Legislature(2001 - 2002)
04/11/2001 03:01 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 145-VILLAGE PUB.SAFETY OFFICER PROGRAM
SENATOR RICK HALFORD, sponsor of SB 145, said that many Alaskan
Natives who are in correctional institutions for probation
violations are not able to go back to their villages because of the
lack of probation supervision in their community so they are stuck
in regional centers or large communities. Several years ago a pilot
program was created through the village public safety officer
(VPSO) program to put probation and parole supervisors in small
communities. That program has been a success. SB 145 would expand
that program into a statewide program. The VPSO program has been
administered by the Department of Public Safety (DPS). SB 145 would
coordinate that program with the Department of Corrections (DOC)
with regard to probation and parole. SB 145 would do four things:
it allows people on probation to return to their villages; it
provides for a pay increase for VPSO officers; it creates a career
ladder for VPSOs; and it allows VPSO officers to participate in the
Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) if they chose to do so.
SENATOR COWDERY moved to adopt CSSB 145(JUD), version 22-LS0584\S,
as the working draft of the committee. There being no objection,
CSSB 145(JUD) was adopted for the purpose of discussion.
MR. RON SOMERVILLE, Resource Consultant to the House and Senate
Majority, explained the changes made to the committee substitute
(CS) and commented that an amendment had been proposed (amendment
1) to Section 3. The CS contains a new section that deals with
civil liability for acts or omissions of VPSOs. Section 2 provides
for probation and parole under the direction of DOC, similar to the
pilot project in the Bristol Bay region. The commissioner of DOC
is given the authority to adopt regulations related to the
functions of the VPSO program.
SENATOR COWDERY moved to adopt amendment 1, which deletes Section 3
and adds a new section and reads as follows.
AMENDMENT 1 to CS FOR SB 145(JUD)
Page 2, Line 23. Delete Section 3 and substitute the following:
Sec. 3. AS 18.65 is amended by adding a new section to article 9
to read:
Sec. 18.65.680. Regional public safely officers. The
commissioner of public safety may appoint regional
public safety officers to
(1) provide an expanded public safety and law
enforcement presence in rural areas of the state;
(2) provide oversight and training for the
village public safety officer program;
(3) administer functions relating to:
(A) protecting life and property in the rural
areas of the state;
(B) conducting investigations;
(C) conducting search and rescue missions;
(D) conducting local training programs in
drug and alcohol awareness and
prevention, water safety, and gun
safety;
(4) perform other duties relating to public
safety as directed by the commissioner.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked Mr. Somerville to explain amendment 1.
MR. SOMERVILLE said Section 3 creates a new position for a regional
public safety officer (RPSO). This position is intended for small
regional areas, with the RPSO overseeing four or five VPSO officers
and it would act as a link between DPS and the VPSO program. The
key component of SB 145 would be the career path opportunity. The
RPSO would be selected from the VPSO officers and would go through
a training process by which he or she could become a certified
police officer. That person would then be authorized to handle
firearms and conduct all the business of a trooper.
Number 722
SENATOR THERRIAULT clarified that the RPSO would be a state
employee. He asked what the pay range would be.
MR. SOMERVILLE responded that the pay range would be established
through DPS, but the intent is to make the pay range somewhere
between a trooper and VPSO officer.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked how the duties of a RPSO would differ from
that of a trooper.
MR. SOMERVILLE said the RPSO would go through the same training as
a police officer but the job description would not require them to
move around the state.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said that if the RPSO performed the same duties
as a trooper, that position should receive the same pay. He
questioned whether not having to move around the state is enough
justification for lower pay.
MR. SOMERVILLE said the job description would require less and not
having to move around might justify a lower pay range.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked what changes would be made by the
amendment.
MR. SOMERVILLE said the wording of the amendment makes it clear
that the regional officers are state employees who assist and
represent DPS.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR noted that the language on page 2, lines 26 and 27,
was replaced with, "provide an expanded public safety and law
enforcement presence in rural areas of the state." The wording on
lines 28 and 29 on page 2 was replaced with, "provide oversight and
training for the village public safety officer program." Page 3,
subsection (b) was removed and replaced with, "(3) administer
functions relating to: (A) protecting life and property in the
rural areas of the state; (B) conducting investigations; (C)
conducting search and rescue missions; (D) conducting local
training programs in drug and alcohol awareness and prevention,
water safety, and gun safety." He said this last subsection had
originally provided for probation and parole supervision, and he
thought the intent was to keep that in the bill.
MR. SOMERVILLE said the change was requested by DPS because
probation and parole supervision would be provided by DOC so it
does not need to be written in the statute as it relates to a DPS
employee.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said that probation powers are being extended to
the VPSO officers but the bill creates a new category of employees
- RPSOs without probationary supervision powers. He said there had
once been a problem with that type of thing and, unless it could be
solved, the state would end up with more troopers through court
decree, instead of regional officers.
SENATOR HALFORD said:
Because they [the RPSOs] don't need them. Because the
others need it specifically delegated and they need a
dual line of authority - one to Corrections and one to
Public Safety because they're actually employees of a
regional non-profit corporation. With regard to the
troopers, the troopers already have the ability, any
level of trooper, wherever you go in Public Safety, they
already have the ability to work with Corrections at
Corrections' direction on a parole probation question.
They can go check on somebody right now, a parole officer
could ask a trooper to make a check on somebody on
probation in a community they are going through very
easily, and they do it. So it's just not necessary. But
Senator Therriault, your concern is exactly right with
regard to how do you create something less than a trooper
that you want to keep in an area and not get sucked into
the same problem the original constables had.
Number 1122
SENATOR THERRIAULT said he believes there needs to be some type of
limitation on what the regional officer could do if the pay scale
were to be different.
SENATOR HALFORD said that concern is legitimate, but a job
requiring someone to move around the state at someone else's
discretion should have a higher pay scale. He said it might be
necessary to go through the original case to see where the holes
are and solve those problems in SB 145, but he thought there was a
legitimate difference in the pay scale.
SENATOR HALFORD said the goal was to start with four positions,
putting the officers in areas where they are needed most. A VPSO's
level of ability in a community depends on whether troopers would
be able to get there and support them. Where troopers support them
they have respect; where troopers do not support them they are
sometimes ignored and in some cases dangerously ignored.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said he understood how backup from a trooper
would give strength to how a community views a VPSO officer. He
had heard criticisms that contractual arrangements with non-profit
organizations can limit what a VPSO officer could do by virtue of
the contract provisions. In some communities the officers are not
held in high esteem because the contract does not give them much
power.
SENATOR HALFORD said everything flows downhill from the fact that
the officers are underpaid and under-supported.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if there was an objection to amendment 1.
There was no objection, so amendment 1 was adopted.
MR. SOMERVILLE said Sections 4, 5, and 6 deal with participation in
PERS. Regional public safety officers would participate in PERS
because they would be state employees and VPSO officers would also
have the opportunity to participate if they chose to do so.
However, some non-profit organizations have better retirement
programs than the state, so an officer could choose to stay within
the non-profit retirement system.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked where that language was in CSSB 145(JUD).
MR. SOMERVILLE suggested that language was on page 4, line 9. He
said some non-profit organizations pay the total contribution of
their own system. If an employee chose to be in PERS, he or she
would be responsible for their portion and the non-profit would be
responsible for the employer portion.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR then took public testimony.
Number 1589
MR. GUY BELL, Director, Division of Retirement & Benefits,
Department of Administration, said the department had submitted a
zero fiscal note that still applies to the CS but that he might
have some suggestions after looking at CSSB 145(JUD) in more
detail.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR cautioned him because the legislature had moved
into the 24-hour notice period and CSSB 145(JUD) would be leaving
the Senate Judiciary Committee and moving to Senate Finance in the
next few days, and the questions that Senator Therriault asked are
very important. He thought those questions will be very important
to the Finance Committee.
MR. BELL said the department would be looking at sections 4, 5, and
6 relating to Title 39.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said the language he had been looking for was on
page 4, lines 17 through 23, which says, "credited service under
this subsection is indebted to the system." He asked how to
calculate what the market would have earned on that money had it
been accruing for five years.
MR. BELL said the interest accrues at seven percent under
regulation, so a seven percent rate of return is assumed. A net
present value of expected future benefits of the years of service
the person is claiming is the cost, assuming a seven percent
interest rate.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked if the employer was liable for the
employer's contribution and if the employee was liable for their
contribution, picking up the seven percent interest.
MR. BELL replied no, as CSSB 145(JUD) is written, the full
obligation goes to the employee. If the employee wished to
purchase prior service, 100 percent of the liability would be the
employee's liability.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said the contributions and interest would have
accrued and, by regulation, the interest would be seven percent.
MR. BELL said that was correct.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked if any of the cost was spread into the
retirement system.
MR. BELL said the responsibility was entirely on the employee.
Number 1748
MR. DEL SMITH, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Public Safety,
said that DPS had been working with Senator Halford on the VPSO
program and would like to see more troopers, VPSO officers, and
more RPSOs.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SMITH said the department shared the same
concerns as Senator Therriault with the "like work, like pay
issue." The arbitration that occurred with the original constables
occurred before his time with the department but the department
would try to craft the VPSO program, as it would have under the
constable program, with slightly lower levels of responsibility.
The job description would be crafted to ensure that the problem of
like work, like pay would not be revisited again.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said the committee would be relying on DPS and if
SB 145 passed it should be stated for the record:
On behalf of the committee, it is specifically not our
intent to create a new class of troopers and end up with
that class of troopers then going through that same
process of like pay, like work because, if that's the
case, we will have defeated the very purpose for which
the legislation was crafted to give us a person that
wouldn't be transferred, that would have a lower pay
range and we would be able to provide more of them. So
that's certainly the intent of this committee and
anything you can do to assist through the department in
drafting regulations would be very much appreciated.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SMITH said that was consistent with the course
the governor wanted to take.
Number 1865
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked if a directive in statute was needed to
say the job duty was to be less than a trooper's.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SMITH replied that he did not think this was
needed. He felt it is possible to create this position without
legislation because the trooper, sergeant and corporal rank had not
been created in legislation.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR suggested that the department should have an
amendment ready to submit to the Finance committee if the
department's advisors feel that legislative authorization is needed
to justify the definitions within department regulations.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked whom the department would be dealing with
in drafting the regulations.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SMITH said the department would write the job
description - regulation was not a term he would use. The job
description would detail what was to be accomplished by this
position, and eventually the department would have to negotiate
with the Public Safety Employees' Association (PSEA).
Number 1993
Mr. Robin Lown, VPSO Program Manager for Southeast Alaska, Tlingit
Haida Central Council, said he currently has nine VPSO officers
working for him and he is also the chairman of the VPSO Program
Managers Coordinating Committee, which consists of nine VPSO
managers around the state. He said the VPSO managers support SB
145 and support a statewide program. A pay increase to compensate
for the additional duties is also supported and would help keep
VPSO officers in the program. VPSO managers also support the
career path possibility and the inclusion of a better retirement
option for officers. He noted the PERS provision needs more work.
Overall, Mr. Lown said any incentives that will help to retain
VPSOs are appreciated and important.
MR. RICHARD KRAUSE, VPSO Manager, Aleutian Pribilof Island
Association, said he supports 145.
Number 2174
MR. JIM KNOPKE, Tanana Chiefs Conference, thanked Senator Halford
for bringing SB 145 forward. He said that having a good retirement
program would help increase the viability of the VPSO program and
it would also help with retention and in obtaining new resources
for the program. He said SB 145 may not solve all the problems but
it is a step in the right direction and he supports it completely.
TAPE 01-17, SIDE B
MS. CANDICE BROWER, Department of Corrections (DOC), thanked
Senator Halford for seeing the need for probationers and parolees
in the villages. The VPSO program enables people to go back home
where they tend to be more successful. As a former shelter
director in rural Alaska, she has seen first hand the problems that
VPSO officers face when domestic violence becomes dangerous. She
said DOC supports SB 145.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked Ms. Brower what limits the VPSO officers'
effectiveness in villages.
MS. BROWER replied that domestic violence is the most dangerous
situation a person can come across and many times a VPSO officer is
related to the person perpetuating the violence. Intervening in
that type of situation could be problematic and it requires a lot
of diplomacy and skill. VPSO officers have not been well paid and
they need to be compensated for that type of job duty.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked how parole and probation supervision would
be limited so the state would not fall into the trap of equal work,
equal pay.
MS. BROWER said RPSOs would not have the same powers a parole and
probation officer would have. The program that is in place now
relies on VPSOs to do things at the direction of the probation
officer, such as request breathalyzer tests and a urine analysis.
RPSOs also check on probationers and parolees but they do not have
the authority to arrest or detain people. They also notify the
probation officer of violations.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said that unlike the new position that is being
created, VPSO officers clearly do not have the statutory powers
that a correction officer has.
MS. BROWER said that is correct.
MS. THERESA KOBUK, St. Michael VPSO, said she is in full support of
SB 145. She said as a VPSO officer she was barely making it
financially and would appreciate the pay raise that SB 145
afforded.
MS. JOSIE STILES, Program Manager, Kawerak, Inc., said she was
elated that Senator Halford had introduced SB 145. Ms. Stiles said
she had been in the VPSO program for 17 years and the starting
salary was $13.99 an hour. Because of the low pay, some officers
qualify for food stamps and others have a second job. A pay
increase would help officers focus on public safety and the
community. She said the VPSO program and Kawerak support the
addition of regional managers. Those positions would give officers
who have been in the program many years an opportunity for a career
step without having to become a trooper and leave their community.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked Ms. Stiles to list a few of the
restrictions that DPS has placed on VPSO officers.
MS. STILES replied that in serious felony cases or major
misdemeanor cases, officers are told not to respond. She said
officers face many hardships and high levels of job stress. Often
the back-up coming from the troopers is slow and depends on the
geophysical location and the severity and priority of the case.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said he heard that VPSO officers could not issue
traffic situations.
MS. STILES said that is correct.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked if VPSO officers could enforce Alaska fish
and game statutes.
MS. STILES said officers do not enforce Alaska fish and game
statutes because they already have too many duties, such as search
and rescue, fires, law enforcement, and emergency trauma.
MR. TOM OKLEASKI, Vice President of Community Service, Kawerak,
Inc., Nome, said the board supports SB 145 and it passed a
resolution of support. He said the wage increase in SB 145 was an
effective way to increase the pay scale for officers, which would
help with retention and recruitment.
Number 1787
MR. BRAD ANGASAN, VPSO Program Manager, Bristol Bay Native
Association (BBNA), said BBNA supports SB 145, particularly the pay
increase and the opportunity for officers to participate in PERS.
BBNA is funded to provide 12 VPSO officers and it administers the
parole supervision pilot project. [Mr. Angasan's transmission was
cut off at that point and he was not able to complete his
testimony.]
MAJOR BRUCE DOUG NORRIS, Alaska State Troopers, said at one time a
VPSO officer in Southeast Alaska had actively stopped people for
traffic violations, and the VPSO program was never intended for
that. Where villages are connected to road systems, there are
state troopers for serious traffic incidents, and when there are
minor infractions the VPSO officer can notify a trooper for later
action. It is policy to discourage VPSO officers from doing active
traffic enforcement, they are trained for traffic stops but they
are not armed. In villages where there is no connection to a road
system, VPSO officers can stop people and cite them.
MAJOR NORRIS said VPSO officers help with fish and game matters by
gathering evidence and reporting matters to the fish and game
officer, but they do not take an active role.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked if VPSO officers could issue traffic
citations in McGrath.
MAJOR NORRIS said absolutely. VPSO officers are told they cannot
actively work traffic but they are not told they cannot write
citations.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said the level of respect in the McGrath area
has been impacted by the fact that people think VPSO officers do
not even have the authority to issue traffic citations.
MAJOR NORRIS said there was possibly a communication problem in
that area.
Number 1470
SENATOR HALFORD asked if McGrath has a trooper or a VPSO officer.
MAJOR NORRIS said McGrath had a Fish and Wildlife officer.
SENATOR COWDERY moved CSSB 145(JUD) from committee with individual
recommendations. There being no objection, CSSB 145(JUD) moved
from committee.
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