Legislature(2017 - 2018)CAPITOL 106
04/17/2018 03:00 PM House HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB198 | |
| SB208 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SB 198 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 208 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 208-MARCH: SOBRIETY AWARENESS MONTH
5:00:56 PM
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that the final order of business would
be SENATE BILL NO. 208, "An Act establishing the month of March
as Sobriety Awareness Month."
5:01:28 PM
JACOB TATUM, Staff, Senator Berta Gardner, Alaska State
Legislature, presented the proposed bill and read from a
prepared statement [original punctuation provided]:
For the record my name is Jacob Tatum, staff to
Senator Berta Gardner.
Madame Chair, members of the committee, good evening
and thank you for giving me the opportunity to testify
before you on the importance of permanently
recognizing March as Sobriety Awareness Month.
Unfortunately, Senator Gardner could not be here
today, but the sponsor wanted to be sure to thank
Chair Spohnholz for truly paving the way for this
legislation; for sharing her personal story and all
the work that she has done and continues to do in the
area of substance abuse treatment and recovery. So, on
behalf of Senator Gardner, Chair Spohnholz, THANK YOU.
On a similar note, there have been many other
individuals and organizations that have contributed
greatly to the cause of sobriety in Alaska, whom,
without their efforts, this legislation might not be
possible. Specifically, the sponsor would like to
recognize the Alaska Federation of Natives, who
originally passed a resolution in 1989 to start the
AFN Sobriety Movement and for, in 1996, encouraging
Alaska lawmakers to add statutory language in the form
of AS 47.37.010, which reads, "It is the policy of the
state to recognize, appreciate, and reinforce the
example set by its citizens who lead, believe in, and
support a life of sobriety".
Another individual is musher and sobriety activist
Mike Williams, who ran the 1992 Iditarod carrying
10,000 signatures pledging sobriety, in what became
known as the "Idita-pledge for Sobriety" and is a key
reason for the selection of the month of March.
Another person is former Representative Irene Nicholia
of Tanana who first passed a resolution to recognize
Sobriety Awareness Month in 1995, making Alaska the
first state in the Union to recognize sobriety as a
lifestyle. To all of these folks, THANK YOU. So,
without further ado?
SB 208 celebrates and calls attention to the efforts
of the many Alaskans who live healthy lives free of
mind and mood-altering substances by establishing
March as Sobriety Awareness Month.
As you all know, Alaska experiences some of the
highest rates of substance abuse in the nation, at a
total economic cost to the state of nearly $3 billion,
not to mention the immeasurable cost to Alaskan
communities and families that cannot be captured by a
simple dollar amount.
5:04:00 PM
With this legislation, it is the intention of the
sponsor and cosponsors, to promote and celebrate the
tens of thousands of Alaskans who live their lives
free of mind and mood-altering substances, in order to
not only mitigate the costs associated with substance
abuse, but perhaps even more importantly, to help
foster a culture that is conscious of this State's
multi-faceted substance abuse challenges and how they
can ultimately be overcome.
Furthermore, sobriety has also been recognized as a
youth protective factor that is strongly correlated
with lower rates of future substance abuse and overall
positive life outcomes; so, by recognizing a month for
the sobriety movement, it is the hope that the state
of Alaska will help establish positive social norms
and send a message to young people that, "contrary
what they might think, the majority of their peers in
fact do not use alcohol and drugs."
So, in summary:
By passing SB 208, permanently recognizing March as
Sobriety Awareness Month, the state of Alaska will
accomplish 4 key goals.
1. Meeting Alaska policy under Alaska Statue
47.37.010, which I referred to earlier.
2. Mitigate the costs, both economic and otherwise,
associated with substance abuse.
3. Set an example for the younger generation, and
perhaps adults too, with positive social norms, that
communicate that alcohol and drugs are in no way
essential or necessary for enjoying life.
4. To celebrate people living sober lifestyles and
break down the stigma around sobriety, both for those
who freely choose to abstain and those who are in
long-term recovery, for these people truly are an
asset to the State of Alaska, its communities and
families.
5:06:39 PM
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ opened invited testimony on SB 208.
5:06:50 PM
TIFFANY HALL, Executive Director, Recover Alaska, reported that
Recover Alaska worked to reduce excessive alcohol use and harms
across the state, as alcohol was recognized as the number one
health issue in Alaska. She reported that, as alcohol cost the
state $1.84 billion every year, the goals of Recover Alaska was
for prevention, treatment and recovery, and a change for social
norms around alcohol. She noted that funding for these recovery
programs was often tied to metrics, and that it was very hard to
capture metrics about recovery. She declared that community was
a big part of recovery, and although there were not quantitative
numbers, there was a lot of qualitative feedback. She shared a
personal anecdote about recovery and the shame of addiction.
She reported that 78 percent of high schoolers did not drink
alcohol. She pointed out that, as it was necessary for role
models, Recover Alaska highlighted Alaskans in sobriety and
honored and celebrated this choice.
5:11:09 PM
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ opened public testimony and after ascertaining
no one wished to testify, closed public testimony on SB 208.
5:11:21 PM
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ shared that she was a strong personal advocate
for sobriety and that Sobriety Awareness Month was an
opportunity for celebration of the choice for a sober life. She
pointed to the importance of shining light on "what recovery
looks like and what sobriety looks like for people." She shared
that she was in long term recovery, had not had a drink in more
than 16 years, and that sobriety had made her life "more joyful
and meaningful and satisfying in a lot of ways." She expressed
her hope that more people would recognize the empowerment that
could come from sobriety and the role models in sobriety that
could allow celebration for the choice not to drink.
5:13:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY moved to report SB 208, Version 30-
LS1470\A, out of committee with individual recommendations and
the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, SB 208
was moved from the House Health and Social Services Standing
Committee.