Legislature(1999 - 2000)
05/15/1999 12:27 PM Senate 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 151-REVOCATION OF MINOR DRIVER'S LICENSE CHAIRMAN TAYLOR informed committee members a new committee substitute (Version Q, 5/15/99) was prepared. PAT HARMON, legislative aide to Representative Pete Kott, informed committee members that Representative Kott is in agreement with the contents of the new committee substitute. TOM FINDLEY, a Juneau attorney, informed committee members he has been working on this legislation because he is interested in the subject. He explained that minor consuming penalties were increased in Section 1. Under current law the offense is an infraction; under this bill the third offense is a misdemeanor. He suggested the following changes. The first offense should not result in a license suspension; currently the suspension time is 10 days, DMV would like to see that increased to 30 days. Section 3, which criminalizes alcohol consumption, should also criminalize drug use. Alcohol consumption or drug use, while driving, will be a class B misdemeanor and the minor's license will be suspended for 180 days for a first offense and one year for a second offense. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR clarified the penalty for that offense was already increased to emphasize a zero tolerance policy for drivers under the age of 21. MR. FINDLEY added that a minor who has been caught for a third time probably has a serious drinking problem and should have to appear in court. He noted some minors have been arrested as many as 18 times, but the violations are turned over to DMV so they never appear in court. Number 215 JUANITA HENSLEY, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Department of Administration, stated that a 10 day revocation is not enough to get anyone's attention. DMV prefers a 30 day revocation because no revocation time for a first offense is not going to get the minor's attention and result in change. SENATOR DONLEY suggested using revocation periods of 30 days for a first offense, 60 days for a second offense, and 90 days for a third offense, which is already in the bill. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if there was any objection to adopting version Q as the Senate Judiciary committee substitute. There being no objection, the motion carried. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR moved to increase the revocation time from 10 to 30 days, on page 3, line 29, and from 30 to 60 days on page 3, line 30 (Amendment 1). There being no objection, the motion carried. Number 249 ANNE CARPENETI, Department of Law, stated she believes the Senate Judiciary Committee version contains good compromises. She pointed out that increasing a third time offense to a misdemeanor creates fiscal implications. MS. CARPENETI suggested amending AS 28.15.185 because last year the court held that an offense must have a significant enough penalty to require a jury trial and court- appointed counsel. As a result, AS 28.15.185 was amended and minor consuming offenses were removed. That statute will need to be amended again to include the misdemeanor offenses in HB 151. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if a new section would have to be added. MS. CARPENETI said she believes so. SENATOR DONLEY moved a conceptual amendment (Amendment 2) to incorporate a new section to do what Ms. Carpeneti recommended. SENATOR HALFORD said he has no objection to that motion, however he would like to know how the administrative and court revocations are related, and whether the same violation can cause an action at both levels. MS. CARPENETI said the offenses are generally concurrent with each other. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR agreed they must be concurrent as far as the effect of the sentence. He clarified that the only difference is that the bill contains a provision, that the Administration opposes, that provides if a person is dismissed or found not guilty from the criminal suit, the dismissal acts to also remove the administrative revocation that was imposed so that one does not have to go to court twice. SENATOR HALFORD questioned whether different standards of proof apply to an administrative proceeding versus a court proceeding. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said yes, the standard of proof for an administrative hearing is a preponderance of evidence, and for the court hearing it is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. He explained that this provision will prevent a person who is found not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt from having his/her license revoked under the civil aspects which come out of the administrative system. Number 291 MS. CARPENETI added the Department of Law is also concerned with the provision in paragraph 2 on page 5 because it wants to keep the administrative and court revocations as separate as possible. The Department of Law believes its position in litigating constitutionality of the "use it-lose it" law is that it is a remedial aspect, not a punitive one. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if there was any objection to adopting Amendment 2. There being no objection, the motion carried. MR. FINDLEY suggested amending AS 28.35.280 to add controlled substances to cover driving under the influence of drugs. He clarified that Section 8 on page 5 would need to be amended. SENATOR HALFORD asked if there is a term of art that excludes prescription drugs from controlled substances. SENATOR DONLEY moved to adopt a conceptual amendment (Amendment 3) to add a violation for driving while under the influence of a controlled substance into the appropriate section of the bill. SENATOR HALFORD objected and asked for an answer to his question about the definition of controlled substances. SENATOR DONLEY asked if prescription drugs fall under the definition of controlled drugs. SENATOR HALFORD explained the general term, "controlled drugs" includes prescription drugs. MS. CARPENETI informed committee members AS 28.35.280(a) would need to be amended to exclude prescription drugs. SENATOR HALFORD said he agrees with the amendment but wants to make sure that it refers to contraband drugs only, not prescription drugs. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked Ms. Carpeneti to work with the legal drafter to make sure that intent is accomplished. MS. CARPENETI agreed to do so. There being no objection to Amendment 3, it was adopted. Number 349 MR. JOHN HYDE made the following comments via teleconference from his home in Soldotna. He informed committee members he does not have a copy of version Q. His primary concern is that the administrative hearings will be used for the first two offenses. Administrative hearings under AS 28.15.183 are not evidentiary hearings and rightly so. The hearing officers at DMV are not qualified to hold evidentiary hearings. Due to increasing pressure from the public, and legislative activities, DMV has expanded its role and has created a situation in which its hearings are becoming evidentiary and it hears evidence arbitrarily. The arbitrary and capricious application of the law is unconstitutional. MR. HYDE gave an example of how evidence, obtained in an illegal entry, was used in a case and was the basis for a ruling in an administrative hearing. He believes DMV is vigorously trying to preserve its position in this law, and it is trying to strenuously convict young people of violating a law when it is violating the law it is trying to preserve. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR told Mr. Hyde that is why the bill takes the violations out of the administrative process after the first two offenses and places the violator before a judge who understands the term, "capricious and arbitrary." MR. HYDE commended the committee on its efforts but said he would prefer that the all offenses get court hearings rather than administrative hearings. ROBERT BUTTCANE, Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), commented on two issues. If minor consuming and minor possession of alcohol are recriminalized through HB 151, it would be appropriate to support the court in providing it with some type of an assessment process. He asked the committee to fund the Kiddie ASAP program enacted by the Legislature last year. Approximately $100,000 for administrative costs and $400,000 for community grant programs would be an adequate amount to take care of this population. His second point was that an estimated 1,000 young people will be subject to a misdemeanor offense and jail time if HB 151 passes. Those youth will be placed in youth facilities which are already full. DHSS might have to request a supplemental appropriation to pay for overtime for detention staff if the court takes an aggressive stance toward jail time. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said both issues are unrelated to this bill because an appropriation cannot be attached to it, but the Senate Judiciary Committee supported the Kiddie ASAP concept last year, so if DHSS needs a supplemental as a result of the court system's actions, he will argue in favor of it. SENATOR HALFORD moved SCSHB 151(JUD) as amended from committee with individual recommendations. Without objection, the bill moved from committee.
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