Legislature(2013 - 2014)CAPITOL 106
04/02/2013 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s):|| Alaska Public Offices Commission|| Alaska Police Standards Council | |
| HB186 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | HB 186 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 186-DEFINITION OF POLICE OFFICER
8:10:27 AM
CHAIR LYNN announced that the final order of business was HOUSE
BILL NO. 186, "An Act relating to police standards and amending
the definition of 'police officer.'"
8:10:59 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 8:11 a.m. to 8:13 a.m.
8:12:57 AM
REPRESENTATIVE MILLETT introduced HB 186, as sponsor. She
paraphrased the first couple sentences of the sponsor statement
[included in the committee packet], which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
Currently, the definition of a police officer in
state statutes includes the words "a full time"
employee. This inadvertent language allows police
departments in cities, boroughs, municipalities and
even state agencies to potentially hire otherwise
unqualified police officers under "part time" and
"seasonal" conditions.
REPRESENTATIVE MILLETT said HB 186 would [remove "full-time"],
thus closing a loophole. She explained that under HB 186, all
police officers serving the public sector, no matter how many
hours per week, would be trained police officers.
8:14:56 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON asked for confirmation that the proposed
legislation would not change the status of someone who was not a
police officer into someone who is one.
8:15:34 AM
VASILIOS GIALOPSOS, Staff, Representative Charisse Millett,
Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Millett,
sponsor of HB 186, responded to Representative Isaacson. He
indicated that the Alaska Police Standards Council (APSC) and
the Department of Public Safety (DPS) are concerned that under
current statute, a police officer not in full-time status may be
considered unqualified to make an arrest or seek warrant, for
example. He related that there would be no fiscal impact [under
HB 186]. In response to a follow-up question, he confirmed that
[the proposed legislation] was requested by APSC.
8:17:01 AM
MR. GIALOPSOS, in response to Representative Hughes, deferred to
Mr. Vrabek of DPS, Mark Mew of APSC, and Sheldon Schmitt, Chief
of Police in Sitka, to answer how many part-time police staff
would be included under HB 186 and who currently makes the
decisions that a part-time officer's actions are or are not
valid.
8:18:27 AM
MARK MEW, Chief of Police, Anchorage Police Department (APD);
Member, Alaska Police Standards Council (APSC), stated that the
council is concerned that in smaller towns there are people
enforcing the law and engaging in activities as a police
officer, and the council has no authority over them, thus, it
cannot regulate them. He said it is difficult to say how many
cases there are, because they are invisible to the council;
therefore, the council does not have the ability to investigate
them. He said another related issue, but not included under HB
186, is whether APSC can regulate peace officers.
MR. MEW said the council sets the standards for training and
qualifications, and it certifies officers. By setting the
standards, the council controls what the requirements are. He
said if someone does not perform well and is terminated from
DPS, if the conduct is severe enough, the council should
intercede and have the ability to remove certification, so that
the person in question does not go from small town to small town
"surfacing in other capacities." He said the council sees that
happen with full-time officers, but is able to intervene. He
said he does not see this issue so much as chief of police in
Anchorage, but does see it when involved in council activities.
MR. MEW, regarding a prior question about improperly collected
evidence or some other activity a part-time, unregulated officer
may perform that threatens or derails a criminal case, responded
as follows:
That would not be the council that would make that
decision; that probably would boil up in trial, I
would think. Either the prosecutor would look at this
and say, "I can't even bring it forward," or the
status of the officer would surface as an issue in
trial, and I think that's ... where the thing would
derail.
8:22:23 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER questioned whether the proposed
legislation would result in increased expenses to small
communities through an unfunded mandate to provide further
training, for example.
8:23:05 AM
MR. MEW surmised that the training would "cost somebody
something." He said the Anchorage Police Department hires
people and covers the cost of sending them to the state academy.
He offered his understanding that some academy trainees
participate on their own dime, hoping to get hired later, while
others are sponsored by the state. He said it may be that small
communities will expect the part-timers to have obtained the
necessary training on their own before being eligible for hire.
He suggested that the liability that could be incurred by
something done by an untrained officer might be way more
expensive than the cost of paying for that person's training.
Further, he said he thinks there would be an opportunity to
bring in officers from other states who could take "the short-
order version of the course." He suggested other testifiers may
know more about that process than he does.
8:24:43 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER asked if APSC allows for the difference in
skills needed for working in a village versus in a city, and
whether it considers qualifications of safety training that has
been incurred in the military.
8:25:27 AM
MR. MEW responded that APSC sets training standards, including
the number of hours necessary and that the instructors must be
certified. He said the courses are taught in Sitka, Anchorage,
and Fairbanks. He said the state minimum standards are less
burdensome than the cities [may] require, because once a person
is trained at the state level, there may be a need for training
related to local issues. For example, in Anchorage there are
municipal policies and local ordinances.
8:26:54 AM
MR. MEW, in response to Representative Hughes, offered his
understanding that under HB 186, towns would still have the
ability to hire part-timers; however, those part-timers would
have to meet the same requirements as those hired full-time.
That means that part-time officers would know how to handle
evidence correctly and have a certificate to prove it. He said
officers will make mistakes from time to time, whether certified
or not, but actions taken without certification may jeopardize
cases. In response to a follow-up question, he confirmed that
under HB 186, all police officers, no matter whether hired full-
time or not, would have to have proper certification. Further,
they would all have to have background screening that would show
they do not "have issues in their lives that would preclude them
from being trusted with a badge and a gun."
8:30:06 AM
TERRY VRABEC, Deputy Commissioner, Office of the Commissioner,
Department of Public Safety (DPS), stated that DPS supports HB
186. He stated that regulations have been set to show the
minimum qualifications that must be met [as a police officer];
however, in the past some agencies have knowingly hired people
who lacked the minimum qualifications. For example, one agency
hired someone with a domestic violence conviction, which clearly
is in violation of regulations, but the department could not do
anything directly. He said he had to work with the city
manager, who eventually fired the person.
MR. VRABEC echoed Mr. Mew's statement that the state sets the
minimum standards so that all police officers have the minimum
training, and some communities then require more training. He
related that the average cost of the academy currently is
$10,000, and the council has been covering that cost.
MR. VRABEC, regarding lateral transfers, confirmed that the
state does accept officers from Outside, but it makes certain
the officers transferring in have basic training and then sends
them to a "mini academy" to give them some "Alaska training."
He said APSC covers that cost, as well.
MR. VRABEC stated that the department feels that HB 186 would
help "clean this up a little bit" and now allow small cities to
get into a bad situation where they realize after the fact that
they should not have hired someone. He concluded, "I think we
owe that to the state."
8:33:13 AM
SHELDON SCHMITT, Chief of Police, City and Borough of Sitka;
Chair, Alaska Police Standards Council (APSC), stated that
[APSC] voted to change the aforementioned loophole, and said he
thinks "we" owe it to the public to ensure all officers are
qualified and fall under the purview of the council. He said he
thinks Mr. Mew did a good job talking about the items that
concern the council. He offered to answer questions.
8:34:12 AM
CHAIR LYNN, after ascertaining there was no one else who wished
to testify, closed public testimony.
8:34:35 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved to report HB 186 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying zero fiscal
note. There being no objection, HB 186 was reported from the
House State Affairs Standing Committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 01 HB0186A.pdf |
HSTA 4/2/2013 8:00:00 AM |
HB 186 |
| 02 HB 186 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HSTA 4/2/2013 8:00:00 AM |
HB 186 |
| 03 HB 186 Sectional Analysis.pdf |
HSTA 4/2/2013 8:00:00 AM |
HB 186 |
| 04 HB186-DPS-APSC-03-29-13.pdf |
HSTA 4/2/2013 8:00:00 AM |
HB 186 |
| Police Standards - Kean #4.pdf |
HSTA 4/2/2013 8:00:00 AM |
Governor's Appointments |
| Public Offices - King #4.pdf |
HSTA 4/2/2013 8:00:00 AM |
Governor's Appointments |