Legislature(2019 - 2020)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
01/25/2019 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Overview: Alaska Court System | |
| SB8 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | SB 8 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 8-ACCESS TO MARIJUANA CONVICTION RECORDS
2:30:37 PM
CHAIR HUGHES announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 8:
"An Act restricting the release of certain records of
convictions; amending Rule 37.6, Alaska Rules of Administration;
and providing for an effective date."
2:31:54 PM
SENATOR TOM BEGICH, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor of SB 8,
introduced himself and his staff, Sydney Lienemann. He thanked
Chair Hughes for hearing the bill. This bill is identical to the
bill that was considered, passed, and supported by the Senate
Judiciary Standing Committee last year. This bill would restrict
the release of certain criminal records for the possession of
marijuana, which is a class B misdemeanor. These crimes would no
longer be considered criminal based on the legalization of
marijuana that occurred some years ago.
He stated that the original bill was brought to him by a
constituent who works on employment issues at the Mountain View
library. His constituent witnessed people start to complete
their employment forms but not finish the process. When he asked
why, the response was that these applicants did not believe they
could obtain employment or housing options because of a single
prior conviction related to a crime that is no longer considered
a crime today. He stated that employment and housing issues are
critical throughout the state due to homelessness and situations
in which people find themselves unable to get into housing or a
job because they made a single mistake.
SENATOR BEGICH said SB 8 would automatically remove the
conviction from CourtView. The records would also be removed
from some background checks administered by the Department of
Public Safety, if requested by the individual. It would not fall
on the state to proactively remove the conviction; the bill
places the responsibility on the person. He emphasized that the
records would be available for any criminal justice search,
including employment checks related to the medical field or for
those working with children or dependent adults. He has worked
with the Department of Law (DOL), Department of Public Safety
(DPS), the Alaska Court System (ACS), and non-profit providers
on the bill. He reiterated that recurring issues adversely
affect re-entry programs that work to ensure people do not come
back into the criminal justice system. The governor recently
spoke about opportunities for hope and success and this bill
could provide an opportunity to Alaskans. He reported an
estimated 700 people would be affected by the bill. He asked Dr.
Lienemann to review some of the changes discussed for a proposed
committee substitute.
2:35:28 PM
CHAIR HUGHES stated that Representative Hopkins joined the
meeting.
2:35:38 PM
SYDNEY LIENEMANN, Ph.D., Staff, Senator Tom Begich, Alaska State
Legislature, offered to review proposed changes to SB 8 for a
committee substitute.
DR. LIENEMANN presented sectional analysis of SB 8 on behalf of
the sponsor, which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Section 1: Describes the legislative intent to reduce
barriers to re-entry for those convicted of low-level
marijuana possession, which would no longer be
considered crimes today.
DR. LIENEMANN referred to page 1, line 9, and stated that
the language currently states, "a criminal history
background check," and the intent is to clarify certain
types of background checks since this protection would be
limited to certain parties requesting background check
related to employment and housing, but the individuals'
criminal history would still be available to law
enforcement and prosecutors.
DR. LIENEMANN continued.
Section 2: Prohibits the Department of Public Safety,
and any designated reporting agency, from disclosing
any criminal records associated with possession of
less than one ounce of a schedule VIA controlled
substance conviction, covering both State Statute and
municipal ordinance, if requested. These cases will be
protected from disclosure only if marijuana possession
is the only crime for which the person was convicted
in a particular criminal case. A schedule VIA
controlled substance considered to have the lowest
degree of danger to users. Marijuana is the only VIA
drug.
DR. LIENEMANN explained that this prohibition would not
include any search related to the criminal justice system.
She referred to page 2, line 12, noting the DOL, DPS, and
ACS suggested replacing "Notwithstanding," with "In a
request under" for clarification.
DR. LIENEMANN continued.
Section 3: Limit access to Alaska Court System's
records of criminal cases involving convictions for
possession of less than one ounce of marijuana on
Court View.
DR. LIENEMANN explained that the departments requested removing
the word "confidential" [on page 2, lines 6, and 7] in order to
ease the ability to transfer records between agencies. She
related the sponsor's intention is to replace "confidential"
with similar language from Representative Drummond's bill that
passed the House last year that will remove defining the records
as confidential. She reiterated that this language would
restrict this information from being available on CourtView but
would allow the DOL, DPS, and ACS to have ongoing access to the
records.
2:38:29 PM
CHAIR HUGHES related her understanding that one problem that
arose with "confidential" is that the ACS would not be able to
release records to the DPS.
2:38:42 PM
Section 4: Indirectly amends Alaska Court System Rules
of Administration by limiting access to certain
criminal records.
DR. LIENEMANN stated [on page 2, line 17] the word
"confidential" would also need to be removed in that section.
Section 5: Because Section 4 indirectly amends a court
rule, this legislation will require a two thirds vote
as described by the Alaska Constitution.
Section 6: Provides 120 days for this legislation to
take effect after bill signing, giving the Courts, as
well as affected agencies, time to change their
reporting protocols.
2:39:19 PM
SENATOR BEGICH said he understands additional work still needed
to be done on the bill.
2:39:39 PM
CHAIR HUGHES asked the record to reflect that other concerns
exist. She referred to page 1, lines 6-7, which read, "It is the
intent of the legislature to reduce barriers to employment ?."
She referred to the analysis of [Section 2], which read, "These
cases will be protected from disclosure only if marijuana
possession is "the only crime" for which the person was
convicted in a particular criminal case." She pointed out that
on page 2, lines 3 and 12, the language reads "was not convicted
of any other charges in that case ?." She said that this
language limits the application of the restriction of records to
specific cases where the possession is the only crime resulting
in a conviction, but it ignores the fact that an existing
criminal history involving other crimes would remain a barrier
to employment for that person.
She asked for the rationale for ignoring the rest of a person's
criminal history if the intent is to reduce barriers to
employment for people convicted of low-level misdemeanor
marijuana possession if the person's criminal history includes
other crimes that already create barriers. She asked whether it
was possible to reduce the number of people that would [benefit
from having their records removed from CourtView].
SENATOR BEGICH answered that if the only crime the person
committed was related to marijuana and the record had no other
crime associated with it, the prior record would be cleared from
CourtView. He said the person's record would still contain any
other prior convictions.
SENATOR BEGICH, after a brief reiteration of people charged with
a single conviction of simple possession and those with multiple
convictions, said he understood her point. He suggested that the
only reason would be to remove these cases from the 700 or so
cases. He was unsure of the total number SB 8 would affect.
CHAIR HUGHES said in the materials or in discussion of other
states, including Vermont, he stated the individuals could have
[the record] removed by petition. However, Vermont also set out
additional conditions, including that the person would only be
eligible 5 years after sentence completion and that all
restitutions must be paid. She said that in instances in which
the person was convicted of a subsequent crime 10 years must
have passed since the sentence was completed and restitution for
all crimes had been made. She recapped that the bar in Vermont
was much higher than a simple petitioning the court. She asked
whether he would be open to raising the bar to be certain people
were clean. She asked for further clarification on when the
marijuana law passed.
2:44:39 PM
DR. LIENEMANN recalled that the marijuana law went into effect
in February 2015.
SENATOR BEGICH pointed out that Vermont is not one of the states
that has legalized possession and use of marijuana. He related a
scenario in which a person committed a crime of possession of
marijuana, first in 2012 and again in 2014. He pointed out that
three years has lapsed since 2015. It is not currently illegal
for a person to use marijuana so it would be difficult to assign
a criminal penalty, and he was not willing to do so; however, he
offered to sit down to hold discussions with the Chair's office.
2:45:35 PM
SENATOR SHOWER asked how plea bargains are considered in the
bill. He said it seemed like it might be a loophole, but he was
unsure.
DR. LIENEMANN related her understanding from discussions with
the court system, that the final criminal record is reflected in
the court system's database. She said if the person was charged
with several crimes but pled down to the elements listed in SB
8, the charges would be removed from CourtView. She reiterated
that the conviction would still remain in the system for most
higher-level background checks, but it would no longer appear in
CourtView.
2:47:14 PM
SENATOR BEGICH added prosecutors would also have access to the
records and case file. He recalled that had been discussed last
year.
SENATOR SHOWER offered to discuss this with the sponsor. He
referred to the rights of the employer and what is restricted.
He would like to better understand when the provisions would be
specifically applied or excluded. He offered his belief that in
certain fields an employer needs to know information about their
employees, for example, in the Department of Transportation and
Public Facilities (DOTPF).
2:48:20 PM
SENATOR MICCICHE asked the record to reflect that simple
possession and someone making a mistake is one thing, but a
person with a long history of criminal behavior is different
since it demonstrates judgment issues that a future employer may
wish to know about.
CHAIR HUGHES concurred with that point.
2:49:02 PM
SENATOR BEGICH said Senator Micciche's comment was an
appropriate one. He expressed a willingness to work with Senator
Micciche to find a way to make it work.
2:49:25 PM
SENATOR REINBOLD echoed Senator Micciche's concern. She asked to
have Mr. Duxbury come before the committee to provide his
perspective on the number of times an individual uses marijuana
before being arrested as well as the number of cases that are
typically dismissed prior to conviction. She recalled Mr.
Duxbury discussed on KTVA the percentage of cases involving
marijuana. He also indicated marijuana use was a gateway to so
much more. She said she is not an expert and would like to hear
his views on marijuana use.
2:50:11 PM
CHAIR HUGHES expressed her concern about SB 8 creating a
loophole for the 18-20-year-old age group, since marijuana is
still not legal for them. She expressed further concern that a
person could permanently lose eligibility for employment with
the state if the person unintentionally or otherwise conceals a
fact when submitting a job application. She did not want to set
up a person to fail.
[CHAIR HUGHES opened public testimony on SB 8.]
2:51:56 PM
CATHLEEN MCLAUGHLIN, Director, Partners Reentry Center (PRC),
offered to make comments to put this into perspective. She
stated the PRC has served 7,500 high-risk high-needs individuals
who would be homeless if the PRC had not assisted them. The PRC
works with reentrants whose parole and probation conditions
mandate that they do not use marijuana. That condition still
holds true whether marijuana use is legal or not, she said. She
offered her belief that SB 8 would only retroactively affect 700
people and the bill does not necessarily affect those being
served in the criminal justice system. She related a scenario in
which the PRC wanted to hire someone deemed as highly qualified,
but the person had previously been convicted of simple
possession of marijuana 10 years ago, prior to attending
college. That banned the person from being employed in this
industry, she said. She surmised that SB 8 intends to target
this type of person rather than the clients the PRC serves.
2:54:17 PM
SENATOR REINBOLD asked for further clarification on what she
meant by high-risk and high-needs individuals.
MS. MCLAUGHLIN said the PRC assists people who would otherwise
be homeless, whose chance of recidivism is very high. She
related that Alaska has a 66 percent recidivism rate and the PRC
focuses on this population in an effort to reduce recidivism and
enhance public safety. These are individuals with strong and
lengthy continual felony and misdemeanor records. She stated
that the PRC uses a tool called the LSIR, that those with a
score of 29 or higher are considered high-risk high-needs
individuals. These are individuals whose criminal behaviors
create a risk to the community when they are released, she said.
2:55:20 PM
CHAIR HUGHES asked her to explain the acronym LSIR.
MS. MCLAUGHLIN explained the acronym LSIR helps the DOC classify
individuals with a minimum, medium, or maximum risk-leveled
behaviors. She offered to report back on the acronym.
2:55:46 PM
SENATOR MICCICHE asked whether alcohol was also on the list of
conditions for parole or probation.
MS. MCLAUGHLIN answered absolutely, that the court establishes
probation and parole conditions based on the underlying crime.
SENATOR MICCICHE said she had previously mentioned the age group
18-20 and noted that the legislature treats minor consuming
differently for that age group, which is worth evaluating.
CHAIR HUGHES asked whether the 700 individuals were statewide.
MS. MCLAUGHLIN said she was referring to an attachment by Nancy
Meade that gave a ballpark figure.
2:56:43 PM
CHAIR HUGHES asked the sponsor to provide information on the
proposed 700 people potentially affected by SB 8 and whether
these individuals had other convictions.
2:57:16 PM
MS. MCLAUGHLIN reported that the acronym LSIR refers to level of
service inventory revised.
2:57:22 PM
SENATOR SHOWER related his understanding that the people with a
higher risk and a demonstrated behavior are not necessarily the
ones that SB 8 would clear, since those are the ones who would
present problems for employers, housing, or other issues that
the public would want to know about. He suggested that the
potential 700 people SB 8 would address do not seem to be the
people that PRC treats. He said it seemed like the intent of the
bill and the people she serves are like "apples and oranges".
MS. MCLAUGHLIN agreed. She said that none of the individuals the
PRC serves or who work with the center have only one conviction.
2:58:48 PM
CHAIR HUGHES closed public testimony on SB 8. She held SB 8 in
committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SJUD Agenda 1.25.19.pdf |
SJUD 1/25/2019 1:30:00 PM |
1.24.19 Agenda |
| SB8 VerA.PDF |
SJUD 1/25/2019 1:30:00 PM |
SB 8 |
| SB8 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SJUD 1/25/2019 1:30:00 PM |
SB 8 |
| SB8 Sectional Analysis.pdf |
SJUD 1/25/2019 1:30:00 PM |
SB 8 |
| SB8 Supporting Document - Leg Research Report.pdf |
SJUD 1/25/2019 1:30:00 PM |
SB 8 |
| SB8 Supporting Document - State Marijuana Criminal Record Confidentiality Actions.pdf |
SJUD 1/25/2019 1:30:00 PM |
SB 8 |
| SB8 Fiscal Note (AK Court System).pdf |
SJUD 1/25/2019 1:30:00 PM |
SB 8 |
| SB 8 Letter of Support ACLU.pdf |
SJUD 1/25/2019 1:30:00 PM |
SB 8 |
| 2-1-19 Letter to Sen Hughes re Prosecution Dismissals.pdf |
SJUD 1/25/2019 1:30:00 PM |
DOL Response |