04/27/1998 02:15 PM Senate JUD

         HB 335 - UNIFORM INTERSTATE CHILD CUSTODY ACT                         
                                                                               
MS. PATTI SWENSON, staff to Representative Con Bunde, presented HB
 as a bill that integrates Alaska into the Uniform Child Custody            
Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA).  MS. SWENSON said the               
bill addresses problems that arise due to interstate child custody             
and revises the current statutes that have been unrevised since                
1968.  MS. SWENSON said the revision helps both custodial and non-             
custodial parents by addressing modern communication devices,                  
domestic violence orders and other frequently occurring problems.              
MS. SWENSON said the bill will also help clear up conflicting court            
orders issued in different states and ease enforcement and hearing             
procedures.                                                                    
                                                                               
MS. SWENSON also stated that the UCCJEA will standardize all the               
paperwork and time frames connected with custody enforcement orders            
in all states. She said the bill makes the process easier and                  
cheaper and will be important to anyone who becomes involved in a              
custody dispute. MS. SWENSON concluded that the bill also benefits             
kids and she urged the committee's support.                                    
                                                                               
Number 565                                                                     
                                                                               
MS. DEBORAH BEHR, representing the Department of Law, testified                
that she is the Uniform Law Commissioner for Alaska and one of the             
nine attorneys that drafted the UCCJEA. MS. BEHR said the Uniform              
Law Commission is a middle of the road group that seeks to                     
establish a middle of the road proposal that can be enacted in all             
fifty states.  MS. BEHR said there were no votes against the UCCJEA            
in the Uniform Law Commission.                                                 
                                                                               
MS. BEHR explained this is not a federal mandate but only a result             
of cooperation between the states. She further explained this does             
not relate to Child In Need of Aid (ChINA) determinations, nor does            
it effect child support. The bill merely deals with routine divorce            
custody orders that have some need for enforcement actions. She                
said the bill will benefit both custodial and non-custodial parents            
by ensuring the predictability of support orders and their                     
consequences.                                                                  
                                                                               
                                                                               
TAPE 98-43, Side B                                                             
Number 581                                                                     
                                                                               
MS. BEHR gave an example in which two parents had contradictory                
court orders, and illustrated how the bill will make it less                   
expensive and easier to resolve this problem, even without either              
parent retaining an attorney. She said the goal was to decrease the            
number of violations of court orders in custody cases and make the             
laws better serve kids.                                                        
                                                                               
MS. BEHR said this bill will help parents get better enforcement               
more quickly and allow for criminal penalties for noncompliance.               
                                                                               
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR thanked MS. BEHR for her work on this legislation              
and recognized the importance of predictability and stability in               
childrens lives.                                                               
                                                                               
Number 537                                                                     
                                                                               
SENATOR PEARCE moved HB 335 from committee with individual                     
recommendations. Without objection, it was so ordered.