Legislature(2015 - 2016)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/23/2016 01:30 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB72 | |
| SB165 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SB 72 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 165 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 134 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
SB 165-ALCO. BEV. CONT. BOARD; MINORS; ALCOHOL
2:08:31 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO reconvened the meeting and announced the
consideration of SB 165.
2:09:26 PM
CHUCK KOPP, Staff, Senator Peter Micciche, Alaska State
Legislature, presented SB 165 on behalf of the sponsor, speaking
to the following sponsor statement:
Senate Bill 165 is the product of an ongoing
comprehensive, multiyear modernization process for
Title 4, Alaska's statutes that govern the regulation
and control of alcoholic beverages in the state.
Title 4 is largely unchanged since enactment in 1980.
It is widely recognized to be outdated, and
ineffectual in carrying out the intent of the
statutes, which directly impact Alaska residents,
public safety, public health, and the alcoholic
beverage industry.
Following a 3-year review and update by stakeholders,
SB 99 was introduced in April 2015, a large body of
work spanning nearly 100 pages. The complexity of the
bill and the need for additional stakeholder work to
gain consensus on several licensing issues, prompted
the ABC Board Title 4 Review Steering Committee in
December 2015 to recommend a new, two-track process
for Title 4 rewrite - 1) streamline elements of SB 99
into SB 165 that focuses on the areas where broad
consensus currently exists, particularly those items
that impact youth; and, 2) hold the remaining
provisions for further refinement and introduction as
a second package in 2017.
SB 165 focuses on a discrete set of consensus
recommendations which includes ABC Board member
Composition and Qualifications (04.16.020);
consideration of Executive Director experience and
background when filling vacant seats; clarifying that
minors are allowed to play and work on golf courses
that serve alcoholic beverages; establish the offenses
of Minor on Licensed Premises (04.16.049) and Minors
in Possession or Consuming (04.16.050) to be
violations; provides that such violations may not be
published on CourtView, nor be cause for a driver's
license cancellation or revocation; and encourages
alcohol education or treatment upon conviction of
minor consuming and possession offenses.
He noted the letters of support in the packets.
2:10:12 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO welcomed Senator Micciche to the hearing.
2:10:59 PM
SENATOR PETER MICCICHE, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor of SB
165, thanked the committee for hearing the bill. He described
the measure as important to all Alaskans and youth in
particular.
2:11:39 PM
At ease
2:11:59 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO reconvened the meeting and welcomed Cynthia
Franklin.
2:12:21 PM
CYNTHIA FRANKLIN, Executive Director, Alcoholic Beverage Control
(ABC) Board, summarized the Title 4 review process and provided
an overview of SB 165. She explained that SB 165 is part of the
Title 4 rewrite that particularly works on increasing swiftness,
proportionality and consistency of penalties; increasing local
law enforcement of Title 4; and increasing licensee
accountability for Title 4 violations. The provisions in SB 165
reflect many hours of work by the Underage Drinking Subcommittee
and the Role of the Board Subcommittee, she said.
2:14:34 PM
MR. KOPP explained that over the Interim the steering committee
worked with the Alaska CHARR Government Affairs Committee to
flag language in the comprehensive SB 99 that would benefit from
refinement. In December 2015 the steering committee recommended
placing certain elements from SB 99 into a new bill for
implementation in 2016. He maintained that the elements in SB
165 enjoy a broad consensus of support. He emphasized that the
steering committee would continue to engage with stakeholders
and the five subcommittees to refine the comprehensive package
so a new bill could be introduced in 2017.
MR. KOPP and Ms. Franklin discussed the consensus elements in SB
165: 1) ABC Board composition and qualifications; 2) minor on
licensed premises, which would be reduced to a violation; and 3)
minor consuming alcohol, which would be reduced to a pure
violation.
2:17:04 PM
MS. FRANKLIN described the work on the board composition as a
true compromise, explaining that the revised composition is 2
industry members, 1 public health member, 1 public safety
member, and 1 rural public member. An additional compromise was
to factor in the director's expertise and background when
filling vacant seats in order to maintain a balanced
perspective. Thus, if the director has a background in any of
the designated seats, that seat will be filled by a public
member. She noted that the director is a non-voting member but
he/she has quite a bit of influence on the board and its work.
She said the work on underage drinking and access to alcohol was
done by the Underage Drinking Subcommittee, relying on data from
the Court System. One aspect in the bill concerns minor on
licensed premises and another concerns minor consuming or
possessing alcohol. The idea is to restore minor consuming to a
true violation.
2:20:21 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO asked her to describe the problem this provision
seeks to address.
MS. FRANKLIN explained that the existing AS 04.16.050 says a
first offense is a violation, but the Court of Appeals has said
it looks like a crime because it contains mandatory provisions
that aren't normally associated with a violation. The mandatory
court appearances and requirements attach to all levels of minor
consuming and have led to a substantial number of arrests of
minors, which implicates federal status offense policies.
She directed attention to the current penalty scheme for minors
consuming alcohol and pointed out that the federal government
has warned states not to put young people in jail for something
that is legal except for their age. She noted that Court System
data indicates that the treatment of MCA offenses vary widely
throughout the state. Additionally, officers have said that they
often chose not to write a ticket at all because of the
escalating penalties of the offense. This, too, leads to
inconsistency among jurisdictions.
By contrast, SB 165 provides the same penalty for every MCA
violation. There is a $500 fine that, if unpaid, could be
deducted from the permanent fund dividend (PFD). The fine can be
reduced to $50 by voluntary participation in alcohol treatment
or education or any community diversion activity that's offered
in the community or statewide. Also, because the offense is a
true violation, a young person will never be in jail for a
status offense.
2:24:37 PM
MR. KOPP added that minor consuming alcohol offenses are true
violations and will never appear on the minor's CourtView
record. He clarified that they are not driving offenses.
2:25:51 PM
MR. KOPP began to read through the sectional analysis for SB
165.
Section 1 - Repeals and reenacts AS 04.06.020,
relating to the appointment, reappointment and
qualifications of members of the Alcoholic Beverage
Control Board; Governor consideration of executive
director experience when making board appointments;
and establishing definitions.
2:28:00 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO asked if the bill could upend the traditional
process where executive directors work at the discretion of the
board.
MR. KOPP replied the executive director serves at the pleasure
of the board and can be removed for cause by the governor.
CHAIR COSTELLO asked if the executive director has a vote.
MR. KOPP replied the executive director of the ABC Board does
not have a vote, but he/she has significant influence over the
board. The consensus was that the healthy tension on the board
is balanced if none of the sectors are weighted. He didn't know
how that would apply to other boards.
MS. FRANKLIN added that nothing in the bill is intended to
change the structure of the director's appointment or how he/she
serves the board. The only aspect of the bill that is unique is
the idea of considering the director's background in the
governor appointments.
CHAIR COSTELLO recalled the pushback when the board was moved
from public safety to commerce and admitted to having some
concern about politicizing the personality of the executive
director.
MR. KOPP continued the sectional analysis of SB 165.
Section 2 - In AS 04.06.030, Terms of office; chair
changes "chairman" to "chair".
Section 3 - In AS 04.06.050, Meetings - changes
"chairman" to "chair".
Section 4 - Amends AS 04.16.049(a), relating to access
by minors to licensed premises; adds a reference to
04.11.110 permitting access to club premises by a
person under 21 years of age if no alcoholic beverages
are present or if the person has an active duty
military card; changes "age of 21 years" to "21 years
of age" to conform to current drafting style, and;
identifies circumstances under which minors may be
employed on licensed premises.
2:35:52 PM
Section 5 - Amends AS 04.16.049(b), changing "age of
21 years" to "21 years of age" to conform to current
drafting style.
Section 6 - Amends AS 04.16.049(c), allowing
juveniles, 16 & 17 years of age, to be employed on
golf course licensed premises as long as they have
written consent of guardian or parent, and an
exemption granted by the Department of Labor.
Section 7 - Amends AS 04.16.049(d), to allow minors,
18-20 years of age, to be employed within the licensed
premises of a golf course as long as they do not sell,
serve, deliver, or dispense alcoholic beverages.
2:36:50 PM
Section 8 - Adds a new subsection (g) to AS 04.16.049
to permit access by minors to golf courses for the
purpose of playing golf. Adds new subsections making
unauthorized presence by a minor on licensed premises
a violation, punishable by a fine of $500, which must
be charged and filed with the court as a separate
case. The fine may be reduced by a court to $50 if the
minor supplies proof of completion of an alcohol
safety action program.
MR. KOPP noted that youth courts and community diversion panels
were inadvertently omitted.
Section 9 - Repeals and reenacts AS 04. 16.050 to make
minor consuming a violation, punishable by a fine of
$500, which must be charged and filed with the court
as a separate case. The fine may be reduced by a court
to $50 if the minor supplies proof of completion of an
alcohol safety action program.
2:40:48 PM
Section 10 - Amends AS 04.16.180(d) so that the court
may not require a person under 21 years of age
convicted of a violation under this chapter to pay for
and enroll in a juvenile alcohol safety action
program.
MR. KOPP informed the committee that it became clear just
yesterday that the language in current law [AS 04.16.180(d)]
does not need to be amended. Thus, Section 10 does not need to
be in the bill.
2:41:55 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL asked if the intention was to use the term "a
crime" on page 5, line 30.
2:42:44 PM
At ease
2:43:06 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO reconvened the meeting and asked Ms. Meade to
address the question.
2:43:12 PM
NANCY MEADE, General Counsel, Administrative Staff, Office of
the Administrative Director, Alaska Court System, Anchorage,
Alaska, agreed with Mr. Kopp that Section 10 does not need to be
in SB 165. This statute [AS 04.16.180(d)] makes minor consuming
alcohol an offense, not a crime. If the bill were to pass with
the language on page 5, lines 30 and 31, minor consuming alcohol
would be excluded. "I think Mr. Kopp had determined that leaving
the bill as is does allow the court to, in appropriate
circumstances, have some discretion to refer some juveniles or
minors to the programs that are in that section of the bill,"
she said.
SENATOR GIESSEL asked if Section 10 will stay or be removed.
MS. MEADE said she believes that Mr. Kopp will remove all of
Section 10.
2:44:53 PM
MR. KOPP continued the sectional analysis of SB 165.
Section 11 - Modifies the required language for
warning signs on licensed or designated premises in AS
04.21065(b).
Section 12 - Adds a new provision in 04.21.078 barring
the court system from publishing on a publicly
available website the record of a violation of AS
04.16,049 or 04.16.050 if the violation was charged
separately and was not joined with another minor
offense or criminal charge.
Section 13 - Amends AS 21.36.210(a) Limits on
cancellation, to remove a reference to AS 21.96.027
due to repeal and reenactment of AS 04.16.050.
Section 14 - Amends AS 28.15.057(a) Restrictions on
driver's license issued to person under 18, to reflect
the repeal and reenactment of AS 04.16.050.
Section 15 - Amends AS 28.15.191(a) Court and parole
board reports to department removes court requirement
to forward to DMV a record of a minor consuming
alcohol violation conviction within five working days.
Section 16 - Amends AS 28.15.211(g) removing reference
to DMV not issuing or reissuing a driver's license to
a person whose license was revoked for an offense
under 04. 16.050.
Section 17 - Amends the uncodified law of the State of
Alaska, adding a new section describing a Direct Court
Rule Amendment to Rule 17(a), Alaska Rules of Minor
Offense Procedure.
Section 18 - Amends the uncodified law of the State of
Alaska, adding a new subsection (g) to Rule 17, Alaska
Rules of Minor Offense Procedure, providing that a
prosecutor may not join a minor offense for a
violation of ASO4.16.049 or AS 04.16.050 with a
related criminal offense.
Section 19 - Repeals various sections that have to do
with denial, cancelation or non-renewal of insurance
for minor consuming violations, court revocation of a
driver's license for minor consuming alcohol, and
Health & Social Services agreements under Delinquent
Minor rules to revoke a driver's license for minor
consuming alcohol offenses.
Section 20 - Applicability provisions.
Section 21 - Transition provisions relating to
membership on the ABC Board.
2:47:45 PM
SENATOR MEYER asked if the penalty for a second or third minor
in possession offense would be a $500 fine.
MR. KOPP confirmed those would be violations and the penalty
would be a $500 fine. Responding to a further question, he
agreed that the fine could be reduced to $50 if the youth takes
a court approved alcohol safety action program or youth court.
He noted that the data shows that 70 percent of youths charged
with minor consuming do not commit a second offense.
SENATOR MEYER asked Ms. Franklin if the marijuana possession
laws will mirror the alcohol possession laws for underage
persons.
MS. FRANKLIN replied the laws are totally different at this
point; legislative reconciliation work is needed to bring
marijuana minor offenses in line with AS 04.16.050.
2:50:26 PM
SENATOR STEVENS questioned the zero fiscal note when Section 11
calls for new signage.
MS. FRANKLIN explained that creating and supplying correct signs
is a fixed expense of her office.
2:51:33 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO opened public testimony on SB 165.
2:52:08 PM
JACK MANNING, owner/operator, Duck Creek Market and President
Juneau CHARR, stated that many in the industry do not support SB
165 because of the change in the makeup of the board. He said a
lot of work is still going into SB 99 and pulling the board
aspect out is viewed as a piecemeal approach and a broken
promise based on what the steering committee said earlier. He
said all other state boards have a majority of industry
membership but, as currently drafted, there could be just one
industry member on the ABC Board.
2:54:05 PM
LEEANN THOMAS, owner, Triangle Club Bar, Juneau, Alaska,
testified in opposition to SB 165. She said that for two years
she actively participated in the Title 4 rewrite but she is
totally against pulling elements from that comprehensive
legislation and placing it in a separate bill. She emphasized
the advantage of bringing Title 4 forward in one piece to ensure
that it works together. She pointed out that it doesn't work now
because of the piecemeal approach. In particular, she objected
to the composition of the board. She said two industry seats is
insufficient, and that number could potentially drop to one. She
maintained that the non-industry members would not be
knowledgeable enough to make decisions about licenses.
SENATOR GIESSEL asked what the composition of the ABC Board was
in the comprehensive SB 99.
MS. THOMAS said this composition was suggested, but the alcohol
industry didn't support it so there was ongoing work to find a
compromise. The reason she doesn't support SB 165 is that it
pulls elements out of the comprehensive bill before consensus
was reached. The alcohol industry feels left behind, she said.
SENATOR GIESSEL summarized that there wasn't a consensus on the
board makeup in SB 99.
MS. THOMAS said that's correct.
2:57:40 PM
SENATOR MEYER asked if there is consensus on minor in
possession.
MS. THOMAS offered her belief that the industry is "more
supportive or that." She added that her personal opinion is that
the minors coming on premises provision needs to have teeth, but
she supports however the Court System can make it work quickly
and efficiently.
2:59:00 PM
ELIZABETH RIPLEY, Executive Director, Mat-Su Health Foundation,
Wasilla, Alaska, testified in support of SB 165. She stated that
the foundation is a funding partner of Recover Alaska, which has
been very active in the Title 4 rewrite. She offered a differing
perspective from the previous testimony maintaining that there
was a commitment to make the changes to the composition of the
ABC Board and agreement on minor consuming.
She said SB 165 enables swift and uniform enforcement, which
sends a very clear message to youth and decreases underage
drinking. It provides incentive to attend an alcohol education
program and decriminalizes the action. She said the Mat-Su
Health Foundation supports the changes to the ABC Board
composition. She pointed out that Alaska is the only state that
gives industry such a prominent voice on its ABC Board, and
insisted that the board instead needs to more fairly represent
the interests of all Alaskans. This can be accomplished by
designating seats for public safety and public health and
ensuring that they clearly outnumber industry seats.
3:02:17 PM
KATE BURKHART, Executive Director, Advisory Board on Alcoholism
and Drug Abuse, Juneau, Alaska, testified in support of SB 165.
She stated that the advisory board participated in the Title 4
rewrite process and had staff that worked on the underage
drinking workgroup that arrived at the recommendations embodied
in SB 165. The bill is data driven and based on evidence, which
is the kind of policy that should be made. SB 165 rectifies the
problem of inconsistent enforcement of laws and allows
implementation of an effective public health strategy to curb
underage drinking. She also stated support for the modification
in the ABC Board composition, because it allows for a more
diverse conversation about alcohol policy and regulation and
aligns with the board that was created for marijuana regulation
and control.
Speaking as a director of entities that share staff, she said
alignment in authority and representation does promote efficient
and effective administration. She noted that was one of the
reasons for the decision to share staff between the ABC Board
and Marijuana Control Board.
3:04:44 PM
DALE FOX, President and CEO, Alaska CHARR, testified in
opposition to SB 165. He stated that claims of consensus are not
true and the bill is not supported by the industry. He related
that CHARR and other stakeholders have been involved in the
three-year process to rewrite Title 4. Everyone has been
promised one comprehensive package and many compromises have
been made on all sides. He said CHARR did not support the change
in composition of the ABC Board but accepted it because of other
valuable industry objectives in the comprehensive bill. However,
what's happened is that the top two items of the social service
community have been stripped out of [SB 99] and put into SB 165
with no sweeteners for the industry.
He said CHARR does support the minor in possession suggestions
and could support the bill if the board composition provision is
removed.
3:08:04 PM
DARWIN BIWER, Chair, Alaska CHARR, Anchorage Alaska, testified
in opposition to SB 165. He said this bill isn't needed and
without it both issues would be in the comprehensive bill. The
reason Title 4 needs so much work is because it's been dealt
with on a piecemeal basis.
3:10:19 PM
BOB WINN representing himself, Anchorage, Alaska, testified in
opposition to SB 165. He said he was part of the stakeholder
group and the board composition was never brought forward in
this format to the entire body. He maintained that the person
who is least knowledgeable about alcohol issues would be the
swing vote whenever a contentious issue is before the board.
3:11:44 PM
LARRY HACKENMILLER, Interior CHARR, Fairbanks, Alaska, testified
in opposition to SB 165. He agreed with the testimony from other
CHARR members that the composition of the ABC Board was never
agreed upon. He suggested that all references to the composition
of the board should be removed from the bill. He voiced support
for the language about minor consuming.
3:13:51 PM
GINNY ESPENSHADE, Executive Director, Kenai Peninsula Youth
Court, stated that SB 165 is a great start towards reforming the
minor consuming statutes for three primary reasons: 1) it keeps
youth names off CourtView, 2) it does not involve probation, and
3) it allows each community to present youth with as many
options as possible to address this issue. She urged the
committee not to let the disagreement about the board
composition delay the changes to AS 04.16.050.
3:16:14 PM
TIFFANY HALL, Executive Director, Recover Alaska, testified in
support of SB 165. She stated support for the changes in the
minor consuming laws because they will help ensure that
someone's entire life isn't marred by a childhood mistake. She
also stated support for the changes to the composition to the
ABC Board. It ensures balanced representation across a variety
of sectors that are equally important in alcohol control.
ANNA BRAWLEY, Agnew Beck Consulting, Anchorage, Alaska,
introduced herself and reported that her company was on contract
first with the Rasmuson Foundation and now Recover Alaska to
support the Title 4 rewrite.
CHAIR COSTELLO asked if it's accurate that not all stakeholders
had a chance to consider the composition of the ABC Board.
MS. BRAWLEY said a lot of recommendations were brought forth for
consideration at the March 2014 meeting of the full stakeholder
group. Among those was different options for the board
composition. In September 2014 there was a meeting of the
steering committee and stakeholders and the recommendations put
into SB 99 were put forward. The board composition was part of
that.
3:19:59 PM
CARMEN GUTIEREZ, Counsel, Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority,
said she is on contract to provide legal services for the Title
4 rewrite. She said the purpose of her testimony is to provide
information regarding CHARR's involvement and their concern
about the composition of the board. She explained that after SB
99 was introduced, CHARR raised concerns with the bill. CHARR
provided detailed concerns regarding SB 99 but the composition
of the board was not articulated as a concern. Similarly, no
issue was raised regarding the rewrite of minor consuming.
3:22:07 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO asked if she had a comment on the bill before the
committee.
MS. GUTIEREZ said the first the steering committee heard about
CHARR's concerns regarding the composition of the board was when
SB 165 was being drafted. Their concern was that the two issues
were pulled from SB 99 and incorporated in SB 165.
3:23:33 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO closed public testimony on SB 165 and held the
bill in committee.