Legislature(2021 - 2022)BUTROVICH 205
02/25/2022 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s) | |
| SB187 | |
| SB182 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 187 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 182 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 182-INTERFERENCE WITH EMERGENCY SERVICES
2:42:16 PM
CHAIR HOLLAND announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 182
"An Act establishing the crime of interference with emergency
communications."
[SB 182 was previously heard on 2/16/22, and public testimony
was heard and closed.]
CHAIR HOLLAND noted that at the last hearing some members
indicated they had questions for the Department of Law, Criminal
Division.
2:43:00 PM
SENATOR SHOWER asked if anything could be done to hold emergency
service dispatchers harmless if they did not take a call. He
noted that the call center sometimes receives numerous calls. He
recalled testimony from a dispatcher that reported the Mat-Com
Wasilla Center received 86 calls from one individual on July 4,
2021, which could have prevented them from responding to actual
emergencies. He asked if the legislature could provide any
protections for the 911 dispatchers.
2:45:00 PM
JOHN SKIDMORE, Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Attorney
General, Criminal Division, Department of Law, Anchorage,
Alaska, responded that his expertise was prosecuting crimes. He
does not practice in torts. He acknowledged that some immunities
apply to law enforcement or prosecutors acting in good faith. He
was unsure whether it was possible to provide immunity in
certain circumstances. He suggested consulting with attorneys
who work in this area.
2:45:58 PM
SENATOR SHOWER asked him to consult with the attorneys and
report to the committee.
MR. SKIDMORE agreed to do so.
2:46:11 PM
SENATOR HUGHES related that the committee discussed this. She
noted that when dispatchers receive numerous calls the call
center may bring in additional dispatchers. She asked if an
officer could be sent to arrest the person, once identified, to
stop them from making 75 calls in one day since the 911
dispatcher could trace the call. She asked if anything would
prevent an immediate interception to stop that person from
making numerous false calls.
MR. SKIDMORE answered no. He stated that this bill would create
a criminal offense, and an officer would need to determine the
probable cause that the person was committing an offense. If
they were committing an offense, law enforcement could arrest
the person.
2:47:37 PM
SENATOR HUGHES asked if the sponsor intended that an officer
would be dispatched after the known third or fourth call came in
from a known prank caller to prevent further disruption.
2:47:59 PM
JASMINE MARTIN, Staff, Senator David Wilson, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, on behalf of the sponsor, answered
yes. She said that the bill would also help 911 dispatchers by
allowing them to inform the caller that the disruptive or
offensive calls were illegal.
2:48:15 PM
SENATOR MYERS stated that he asked during the initial hearing
about callers suffering from mental illness. He recalled the
answer was that the person must be stopped, but via the criminal
justice system, the person could receive access to the needed
mental health services. While he understood the intent, it also
means that the mentally ill person would be exposed to the
criminal justice system. He asked for the prosecutorial view of
that circumstance.
MR. SKIDMORE responded that in the last year or so, the
legislature passed a bill that would allow the person to be
transported to a crisis center for assistance. He explained that
if the case was brought to a prosecutor, they would evaluate the
person's mental status to determine if the person was competent.
If the person was found to be competent and mental illness was
not a defense, the district attorney would evaluate the
available resources, the public interest, and if it was
appropriate to do so. He pointed out that the department
declines cases every day because murders and assaults are more
pressing. He said that these cases would be determined case-by-
case.
2:51:13 PM
SENATOR KIEHL recalled a question from a prior hearing. He
referred to page 2, lines 3-4 to subsection (a)(4), related to
blocking communications between police, fire, or medical service
personnel to cause a disruption in service. He asked whether
other crimes pertained to the behavior of disrupting official
activities of police or fire personnel.
MR. SKIDMORE answered that he was speaking to interference
between personnel that would clog up the system of
communications between emergency service personnel. He said he
could not immediately recall specific statutes, and he would
need to research the statutes to determine if other provisions
could be used to charge the person.
2:52:58 PM
SENATOR KIEHL interpreted that language to mean standing between
two police officers in the field and interfering with their
ability to communicate with one another.
MR. SKIDMORE answered that the only crime that came to mind was
if the person was interfering with an official investigation. He
characterized it as a fairly serious felony offense. He offered
to review the elements to determine how it would apply, but he
was not prepared to do so today.
2:54:04 PM
JACOB BUTCHER, Communications Manager, Mat-Com Dispatch, City of
Wasilla, Wasilla, Alaska, stated that programs were being
developed in Anchorage, Mat-Su, and Fairbanks, so moving forward
it will be possible to address mental health aspects. In
response to Senator Hughes, he stated that the intent of SB 182
was to address the disrupting callers and take measures to stop
it after the third, fourth, or fifth call, rather than to wait
until the 70th or 80th call.
2:55:07 PM
SENATOR HUGHES surmised that he had worked with the sponsor on
the bill. She referred to page 2 regarding interrupting
communications between the dispatcher and various first
responders. She offered her view that the person could interrupt
the communication between the dispatcher and another person in
need. She expressed concern that the disruptive caller might be
keeping the dispatcher from picking up a call from another
citizen in need. She asked if the bill is adequate since it
applies to interrupting communication and a first responder, or
between first responders.
2:56:07 PM
MR. BUTCHER offered his view that the language on page 1,
subsection (a)(1) and (2) captures that need.
(1) makes repeated emergency communications to report
a previously reported incident with no change in
circumstance with the intent to cause an emergency
police, fire, or medical service response, after an
emergency communications worker instructs the person
to stop initiating contact for the previously reported
incident;
(2) makes repeated emergency communications knowing
that there is not a police, fire, or medical
emergency;
MR. BUTCHER stated that would capture the communication that the
person is having with the emergency communications center
whereas the language on page 2 captures the other types of
interference that could happen between two first responders or
the communications center, and the emergency responders in the
field.
2:56:50 PM
SENATOR HUGHES asked what language pertains to interrupting
communications between the dispatcher and another citizen in
need.
MR. BUTCHER answered that was covered in Section 1, Sec.
11.56.785(a)(1),(2), and (3) of SB 182. He stated if the person
was making repeated emergency communications and reports while
knowing that there was no emergency would disrupt
communications. He offered his view that it would be easy for
the dispatcher to pull the call logs to see which 911 calls were
put on hold from citizens reporting real emergencies, how many
911 calls went to queue, put on hold, or rolled over to the
secondary answering point.
2:57:39 PM
MS. MARTIN interjected that she believed she understood Senator
Hughes' question. She referred to page 2, which addresses
communications between emergency personnel and communications
out of the communications center to emergency personnel.
However, it doesn't cover the 911 call to the communications
center. She offered her view that it was a valid point.
2:58:12 PM
SENATOR HUGHES asked if the language should be added.
MS. MARTIN responded that it was worth considering because she
did not think it was covered in the language.
2:58:36 PM
SENATOR KIEHL pointed out that the last thing they wanted to do
was make it a crime to call 911 in a panic. He stated that the
first two paragraphs relate to bad behavior when a person has
been told to stop calling, and the person keeps calling.
However, typically people who call 911 are panicked, and the
committee would not want to criminalize it if numerous people
called in about a massive emergency that floods 911. He offered
his view that focusing on the bad behavior as the sponsor has
done will avoid unintended consequences.
2:59:44 PM
SENATOR SHOWER referred to the language on page 2, to paragraph
(4). He suggested that the language "between police and fire"
implies it is on the scene. He related a scenario where a
citizen who was under duress because their child was in the
house and they yelled or otherwise inadvertently disrupted
police or fire first responders. He wanted to ensure that the
language would not create a crime for that circumstance.
3:01:02 PM
CHAIR HOLLAND held SB 182 in committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Jessie Ruffridge HRC_Redacted.pdf |
SJUD 2/25/2022 1:30:00 PM |
|
| Zackary Gottshall Resume_Redacted.pdf |
SJUD 2/25/2022 1:30:00 PM |
|
| Zackary Gottshall HRC_Redacted.pdf |
SJUD 2/25/2022 1:30:00 PM |
|
| David Knapp Application_Redacted.pdf |
SJUD 2/25/2022 1:30:00 PM |
|
| Greg Bringhurst Cover Letter (1)_Redacted.pdf |
SJUD 2/25/2022 1:30:00 PM |
|
| Greg Bringhurst Resume (1)_Redacted.pdf |
SJUD 2/25/2022 1:30:00 PM |
|
| Gregory Bringhurst Board Application_Redacted.pdf |
SJUD 2/25/2022 1:30:00 PM |
|
| SB 187 Highlights 2.14.22.pdf |
SJUD 2/23/2022 1:30:00 PM SJUD 2/25/2022 1:30:00 PM |
SB 187 |
| SB 187 Transmittal Letter.pdf |
SJUD 2/23/2022 1:30:00 PM SJUD 2/25/2022 1:30:00 PM |
SB 187 |
| SB 187 v.A Sectional 2.14.22.pdf |
SJUD 2/23/2022 1:30:00 PM SJUD 2/25/2022 1:30:00 PM |
SB 187 |