Legislature(2021 - 2022)GRUENBERG 120
05/09/2022 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB5 | |
| HB325 | |
| SB182 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SB 182 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 5 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 325 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 182-INTERFERENCE WITH EMERGENCY SERVICES
1:28:07 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN announced that the final order of business would be
CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 182(JUD), "An Act establishing the crime
of interference with emergency communications." [Before the
committee was HCS CSSB 182(STA).]
1:28:45 PM
JASMIN MARTIN, Staff, Senator David Wilson, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Senator Wilson, prime sponsor,
presented HCS CSSB 182(STA). She paraphrased the sponsor
statement [included in the committee packet], which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
Senate Bill 182 establishes the offense of
interference with emergency communications. This
statute would apply when a person: repeatedly makes
911 calls to report something they know has already
been reported, repeatedly calls 911 when there is no
emergency, harasses or threatens a 911 operator, or
disrupts communications between 911 operators and
first responders.
Interference with emergency communications - the
misuse, abuse, and disruption of 911 dispatch centers
- is a problem that severely impacts public safety and
emergency response by delaying responses to real
emergencies. It is prevalent at dispatch centers
across Alaska and must be addressed.
During these disruptive events, other urgent emergency
calls must be placed on hold or delayed to meet
standards; industry standards are that all 911 calls
must be answered within 15-20 seconds. A dispatcher
could be required to place the parent of a choking
child on hold to answer repeated calls from a
harassing individual who is not in need of emergency
services, delaying necessary life-saving measures.
Under the language in the bill, that harasser could be
charged. Currently, state statute does not address
harassing behavior specific to 911 dispatch centers,
nor does it give law enforcement adequate recourse to
stop the behavior.
This problem is not unique to Alaska. Other states
have developed legislation that makes interfering with
emergency communications an arrestable offense - which
is the most effective way to stop the interference -
thus allowing 911 telecommunicators to focus on
legitimate emergencies.
1:30:57 PM
MS. MARTIN presented the sectional analysis for HCS CSSB
182(STA) [included in the committee packet], which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
Section 1: Adds a new section (.785. Interference with
emergency communications) to AS 11.56. (Criminal Law,
56. Offenses Against Public Administration).
(a) Establishes that a person commits a crime of
interference with emergency communication when they:
(1) Call 911 to elicit a first responder response for
a previously reported incident when there has been no
change in circumstances, and they have been instructed
to stop calling
(2) Make repeated 911 calls when there is no
emergency.
(3) Threaten 911 operator during a call to 911.
(4) Disrupt emergency communications:
(A) Between 911 operators and first responders,
(B) Between first responders.
(C) Between a 911 operator and a person reporting an
emergency.
(b) Clarifies that that (4)(a) does not apply to in
person communications.
(c) Defines: "emergency communication," "emergency
communication center," and "emergency communication
worker."
(d) Establishes that this crime is a class B
misdemeanor.
Section 2: Adds a section to uncodified law that
specifies that this act is not applicable to offenses
committed prior to this legislation.
1:32:13 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN proceeded with invited testimony.
1:32:54 PM
JACOB BUTCHER, Communications Manager, MatCom Dispatch, said he
had worked as a 911 emergency telecommunicator for 16 years.
During that time, he provided emergency lifesaving support and
walked people through emergencies, including providing bleeding
control or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) instructions and
deescalating armed suicidal callers. Not every call to the call
center is a life and death matter, he said, but dispatchers must
answer every call. Calls not constituting emergencies can be
professionally handled by redirecting the caller to nonemergency
resources; however, sometimes explanations and educating callers
cannot surmount the disruption caused by intentionally false,
disorderly, and harassing calls to the center.
MR. JACOB BUTCHER related that on July 4, 2021, the 911 center
was attacked by two different types of emergency communications
interference. One form was computerized call spoofing, where a
caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to the
caller identification (ID) display to disguise their identity.
He reported that the call center received 45 spoofing calls
within 24 hours. Still, each call needed to be answered,
processed, vetted, and followed up. These calls tied up
resources from Mat-Com Dispatch, the Department of Public Safety
(DPS), the Anchorage Police Department (APD), the Anchorage Fire
Department, and several others. The second issue was a person
who was upset with how a prior incident had been handled and
aired his frustration by dialing 911 over 80 times in a single
day. Before hanging up, he unleashed a barrage of profane,
insulting, and highly vulgar expressions, Mr. Jacob Butcher
recollected. The call center staff sifted through those calls
while continuing to provide assistance and responses to
emergencies, including a reported drowning that led to water
rescue efforts, two plane crashes, four separate wildfire
reports from fireworks, and a full structure fire. Seconds
count for most true emergencies, he emphasized, and he asked
whether members could envision being placed on hold or
interrupted by one of the 120 plus false emergency calls during
an emergency. He concluded by stating that SB 182 would provide
a mechanism for resolving disruptions to call centers to free up
the 911 lines.
1:36:29 PM
JOEL BUTCHER, Alaska President, Association of Public Safety
Communication Officials (APCO)/National Emergency Numbers
Association (NENA), emphasized the importance of the legislation
moving forward, as it addressed a real problem in the state of
Alaska. He acknowledged that although the incidents were not
every-day occurrences, they crippled the 911 centers when they
did transpire. He welcomed questions from members of the
committee.
1:37:38 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN sought questions from committee members.
1:37:56 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SNYDER questioned the motivation for
reestablishing the crime as a class B misdemeanor instead of a
class C felony.
MS. MARTIN explained that the original version of the bill
classified the crime as a class C felony if the interference
resulted in serious harm or death, or the offender was
repeatedly convicted; otherwise, the crime was a class A
misdemeanor. Due to concerns expressed by both the Senate
Judiciary Standing Committee and the House State Affairs
Standing Committee, the C felony was ultimately lowered to a
class B misdemeanor in the House State Affairs Standing
Committee, which the committee believed to be a more appropriate
punishment. She noted that the bill sponsor was supportive of
that change.
1:39:12 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SNYDER asked Ms. Martin to expound on the
members' concerns about the crime's original classification.
MS. MARTIN said primarily, members were concerned about making
people felons. The previous committees of referral wanted to
ensure that the behavior wasn't over-criminalized, as 911
centers were called often, she added.
CHAIR CLAMAN summarized the amendment process in the House State
Affairs Standing Committee.
REPRESENTATIVE SNYDER asked whether intervention through
alternate means would be provided to repeat callers who were
experiencing a mental health crisis.
MS. MARTIN answered no.
1:41:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KURKA asked whether interference that resulted in
death would be penalized with a stiffer penalty.
MS. MARTIN replied not under the proposed legislation; however,
intentionally negligent or harmful behavior resulting in death
could be captured under existing statutes.
CHAIR CLAMAN asked Ms. Schroeder to address the question of
whether existing crimes would capture conduct that led to death.
1:42:17 PM
KACI SCHROEDER, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division,
Department of Law (DOL), confirmed that other crimes, such as
criminally negligent homicide and manslaughter, would be
available if causation could be proved; however, linking them
could be difficult, she said.
REPRESENTATIVE KURKA asked how a connection could be made
between [interference with emergency communications] that
resulted in death and a stiffer penalty.
MS. SCHROEDER said prosecution would have to show that the act
of repeatedly calling 911 interfered with a person receiving
help and ultimately caused his/her death. She added that the
causation issue would be the biggest hurdle.
REPRESENTATIVE KURKA considered a scenario in which a dying
person called 911 to no avail. He asked whether that situation
would qualify if it was later proven that the deceased
individual could have been saved.
MS. SCHROEDER said the significant factor was proving that the
individual could have been saved had the 911 center not been
interfered with. She reiterated the difficulty of that type of
prosecution.
1:45:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND asked how the proposed legislation would
put a stop to the conduct in question.
MS. MARTIN said it would allow the dispatcher to communicate to
the caller that the behavior was illegal. In some instances, it
would allow for a police officer to be dispatched to speak with
or arrest the caller.
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND asked whether the dispatcher could hang
up on the caller after communicating that the behavior was
illegal. She said she was trying to figure out how dispatchers
could return to the true emergencies.
MS. MARTIN deferred to Mr. Jacob Butcher
MR. JACOB BUTCHER said determining whether an emergency existed
was of the utmost importance. Dispatchers had the option of
disconnecting calls when vulgarities were being screamed by the
caller, he added.
CHAIR CLAMAN shared a personal anecdote.
1:50:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked whether the language in the bill
paralleled other statutes involving interference with first
responders, such as paramedics, police officers, or
firefighters.
MS. MARTIN offered to follow up with the requested information.
She noted that page 2, line 6, addressed interference with
communication equipment used by first responders.
1:52:38 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN opened public testimony on HCS CSSB 182(STA).
After ascertaining that no one wished to testify, he closed
public testimony and announced that the bill would be held over.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 182 v. N 5.9.2022.PDF |
HJUD 5/9/2022 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/11/2022 1:00:00 PM |
SB 182 |
| SB 182 Sponsor Statement 2.8.2022.pdf |
HJUD 5/9/2022 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/11/2022 1:00:00 PM HSTA 4/12/2022 3:00:00 PM |
SB 182 |
| SB 182 Sectional Analysis v. N 5.9.2022.pdf |
HJUD 5/9/2022 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/11/2022 1:00:00 PM |
SB 182 |
| SB 182 Summary of Changes v. O to v. N 5.9.2022.pdf |
HJUD 5/9/2022 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/11/2022 1:00:00 PM |
SB 182 |
| SB 182 Supporting Document - Letters Received as of 3.23.2022.pdf |
HJUD 5/9/2022 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/11/2022 1:00:00 PM HSTA 4/12/2022 3:00:00 PM |
SB 182 |
| SB 182 Fiscal Note LAW-CRIM 2.11.2022.pdf |
HJUD 5/9/2022 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/11/2022 1:00:00 PM |
SB 182 |