05/05/1998 03:07 PM Senate L&C

                                                                               
     CSHB 474(RLS) - CERTIFY MUNICIPAL CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS                   
                                                                               
CHAIRMAN LEMAN brought CSHB 474(RLS) before the committee as the               
next order of business.                                                        
                                                                               
KEVIN JARDELL, staff counsel for the House Judiciary Committee,                
said the Alaska Police Standards Council contacted the committee               
and asked that they introduce legislation that would place a new               
section of officers called "municipal correctional  officers" under            
their authority.  By doing this, the Alaska Police Standards                   
Council would have the ability to set minimum training standards               
and minimum hiring standards for municipal correctional officers.              
This would allow municipalities to hire less trained individuals               
to staff holding cells, which are currently staffed by full-time               
police officers.                                                               
                                                                               
SENATOR KELLY if these people would be commissioned officers                   
wearing badges and possessing firearms.  LADDIE SHAW, Director,                
Alaska Police Standards Council, explained that these will not be              
gun carrying corrections officials.  Their primary purpose is to be            
a jailer, and the standards they will be meeting are slightly less             
than a state correctional officer.                                             
                                                                               
SENATOR KELLY asked what retirement system these individuals would             
fall under.  MS. KREITZER responded that they are employees of the             
municipality so they would be covered by whatever agreement the                
municipality already has in place for its public safety officers,              
not withstanding the fact that they are not peace officers.                    
                                                                               
MR. SHAW explained it costs approximately $5,700 to train a police             
officer who is presently running the small jails, and it costs                 
approximately $1,500 to train a municipal correctional officer who             
will be working for the same municipality in place of a police                 
officer.  A municipal correctional officer's salary would be based             
on that municipality's salary cost, which could be anywhere from $8            
an hour to $12 an hour, but much less than a police officer.                   
                                                                               
Number 433                                                                     
                                                                               
CHAIRMAN LEMAN asked how many municipalities this legislation would            
apply to.  MR. SHAW replied that it would apply to 15                          
municipalities, but it would not include Anchorage because it does             
not have a contract jail.                                                      
                                                                               
SENATOR KELLY asked if this group of correctional officers would               
qualify for the 20-year and out provision under their retirement               
system.  MS. KREITZER replied that if a municipality had such a                
provision in place for its employees, it would then be up to the               
municipality to make that decision.  MR. SHAW added that if all of             
the jails were manned by municipal correctional officers, it would             
probably be less than 40 individuals for the entire state.                     
                                                                               
There being no further testimony on CSHB 474(RLS), CHAIRMAN LEMAN              
stated the bill would be set aside until a quorum was                          
reestablished.                                                                 
SENATOR MACKIE moved CSHB 474(RLS) be passed out of committee with             
individual recommendations.  Hearing no objection, it was so                   
ordered.