Legislature(2021 - 2022)BUTROVICH 205
03/17/2022 03:30 PM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB187 | |
| SB207 | |
| SB214 | |
| HB123 | |
| SB129 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 187 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 207 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 214 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 123 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | SB 129 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 207-ACCESS TO MARIJUANA CONVICTION RECORDS
4:07:34 PM
CHAIR SHOWER announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 207
"An Act restricting the release of certain records of
convictions; and providing for an effective date."
CHAIR SHOWER identified himself as the sponsor.
4:07:52 PM
At ease
4:08:24 PM
CHAIR SHOWER reconvened the meeting.
Speaking as sponsor, Senator Shower introduced SB 207 reading
the following sponsor statement:
Senate Bill 207 would make confidential the records of
individuals who have been convicted of minor marijuana
crimes and were not charged with any other crimes in
the same incident. These records would automatically
be removed from Court View. The records would also be
removed from some background checks administered by
the Department of Public Safety, if requested by the
convicted individual.
In 2014, Alaskans voted to legalize the cultivation,
sale, and possession of marijuana for those 21 years
old or older. Despite this change in state law, some
Alaskans remain blocked from employment and housing
due to previous marijuana possession convictions that
would not be a crime today.
According to a report prepared by Legislative
Research, there were more than 700 Alaskans convicted
of low-level marijuana crimes between 2007 and 2017.
Those convictions can make obtaining housing and
gainful employment challenging.
Now that voters have legalized marijuana, this
legislation would allow those previously convicted to
move on with their lives, while ensuring those in the
criminal justice field still have access to appropriate
background information.
CHAIR SHOWER stated that he did not vote to legalize marijuana,
but he worked with the original sponsor and agreed to carry SB
207 to make sure the bill is only about possession of small
amounts of marijuana and that it only applies to the limited
number of Alaskans who have low-level marijuana convictions on
their record but would not be charged with a crime today if they
had the same amount of marijuana in their possession. The hope
is this bill will help that limited number of individuals move
on with their lives without a criminal record.
4:11:19 PM
SENATOR COSTELLO asked if there is a definition of low-level
crimes and what the penalty is for selling to minors.
CHAIR SHOWER asked Ms. Meade to respond to the first question.
In response to the second question, he said the bill doesn't
apply to individuals who are selling marijuana.
SENATOR COSTELLO clarified that she wanted to know what the
crime is for selling to minors.
CHAIR SHOWER deferred the question to Ms. Meade.
4:12:26 PM
NANCY MEADE, General Counsel, Alaska Court System, Juneau,
Alaska, said the bill uses the term low-level and suggested that
the question about selling to minors would be better addressed
by the executive branch.
4:13:01 PM
SENATOR KAWASAKI noted that the bill applies to persons who have
not been convicted of any other criminal charges in the case. He
asked if a person who is charged with a crime typically is
charged with a number of ancillary crimes as well.
MS. MEADE stated that SB 207 was carefully drafted to say it
only applies to those persons who were not convicted of any
other charges in the case. The court will only look at the final
conviction, not what could be a roster of other charges some of
which could have been resolved through a plea bargain. None of
that matters under SB 207; it is only the final conviction in
the case.
SENATOR KAWASAKI offered his understanding that a person charged
with a misdemeanor assault and possession in the same case, but
only convicted of possession of less than one ounce of
marijuana, would qualify to have that record concealed.
4:15:03 PM
MS. MEADE clarified that the person would qualify under Section
4 of SB 207 to have their case removed from the public face of
CourtView, but the record would not be sealed or hidden. The
preference is to have court records open and transparent, so
those records would still be accessible at the courthouse.
CHAIR SHOWER stated that the intent is to have the marijuana
charge available and searchable at the courthouse, but it would
be removed from CourtView.
MS. MEADE clarified that the entire case would be removed from
CourtView if the marijuana charge was the only conviction in the
case. However, someone could go to a kiosk at the courthouse to
search the unpublished cases. Those cases can only be viewed at
the courthouse.
4:16:51 PM
CHAIR SHOWER restated that the intent is to apply only to those
marijuana conviction cases that are not a crime today. The idea
is to help those individuals get on with their lives. He noted
that a companion bill was moving through the other body and he
wanted to ensure that they were reconcilable.
4:17:35 PM
SENATOR HOLLAND asked if this is limited to persons 21 years of
age and older because there are no possession crimes for persons
who are younger than 21 years of age.
MS. MEADE countered that there are indeed possession crimes for
people under 21 years of age. Until February 2015, all
possession of marijuana was a B misdemeanor. The voter
initiative changed that but the only thing legalized was
possession of less than one ounce or six marijuana plants by
individuals older than age 21. SB 207 speaks solely to the
conduct that the voters of Alaska decided should not be
criminalized. Those cases would be retroactively removed from
CourtView.
4:19:18 PM
CHAIR SHOWER presented the sectional analysis for SB 207. It
read as follows:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Section 1: Adds a new section stating the legislative
intent behind this bill.
Section 2: Amends subsection (b)(8) of AS 12.62.160 by
adding criminal justice information, for marijuana
possession that meet the requirements laid out in (f)
of this section, to the list of exceptions for the
release of criminal justice information.
Section 3: Adds a new subsection (f) to AS 12.62.160,
which adds new criteria for criminal justice
information that an agency cannot release. This new
section prohibits release of criminal justice
information for convictions under AS 11.71.060 for
less than one ounce of a "schedule VIA" controlled
substance, where the defendant was 21 years or older
at the time of the offense, was not convicted of any
other criminal charges in that same case, and has
formally requested that the agency not release these
records.
Section 4: Adds a new section to AS 22.35, stating
that records of criminal charges or convictions that
meet the requirements stated in this section, may not
be published by the court system on a publicly
available website. This applies to criminal justice
information for convictions under AS 11.71.060 for
less than one ounce of a "schedule VIA" controlled
substance, where the defendant was 21 years or older
at the time of the offense, and was not convicted of
any other criminal charges in that same case.
Section 5: Adds a new section to uncodified law of the
State of Alaska saying that the Alaska Court System
shall remove court records that meet the requirements
of this bill, retroactively going back from the
effective date of the bill. It also uses the language
"to the extent practicable" to clarify that the court
system will not be legally required to expend
excessive resources or funds to ensure every single
record that meets the requirements of this bill for
removal from court view, is removed.
Section 6: Provides an effective date of January 1,
2023.
4:20:50 PM
CHAIR SHOWER said the fiscal note for SB 207 reflects the cost
of going through the individual records and making the necessary
changes. The estimated cost is about $184,000 in FY2021 and
$121,000 in FY2024.
4:21:37 PM
CHAIR SHOWER opened public testimony on SB 207; finding none, he
closed public testimony.
4:21:56 PM
CHAIR SHOWER held SB 207 in committee for future consideration.