Legislature(2001 - 2002)
05/05/2001 08:49 PM Senate JUD
| Audio | Topic |
|---|
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
CSHB 179(FIN)-UNDERAGE DRINKING & DRUG OFFENSES
REPRESENTATIVE NORMAN ROKEBERG presented CSHB 179(FIN) on behalf of
the House Judiciary Committee. In December, the Alaska Supreme
Court ruled on the state versus Neidemeyer (ph) case making
structurally inoperative the "Use it and lose it" law. The court
found that revoking a minor's driver's license without a trial
violated the minor's constitutional right of due process.
Consequently, the House Judiciary Committee worked with the
Administration to find a way to re-criminalize minor possession and
consumption. The prosecutors and law enforcement are doing little
or nothing to enforce the law because their hands are tied. Right
now a maximum fine of $300 is imposed. He said the Legislature
needs to send a message to the youth of this state that they should
wait until they are of age before using alcohol responsibly.
Working with the Administration, the House Judiciary Committee
designed a new penalty scheme which provides for a violation on the
first two offenses. The fine amounts range from $200 to $600,
which can be suspended. It also mandates attendance at an alcohol
education program and, for a first offense, allows the use of a
community diversion panel, which could be a youth court, if
approved by the court. For a second offense, the maximum fine is
$1,000 (up to one-half may be suspended), 48 hours of community
service, revocation of the driver's license for three months. A
third offense rises to a class B misdemeanor with the imposition of
96 hours of community service and revocation of the driver's
license for 6 months. A person under 18 years of age is referred
to juvenile court, if over, to district court.
TAPE 01-32, SIDE B
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked why community service is part of the sentence
for offenders over the age of 18 if they are old enough to go to
jail.
REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG said, "Well, I believe Mr. Chairman, it is
a class B misdemeanor."
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if the House Judiciary Committee came up with
a habitual minor consuming standard and if that is new.
REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG said he believes it is new and that it also
provides for a juvenile alcohol safety action program (ASAP).
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if it will provide for treatment.
REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG said the bill includes a pilot treatment
program that specifies the communities of Ketchikan, Fairbanks,
Kotzebue and Juneau as recipients of the treatment money at this
time.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked a representative from the Department of
Health and Social Services (DHSS) to testify.
MR. ELMER LINDSTROM, special assistant to Commissioner Perdue,
DHSS, said he appreciates the opportunity to work with
Representative Rokeberg on this bill. The genesis of HB 179 began
last summer when they met with representatives from the court
system, law enforcement, prosecutors and the public defender. The
bill contains elements that DHSS believed should come forward even
before the Alaska Supreme Court ruled. From DHSS's perspective,
monitoring is key. ASAP serves only adults and the court system
wants and needs equivalent assistance for juveniles. The court
system feels it has been unable to have any kind of meaningful
intervention with juveniles. If the "Use it and lose it" law did
nothing else, it provided good data. That data revealed juveniles
who were 10, 12, or 15-time offenders. Under current law, the
state's response for the 15th offense is the same as it is for the
first offense so the concept of graduated sanctions was one that
DHSS felt had merit. Its goal is to get the monitoring and provide
treatment to intervene early.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if the state has any treatment facilities for
juveniles.
MR. LINDSTROM said treatment capacity for juveniles in Alaska is
very limited, either in-patient or out-patient. DHSS's original
fiscal note on this bill requested in excess of $1 million for
treatment in all places it wanted to put juvenile ASAP sites. The
House Finance Committee cut that and put in language for pilot
sites. He said he does not want anyone to believe that even with
passage of this bill and its attached fiscal note, there will be
adequate facilities for youth in the state.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said,
In fact, what we've been doing with the court system
until the decision came down from the Supreme Court, is
we were fining kids until we worked our way through their
permanent fund dividend check. So, at $300 a pass, it
took you about seven times and you got to drink for free.
So, number 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 that year, those were
free because you'd already burned up your permanent fund
dividend check. That's literally how they work it in the
court. They'd come in and give them $300 civil fine -
they'd take it out of their permanent fund dividend check
...."
He said he appreciates this legislations and said he would
personally go a little tougher on the state as far as providing
treatment facilities.
Number 470
MR. ROBERT BUTTCANE, Division of Juvenile Justice, DHSS, informed
the committee that his division has a number of treatment programs
in the state for adolescents, mostly outpatient programs. The
amount in the fiscal note will increase some of that capacity but
HB 179 will hopefully provide a scheme to identify chronic abusers
of alcohol earlier so that early intervention can take place. DHSS
will be able to provide additional supervision and support to the
court system to try to change behavior. If that doesn't happen,
the delinquency system will kick in on the third offense and the
forces of the Superior Court, juvenile probation officers and
family members will attempt more intrusive and effective
interventions. He believes it will be a lot better than what
currently exists.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said he is glad the bill has a pilot program aspect
to it so that the state can get some hard numbers to determine how
it works and how to expand it. He then asked Mr. Guaneli what
happened to the minors who lost their drivers' licenses for decades
as a result of multiple offenses under the "Use it lose it law."
MR. DEAN GUANELI, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Law,
said he believes that provision of the law was changed recently so
that those revocations will run concurrently rather than
consecutively.
There being no further questions or testimony, SENATOR DONLEY moved
CSHB 179(FIN)am from committee with individual recommendations.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR announced that with no objections, the motion
carried.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|