Legislature(1993 - 1994)
02/26/1993 12:00 PM House JUD
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 69 - SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION Number 039 GAYLE HORETSKI, COMMITTEE COUNSEL TO THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, outlined the changes included in the draft committee substitute for HB 69, dated 2/26/93. She noted that the first change appeared in section 2, at the bottom of page 1. She said that section 2 would take effect immediately upon passage of the bill and then be repealed on January 1, 1997, and replaced with section 3 of the bill. Sections 2 and 3 were identical, except that section 3 included the requirement that offenders submit a blood sample. Number 095 REP. PHILLIPS asked why there was not an immediate effective date on the rest of the bill's provisions. Number 102 MS. HORETSKI said that she did not recall any committee members suggesting an immediate effective date before. She said that the Department of Public Safety would need to gear up for the sex offender registration program and adopt regulations for its implementation. Number 109 REP. PHILLIPS asked if the effective date of the bill could be researched. Number 112 MS. HORETSKI indicated that Doug Wooliver from the speaker's office was present and could comment on that point later. MS. HORETSKI continued to outline changes in the draft committee substitute for HB 69. Research showed that "municipal" was a better term than "local" when used to refer to police departments within Alaska; therefore, she said, all references to "local" police departments had been changed to "municipal" police departments. MS. HORETSKI called the members' attention to page 3, line 15, of the draft committee substitute. She stated that the biggest changes made to HB 69 were in this section of the bill. The new draft committee substitute contained a lifetime registration requirement for offenders convicted of unclassified or class A felony sex offenses, a 20-year registration requirement for offenders convicted of class B or class C felony sex offenses, and a 10-year registration requirement for offenders convicted of a class A misdemeanor sex offense. Number 139 MS. HORETSKI also noted that new language appeared on page 3, line 24. The draft committee substitute said that the Department of Public Safety would adopt regulations outlining the procedure by which the department would notify offenders who were convicted of a sex offense that was a violation of a former law, or a law outside the state of Alaska. Ms. Horetski said that this provision was added to the bill by the drafters, as a person convicted of a sex offense outside of Alaska might not be aware of the Alaska classification level to which his or her offense was equivalent, for the purposes of registering. Number 175 MS. HORETSKI said that she had discovered that 21 states had adopted laws requiring offenders to provide blood samples for DNA analysis. She added that at least seven of those states also had constitutional rights to privacy, as Alaska did. She said this was not a guarantee that such a provision in HB 69 would be upheld; however, she noted that it was encouraging to know that other states with constitutional rights to privacy had adopted DNA sample laws. Number 198 REP. PHILLIPS said she had noticed another change between the most recent committee substitute and its predecessor, in that the sections were numbered differently. Number 203 MS. HORETSKI indicated that because sections 2 and 3 were now identical, except for the dates on which they would take effect, the numbering of all subsequent sections of the bill was altered. Number 217 CHAIRMAN PORTER stated that the inclusion of both sections 2 and 3 was seen as the "cleanest" way to enact the law without having to come back several years down the road and enact a section relating to DNA samples. Number 236 JEN TUCCI, from Juneau, testified in support of HB 69. She said that sex offenders paid for their actions by serving jail sentences, but their victims paid for the rest of their lives. She noted the emotional upheaval, inability to function, psychological damage, and fear were experienced by victims of sex offenses. She added that sex offenders tended to display predatory behavior, and violent sex offenders often escalated the level of violence in each subsequent offense. For those reasons, she said, HB 69 would help to protect the innocent and convey a message that society would no longer tolerate the behavior of sex offenders. She said there was no proof that sex offenders could be cured. Number 277 REP. KOTT asked Ms. Tucci if she was testifying on her own behalf or if she was representing an organization. Number 279 MS. TUCCI indicated that she was representing herself. (Rep. Nordlund arrived at 12:25 p.m.) CHAIRMAN PORTER summarized for Rep. Nordlund the changes contained in the current committee substitute for HB 69. Number 307 REP. NORDLUND moved to report out the Judiciary committee substitute for HB 69, with individual recommendations and a zero fiscal note from the Department of Public Safety. MS. HORETSKI noted that the Department of Public Safety had offered a fiscal note showing impact on that department's operating costs. REP. NORDLUND amended his motion to include the fiscal note from the Department of Public Safety. Number 316 MARGOT KNUTH, from the DEPARTMENT OF LAW, stated that she had noticed a technical problem with the draft committee substitute. She pointed out a "local" police department reference on page 3, line 8. Number 327 CHAIRMAN PORTER asked if Rep. Nordlund would consider an amendment changing the "local" police department language on page 3, line 8, to be a friendly amendment. Number 329 REP. NORDLUND said that would be a friendly amendment. He amended his motion to ask that a new committee substitute be prepared, including the change on page 3, line 8. Number 340 CHAIRMAN PORTER, hearing no objection, ordered that the new committee substitute for HB 69 move out of committee. The committee took a brief "at ease" at 12:31 p.m. The committee resumed its business at 12:34 p.m. Number 360 CHAIRMAN PORTER announced that HB 64 was the next item of business before the committee.
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