03/27/2013 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY

         SB  36-MISSING VULNERABLE ADULT RESPONSE PLAN                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
1:42:07 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR COGHILL announced the consideration  of SB 36. [SSSB 36 was                                                               
before the committee.]                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
1:42:26 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR JOHNNY  ELLIS, sponsor  of SB  36, thanked  the committee                                                               
for hearing the  bill and Senator Dyson for joining  him as a co-                                                               
sponsor. He noted  that a similar version of the  bill passed the                                                               
Senate last year 20  to zero. He said the bill  has a zero fiscal                                                               
note  and the  only criticism  is  why hasn't  this already  been                                                               
done. Alaska  has a growing senior  population and is one  of the                                                               
last  states to  take action  in  this regard.  He continued  the                                                               
introduction paraphrasing the following sponsor statement:                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     This bill would ensure  that the Department of Military                                                                    
     and   Veterans   Affairs   works  together   with   the                                                                    
     Department of Public Safety to  develop plans for state                                                                    
     and local law enforcement  to quickly notify the media,                                                                    
     the public,  and other law enforcement  agencies when a                                                                    
     vulnerable adult  goes missing. A Silver  Alert program                                                                    
     here in  Alaska, we believe, would  establish clear and                                                                    
     consistent   lines   of   communication   and   develop                                                                    
     efficient  procedures  for citizens,  law  enforcement,                                                                    
     and media outlets to follow in this situation.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     We believe the preparation in  this bill will ensure we                                                                    
     maintain  an  efficient  system  for  activating  rapid                                                                    
     searches  and media  alerts for  a senior  citizen with                                                                    
     Alzheimer's  disease  or  dementia, or  an  adult  with                                                                    
     mental disabilities  when they  are missing,  even when                                                                    
     law  enforcement  agencies  may  be  burdened  by  high                                                                    
     response demands  in other  areas or  if they  may lose                                                                    
     experienced officers to retirement or turnover.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     Thirty-eight  other  states   have  established  Silver                                                                    
     Alerts or even more  extensive missing persons response                                                                    
     programs. Despite this, Alaska  has still not taken the                                                                    
     opportunity   to  design   a  dedicated   response  and                                                                    
     notification  program  for   our  senior  citizens  and                                                                    
     disabled adults  when they go missing.  We believe that                                                                    
     due to  the rapidly growing senior  population here, it                                                                    
     is imperative  that we establish this  program to allow                                                                    
     our  seniors and  disabled adults  to continue  to live                                                                    
     and retire  here, which they are  increasingly choosing                                                                    
     to do alongside their families and children.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
     We have seen what this  program can do in other states.                                                                    
     Just this past August,  the Mississippi Highway Patrol,                                                                    
        which operates the Silver Alert in Mississippi,                                                                         
      praises their Silver Alert program for helping them                                                                       
     save just three lives in a month.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR ELLIS  stated that an  Alaska Silver Alert  program would                                                               
pose no  additional cost  to the state,  but would  be invaluable                                                               
for reducing response  times when adults with  dementias or other                                                               
cognitive  disabilities  go missing.  He  relayed  that both  the                                                               
Alaska Broadcasters  Association and public safety  agencies have                                                               
given  input. The  expectation is  that  this program  will be  a                                                               
boost  to law  enforcement and  that  all media  outlets will  be                                                               
happy to  broadcast a  missing vulnerable  adult report  that has                                                               
been  thoroughly   but  promptly   vetted  by   law  enforcement.                                                               
Broadcasters  emphasized the  importance  of  proper vetting  and                                                               
that concept went into the drafting of the bill.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR ELLIS  said that  when a  vulnerable adult  goes missing,                                                               
their best  chance of being found  alive is to be  located within                                                               
24-48  hours.  He noted  that  these  searches can  cost  federal                                                               
taxpayers up to  $1,500 per hour. He offered  to answer questions                                                               
about  the  differences  between  the previous  version  and  the                                                               
proposed committee substitute (CS).                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
1:47:05 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR COGHILL asked for a  motion to adopt the proposed committee                                                               
substitute.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
1:47:15 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR MCGUIRE  moved to adopt  the work  draft CS for  SSSB 36,                                                               
labeled 28-LS0338\C, for discussion purposes.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR COGHILL  found no  objection and  announced that  version C                                                               
was before the committee. He  asked if the differences related to                                                               
definitions.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR ELLIS said  yes. He explained that  the legislature voted                                                               
to expand the definition of  "vulnerable adult" in the governor's                                                               
anti-trafficking bill  last year,  but law  enforcement expressed                                                               
concern  with that  expanded definition  in the  context of  this                                                               
legislation. He suggested his staff give a brief explanation.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
1:48:14 PM                                                                                                                    
NATHAN ZENCEY, Staff  to Senator Johnny Ellis, sponsor  of SB 36,                                                               
explained  that  public  safety  wanted to  return  to  the  more                                                               
limited definition of "vulnerable  adult" solely for the purposes                                                               
of  this legislation.  He read  the following  definition in  the                                                               
proposed AS 44.41.060(2)(d):                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
     In this  section, "vulnerable adult" means  a person 18                                                                    
     years  of age  or  older who,  because  of physical  or                                                                    
     mental impairment,  is unable to meet  the person's own                                                                    
     needs or to seek help without assistance.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
Public  safety  expressed a  preference  for  this definition  to                                                               
avoid the  potential for  both misuse and  over use.  The sponsor                                                               
and advocates support this change.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  COGHILL recalled  the discussion  about  the overly  broad                                                               
definition  and that  it  could limit  the  effectiveness of  the                                                               
silver alerts.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
1:49:57 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  MCGUIRE  asked  if  any  thought  was  given  to  saying                                                               
"vulnerable senior."                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MR. ZENCEY said  that while that designation would  account for a                                                               
large proportion  of the alerts,  advocates and the  sponsor feel                                                               
it is important to include  people with cognitive disabilities in                                                               
the category of vulnerable adults.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR ELLIS  added that he  agrees with the  previous committee                                                               
that  thought   that  people  with  PTSD   should  be  considered                                                               
vulnerable adults.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
1:50:58 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR DYSON  asked if  other states  with similar  programs use                                                               
electronic tracking devices.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. ZENCEY offered to follow up with the information.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR DYSON said that wasn't  necessary and noted that audience                                                               
members were nodding.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR MCGUIRE  asked who  is covered by  the definition  and if                                                               
public safety believes  that covering that number  of people will                                                               
be manageable.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR ELLIS explained that the  legislation covers seniors with                                                               
Alzheimer's   and   other   dementias,  adults   with   cognitive                                                               
impairments,  and  adults  with  post-traumatic  stress  disorder                                                               
(PTSD).  The  bill seeks  to  comport  with  the desires  of  the                                                               
broadcasters and  not have  a program  that overloads  the system                                                               
and  places  too many  demands  on  law enforcement.  Referencing                                                               
Senator  Dyson's question,  he explained  that the  bill takes  a                                                               
system  approach  for  emergency alerts  rather  than  individual                                                               
tracking.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
1:56:16 PM                                                                                                                    
DENISE DANIELLO, Executive Director,  Alaska Commission on Aging,                                                               
Department  of Health  and Social  Services (DHSS),  testified in                                                               
support of  SB 36. She  explained that the commission  is charged                                                               
by  statute to  provide  services for  seniors, educate  Alaskans                                                               
about senior issues, and provide  recommendations to the governor                                                               
and   legislature   regarding    regulations,   legislation   and                                                               
appropriations  for programs  serving senior  Alaskans. She  said                                                               
that wandering is a common  symptom for people with dementias and                                                               
it's  not   uncommon  for  these   people  to  become   lost  and                                                               
disoriented.   According   to   statistics  from   the   national                                                               
Alzheimer's  Association,   about  60  percent  of   people  with                                                               
Alzheimer's disease  may suffer from wandering  during the course                                                               
of  the  disease.  In  Alaska,   this  can  have  life  or  death                                                               
consequences.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MS DANIELLO  provided some statistics.  About 6,140  Alaskans age                                                               
65  and older  have some  type of  dementia, and  that population                                                               
will likely  triple over the  next 20 years.  About 1 in  9 older                                                               
Alaskans may  have dementia, and about  1 in 2 people  age 85 and                                                               
older  may  have  Alzheimer's  disease.  According  to  the  2013                                                               
Alzheimer's disease  report, about  1 in 3  elders will  die with                                                               
symptoms of dementia. She reported  that the commission conducted                                                               
seven forums  statewide and found a  top concern was the  need to                                                               
improve public safety for people  with dementias through a silver                                                               
alert or community response system.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MS.  DANIELLO  concluded  that  the  commission  supports  SB  36                                                               
because it  will promote greater awareness  and provide effective                                                               
tools to help find people with dementias.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2:00:12 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR COGHILL asked  how people communicate now  if somebody with                                                               
dementia is missing.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MS. DANIELLO offered her understanding  that there isn't a formal                                                               
plan to respond to people who are missing.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
2:01:24 PM                                                                                                                    
RODNEY  DIAL, Lieutenant,  Alaska State  Troopers, Department  of                                                               
Public Safety  (DPS), Ketchikan,  AK, reported that  DPS supports                                                               
the changes  made to  SB 36  and believes  it is  manageable. The                                                               
number  of  people  it  covers  would  not  be  so  great  as  to                                                               
discourage media  participation or desensitize the  public to the                                                               
alerts.  He explained  that  the  department currently  maintains                                                               
emergency and media contact lists  and plans at all Trooper posts                                                               
that can be used in all  missing person cases. He opined that the                                                               
legislation  could be  of benefit  to  municipalities or  smaller                                                               
departments that don't have a plan in place.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
2:02:39 PM                                                                                                                    
MARIE  DARLIN, AARP  of Alaska,  testified in  support of  SB 36.                                                               
She noted that the AARP  state office submitted written testimony                                                               
that  included examples  of  what happens  without  a system  for                                                               
locating missing  persons. She  said that  the best  solution now                                                               
for locating somebody  who is missing is to  alert the neighbors.                                                               
The Amber  Alert for locating  missing children has worked  and a                                                               
similar  system should  work for  locating vulnerable  adults who                                                               
are missing, she said.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
2:04:57 PM                                                                                                                    
MICHAEL VANVLEET,  Social Work  Intern, Warrior  Transition Unit,                                                               
Soldier and Family Assistance, testified  in support of SB 36. He                                                               
informed  the committee  that he  was a  student at  UAA and  had                                                               
served in  the Marine  Corps. He opined  that the  individuals in                                                               
the  Warrior  Transition  Unit  and  active  duty  military  with                                                               
traumatic brain  injury would benefit  from this  legislation. He                                                               
related that many members of the  military between the ages of 18                                                               
and 24 have severe cognitive  impairment and sometimes wander and                                                               
don't know where they are because of their injuries.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
2:08:05 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR COGHILL announced his intention  to hold SB 36 in committee                                                               
and take action on Friday.