04/02/2015 09:00 AM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB91 | |
| SB1 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SB 74 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 1 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 58 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 91 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
April 2, 2015
9:07 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Bill Stoltze, Chair
Senator John Coghill, Vice Chair
Senator Charlie Huggins
Senator Lesil McGuire
Senator Bill Wielechowski
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 91
"An Act relating to protective orders; relating to conditions of
release; relating to prisoners; relating to the duties of the
commissioner of corrections; amending Rules 32 community work
service; relating to credit toward a sentence of imprisonment
for and 35(b), Alaska Rules of Criminal Procedure; and providing
for an effective date." certain persons under electronic
monitoring; relating to the restoration under certain
circumstances of an administratively revoked driver's license,
privilege to drive, or privilege to obtain a license; allowing a
reduction of penalties for offenders successfully completing
court-ordered treatment programs for persons convicted of
driving under the influence; relating to termination of a
revocation of a driver's license; relating to restoration of a
driver's license; relating to credits toward a sentence of
imprisonment, to good time deductions, and to providing for
earned good time deductions for prisoners; relating to the
disqualification of persons convicted of certain felony drug
offenses from participation in the food stamp and temporary
assistance programs; relating to probation; relating to
mitigating factors; relating to treatment programs for
- HEARD & HELD
SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE BILL NO. 1
"An Act prohibiting smoking in certain places; relating to
education on the smoking prohibition; and providing for an
effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
SENATE BILL NO. 74
"AN ACT RELATING TO PERMANENT FUND DIVIDENDS; RELATING TO A
MEDICAL ASSISTANCE REFORM PROGRAM; ESTABLISHING A PERSONAL
HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNT PROGRAM FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
RECIPIENTS; RELATING TO THE DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
AND SOCIAL SERVICES; ESTABLISHING MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS; AND RELATING TO A STUDY BY THE
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES."
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
SENATE BILL NO. 58
"An Act relating to workers' compensation and transportation
network companies; and providing for an effective date."
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 91
SHORT TITLE: CRIMINAL LAW/PROCEDURE; DRIV LIC; PUB AID
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) COGHILL
03/25/15 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/25/15 (S) STA, JUD, FIN
04/02/15 (S) STA AT 9:00 AM BUTROVICH 205
BILL: SB 1
SHORT TITLE: REGULATION OF SMOKING
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) MICCICHE
01/21/15 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/9/15
01/21/15 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/21/15 (S) HSS, STA, FIN
01/30/15 (S) SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE INTRODUCED-REFERRALS
01/30/15 (S) HSS, STA, FIN
02/11/15 (S) HSS AT 1:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
02/11/15 (S) Heard & Held
02/11/15 (S) MINUTE (HSS)
03/11/15 (S) HSS AT 1:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/11/15 (S) Moved CSSSSB 1(HSS) Out of Committee
03/11/15 (S) MINUTE (HSS)
03/13/15 (S) HSS RPT CS 2DP 3NR SAME TITLE
03/13/15 (S) DP: GIESSEL, ELLIS
03/13/15 (S) NR: STEDMAN, KELLY, STOLTZE
04/02/15 (S) STA AT 9:00 AM BUTROVICH 205
WITNESS REGISTER
JORDAN SHILLING, Staff
Senator John Coghill
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided an overview for SB 91.
RONALD TAYLOR, Commissioner
Alaska Department of Corrections
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Addressed the impact SB 91 will have on the
Department of Corrections.
SENATOR PETER MICCICHE
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of SB 1.
CHUCK KOPP, Staff
Senator Peter Micciche
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided an overview of SB 1.
DR. JAY BUTLER, MD, Chief Medical Officer/Director
Department of Health and Social Services
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided information on the negative health
effects from smoking.
JOE DARNELL, Investigator
Tobacco Youth Education & Enforcement Program
Division of Behavioral Health
Alaska Department of Health and Social Services
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Explained smoking regulations enforcement.
DR. ROBERT URATA, MD, volunteer
American Heart Association
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Supports SB 1.
ACTION NARRATIVE
9:07:46 AM
CHAIR BILL STOLTZE called the Senate State Affairs Standing
Committee meeting to order at 9:07 a.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators McGuire, Coghill, and Chair Stoltze.
CHAIR STOLTZE reviewed the committee agenda and noted that the
Medicaid sustainability bill would be heard at a later meeting.
SB 91-CRIMINAL LAW/PROCEDURE; DRIV LIC; PUB AID
9:09:00 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE announced the consideration of SB 91.
SENATOR JOHN COGHILL, sponsor of SB 91, revealed that during the
previous year he had worked with the Senate to address
corrections reform. He explained that a commission was put
together to study Alaska's corrections system and sentencing
structures.
He noted that prior to working in the Legislature, he had served
as a pastoral worker and spent a third of his time either in a
halfway house or in a jail dealing with people. He detailed that
his pastoral work provided him with an interesting view to see
everything from people who made mistakes and were trying to find
a way to correct, to those who were really good conmen or were
just bad people.
He disclosed that he has paid close attention to corrections and
sentencing issues during his time on various committees in the
Legislature. He noted that he has served nearly all of his time
on judiciary committees and has been responsible for helping
create laws that hold people accountable at a high level;
however, he became aware of issues where felons were being put
into prison without expectations for change. He remarked that he
became a magnet for corrections and sentencing issues after SB
64 passed in 2014, a bill that addressed reform. He added that
he currently knows more about the process of enforcement, the
courts, and prison than he ever thought he would.
9:11:18 AM
He asserted that he wants the public to be safe through good
peacekeeping, protection and restitution for victims, offender
productivity, and rehabilitation for offenders. He remarked that
getting people who will change into programs with some degree of
accountability is his focus. He revealed that approximately 90
percent of prisoners currently in jail will be back in society
in one form or another. He said the question is whether released
prisoners will reform or recidivate as well as how to keep
individuals accountable.
He said the high cost of building Goose Creek Correctional
Center made it apparent to him that the state would not be able
to afford another $250 million prison for a good while, but
noted that the prison population continues to grow. He added
that the cost to annually operate Goose Creek costs $50 million.
He asserted that based on inmate population trends, the state
will not be able to hold people without building another prison,
a problem that is coming very fast. He asserted that the state
does not get to deal with how society changes where offenders
show up at the door because of enforcement issues, but the state
wants good enforcement.
SENATOR STOLTZE pointed out that Goose Creek is an operating
budget expense, specifically a lease-purchase that is similar to
the Seward-model.
SENATOR COGHILL stated that SB 91 is a work in progress and he
is very open to discussion. He summarized that the challenge is
trying to figure out how to keep people from returning to prison
while keeping the public safe.
9:14:47 AM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI joined the committee meeting.
SENATOR COGHILL explained that the nonviolent prison population
includes people in the pretrial and probation violation
categories. He noted that the length of stays has an impact on
the prison populations and the intent is to find ways to turn
that around.
CHAIR STOLTZE asked that Senator Coghill define and specify the
types of people identified as nonviolent so that the public can
weigh in on the proposed policies.
SENATOR COGHILL replied that he is initially addressing the
nonviolent population in different categories from a high
overview perspective.
SENATOR STOLTZE pointed out that legislators have to be
sensitive to a person who has been burglarized that might
consider a certain level of violence due to an invasion of one's
privacy. He noted that Alaska's Constitution addresses both
reform and victim's rights.
SENATOR COGHILL agreed that a balance has to exist for
nonviolent people who have violated someone. He said an
offender's payback must be considered if jail time is the best
and can restitution be considered. He explained that his
presentation will give the committee a high overview of the bill
polices and then get into some of the specifics.
9:16:50 AM
SENATOR COGHILL pointed out that electronic monitoring is going
to be one area where people may be held accountable without
costly jail time. He noted that electronic monitoring may
include nonviolent individuals who are in pretrial for domestic
violence that are not married or cohabitating, parolees with
good-time credit, or probationers.
SENATOR COGHILL explained that SB 91 addresses policies that
include: administrative sanctions, probation caps, technical
violations, good-time on parole, protective orders, police
training surcharge, community work service, increased judicial
discretion, and driver's licenses. He detailed that technical
violations are situations where a probationer does not get to
their meeting on time and good-time is a benefit earned by a
person who does their actions well in prison. He noted that the
police training surcharge was first put in in 1998 and the bill
looks at upping the charge. He explained that judicial
discretion was increased in some places. He admitted that there
is always tension between the legislative branch, the judicial
branch, and the Department of Law on allowing judges with more
discretion even after a sentence has been handed down or a
bargain has been agreed upon. He detailed that driver's licenses
addresses DMV revocations and other revocations.
9:19:47 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE added that administrative revocations are also
included.
SENATOR COGHILL answered yes. He detailed that administrative
revocations do not always line up authority-wise and SB 91 tries
to address that. He explained that limited licenses are for
individuals who have revoked licenses. He admitted that some
people are driving anyway without impunity, no accountability,
no insurance, and people can be hurt. He detailed that limited
license allows an individual to drive under certain conditions
with insurance and accountability.
He stated that earned-credit is for the nonviolent population
that addresses how to provide an opportunity for betterment. He
noted that the Alaska Criminal Justice Commission and
legislators have brought up people coming out of jail that are
forbidden in Alaska to get food stamps. He detailed that SB 91
addresses the policy question whether punishment should follow
an offender out of jail or should an individual be allowed to
receive food stamps during their reentry program to improve
their lot in life.
9:21:02 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS joined the committee meeting.
SENATOR MCGUIRE noted that Senator Coghill's presentation
addresses a complex area. She emphasized that the factors
driving prison growth include the nonviolent population, those
awaiting judgement in the pretrial population, increase in the
average length of stay, and probation violations. She revealed
that the Senate Judiciary Committee repeatedly hears the factors
for prison growth and cost increases. She asserted that the
dollars spent on increased prison costs could be used towards
education funding, infrastructure development in the Arctic, or
all kinds of things. She stated that holding people accountable
is important, but rethinking how corrections can be done more
efficiently must also be considered.
SENATOR COGHILL summarized that there are so many interlocking
pieces in SB 91. He reiterated that his intent is to review the
policy calls being looked at and then to review how the sections
interlink within the bill.
9:23:28 AM
JORDAN SHILLING, Staff, Senator John Coghill, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, explained that there are two big
pieces in the bill that deal with driving reforms:
administrative license revocations and limited licenses.
MR. SHILLING explained that administrative license revocation is
something that occurs pretty quickly after someone either
refuses a breath test or produces a breathalyzer test of 0.08
blood alcohol content or greater. He detailed that for public
safety reasons, revocation is done right away. He specified that
driving under the influence (DUI) is a 90 day revocation for the
first offense, 1 year for the second offense, and a lifetime
revocation for the third offense with a 10 year period. He
revealed that what can happen with administrative revocations is
a person does not get their driver's license back if their case
is dismissed or the person is found not guilty. He specified
that if a person is acquitted or their case has been dismissed
with prejudice, the administrative revocation is synched up with
the court revocation to allow the person to get their driver's
license back.
He explained that the limited license portion of the bill
addresses a felony DUI situation where a person has their
license revoked for life. He said there is a thought from people
in the criminal justice community that people do not simply quit
driving when their license has been taken away. He detailed that
in an effort to steer people with revocations towards a limited
license if their vehicle has mandatory interlock, a requirement
to have insurance, and participation in the Alcohol Safety
Action Program (ASAP) with 24/7 sobriety. He said an individual
would be extended a limited license if they jump through the
noted hoops and drive safely on the road.
9:26:04 AM
MR. SHILLING addressed the pretrial population and revealed that
40 percent of the state's prison population is pretrial. He
specified that the pretrial population consists of people that
have not been found guilty yet, but the group is one of DOC's
biggest cost drivers; some are going to be found not guilty,
some are going to have their cases dismissed, but those people
already cost the state money before decisions are reached. He
specified that the bill creates an ability for a judge to
determine if someone can be restricted to home confinement with
GPS monitoring with possible alcohol monitoring during pretrial.
He detailed that if a judge deems home confinement is a safe
approach, the individual will get credit for time served. He
revealed data from a recent survey that 340 nonviolent pretrial
offenders in prison for drug or property crimes were costing the
state $53,000 per day.
CHAIR STOLTZE asked if all drug crimes are nonviolent.
MR. SHILLING replied that the Alaska Department of Corrections
(DOC) classifies drug offenders as either nonviolent or violent.
He agreed that some of the crimes technically classified as
nonviolent are invasive and fall into some gray areas.
CHAIR STOLTZE commented that some drug crimes are pretty black
and white.
SENATOR MCGUIRE revealed that she had heard a claim in the
Senate Judiciary Committee that 90 percent of all crimes in all
categories includes some form of drug or alcohol use. She asked
him to verify that the pretrial population identified by Mr.
Shilling specifically involve drugs without a crime against a
person.
9:29:46 AM
MR. SHILLING answered correct. He specified that many of the
individuals are Class C felons for drug possession.
SENATOR COGHILL added that the judge's discretion for the
pretrial population has to be significant where bail is
immediately set and either the person is kept in jail or allowed
to be held accountable outside of jail.
CHAIR STOLTZE stated that he wants to be careful. He pointed out
that a drug bill from the previous year had falsely referenced
the disposition of an individual that fueled a lot of debate.
SENATOR MCGUIRE replied that she respects what Chairman Stoltze
said. She remarked that she has watched the state go in cycles
between incarceration and rehabilitative deterrent models. She
said Senator Coghill's model is a good one that takes into
account changing policies, but does not over react and let the
"pendulum" swing too far. She asserted that no one in the
committee would envision letting somebody in the pretrial
population out that is a violent offender with a propensity to
hurt somebody. She remarked that the bill addresses nonviolent
offenders who have been divided into a particular category. She
said the conversation is worth having whether or not to expand
the housing of nonviolent offenders on electronic monitoring
with a 24/7 sobriety program.
9:32:41 AM
MR. SHILLING said there are two other electronic monitoring
reforms. He revealed that offenders in prison currently get one
third off of their sentence for good behavior. He specified that
the bill would extend good-time when DOC deems an offender safe
enough to release on electronic monitoring. He said the second
aspect addresses domestic violence offenders. He explained that
a statutory prohibition exists that does not allow DOC to put
any domestic violence offender on electronic monitoring. He
specified that electronic monitoring would only be considered
for non-intimate partner domestic violence offenders and not for
intimate partner domestic violence offenders.
He revealed that one of the main drivers for the state's prison
population are the nonviolent offenders. He explained that
prisons used to be filled with a majority of violent offenders.
Just in the past decade, the majority are now nonviolent
offenders. He said the bill encourages nonviolent offenders to
seek and complete treatment while in prison with a goal for the
individual to not recidivate. He noted that Alaska has the third
highest recidivism rate in the U.S. where two thirds reoffend
within three years. He revealed that DOC has reported that
nonviolent offenders who complete treatment while in prison
reduce their likelihood to reoffend by 21 percent.
MR. SHILLING detailed that DOC has a range of treatment
programs, including: Life Success Substance Abuse Treatment
(LSSAT) and Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT). He
specified that LSSAT is an outpatient program that takes about
six months to complete, RSAT is a more intensive program that
takes about a year to complete. He revealed that according to
DOC, 80 percent of its prison population has a drug or alcohol
problem.
He concurred with Senator McGuire that drug and alcohol use is a
nexus to many crimes. He noted that public defenders have said
that 90 to 95 percent of their clients committed their crimes
while under the influence of some substance. He revealed that 32
states have some form of earned credit, either for probation or
in a facility, when an individual completes a treatment program.
He pointed out that prisoners are currently given good-time for
doing virtually nothing where two thirds of their sentence is
taken off in a block up front. He specified that the bill
proposes that credit will only be applied if an offender does
something of merit, like pass their General Educational
Development (GED) exam.
9:36:13 AM
He said the same logic of the earned credit would be applied to
probation and parole reforms where month to month compliance
would result in credit off of probation sentences. He explained
that probation officer (PO) caseloads are extremely high where
each PO averages 84 probationers. He added that caseloads have
increased 36 percent over the last 10 years. He asserted that
establishing earned credits would allow limited supervision
resources to be focused on high risk offenders while also
encouraging probationers to comply with their terms. He detailed
that eligibility for credit would include meeting obligations
such as victim restitution. He added that a cap for technical
violations on jail terms was also created. He revealed that 20
percent of DOC's prison population is due to probation
violations where new crimes are not committed, but terms of
conditions are violated.
CHAIR STOLTZE asked if the violations are for infractions
outside of incarceration.
MR. SHILLING answered yes.
CHAIR STOLTZE asked that the committee have discussions with DOC
employees as well.
9:38:18 AM
MR. SHILLING declared that the bill's proposes to put a cap on
the amount of time someone can spend in prison on a technical
violation. He noted that many states have placed caps on
technical violations, some with 90 days.
CHAIR STOLTZE asked if technical violation would apply to a sex
offender who does not stay away from a playground.
MR. SHILLING answered that not all technical violations are
equal, some are much worse than others.
CHAIR STOLTZE replied that his instincts were correct where he
should be concerned.
MR. SHILLING specified that a technical violation for missing an
appointment is one thing, but violating the terms for sex
offender treatment is obviously much worse.
CHAIR STOLTZE opined that skipping class and hanging around
grade schools would be worse.
MR. SHILLING explained that SB 91 proposes to do something
similar to technical violations were minimums and maximums are
placed on a number of crimes; example, burglary would be 3 to 7
years. He added that the bill also creates an alternative for
DOC's administrative sanctions where a PO would have more
discretion to swiftly punish an individual other than strictly
petitioning to revoke probation and remanding back to prison.
9:40:47 AM
SENATOR MCGUIRE asked if there is anything in the bill that
expands the 24/7 Sobriety Program to give judges the discretion
to use the program for probation violations that involve
alcohol. She revealed that approximately 6,000 Alaskans are
participating in the 24/7 Sobriety Program. She detailed that
participants blow into a breathalyzer twice a day and the
program has successfully turned people's lives around. She noted
that there have only been 3 violations in the last couple of
months out of 6,000 participants. She detailed that the 24/7
Sobriety Program is used in pretrial as a sentencing mitigator.
She agreed with Chairman Stoltze that a violation for a sex
offender is a totally separate issue; however, consideration
should be given for allowing judges to extend the 24/7 Sobriety
Program to those on probation with an underlying addiction. She
detailed that violators could be extended the opportunity to go
into the 24/7 Sobriety Program as opposed to going back to jail
for 90 day at $150 per day.
CHAIR STOLTZE opined that most second time offenders have used
treatment options as a ploy.
SENATOR MCGUIRE replied that her understanding is the 24/7
Sobriety Program has not been used in the probation violation
breaks.
MR. SHILLING explained that SB 64 created the successful 24/7
Sobriety Program. He disclosed that judges have the ability to
apply the program as a bail or probation condition. He said the
court system does not frequently use the 24/7 Sobriety Program
for probation. He surmised that Senator McGuire may be talking
about a diversion program that allows POs to send someone into
the 24/7 Sobriety Program for a violation. He said he is not
sure if POs have the authority to send someone into a 24/7
Sobriety Program and noted the probability for due process
considerations.
9:44:27 AM
He explained that due to comprehensive welfare reform in the
mid-90s, assistance was not allowed for individuals convicted of
felony drug charges. He added that prisoners are released
without identification and some individuals need to support a
family. He explained that SB 91 purposes to provide a bridge
while a released inmate finds a job by providing food to an
individual and their family rather than having the individual
fall back into criminal activity as a way to make money. He
added that a second component tasks DOC to establish a reentry
program that a prisoner would participate in 90 days preceding
their release. He detailed that prisoners would address:
community resources, reentry planning, probation overview, and
how to get a photo ID. He added that future consideration may be
given to requiring DOC to provide an ID when a prisoner is
released.
He summarized that SB 91 expands a mitigating factor for those
who complete treatment, reforms community work service where
conversion into jail time is not allowed if service is not
completed, makes a small change to the protective order
statutes, and increases the police training surcharge.
CHAIR STOLTZE noted that the sponsor has worked with a lot of
stakeholders that are trying to do some unprovoked good,
including national organizations like the Pew Charitable Trusts.
CHAIR STOLTZE revealed that the fastest growing website
originating in his and Senator Huggins' districts is Stop Valley
Thieves, a website with over 6,000 participants. He asserted
that an under represented point of view in the legislative
process is the person that stays away from the criminal system
and only encounters it on the victim end.
9:47:46 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked if Mr. Shilling knew the statistical
gender breakdown for DOC inmates.
MR. SHILLING answered no. He said DOC keeps offender profile
data. He stated that the women's population is increasing at a
quicker pace and added that the Alaska native population is over
represented.
SENATOR HUGGINS opined that the young men and women that
ultimately end up in prison can be predicted with some degree of
confidence in middle school.
CHAIR STOLTZE pointed out that some of the young men and women
that Senator Huggins noted do straighten themselves out too,
some through good sports programs.
9:49:33 AM
RONALD TAYLOR, Commissioner, Alaska Department of Corrections,
Anchorage, Alaska, noted that he worked on SB 64 with Senator
Coghill and Senator Ellis, a complex bill that required everyone
to work through the bill's nuances to make sure the end result
was something that could be supported and could continue to be
supported. He said SB 91 was also a complex bill that has to be
delved into. He asserted that DOC is committed to working with
the senators and their staff. He said concerns raised by
Chairman Stoltze will be taken into account. He declared that
category definitions will be provided to accurately identify
which of those are nonviolent versus violent. He set forth that
DOC will work to make sure that the legislative goals are
accomplished, goals that the department believes are positive.
He stated that the department's goal is to do a better job to
ensure that those in DOC's custody or released on probation and
parole stay in their community rather than going back into
custody for minor technical violations. He asserted that he
wants to make sure that technical violations are distinguished
from those that are significant enough for jail; however, there
are some that DOC believes should not be in jail. He stated that
DOC can do some alternatives and do a better job tying to an
individual's risk and need.
COMMISSIONER TAYLOR noted that Mr. Shilling said, "We want to
punish." He asserted that the wrong mindset is to have probation
officers in a mindset that DOC needs to punish. He said the
people who need to do the punishing or give the sentences are
the judges and parole boards. He declared that DOC's job is to
give a person a recommendation on a plan to be successful and
not a plan of punishment.
9:52:46 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE asked if Commissioner Taylor supports any
administrative changes while people are incarcerated, such as
the power to take away good-time.
COMMISSIONER TAYLOR replied that DOC currently has the power to
take away good-time.
CHAIR STOLTZE asked if DOC should be limited in taking away
good-time or should good-time remain untouched by the
Legislature.
COMMISSIONER TAYLOR replied that he does not think SB 91 targets
good-time.
CHAIR STOLTZE specified that he is asking a broad question if he
thinks that good-time is an important management tool for DOC,
especially when the department is undermanned.
COMMISSIONER TAYLOR answered that the administrative tools that
DOC uses are important and the department does not want anything
that takes away from that. He stated that DOC wants to take full
advantage of any additional tools that can be utilized inside
its institutions. He pointed out that SB 91 focuses on the
administrative sanctions when persons are outside of the
institutions on probation and parole.
CHAIR STOLTZE said he would like to make sure that DOC employees
and their representatives address the committee. He stated that
DOC employees know the inmates better than anybody can imagine.
COMMISSIONER TAYLOR addressed Senator Huggins' question
regarding gender, he revealed that 88 percent of inmates are
male, 12 percent female.
He summarized that DOC looks forward to working with the
Legislature on SB 91 and taking care of the concerns that were
raised.
CHAIR STOLTZE admitted that the Legislature has taken a
piecemeal approach to corrections reform and noted that he had a
discussion on another piece of legislation that addressed
probation. He said the committee will have Commissioner Taylor
back for further discussions.
SENATOR HUGGINS remarked that prison is really like any other
society where somebody is in charge, sometimes it's the guards
and sometimes it's the prisoners. He said prisons have an ethnic
makeup with regional pieces, power-brokering, contraband, and
visitation issues. He asked how the variables that he described
affect the profile of inmates. He pointed out that DOC gets a
different look at inmates inside prison where an individual
shows their hand whether they may be more hardened or
victimized.
9:56:40 AM
COMMISSIONER TAYLOR responded that Senator Huggins described
prisons quite well. He said DOC deals with a range of issues
when a person is brought into the institution and the un-
sentenced population brings even greater challenges. He said DOC
sort of knows what to expect from the sentenced population, but
the un-sentenced population comes in with many unpredictable
variables. He detailed that DOC has to determine the right place
to house a person and to make sure not to place someone with the
wrong people where rehabilitation inside and out of prison
becomes more difficult.
CHAIR STOLTZE noted his skepticism, but conceded that the
Legislature will have to figure a way to do things differently.
He thanked Commissioner Taylor and invited correctional officers
to attend a future meeting. He reiterated that he does not think
there is anybody in the system that knows what the Legislature
is dealing with as well as the correctional officers.
10:00:18 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE announced that he would hold SB 91 in committee.
SB 1-REGULATION OF SMOKING
10:00:31 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE announced the consideration of SB 1.
10:00:53 AM
SENATOR PETER MICCICHE, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau,
Alaska, Sponsor for SB 1, stated that his hope is that with
everyone's help that some lives can be saved and less spent on
healthcare. He read the following sponsor statement into the
record:
SB 1 seeks to safeguard working Alaskans and their
children from the adverse health effects of secondhand
smoke by providing a statewide smoke-free workplace
law for businesses and public places. This is about
protecting workers, this is not an anti-smoker bill at
all.
As a conservative Alaskan, I actively support a
philosophy that works to limit and reduce the role of
government in our daily lives. I work towards that
every day in this building, but I believe Thomas
Jefferson got it right when he said, "The legitimate
powers of government extend to such acts only as are
injurious to others."
This case, I believe that both the right to breathe
smoke-free air and the significant, documented public
health risks of secondhand smoke exposure compel us to
view the protection of Alaska's labor force and their
families as an appropriate governmental
responsibility. With the new issues with marijuana Mr.
Chairman, I also believe this bill reduces the
potential of folks smoking marijuana at the workplace
as well. Similar comparisons include the government
role in establishing speed limits, seat belt laws,
motor vehicle design safety improvements, electrical
codes, pipeline safety laws, and agency
responsibilities. There are places in our society
where regulation is the right thing to do and it's
largely why we are here in this building. As judicial
philosopher Zechariah Chafee said in the Harvard Law
Review in 1919, "Your right to swing your arm ends
just where the other man's nose begins;" that's kind
of what SB 1 is about, it doesn't preclude Alaskans'
right to smoke, but it protects the rights of working
Alaskans who choose not to smoke.
This law is much like the law that is in half of the
states right now. Over half of the population of
Alaska including those in Bethel, Anchorage, Juneau,
Barrow, Dillingham, Haines, Skagway, Petersburg,
Klawock, Nome, Unalaska, and Palmer are currently
living under a similar law. You also can't smoke in
healthcare facilities, schools, childcare facilities,
and public meeting rooms in government buildings.
These laws are well established and once they have
been on the books there has been some effort to
reverse them and not once have those reversal
processes been successful. Communities, once they have
been successful learn the value of smoke-free
workplaces, they've kept them intact.
10:03:38 AM
This applies a uniform safeguard from secondhand smoke
for workers in Alaska. Why is a conservative willing
to take on this issue? The reality of it is for me,
simply to protect the lives of nonsmokers. We think
about the staggering health costs of secondhand
exposure to tobacco products and I'm not talking about
the over half million Americans that die from lung
cancer that do smoke, we are talking about the folks
that choose not to. It's a critical public health
issue in my view and when you think about it, people
are now talking about expanding Medicaid, people are
talking about us taking on expanded roles of
healthcare in the state, this is just an added expense
and it hits the taxpayer heavily. It kills more than
41,000 adult non-smokers from coronary heart disease
and lung cancer each year. For example, it is four
times the number for DUI fatalities each year. While
our DUI laws are rightfully stringent, our response to
stopping an enormous loss of life due to secondhand
smoke has been comparatively lax.
I often hold up a photo of my dad, who I lost last
year, this bill is not about my father, my father
chose to smoke, that was his right. This is about the
folks that are effected that choose not to but have to
go to work every day. What this bill is about is
essentially asking smokers to take it outside. More
than 860 Alaskan businesses and organizations, and
many more representing all regions of the state have
signed on to support this smoke-free workplace law.
We have some opposition as well, I believe we have a
few hundred opposition letters; virtually 100 percent
of those letters are asking us to exclude vaping or e-
cigs from the bill.
10:05:44 AM
There are very many well-meaning governmental actions
that are simply not good examples of the use of common
sense; one of them is Positive Train Control. For the
billions of dollars it will cost to do Positive Train
Control, it will save about three American lives per
year in the U.S., that's a government added control
trying to spend a lot of money protecting folks that
are not at risk. In this case we have the number, we
have the overwhelming evidence that at no cost to our
government, and we can protect a lot of Alaskans.
I've got to say out of respect for you and your
committee that we are listening. We will be listening
to your comments, we're open to suggestions, we want
this to be the best bill it can be, and we want to
impact Alaska businesses as little as possible, so we
are open to reasonable exemptions.
This bill effects my core belief in the self-evident
truths and the Declaration of Independence and its
desire to conserve life and protect liberty. I think
forcing Alaskan employees to smoke on the secondhand
aspect is challenging those rights. The other thing
that I've got to say is this bill is purposely
designed not to be heavy handed, it doesn't come with
control, it comes with no imposing enforcement
actions, all this bill does is it asks smokers to take
it outside while they are at work, it's just respect
for their neighbor's right to breath clean air.
I'd like to reiterate again, this bill is not about my
father, this is not about folks who choose to smoke,
if they choose to smoke, they have every right to
continue to do that, we just ask for them to not
affect the rights of their friends at work.
10:07:42 AM
CHUCK KOPP, Staff, Senator Micciche, Alaska State Legislature,
Juneau, Alaska, noted that the bill packets contain a copy of
the slide show that is considered the "Take it Outside Act." It
is from the Smoke Free Alaska website.
MR. KOPP read the following statement:
SB 1 is about healthier citizens and spending less on
healthcare, providing a smoke-free work environment
for workers in Alaska and a statewide standard with
regard to secondhand smoke, it puts all businesses and
workplaces in Alaska on a level playing field.
About half of the population in Alaska is covered by
workplace law now. In the members' packets was a 2012
Dittman Research survey that shows 82 percent of
Alaskans support a statewide, smoke-free indoor air
law that includes restaurants and bars. You see the
support we have from across the state from every
members' district, which is consistent with that 82
percent polling. Also in the members' packets is a
documentation from the Institute of Social and
Economic Research (ISER) in 2014, and a Journal of
Cancer article in 2007 which shows that smoke-free air
laws do not have adverse economic consequences for
restaurants and bars subject to them.
What does SB 1 not do? SB 1 does not ban cigarette
smoking and it does not ban e-cigarettes. What does SB
1 do? SB 1 provides a statewide smoking prohibition in
enclosed public spaces, public transportations and
facilities, places of employment, government owned or
operated places, buildings or residences that are used
to provide paid childcare, healthcare facilities, the
Pioneer Homes and the Veterans Homes, and vehicles
that are places of employment with certain exceptions.
Included are school grounds, public parks for
children, outdoor arenas sitting, and areas within
certain distances from entrances, open windows, and
air intake vents where smoking is prohibited. The bill
requires the Commissioner of Health and Social
Services to adopt regulations for filing, processing,
and investigating reports of violations of the smoking
prohibition, which may include filing complaints and
issuing citations.
The Department of Health and Social Services (HSS)
role in implementing this statewide smoking
prohibition is to provide education and respond to
complaints as they come forward. Under the Anchorage
law, which was enacted in 2000 and updated in 2007,
the average number of enforcement actions a year is
between 3 and 6. The bill allows the HSS commissioner
to delegate to other agencies any other
responsibilities to implement the bill's provisions.
The bill also requires a person who is in charge of a
place where smoking is prohibited to post it with
specific signs saying that smoking is not allowed and
it requires the HSS department to furnish signs to
anyone who had requested them. The Division of Public
Health's Tobacco Prevention and Control Program would
be responsible for developing public education
materials regarding the new requirements and for
educating business owners, grantees, and the public on
the specifics of the law.
10:11:01 AM
MR. KOPP addressed "2014 Surgeon General Report" and "Premature
Deaths Caused by Smoking, 1965-2014" as follows:
Over the last 50 years, there have been 31 Surgeon
General's reports that have utilized the best
available evidence to expand our understanding of the
health consequences of smoking and involuntary
exposure to tobacco smoke. We have heard of these
staggering statistics about the repercussions of this
exposure and the recent data indicates it is something
akin to a public health emergency. Just looking at
smoking related incidents all together, including
primary and secondhand exposure for the last 50 years,
we see there's been over 20 million American lives
lost. Looking at just secondhand smoke in two
categories: lung cancer and heart disease, it's almost
3 million Americans. Looking at just the numbers in
comparison just for analysis, there have been 20
million Americans die in that period, 2.5 million were
non-smokers, and more than 100,000 babies were
impacted due to smoking related issues with secondhand
smoke. That's a lot of people, it's 68 times the
combat deaths in WWII and 30 times the number of U.S.
deaths from the 1919 flu pandemic.
10:12:16 AM
He addressed "What We've Learned in 50 Years" as follows:
With respect to secondhand smoke, we know now that
smoking and passive smoking causes disease in nearly
every organ. Exposure to secondhand smoke is causally
linked to cancer, respiratory and cardiovascular
diseases, and adverse effects on the health of infants
and children. 41,000 non-smokers a year die from
secondhand smoke according to the U.S. Surgeon
General's report in 2014, and as Senator Micciche
said, this is 4 times the number of DUI fatalities in
2013, which according to the National Highway
Transportation Safety Association was 10,046. In our
50 year history of progression with our response to
DUI as a country, we started off with no jail and a
0.15 breath alcohol limit, lowered that to a 0.10 and
started bringing on jail time, now we are down to a
0.08 with mandatory 3 days in jail as a national
standard in all 50 states. The point here is the
response to something that kills at 4 times the rate
is we think, more measured than that.
10:13:16 AM
MR. KOPP addressed "Health Consequences Causally Linked to
Secondhand Smoke" as follows:
Stroke is more recently acknowledged by the U.S.
Surgeon General as being causally linked to secondhand
smoke with about a 30 percent increased risk due to
secondhand smoke exposure. The annual number of deaths
attributable to smoking and exposure to secondhand
smoke is now approaching 500,000 people. The exposure
to secondhand smoke we now know is more immediate than
thought, even a decade ago, as far as its impact to
the cardiovascular system, damage to blood vessels,
making blood more likely to clot, and increasing the
risk for heart attack and stroke. The 2006 and the
2010 Surgeon General's report both reported that there
is no safe level of secondhand exposure.
Our national cost in 2006 was $5.6 billion in lost
productivity alone due to exposure to secondhand
smoke. The estimate from the American Cancer Society
for Alaska is 60 deaths and more than $1 million per
year. The evidence is sufficient to infer a causal
relationship between the implementation of a smoke
free law or a policy and a reduction in coronary
events among people under 65 years of age. Doctor
Urata with the Juneau hospital is here to speak to
that.
In conclusion, this is a question of rights, the
choice to smoke versus the need to breathe. A clean
indoor air policy does not prohibit smoking, it only
requires that those who choose to smoke do so in a
manner that does not threaten or harm others.
10:15:06 AM
MR. KOPP addressed "What About E-cigarettes?" as follows:
There's a lot of discussion about e-cigarettes. The
science is still maturing with respect to e-
cigarettes, there are studies that show that because
of the unregulated nature of the market, depending on
the tool that is being used, that you can have a
significant amount of toxins, ultra-fine medical
particles, volatile compounds, and other carcinogens
that become part of the vaping or the aerosolized air.
The biggest problem is that the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) has not assumed regulation of
them and there are 470 different brands. According to
Alaska state law, it is illegal to sell or give any
product containing nicotine to anyone under 19 years
old, and because e-cigarettes retailers do not need a
sales license endorsement to sell their products like
tobacco retailers, there is no program of compliance
checks for youth sales in place for these retailers.
10:16:06 AM
He addressed "Why Smoke-Free Workplaces?" as follows:
The implantation of comprehensive clean indoor laws
has been shown to significantly reduce heart attacks.
We talked about separating smokers from non-smokers.
Air clean technologies and ventilation systems, it's
very hard to get those to remove carcinogens from the
air, you can sometimes get down toward the detectable
smoke is not there, but they are not reliable to
protect public health. In addition, eliminating
exposure of secondhand smokers to secondhand smoke
helps reduce tobacco use among smokers. The Surgeon
General's quote is probably the most relevant on the
page, "The right of smokers to smoke ends where their
behavior effects the health and wellbeing of others."
10:16:51 AM
He addressed "Smoke-free Laws in Alaska" as follows:
Half of Alaska's population is protected by a local
law from secondhand smoke at work and the remaining
part, largely in the unorganized boroughs or boroughs
that do not have healthcare laws, are not affected. We
also recently have support from the Kodiak Borough,
and Bristol Bay Native Corporation just signed on with
this bill, not the smoke-free Alaska act, but actually
this bill. 82 percent of Alaskans agree, according to
the Dittman 2012 survey, that Alaska workers should be
protected from secondhand smoke in the workplace.
Support even among smokers is strong for a smoke-free
indoor workplace laws according to Dittman. Alaska's
support for smoke-free indoor workplaces is high
throughout all regions of the state.
CHAIR STOLTZE commented that the bill's concept is simple and
there is no reason to go through a sectional analysis. He said
he believes that the committee understands the politics and the
public opinion. He related that C. Everett Koop was vilified
when he was a nominee for Surgeon General because he was pro-
life and deified when he was anti-tobacco.
10:18:40 AM
DR. JAY BUTLER, MD, Chief Medical Officer/Director, Department
of Health and Social Services, Anchorage, Alaska, stated that he
wants to provide perspective of a physician as well as a bit of
a baseline skeptic and touch briefly on the health effects of
secondhand smoke, but really focus on the health benefits of
avoiding smoking environments. He stated that he would focus on
one outcome which is heart attacks, an outcome that is not junk-
science and not an idea that is based on a single study in the
journal of irreproducible results.
DR. BUTLER detailed the link between heart attacks and cigarette
smoke as follows:
There are three lines of evidence, two of which have
already been touched on. There's multiple
epidemiological studies linking smoke exposure to the
risk of heart attack; we also understand how this
works, the path of physiology if you will, this isn't
magic, the platelets become stickier, the lining of
the vessels in the heart change function within
minutes after tobacco smoke exposure for people who
are non-smokers, increasing the risk of a clot, which
is what causes a heart attack.
Finally, I wanted to really emphasize the fact that
taking cigarette smoke outdoors has been found in
numerous places to reduce the overall hospitalization
rates for heart attacks and in places as diverse as
Helena, Montana; Saskatoon; to the entire nation of
Scotland. I also wanted to stress that in most of
these places, the enforcement is passive, there's not
storm troopers sweeping in with squirt guns to
extinguish the stogies the cigar bars. It is worth
pointing out though that some of the very earliest
evidence of the very short term benefits of smoke-free
laws were observed among barkeepers and tavern owners.
It's also worth noting that in places where these laws
have been in place for a number of years, these
benefits have been sustained and actually increased as
time passes.
10:20:56 AM
DR. BUTLER explained the impact of cigarette smoke on children
as follows:
Secondhand smoke exposure has been associated with the
sudden infant death syndrome, respiratory infections,
middle ear infections, and asthma attacks in kids; in
fact, in Scotland they found that their trends in
asthma or hospitalizations among children which had
been increasing, part of a global trend, actually
began to turn after they passed their smoke-free laws.
It's also worth pointing out that concerns that smoke-
free laws force people to smoking indoors at home has
not been borne out, in fact the data has shown that
using Cotinine in urine as a marker of cigarette
exposure, this marker has actually gone down among
children in areas where these laws have been enacted.
We are all concerned about the high cost of
healthcare. Avoiding secondhand smoke helps avoid the
cost of illness associated with secondhand smoke that
employers, government, and all of the "average Joes,"
with the exception of Joe Camel, have to bear.
10:22:15 AM
SENATOR MCGUIRE asked Dr. Butler to comment about e-cigarettes.
She noted that the bulk of complaints she has received pertains
to the bill defining smoking to include the use of e-cigarettes.
She revealed that there have been some pretty personal e-mails
from folks in her community where individuals at one point were
addicted to smoking nicotine through tobacco use and have found
reprieve smoking e-cigarettes as a perceived health benefit.
DR. BUTLER replied that the role of e-cigarettes as a harm
reduction tool or even as a tobacco cessation tool is an ongoing
debate.
He pointed out his concerns with e-cigarettes as follows:
· Aerosol exhaled from an e-cigarette is not always easy to
detect unless a person is very close.
· E-cigarettes normalize smoking behaviors.
· Using marijuana in an e-cigarette is virtually impossible
to differentiate.
He reiterated that e-cigarettes are not regulated by the FDA and
not approved as tobacco cessation instruments. He noted that
nicotine replacement products already exist. He revealed that he
has received more than a dozen emails that all cite the same
study that addresses contaminants and not what is intentionally
in the liquids. He said he questions the renormalization of
smoking where e-cigarettes target the junior high school age
group with flavors like Candy Crush, Vanilla Dream, Captain
Crunch, and Mountain Dew. He stated that he remains skeptical
and asserted that e-cigarettes should be included in the bill
for ease of enforcement.
10:25:12 AM
JOE DARNELL, Investigator, Tobacco Youth Education & Enforcement
Program, Division of Behavioral Health, Alaska Department of
Health and Social Services, Anchorage, Alaska, stated that he
works on under aged tobacco enforcement and compliance. He said
enforcement of SB 1 will be done statewide through passive
enforcement with the use of a toll-free number and website.
MR. DARNELL specified that an initial complaint will result in a
letter to let a business know that a complaint was received. He
added that educational information about the bill with details
on health effects will be sent as well. He said a second
complaint will result in a more strongly worded letter as well
as a follow up by a local coalition or one of the statewide
grantees. He stated that a third complaint will lead to a follow
up in-person. He opined that he does not anticipate a third
complaint situation. He noted that Anchorage has never had a
third complaint and added that a second letter has rarely been
sent out.
10:26:52 AM
DR. ROBERT URATA, MD, volunteer, American Heart Association,
Juneau, Alaska, revealed that he was born and raised in Wrangle,
Alaska and that he has practiced medicine in Juneau since 1984.
He noted that he has been an American Heart Association
volunteer for the past 15 years. He stated that he supports SB 1
with the inclusion of e-cigarettes.
DR. URATA read the following statement:
Every 34 seconds an American dies of a heart attack,
every 40 seconds an American dies of a stroke. Cancer
and cardiovascular disease are the number one and two
causes of death in Alaska. Secondhand smoke kills over
100,000 Americans every year and it also costs a lot
of money. This state may save up to $5 million if this
law goes through. Smoke-free working places are really
important for the health of this country and this
state. In Pueblo, Colorado, smoke-free ordinance found
a 20 percent gain in their combined bar and restaurant
sales tax and a 27 percent decrease in heart attacks
when they compared a year and a half before the law
and a year and a half after the law; I believe this
was also reproduced in Helena, Montana when they
passed their clean air law. I would also wish to
include e-cigarettes because there are serious
questions to their safety. The FDA has found known
toxins in nicotine, but currently there are over 240
products and they are not all tested, so it is hard to
know what's going on there. The FDA is still studying
this and my feeling is this should be included because
what we do in medicine is first, "do no harm;" I think
this should be included in this bill until we have
more knowledge because harm could be done. Imagine the
many lives saved if cigarettes had been studied
properly before putting it on the market. On behalf of
the American Heart Association I urge you to support
this bill and thank you for your time.
10:29:58 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE announced that SB 1 will be held in committee.
10:30:33 AM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Stoltze adjourned the Senate State Affairs Standing
Committee hearing at 10:30 a.m.