Legislature(2015 - 2016)CAPITOL 106
02/17/2015 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB68 | |
| HB93 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 68 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 93 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 93-PROBATION AND PAROLE: WORK, TRAVEL ACCOM.
8:18:59 AM
CHAIR LYNN announced that the final order of business was HOUSE
BILL NO. 93, "An Act relating to the duties of probation
officers; and relating to conditions of parole."
8:19:19 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CATHY TILTON, Alaska State Legislature, as prime
sponsor, presented HB 93. She related that a 2013 Anchorage
Daily News article indicated that Alaska has the nation's
highest rate of recidivism. She said the Department of
Corrections (DOC) reported that the number of probationers
successfully completing their court ordered release has
increased from 48 percent in 2011, to 66 percent in 2014. She
said the proposed legislation would build upon the trend of the
"smart justice effort." Representative Tilton stated that it is
in the public's best interest that probationers find gainful
employment and reestablish themselves in society. She said
experts, such as Partners for Progress, identify employment,
housing, and social services, such as rehabilitation and
therapy, as the three components most needed to keep a
probationer from reoffending. She said few employers are
willing to hire someone with a record. A study of the Urban
Institute showed that just 12.5 percent of employers would
accept an applicant with a criminal record. Once a probationer
does get a job, his/her employment and probation reporting
sometimes fall into the same time period.
REPRESENTATIVE TILTON said the proposed legislation would
clarify that one duty of the probation officer would be to
accommodate the efforts of the probationer to keep his/her
employment when setting up [probation meeting times]. Further,
the bill would allow the probationer reasonable travel within
the state when it was not in conflict with other terms of
his/her probation. She explained that because Alaska is a large
state, travel can be required when searching for employment.
8:22:13 AM
SUZANNE DOWNING, Staff, Representative Cathy Tilton, Alaska
State Legislature, presented a sectional analysis of HB 93 on
behalf of Representative Tilton, prime sponsor. She expressed
appreciation to the Department of Corrections, the Alaska Court
System, and the Public Defender Agency for their assistance with
HB 93. She said the sections of the bill would make small
changes to existing statute and reinforce best practices.
MS. DOWNING pointed out that Section 1 addressed the
aforementioned provisions related to accommodating the efforts
of a probationer to find work and allowing him/her to travel as
part of that effort. Section 2 would amend AS 33.16.150(a) to
conform [to Section 1, AS 33.05.040] to read that as a condition
of parole, parolees should be able to travel in state for work
or to make diligent efforts to secure work, so long as the
travel is not contrary to the conditions of parole. She said
Section 3 has similar conforming language to ensure that the
statute is consistent throughout. She said other changes in HB
93 are grammatical.
8:23:44 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG directed attention to the word
"accommodate" on page 2, line 28, and questioned whether that
was the best word to use.
CHAIR LYNN asked if anyone else could think of a better word.
He asked Representative Gruenberg if he had an amendment related
to the word "accommodate".
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG answered no.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG recommended a grammatical change that
would relocate the word "only" on page 4, line 30.
REPRESENTATIVE TILTON, in response to Chair Lynn, said she would
be amenable to the change.
8:26:27 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved Amendment 1, as follows:
Page 4, line 30:
Delete "only"
Page 4, line 31:
Following "employment"
Insert "only"
Therefore, the paragraph would read as follows:
(12) Refrain from traveling in the state to
make diligent efforts to secure or maintain steady
employment only if the travel violates other
conditions of parole.
There being no objection, Amendment 1 was adopted.
8:27:19 AM
CARRIE BELDEN, Director, Division of Probation and Parole,
Department of Corrections (DOC), stated that she does like the
proposed legislation and that the DOC supports employment for
probationers and a decrease in recidivism. She expressed her
only concern was that Section 3 might be too constricting for
the probation officer (PO) who has treatment meetings, court
hearings, and other office visits. She explained that a PO
might not be able to get a travel pass issued in time because
he/she has not been given enough advance notice or might have to
delay a travel pass for a time in order to work out victim or
treatment issues, for example. She reiterated her concern that
the language of Section 3 might "box them in," and she again
stated her support of HB 93.
8:29:02 AM
MS. BELDEN, in response to Representative Keller, explained that
the concerning language was on [page 4, line 30, through page 5,
line 1]; although she suggested the recently adopted Amendment 1
may have improved the language.
8:29:45 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG offered his understanding that Ms.
Belden was saying there might be other reasons that could cause
the Board of Parole to deny a travel request other than a
violation of condition of parole.
MS. BELDEN responded that was correct.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG acknowledged that the DOC was very much
by the book. He asked Ms. Belden whether she had a suggestion
to improve the language.
MS. BELDEN responded that at the moment she did not have a
suggestion for an amendment.
8:31:59 AM
QUINLAN STEINER, Director, Central Office, Public Defender
Agency, Department of Administration, stated that HB 93 would
promote employment for probationers, which he stated was key for
success on parole and probation.
MR. STEINER offered to answer questions and in response to
Representative Gruenberg, he said he thought he understood the
concern raised by Ms. Belden; however, he would need a more
detailed explanation of the mechanism of where that would come
up or how it would come up before he could craft a solution.
MS. DOWNING offered her belief that the language in the statute
gives quite a bit of leeway to POs through the use of the word
"may".
CHAIR LYNN suggested that basically HB 93 was "a guidance bill."
MS. DOWNING concurred.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said he would agree in general;
however, he said the aforementioned language in [paragraph] (12)
may limit that discretion.
8:35:40 AM
MS. BELDEN suggested adding: "and if approved by the probation
officer". She explained that the PO would know what was going
on in a particular case and whether there were issues in
treatment that might be hampered or issues related to location
of travel.
CHAIR LYNN, after ascertaining no one further wished to testify,
closed public testimony.
CHAIR LYNN advised he was happy with the current intent and
language of HB 93. He opined, "We should do everything we can
to keep that person gainfully employed," and the conditions of
the parole and where the PO works should mesh with the work
needs of the parolee.
8:37:43 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER pointed out that [the proposed
legislation] was consistent with "where we've been going." He
said the Justice Commission has been concerned and interested in
the transition of prisoners back into society. He recounted
that Mr. Steiner had said HB 93 would promote employment, which
is a key issue. He said he supported the current bill and would
like to move it out of committee. He stated that the
opportunity is there for the DOC, the Parole Board, the Office
of the Public Defender, and everyone else concerned, to review
the whole section of law as HB 93 moves forward and consider
whether any changes could be made to enhance the work of the
Justice Commission.
8:39:17 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said he supported the bill and did not
want to delay it, but posited that a couple more days to address
concerns would not be too long. He asked Ms. Belden if she
could craft the language she would like to see in a couple days,
with the help of the sponsor.
MS. BELDEN answered in the affirmative. She reemphasized her
support for HB 93 and the importance of employment to address
recidivism.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG requested that Chair Lynn hold HB 93
for another hearing within the House State Affairs Standing
Committee.
8:41:29 AM
CHAIR LYNN reiterated that he was ready to move the proposed
legislation out of committee.
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER stated that he was comfortable with the
explanation that the language was permissive and that "this will
not rise to the level of justifying a floor amendment, but that
the process is not over once it passes the floor."
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said he would like to know the prime
sponsor's opinion regarding holding HB 93 in committee.
CHAIR LYNN stated that the House State Affairs Standing
Committee was in control of the proposed legislation.
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES opined that in light of the contributors
to the proposed legislation, the review of it, and the
explanation of it, HB 93 [as amended] was ready to be moved out
of committee.
REPRESENTATIVE TALERICO, in response to Chair Lynn, said he was
comfortable in moving the bill forward.
8:43:12 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved to report HB 93, Version 29-
LS0404\W, [as amended], out of committee with individual
recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG objected. He reiterated that something
needs to be done to look at this because the department charged
with the enforcement of the legislation had a legitimate
concern. He indicated that the concern, if amended on the House
floor, would not have the kind of debate and consideration it
would have in the House State Affairs Standing Committee.
8:44:25 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER said he would like to ask Ms. Belden if
she considered this an issue of major concern.
MS. BELDEN suggested adding "and if approved by the department",
following the last line of HB 93.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG expressed his willingness to propose a
conceptual amendment incorporating the change suggested by Ms.
Belden.
MS. BELDEN, in response to Representative Keller, suggested that
the language could state: "and if approved by the Department of
Corrections". She explained that would allow victim or
treatment issues to be worked out along with the issuance of
travel passes as it may be necessary to delay a travel pass.
8:47:28 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER withdrew his motion to moved HB 93,
Version 29-LS0404\W, [as amended], out of committee with
individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes.
8:47:35 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved Conceptual Amendment 2, to add
language following the word "parole" [on page 5, line 1] that
would give discretion to the department. There being no
objection, Conceptual Amendment 2 was adopted.
8:48:00 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved to report HB 93, Version 29-
LS0404\W, as amended, out of committee with individual
recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being
no objection, CSHB 93(STA) was reported out of the House State
Affairs Standing Committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 14 HB68 Fiscal Note Various Departments.pdf |
HSTA 2/17/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 68 |
| 01 HB 93 ver W.pdf |
HSTA 2/17/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 93 |
| 02 HB 93 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HSTA 2/17/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 93 |
| 03 HB 93 Sectional Analysis.pdf |
HSTA 2/17/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 93 |
| 04 HB 93 Supporting Documents - Alaska Prisoner Reentry Task Force.pdf |
HSTA 2/17/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 93 |
| 05 HB93 Fiscal Note Administration.pdf |
HSTA 2/17/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 93 |
| 06 HB93 Fiscal Note Corrections.pdf |
HSTA 2/17/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 93 |
| 07 HB93 Support Letter Partners for Progress.pdf |
HSTA 2/17/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 93 |
| 15 HB68 Summary of Changes ver A to ver H.pdf |
HSTA 2/17/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 68 |
| 16 HB68 UPDATED Proposed CS ver H REPLACES ver W.pdf |
HSTA 2/17/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 68 |