Legislature(2015 - 2016)CAPITOL 106
04/06/2016 03:30 PM House HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
Note: the audio ![]()
and video ![]()
recordings are distinct records and are obtained from different sources. As such there may be key differences between the two. The audio recordings are captured by our records offices as the official record of the meeting and will have more accurate timestamps. Use the icons to switch between them.
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB345 | |
| HB334 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 345 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 334 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 334-CHILD CUSTODY;DOM. VIOLENCE;CHILD ABUSE
3:47:42 PM
CHAIR SEATON announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 334, "An Act relating to visitation and child
custody."
[Before the committee was the proposed committee substitute (CS)
for HB 334, Version 29-LS1409\N, Bruce, 4/5/16, which was
adopted as the working document on 4/5/16.]
3:47:49 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TALERICO moved to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 334, Version 29-LS1409\P, Bruce, 4/5/16,
as the working draft.
CHAIR SEATON objected for discussion.
3:48:13 PM
CRYSTAL KOENEMAN, Staff, Representative Cathy Munoz, Alaska
State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Munoz, prime
sponsor of HB 334, explained that Version P incorporated recent
committee recommendations made during the previous discussion of
[Version N] on 4/5/16.
3:48:53 PM
MS. KOENEMAN walked through the changes for proposed Version P.
She directed attention to Section 1, and pointed out that intent
language had been removed. She moved on to Section 2, which now
included the expanded definition for other parent, a child, or a
domestic living partner.
CHAIR SEATON asked for clarification that it included children,
domestic partners, and foster children.
3:50:10 PM
LINDA BRUCE, Attorney, Legislative Legal Counsel, Legislative
Legal and Research Services, Legislative Affairs Agency, said
that this language would include a foster child.
3:50:44 PM
MS. KOENEMAN clarified that the new language was on page 2, line
2, Version P. She moved on to the second change in this
version, page 3, which changed the language "convicted of a
crime involving domestic violence," regarding military
personnel, to "clear and convincing evidence."
3:51:43 PM
MS. KOENEMAN moved on to the next change in the proposed CS,
page 4, which updated the language to "clear and convincing
evidence." She directed attention to page 4, line 29, noting
that there had previously been a drafting error and this
language, "the willingness and ability of each parent to
facilitate and encourage a close and continuing relationship
between the other parent and child," had been reinserted.
3:52:19 PM
MS. KOENEMAN relayed that the final changes in the proposed CS
were on page 5, subsections (m) and (n), whereby "domestic
living partner" was added.
3:52:55 PM
CHAIR SEATON removed his objection. There being no further
objection, the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 334,
labeled 29-LS1409\P, Bruce, 4/5/16, was adopted as the working
draft.
3:53:27 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TALERICO directed attention to the language
change on page 1, line 15, "a history of perpetrating" domestic
violence, and asked whether this history referred to one event.
MS. KOENEMAN replied that, from conversations with the courts
and the judges, it was understood that determination of
"history" was up to the discretion of the judge. She reported
that "history" had been defined in statute as "one serious
incident of domestic violence, or two or more incidences of
domestic violence." She pointed out that this language had been
removed to leave discretion to the judge.
REPRESENTATIVE TALERICO emphasized that he had a zero tolerance
level for violent outbursts and he wanted to allow for judicial
discretion, so it was not necessary "to build a long case of
violent behavior" if a person was dangerous.
CHAIR SEATON expressed his desire that the legislative history
would show that this was the will of the committee.
3:56:24 PM
CHAIR SEATON directed attention to a letter to accompany the
proposed bill to members of the House Judiciary Standing
Committee which reflected some of the legal concerns of the
House Health and Social Services Standing Committee.
3:57:12 PM
TANEEKA HANSEN, Staff, Representative Paul Seaton, Alaska State
Legislature, paraphrased from the points of concern raised in
the letter titled "Letter to Judiciary on HB 334 from the HHS
committee," [included in members' packets]. She explained that
there were some questions that included whether the rebuttable
presumption should be removed entirely from the proposed bill,
or for the standards to be adjusted. She reported that the
first version of the proposed bill had included the rebuttable
presumption but had required a conviction, whereas Version P
removed the rebuttable presumption and changed that burden of
proof for the judge to consider domestic violence to a much
lower standard of clear and convincing evidence. She suggested
that there could be further discussion in the next committee.
MS. HANSEN noted there had also been questions around the short-
term protective orders as to whether they could be considered
during the review of history of domestic violence, and how easy
it was for them to be issued. She reported there was interest
in knowing how often the rebuttable presumption was requested
and how often it was applied. She shared the question for the
availability of the batterers intervention program which was
required under current statute. She that there was also a
question regarding the number of supervised visitation programs
available to parents who were not able to find a friend or
family member to supervise for free.
3:59:58 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR offered her belief that it was necessary to
know how often the short term protective orders were approved or
denied. She asked that domestic living partners, and the
challenges posed by "blended families" also be considered.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR said that she was struggling with the
proposed bill and its implications. She shared that, although
it was the mandate of the committee to focus on public health
matters, she wanted to ensure that it was clear that the House
Health and Social Services Standing Committee deemed domestic
violence to be a serious public health issue that warranted a
great deal of attention with additional programmatic work to
address the issue. She stated that her not attempting to stop
the proposed bill was not an indication of support, as the
proposed bill was moving beyond the public health realm and more
toward applications of the law, which was beyond the purview of
this committee.
CHAIR SEATON reflected that the committee had done an excellent
job of refining a proposed bill so that it was not overly broad
with the possibility of interpretation for domestic violence to
not receive closer scrutiny.
MS. KOENEMAN expressed agreement and understanding that
discussions about domestic violence are difficult and emotional.
She allowed that the laws governing the issue were not easy, and
that the sponsor wanted the extra review from the House
Judiciary Standing Committee to address additional concerns.
She asked that both sides work together to craft good
legislation "to protect victims and children."
4:05:01 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TALERICO moved to report CSHB 334, Version 29-
LS1409\P, Bruce, 4/5/16, out of committee with individual
recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes.
CHAIR SEATON objected, stating a desire by Representative
Vazquez to be present.
4:05:21 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 4:05 p.m. to 4:10 p.m.
4:10:04 PM
CHAIR SEATON brought the committee back to order.
4:10:41 PM
CHAIR SEATON removed his objection. There being no further
objection, CSHB 334(HSS) was reported out of the House Health
and Social Services Standing Committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| House HSS letter to the House Judiciary Committee-HB 334-4.10.2016.pdf |
HHSS 4/6/2016 3:30:00 PM |
HB 334 |