04/14/2012 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY

        SB 179 - MISSING VULNERABLE ADULT RESPONSE PLAN                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
1:11:26 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
VICE CHAIR  THOMPSON announced that  the first order  of business                                                               
would  be  SENATE BILL  NO.  179,  "An  Act relating  to  missing                                                               
vulnerable  adult   prompt  response  and   notification  plans."                                                               
[Before the committee was HCS SB 179(STA).]                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
1:12:09 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CELESTE  HODGE,   Staff,  Senator  Bettye  Davis,   Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature, on  behalf of the sponsor,  Senator Davis, explained                                                               
that  SB 179  would  create  a new,  statewide  alert system  for                                                               
vulnerable adults who  go missing.  Under this  proposed system -                                                               
similar  to   the  nationwide  America's   Missing:  Broadcasting                                                               
Emergency Response  (AMBER) Alert  system for missing  children -                                                               
local law  enforcement agencies  would notify  the public  when a                                                               
mentally or physically  impaired adult goes missing.   Alaska has                                                               
the  fastest  growing  senior  population  in  the  nation,  and,                                                               
according  to the  Alaska  Commission on  Aging  (ACoA), in  2010                                                               
there   were   approximately   7,785  Alaskans   suffering   from                                                               
Alzheimer's disease and  dementia - with that  number expected to                                                               
grow to more than 17,000 by the  year 2030 - and when such people                                                               
go missing,  their best  chance of  surviving depends  upon being                                                               
found within 48  hours.  In Fairbanks last  winter, a 63-year-old                                                               
woman suffering  from Alzheimer's  disease froze to  death; she'd                                                               
been driving,  became disorientated, drove  until she ran  out of                                                               
gas, and then tried walking to  get help.  It's incidents such as                                                               
this, she relayed, which illustrate  the need for an alert system                                                               
focused on finding missing vulnerable adults.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MS.  HODGE  explained  that  under  SB  179,  the  Department  of                                                               
Military  & Veterans'  Affairs (DMVA)  would coordinate  with the                                                               
Department of Public Safety (DPS)  to create and implement prompt                                                               
response  and  notification  plans  that would  use  a  voluntary                                                               
network of statewide  and local newspapers, as well  as radio and                                                               
television  stations,   to  rapidly  alert  the   public  that  a                                                               
vulnerable   adult  is   missing;   also,   standards  would   be                                                               
established with regard to what  shall trigger an alert, and with                                                               
regard to when a vulnerable  adult shall officially be considered                                                               
missing.   The  bill would  ensure that  the search  for Alaska's                                                               
most  vulnerable  citizens  occurs   promptly,  and  current  law                                                               
defines  a vulnerable  adult as,  "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".     Currently,   28  states   either  already   have                                                               
implemented or will implement such  a system.  In conclusion, she                                                               
relayed  that the  administration supports  SB 179,  and that  no                                                               
fiscal impact is anticipated.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
1:15:08 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
PATRICK  M. CUNNINGHAM,  D.S.W., Associate  Professor, School  of                                                               
Social Work, College of Health  and Social Welfare, University of                                                               
Alaska Anchorage  (UAA); Member, Board of  Directors, Alzheimer's                                                               
Disease Resource Agency of Alaska,  Inc., explained that there is                                                               
a tendency for a person  who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, or                                                               
other form  of cognitive  dysfunction, to  wander away  from home                                                               
and therefore be at risk of  suffering harm; an alert system such                                                               
as the  one that would be  developed under SB 179  would increase                                                               
the  chances of  finding  such  a person  before  harm occurs  to                                                               
him/her.    In  conclusion,  Dr.  Cunningham  urged  support  for                                                               
SB 179, which he characterized as important legislation.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MS.  HODGE,  in  response  to  a  question,  explained  that  the                                                               
difference between SB 179 and HCS  SB 179(STA) is that the words,                                                               
",  or an  officer or  employee of  the law  enforcement agency,"                                                               
were added to  the bill's proposed new  AS 44.41.060(b)(1), which                                                               
provides  an   exemption  from  liability  for   law  enforcement                                                               
agencies.     This   change  was   intended  to   encourage  more                                                               
participation by law enforcement agencies.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
1:17:07 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
RODNEY   DIAL,  Lieutenant,   Deputy  Commander,   A  Detachment,                                                               
Division of  Alaska State Troopers,  Department of  Public Safety                                                               
(DPS), relayed simply that the DPS is neutral on SB 179.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
VICE CHAIR THOMPSON,  after ascertaining that no  one else wished                                                               
to testify, closed public testimony on SB 179.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
1:17:52 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  HAWKER moved  to report  HCS SB  179(STA) out  of                                                               
committee  with individual  recommendations and  the accompanying                                                               
zero fiscal [notes].   There being no objection,  HCS SB 179(STA)                                                               
was reported from the House Judiciary Standing Committee.