Legislature(2005 - 2006)BUTROVICH 205
02/14/2006 09:00 AM Senate JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB10 | |
| HB41 | |
| HB107 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 10 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 41 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 107 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 269 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
CSHB 41(FIN)-ASSAULT ON SCHOOL EMPLOYEES/BUS DRIVERS
9:43:55 AM
CHAIR RALPH SEEKINS announced CSHB 41(FIN) to be up for
consideration.
REPRESENTATIVE BOB LYNN, bill sponsor, introduced himself for
the record.
CHAIR SEEKINS said:
I have some concern about establishing in statute for
the first time that I can find a mitigator on a
misdemeanor. I understand, Representative Lynn, that
was added in the House Judiciary [Standing] Committee,
is that correct?
Representative Lynn said:
I think so. I'm not sure.
CHAIR SEEKINS asked Anne Carpeneti whether that was her
recollection.
ANNE CARPENETI, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Law
(DOL), said that was her recollection.
CHAIR SEEKINS said:
My concern is that we just don't have mitigators in
misdemeanors.
MS. CARPENETI advised the committee that she looked through the
minutes and saw an amendment that was added by Representative
[Bruce] Weyhrauch. She was not certain whether it was added in
the House Judiciary Standing Committee or whether it was added
on the House Floor.
9:45:58 AM
SENATOR CHARLIE HUGGINS moved Amendment 1. Page 2, line 5, after
the final "the"; eliminate the language through line 8 at the
first semicolon. Hearing no objection, Amendment 1 was adopted.
SENATOR HOLLIS FRENCH moved Amendment 2. Page 2, line 5; reduce
the term of imprisonment down to 30 days.
CHAIR SEEKINS objected.
SENATOR FRENCH explained the reasoning. Amendment 1 has taken
out the mitigator, which did need to come out. He speculated the
reason the mitigator went in was because some of the committee
members on the House side were concerned about a possible
punitive effect in the case of a "de minimus" assault, which is
an assault that just barely qualifies under the statutory terms
of an assault that occurred on school grounds. He insisted that
a 60-day term of imprisonment was a long stretch of time in
jail. This is the same term in prison that a person would get
for a third DUI conviction.
9:49:45 AM
SENATOR FRENCH summarized by comparing the generally minimal
assaults that occur on school grounds to those that happen
against police officers. He suggested there should be a
difference in penalty due to the striking difference between the
two assaults, comparatively speaking.
SENATOR GRETCHEN GUESS asked Senator French whether the minimum
penalty would be 30 days and if it were a more egregious
assault, more time could be given.
SENATOR FRENCH advised the law would allow a judge to impose up
to a year in jail. He reminded the committee that sometimes it
is not the assault that determines the sentence so much as the
offender.
SENATOR GUESS asked the current minimum for an assault
conviction.
SENATOR FRENCH replied there is currently no statutory minimum.
9:51:28 AM
SENATOR GUESS asked Representative Lynn whether the minimum
proposed by HB 41 would be 60 days for any assault that occurred
on school grounds, even if it were unrelated to a school event
and did not include a school employee.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said originally the bill specified the
school employee. The committee substitute changed the language
to "school grounds." He suggested the committee could add
specified hours.
SENATOR GUESS spoke in favor of Amendment 2. She said the intent
of HB 41 was good but given the breadth of the bill she worried
that something the committee did not intend for to have a
penalty of 60 days, in fact, would.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN responded he would support a penalty of up
to a year in prison. He asked committee members to maintain the
60-day minimum penalty.
9:53:34 AM
CHAIR SEEKINS asked Ms. Carpeneti to advise the committee on AS
11.41.230(a)(1-2).
9:55:27 AM
MS. CARPENETI read the statute:
Sec. 11.41.230. Assault in the fourth degree.
(a) A person commits the crime of assault in the fourth
degree if
(1) that person recklessly causes physical injury to
another person;
(2) with criminal negligence that person causes physical
injury to another person by means of a dangerous instrument;
CHAIR SEEKINS noted under the statute, a casual shoving incident
would not qualify.
MS. CARPENETI said the term "serious physical injury" is broadly
defined in Alaska statutes.
CHAIR SEEKINS asked Ms. Carpeneti her experience of how the
courts have interpreted physical injury.
MS. CARPENETI said very broadly.
CHAIR SEEKINS asked whether a person who slapped another person
on school grounds could go to jail for 60 days.
MS. CARPENETI responded under HB 41, yes.
9:57:07 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked whether a student over 18 years of age
would be subject to the penalties under the bill.
MS. CARPENETI said as the bill is currently drafted, yes.
CHAIR SEEKINS agreed with Senator French that people who
interfere with policeman, paramedics, and firefighters doing
their jobs are also interfering with a bigger mission and they
should be penalized more strictly.
9:58:38 AM
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN retorted that he is a retired schoolteacher
but has also been a policeman.
Roll call proved Amendment 2 failed 2-2 with Senators French and
Guess voting yea and Senator Huggins and Chair Seekins voting
nay.
CHAIR SEEKINS asked committee members whether the intent was to
remove incidents that have nothing to do with school activities.
10:00:22 AM
SENATOR GUESS asked for a definition of school activity.
CHAIR SEEKINS speculated the intent was to cover school
employees while on the way to and from the school grounds and
while on the school grounds.
SENATOR GUESS read the definition of school grounds as listed in
statute as "a building, structure, athletic playing field,
playground, parking area or land contained within the real
property boundary line of a public or private preschool,
elementary school, or secondary school."
10:02:23 AM
CHAIR SEEKINS assumed it was anything that was school property.
He said conceptually speaking someone could work with the
drafter and eliminate activities that might take place that have
no connection to a school activity.
SENATOR GUESS asked whether the idea was protection for when
students were around.
CHAIR SEEKINS said it could be a parent-teacher association
(PTA) meeting also.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said they are now known as PTSA or parent,
teacher, student association and generally students are at those
meetings.
10:04:00 AM
SENATOR FRENCH said the thrust is to impose special penalties
for assaults taking place on school grounds. What the committee
hasn't flushed out is when that happens. A fight that occurs
between two adults in the middle of the night should not be
considered under the bill. He suggested there be some limiting
factor to say the assault would have to take place during normal
business hours or during a school sponsored function.
CHAIR SEEKINS proposed a conceptual amendment to encompass the
discussion and exclude an assault that is not connected with a
school activity.
SENATOR HUGGINS moved Amendment 3. Exclude assaults not
connected with school activities. Hearing no objections,
Amendment 3 was adopted.
10:05:29 AM
CHAIR SEEKINS advised Representative Lynn that the committee
liked the bill. He suggested that staff clean it up and return
the following scheduled hearing.
10:08:01 AM
JOHN ALCANTRA, government relations, NEA Alaska testified in
support of the bill. Formerly he ran the 911-dispatch center for
the Kenai Peninsula Borough and said that first responders are
advised of much information before reaching the scene of
incident. Schoolteachers do not have that advantage, he noted.
10:10:43 AM
CHAIR SEEKINS closed public testimony and held HB 41 in
committee.
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