Legislature(1999 - 2000)
03/15/1999 01:44 PM Senate JUD
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SB 1-NO MANDATORY PAROLE RELEASE WITHOUT GED
SENATOR DONLEY said everyone is concerned with recidivism and we
all want people who come out of prison to try to avoid future
crimes. He said he has read articles that cite illiteracy as one of
the biggest factors fueling juvenile crime. SB 1 will encourage
rehabilitation and reformation, as dictated in the constitution, by
making good time contingent on prisoners attaining certain
educational requirements. This means while people are incarcerated
they will obtain their General Education Degree (GED).
SENATOR DONLEY said
SB 1 is not a new idea and is in place to varying degrees in
Florida, California, Colorado, Tennessee, Virginia and Texas. He
said the committee substitute for SB 1 incorporates a suggestion
made by the Department of Corrections that applies the bill only to
prisoners who are to be incarcerated for two or more years.
Number 545
SENATOR DONLEY moved CSSB 1 (JUD). Without objection, the committee
substitute was adopted.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked why non-eligibility for prisoners sentenced
to 99 years is deleted in the committee substitute. MR. JAMES
ARMSTRONG, staff to SENATOR DONLEY, replied that that provision is
"picked up in Section 4."
SENATOR HALFORD agreed with the idea behind the bill, but expressed
concern about how the bill might apply to older village Alaskans to
whom English may be a second language, and who might have a hard
time attaining these educational requirements. He said natives are
now proportionally "out of whack" in the correctional system and he
does not want to make that worse. SENATOR DONLEY pointed out the
clause in the bill that made the requirement inapplicable to anyone
"incapable of attaining a diploma or its equivalent." SENATOR
HALFORD replied, "I'm uneasy with stating that those people who may
be smarter than the rest of us in a lot of unquantifiable ways are
incapable - that's a hard statement . . . I don't want to state
there is any inability . . . " SENATOR DONLEY suggested an "extreme
hardship" standard and SENATOR HALFORD replied, "Well, for some of
these people, they deal with extreme hardship all their lives,
except when they're in the prison system." SENATOR DONLEY concluded
by saying he is open to addressing this issue.
Number 575
SENATOR TORGERSON asked if the State administers the GED test in
languages other than English. MS. BETSY ROBSON testified from
Anchorage via teleconference that the GED is now administered only
in English. SENATOR TORGERSON said, "I don't agree with SENATOR
HALFORD's comments . . . I can't believe that is the only document
that we haven't transmitted into another language when we do
everything else."
TAPE 99-18, Side B
Number 591
MS. ROBSON, representing the Department of Corrections, said the
bill is based on a good concept, but she has some concerns about
program applications and financial considerations. Specifically, to
implement the bill, the Department would have to identify the
inmates who need to complete the program, give them a screening
test to determine their educational level, determine which inmates
may have special educational needs, organize study groups, and
withhold parole for those inmates who do not achieve the required
educational goal.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if a part of the Department's budget is
already allocated for educational programs for inmates. MS. ROBSON
said a small portion is, but this program would require additional
funding.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR remarked that a significant amount of money comes
from prisoners and is conveyed to the Violent Crimes Commission and
used for educational programs for prisoners. SENATOR DONLEY said
some of this money is allocated for "gate money" and some goes to
inmate programs.
Number 548
MR. BLAIR MCCUNE, representing the Alaska Public Defender Agency,
questioned whether a public defender would be required to represent
inmates in a parole board hearing resulting from their failure to
complete the GED program. He asked who would determine which
inmates are incapable of achieving the GED. He wondered how the GED
program would fit with other inmate programs such as substance
abuse education and sex offender treatment.
MR. MCCUNE said currently, prisoners have their needs assessed by
an institutional probation officer who identifies their needs and
places them into the proper programs. He worries that the GED
program might take a backseat to a more pressing need such as a
substance abuse program.
SENATOR DONLEY asked MR. MCCUNE if it was a statutory requirement
to have a public defender represent prisoners at parole hearings.
MR. MCCUNE said it is. SENATOR DONLEY asked if it is a
constitutional requirement. MR. MCCUNE explained he believes there
is a case to require representation, at least in the adjudicatory
portion of parole revocation hearings. He said he would research
this and inform the committee of his findings. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said
it seemed plausible that representation would be required in
revocation hearings, but he did not think it would be necessary at
all parole board hearings.
Number 494
MS. ROBSON pointed out the sharp increase in the funding necessary
in fiscal year 2003 (FY 2003). This is due to the increase in time
of incarceration for those inmates who fail to attain their GED.
She is concerned that this type of punitive measure is inconsistent
with the intent to positively motivate offenders to participate in
programs. Many states look toward positive incentives, rather than
sanctions. She urged the committee to consider this and suggested
this approach might reduce the fiscal note and have a more positive
effect on inmates. SENATOR DONLEY responded that if we shared the
national standard for good time, that would be a viable option.
Since we have the most permissive good time standard, it is not.
Number 465
MR. BRUCE RICHARDS, also representing the Department of
Corrections, explained that other states like Florida, have
meritorious GED and literacy programs. He says the Department
expects some inmates will fail to complete the GED program, for
educational or disciplinary reasons, and that is the reason for the
fiscal note.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR commented that, in his experience as a judge, a
court order to complete a GED program was always obeyed.
MR. MICHAEL STARK, representing the Department of Law, made the
point that those inmates who are not released on parole will "go
cold turkey into the community - no supervision . . . we can't
underestimate the value of parole and probation supervision to help
somebody reintegrate into society after they've done a number of
years in prison."
MR. STARK noted that voters passed an "official English" initiative
so he does not know if the test could be administered in other
languages. Also, some native languages are primarily verbal
languages and would not adapt well to the written GED test. He said
a meritorious incentive program might address SENATOR HALFORD's
concern to the extent that inmates who do not attain the GED would
not be penalized.
MR. STARK suggested amending the statute to ensure the program
would be made available to inmates before they can be required to
participate in it.
MR. STARK said the bill raises some due process concerns and
regulations and procedures will need to be developed to deal with
challenges to an inmate's capability to attain a GED. CHAIRMAN
TAYLOR, in reference to the fiscal note submitted, remarked,
"Somebody within the Department has already made some significant
assumptions about how many people are going to be incapable or
refuse to do it . . ."
Number 392
SENATOR HALFORD said the question of penalties or incentives is one
of semantics and his concern could be addressed by requiring a GED
or "an increase in whatever . . . they start from. I don't want to
see us create something that is another screen that keeps more
Alaska natives in and lets more nonnatives out."
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR announced the bill would be held for work in the
Judiciary Committee.
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