violent criminals accountable.
MS. COMMACK remarked on the positive character of Kathleen, her
love for family, and her family wishes for this law to pass.
She said that Kathleen's family has kept quiet and did not want
to talk about her story because what happened was too painful to
speak about. She asked the committee to imagine if it were
their mother, sister, aunt, or friend subject to violence. She
said that HB 170 seeks to address this gap in the justice
system, and she encouraged quick bill passage.
3:40:26 PM
CHAIR CARRICK asked the committee whether there were questions
regarding HB 170.
3:40:34 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT remarked that it is always difficult to
hear these types of accounts. She asked Representative Burke,
bill sponsor, whether the current penalty for failure to report
was a legal violation with a $500 fine and what would change by
making it a Class B Misdemeanor.
REPRESENTATIVE BURKE responded that by increasing the penalty to
a Class B Misdemeanor, it would be punishable with a jail
sentence up to 90 days with a fine up to $2,000.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT asked whether Representative Burke had
an idea of how many cases were like this and if the intent of
the proposed legislation were to put more effort into finding
people who failed to report crimes by making penalties stronger.
REPRESENTATIVE BURKE responded increasing the penalty would put
more energy into investigating these cases.
3:42:34 PM
CHAIR CARRICK remarked that this question regarding the
frequency of these infractions might be best addressed by
Commissioner Cockrell.
3:43:11 PM
JAMES COCKRELL, Commissioner, Department of Public Safety (DPS),
responded that there had been a "deep dive" into the
department's record system, and no recent cases could be found
regarding convictions for failing to report violent crime.
CHAIR CARRICK asked whether he felt that this was because the
penalty was a legal violation as opposed to a misdemeanor.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL responded that it may be two-fold. He
said that law enforcement may not spend a lot of time on it and
some law enforcement officers may not know about the current law
regarding violent crime reporting. He said that one of his
recommendations regarding the bill is to ensure that the people
of Alaska know that if they do not report a violent crime
against an adult, there would be consequences. He indicated
that a public outreach initiative may incentivize people to
"reach out." He said that DPS was not opposed to HB 170 and
there was a zero fiscal note for the department; however, he
raised concerns regarding the consequences of raising the
penalty.
3:45:43 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE asked Commissioner Cockrell whether the
proposed bill would help law enforcement with violent crime
investigations.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL responded that the bill would not hurt law
enforcement efforts, but law enforcement and the public need to
know what the bill is, what it would do, how it would protect
the public, and how to make reports. He reiterated that Alaska
has a high rate of violence, and this was one way to try to
deter it.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE commented on a previous public initiative
to raise awareness to slow down for officers on the road. He
assumed that initiative funding may have come from a grant and
asked if doing something similar could be done to raise
awareness regarding reporting violent crimes.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL responded that he did not see any
negatives to this and there was specific funding for Missing and
Murder Indigenous Peoples (MMIP) initiatives that could provide
a place for raising awareness on reporting violent crimes. He
reiterated that public awareness was important and if the public
did not know that it was required to report, than realistically
these reports would not occur. He suggested this may be the
reason why DPS records could not illustrate many cases.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE commented that he knew there was a list of
spreadsheets in a previous hearing that highlight the "Missing"
part of MMIP and if a more intense law were in place, there
would be a reason to report it. He talked about trying these
things together.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL said that the Village Public Safety
Officer (VPSO) is imperative in supporting MMIP initiatives. He
noted that there was the "don't wait 24-hour campaign" that had
a couple TV spots to support public education efforts. He said
that DPS has spoken about this in the Tribal Affairs Committee
for several years. He said that DPS wants to stay in touch with
victims of violent crimes and support for the Navigator Program
was important. He said the program does a good job of keeping
engagement and connection with DPS, and the troopers like the
program, especially the investigators.
3:51:07 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND said that he was curious about the nature
of a Class B Misdemeanor and that on the surface it seems like a
modest criminal offense. He asked if there was any background
to why a Class B Misdemeanor was chosen as the penalty and what
the stipulations were to a higher penalty.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL replied that Deputy Attorney General John
Skidmore could address this issue better. He said that some
advocacy groups cautioned against raising the penalties to a
degree that would prevent reporting.
CHAIR CARRICK said that in a moment Deputy Attorney General John
Skidmore could address these types of questions.
3:52:24 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT asked Commissioner Cockrell how someone
would prove a case like this and what kind of evidence would be
required.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL answered that the purpose of this bill is
to stop violence from happening and essentially these things
would be investigative and involve interviews.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT said that the consequence to a non-
reporting individual would be higher; therefore, someone would
be more motivated to report it. She also said that some people
may not realize it is already a crime to not report violent
offenses.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL said that most people won't understand
whether it's a Class A or Class B Misdemeanor, or even a Class C
felony, but simply that they are required by law to report it,
regardless of the penal class of the crime. He reiterated that
public understanding regarding reporting violent crimes was
important.
3:55:20 PM
CHAIR CARRICK asked whether there were any additional questions
for Commissioner Cockrell.
3:55:27 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY remarked that she thought that education is
very important and there should be a campaign due to the severe
nature of the topic. She said that some people can be shocked
and afraid that reporting violent crime could have
repercussions, and ensuring anonymity and protection is
imperative. She said that a public awareness campaign should
emphasis anonymity.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL remarked that DPS receives anonymous tips
frequently and there is a "safety net" in place for those
fearful to report a crime. He said that Mr. Skidmore could
further address this issue.
3:57:29 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND reiterated his question regarding the
selection of a Class B Misdemeanor as the appropriate penalty
for crime class. He asked what would have been the higher or
lower penalty classes for the offense.
REPRESENTATIVE BURKE responded that there were a few different
iterations of the bill with different penalty levels for non-
reporting. She remarked that as Commissioner Cockrell had
mentioned, a level of crime needs to be established that would
not hinder people from making reports. She noted that the
purpose of HB 170 is to be an investigative tool for violent
crimes. She also noted that several people and groups were
consulted regarding an appropriate crime level. She noted that
there was a companion bill in the Senate and given joint
discussions, a Class B Misdemeanor was selected.
3:59:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE said that she had questions about this and
one area worth looking at was mandatory reporting for crimes
against children. She asked whether this bill would make
everybody a mandatory reporter regarding these high-level
crimes.
4:00:08 PM
JOHN SKIDMORE, Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Attorney
General, Criminal Division, Department of Law, advised that
under current statute, a legal violation occurs if the person
witnesses what they should have known as a violent crime. He
said that there are some challenges to this, and an example
heard earlier was that someone saw a body in a vehicle. He said
whether a murder was witnessed would be subject to litigation.
If you come across someone and the act is in process, then it
would require reporting. He said the bill would require
reporting to law enforcement, ensuring that it was reported, or
intervening and attempting to stop the act from occurring. If
successful, no report would be necessary. He said that all HB
170 does is change the penalty from a Violation to a Class B
Misdemeanor.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked that given this specific statute,
what kind of immunity is available to people who fail to report
a violent crime offense.
MR. SKIDMORE responded that if someone has witnessed a crime and
they have not reported it immediately and don't fall into one of
the "exceptions" found in statute, then in order to have that
person's testimony provided at trial, the state would be
obligated to request the court to order immunity to that
individual to compel them to testify. He said there is also the
Fifth Amendment privilege that someone could not be compelled to
testify. He said that in these instances immunity would be
required.
MR. SKIDMORE in response to a previous question from
Representative Holland, remarked that when the violent reporting
statute was made in 2008, the original penal class that was
proposed was a Class C felony. There were Senate discussions at
this time that discussed this "immunity." He said that
following these discussions, the determination was made that a
violation was the appropriate level of crime for the offense to
non-reporters.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked what the legal timeframe was that
someone had to report a violent crime and what would be
considered reasonable.
MR. SKIDMORE answered that the statute speaks to a "reasonable"
period; however, there is no set time in legal definition, and
this would require evaluations on a case-by-case basis.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE remarked that Mr. Skidmore has vast
experience of this, and the goal is to get people to report
these crimes. However, she noted that there may be people
fearful that this would enact a "nanny state." She raised
concerns that prosecutions with possible jail time would be the
result of failed reporting. She asked whether he could speak to
these concerns and any public perception of "government
overreach."
MR. SKIDMORE responded that this is a discussion that would be a
policy decision for the legislature to make as to whether this
is the type of conduct that should be criminalized or left as
the current violation. He said that the two sides of the debate
are that on "one hand," some would argue that the legislation
would make a "nanny state"; and the "other hand," it is a moral
social contract that society should report these types of
violence. He said that he believed these are at the heart of
this discussion and would require legislative deliberations.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE thanked Mr. Skidmore for his perspectives
and that in Alaska any crimes reported against children have
serious implications and violent conduct against vulnerable
adults also requires serious attention. She asked whether Mr.
Skidmore had any insight into how this area of statute could
help with prosecutions. She said that this area of statute is
seemingly vague and inquired about what tools would be required
to support what the communities are seeking.
MR. SKIDMORE said that he did not have any recommendations for
how to amend or alter HB 170. He said that there are policy
questions that the legislature would need to grapple with
regarding criminality and reporting. He said that certainly the
goal is to encourage everyone to report crime and whether the
proposed bill would accomplish this is to the legislature's
discretion.
4:07:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT asked what constitutes a violent crime
that would require mandatory reporting.
REPRESENTATIVE BURKE responded that it would constitute murder
or attempted murder, kidnapping or attempted kidnapping, sexual
penetration or attempted sexual penetration by another.
Particularly to those without consent or who are incapacitated.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT said that the statute also specifies an
adult and asked whether there was a separate statute section
addressing children.
REPRESENTATIVE BURKE responded that there was a separate section
addressing children.
4:09:38 PM
CHAIR CARRICK asked for clarification on whether attempted
murder constitutes a violent crime.
MR. SKIDMORE responded that it is a violent crime.
4:09:54 PM
CHAIR CARRICK announced that HB 170 was held over.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 170 Sponsor Statement ver N.pdf |
HSTA 4/29/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 170 |
| HB 170 Ver N.pdf |
HSTA 4/29/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 170 |
| HB 170 Sectional Analysis ver N.pdf |
HSTA 4/29/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 170 |
| HB 170 Fiscal Note DOC-IDO-4-25-25.pdf |
HSTA 4/29/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 170 |
| HB 170 Fiscal Note DPS-AST-4-24-25.pdf |
HSTA 4/29/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 170 |
| HB 170 Fiscal Note LAW-CJL-04-25-25.pdf |
HSTA 4/29/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 170 |
| HB 170 Burke Presentation 4-29-25.pdf |
HSTA 4/29/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 170 |
| HB 170 Written Testimony Rec'd 4-28-25.pdf |
HSTA 4/29/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 170 |
| HB 1 Written Testimony Rec'd 4-28-25.pdf |
HSTA 4/29/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 1 |
| HB 170 Letter of Support Data for Indigenous Justice 4-24-25.pdf |
HSTA 4/29/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 170 |
| HB 170 Burke Presentation UPDATED 4-29-25.pdf |
HSTA 4/29/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 170 |