03/31/2014 09:00 AM Senate FINANCE

SENATE BILL NO. 104                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act relating to appropriations from the dividend                                                                       
     fund; creating the criminal fund; and providing for an                                                                     
     effective date."                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
10:03:21 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Kelly  MOVED  to   ADOPT  the  proposed  committee                                                                    
substitute  for  SB  104, WORK  DRAFT  28-LS0847\E  (Martin,                                                                    
3/28/14) as  a working  document. There being  NO OBJECTION,                                                                    
it was so ordered.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
10:03:42 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHRISTINE  MARASIGAN, STAFF  SENATOR KEVIN  MEYER, spoke  to                                                                    
the  changes in  the new  bill  version. She  said that  the                                                                    
changes dealt  with paying for  arrearages and how  the fund                                                                    
would   be  divided   between  the   priorities  that   were                                                                    
originally laid  out in the legislation.  She explained that                                                                    
the substantive  changes to the  legislation could  be found                                                                    
on  Page  4,  lines  2  through 12.  She  relayed  that  the                                                                    
sponsor's  original prioritization  that  a  portion of  the                                                                    
fund went to the Violent  Crimes Compensation Board had been                                                                    
maintained, a percentage had been  added as a guideline. The                                                                    
second priority  in the current  bill went  directly towards                                                                    
sexual   assault  response   teams  and   domestic  violence                                                                    
intervention  projects  that  input  data  into  the  Alaska                                                                    
Public  Safety  Information  Network.  She  added  that  the                                                                    
remaining  amount would  be available  to the  Department of                                                                    
Corrections   for  costs   related   to  incarceration   and                                                                    
probation; monies  from the  permanent fund's  criminal fund                                                                    
went  to pay  for healthcare  for incarcerated  inmates. The                                                                    
new  section offered  general guidelines  on  how the  funds                                                                    
would be distributed.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
10:06:05 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR FRED DYSON appreciated the  work of the committee on                                                                    
the legislation.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
10:06:29 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Kelly  expressed discomfort that child  support had                                                                    
been removed from the bill.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
10:06:40 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Senator Dyson  interjected that  removing child  support had                                                                    
been a difficult  decision. He said that there  were tens of                                                                    
millions of  dollars worth of  arrearages that had  not been                                                                    
paid. He believed  that the intent of the  bill had remained                                                                    
intact.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
10:07:43 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Ms.  Marasigan spoke  to  the funds  that  would go  towards                                                                    
arrearages.  She said  that legislative  legal had  asserted                                                                    
that how  the money  would be  dispersed could  constitute a                                                                    
violation to the constitution because  it would be relieving                                                                    
a personal  debt. She said that  it was difficult to  find a                                                                    
mechanism in  which to make  it work within the  confines of                                                                    
the  legislation.   She  offered   that  there   were  still                                                                    
arrearages that  would need to  be taken care at  some point                                                                    
in the future.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
10:08:42 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Senator  Dyson  offered that  the  bill  was an  attempt  to                                                                    
restore  victims to  a pre-offense  condition. He  felt that                                                                    
the  children of  criminals  were victims.  He  said that  a                                                                    
perpetrators debt, either to his  victim or to his children,                                                                    
did not disappear with the  passage of the bill. He believed                                                                    
that the issue would be revisited in the future.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
10:10:45 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
JOSHUA  BANKS, STAFF,  SENATOR FRED  DYSON, stated  that the                                                                    
sponsor had  tried to work  out the child support  issue. He                                                                    
expressed satisfaction  with the changes in  the legislation                                                                    
made by the committee.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
10:12:09 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Kelly  MOVED  to  REPORT   CSSB  104(FIN)  out  of                                                                    
committee   with   individual    recommendations   and   the                                                                    
accompanying fiscal notes. There  being NO OBJECTION, it was                                                                    
so ordered.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CSSB  104(FIN) was  REPORTED  out of  committee  with a  "do                                                                    
pass" recommendation and with a  new fiscal impact note from                                                                    
Senate Finance  Committee for the Department  of Corrections                                                                    
and  with   a  previously  published     zero  fiscal  note:                                                                    
FN2(ADM), a previously  published zero fiscal note:FN3(LAW),                                                                    
and a previously published zero fiscal note FN6(AMD).                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
10:12:29 AM                                                                                                                   
AT EASE                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
10:16:08 AM                                                                                                                   
RECONVENED