02/15/2006 08:30 AM Senate JUDICIARY

         SB 249-REPORTING BAIL AND RELEASE INFORMATION                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
9:37:23 AM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR RALPH SEEKINS announced SB 249 to be up for consideration.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR HOLLIS FRENCH, bill sponsor,  introduced the bill. SB 249                                                               
is designed to  help continue to allow  for effective integration                                                               
of law  enforcement knowledge  across the  state by  putting into                                                               
statute the ability  to add bail conditions to  the Alaska Public                                                               
Safety Information Network (APSIN).                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
He cited an incident where a  swat team cordoned off an Anchorage                                                               
neighborhood in 2005. A man went  to his former spouse's home and                                                               
held her  hostage with a  gun. Shots  were fired between  the man                                                               
and the  Anchorage Police Department  (APD) but no one  was hurt.                                                               
The man  went to jail  but two weeks  later was released  on bail                                                               
and  returned  to the  same  house  to  continue the  dispute.  A                                                               
neighbor called  the police  but since  the bail  conditions were                                                               
not listed  on APSIN  the police could  not determine  whether he                                                               
was violating bail conditions and  therefore were restricted from                                                               
pursuing any further action against him.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
9:40:24 AM                                                                                                                    
Bail conditions frequently prohibit  someone from doing something                                                               
that is  otherwise lawful  and the bill  would let  officers know                                                               
whether the person  they are dealing with was or  was not obeying                                                               
their conditions of bail.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
9:41:26 AM                                                                                                                    
DOUG  WOOLIVER,  Administrative  Attorney, Alaska  Court  System,                                                               
said  Senator French  brought  the issue  to  his attention.  The                                                               
court system  has a  group called the  MAJIC group,  which stands                                                               
for multi-agency justice integration  committee. It is chaired by                                                               
a member of the court and  includes people from the Department of                                                               
Public  Safety,  (DPS)  the  APD,   the  chiefs  of  police,  the                                                               
Department of  Corrections (DOC),  district attorneys  and others                                                               
from the criminal justice system.  They meet every other week and                                                               
they are working  on this particular problem.  Currently there is                                                               
no connection  between the bail  conditions and APSIM.  The long-                                                               
term goal  is to incorporate  the bail conditions  information in                                                               
the computer system, which is a fairly substantial change.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
9:43:20 AM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR SEEKINS asked  whether there was a fiscal  note attached to                                                               
the bill.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR. WOOLIVER reported there was  no fiscal note. The court system                                                               
would estimate an  indeterminate fiscal note. It  is a long-range                                                               
project and may cost money in the future but not immediately.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
9:45:35 AM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR FRENCH  said that police  often deal with people  who are                                                               
on bail restrictions and the  bill would offer a valuable service                                                               
for those situations with repeat offenders.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  SEEKINS asked  whether conditions  of probation  should be                                                               
included in the computer for the officers as well.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MR.  WOOLIVER  said  he  believes   a  clerk  at  the  DOC  types                                                               
information for  some offenses into  the computer system  by hand                                                               
so that it is available  for responding officers. The MAJIC group                                                               
is  addressing that  issue and  others such  as letting  officers                                                               
know that  the person they  are pulling  over has not  paid their                                                               
traffic tickets.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SEEKINS  asked whether  a person convicted  of a  DUI loses                                                               
their license.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MR. WOOLIVER explained the officer  that arrests the person would                                                               
take   their  driver's   license   and   that  information   gets                                                               
transferred  to the  Division of  Motor  Vehicles (DMV)  computer                                                               
system.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  SEEKINS   asked  the   timeframe  for   transferring  that                                                               
information.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR.  WOOLIVER  said  it  depends.   There  is  an  administrative                                                               
revocation  and a  court adjudicated  revocation. A  court action                                                               
against a license  is still all paper records. Those  are sent to                                                               
the DMV  and it takes them  approximately two weeks to  enter the                                                               
data into their system. Everything is  done by hand, which is why                                                               
it takes so long. Finding an  electronic solution is one of their                                                               
top priorities, he said.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
9:54:38 AM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR  SEEKINS noted  the  title  of the  bill  seemed broad.  He                                                               
suggested the committee  hold the bill and  research whether they                                                               
can add conditions of probation as well.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR FRENCH  agreed and offered  to incorporate  conditions of                                                               
probation into the bill.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
9:56:39 AM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR SEEKINS held SB 249 in committee.