Legislature(2007 - 2008)BELTZ 211
03/05/2007 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
Audio | Topic |
---|---|
Start | |
SB7 | |
SB89 | |
Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SB 7 | |||
* | SB 89 | ||
SB 36 | |||
SB 7-FELONS' RIGHT TO VOTE CHAIR FRENCH announced the consideration of SB 7. 1:34:24 PM THOMAS OBERMEYER, aide to Senator Davis, read the sponsor statement into the record as follows: It is essential to a democracy that every citizen who wishes to be a productive member of society be afforded the right to vote. Art. I, Sec. 12 of the Alaska Constitution provides that criminal administration is based on the "principle of reformation" in addition to protecting the public, community condemnation of the offender, and the rights of victims. Political participation helps with rehabilitation and reintegration into the community. SB 7 grants felons the right and opportunity to vote if they wish to exercise that right immediately after having served their time. In Alaska 5,000 Alaskans have lost their right to vote because of felony convictions. Current Alaska law bars the vote to persons convicted of felonies of moral turpitude until the expiration of a post-incarceration period of parole or probation, which is often years after they have reentered society as productive citizens and tax payers. While Vermont and Maine do not disenfranchise felons at all, other states are reforming their laws to allow felons to vote either after release (13 states), after release and completion of probation or parole (21 states including Alaska), or permanent disenfranchisement to certain felons (14 states). Harsh sentencing laws over the past 30 years have allowed the prison population to burgeon, while reducing the rehabilitative model to an anachronism. Over 4.7 million Americans or 1 in 43 adults cannot vote due to felony convictions, with 1/3 or more of them due to alcohol and drug offenses. Of those incarcerated in Alaska 47 percent are white; 37 percent Alaska Native; 11 percent African American; 2 percent Hispanic; and 3 percent Asian/Pacific Islanders. Minority felons are disproportionately disenfranchised under current law and the harm of continued disenfranchisement after release is exacerbated by stigma and other forms of discrimination as they try to reenter society. SB 7 will help rehabilitate released felons by welcoming them back into the voting community immediately after release and encouraging them to become good citizens. Studies show that felons who vote have a lower rate of recidivism. SB 7 will streamline the process by which the state restores voting rights to felons and thus will save money. 1:39:17 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI recapped that if someone is released from prison and is still on probation, that person is not eligible to vote. Under SB 7 that person would be entitled to vote upon release. MR. OBERMEYER said correct and a primary reason for the bill is that enfranchisement is rehabilitative. Get them back into the community because they are with us anyway, he said. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked how house arrests would figure in. MR. OBERMEYER replied the Department of Corrections and the Division of Elections would need to establish rules to handle such circumstances. CHAIR FRENCH opened public testimony. 1:41:22 PM MARGARET PUGH, Former Commissioner of the Department of Corrections and retired state employee, stated strong support for SB 7 and described the issue as emotional for some and political for others. Amendment 14 of the US Constitution gives each state the right to determine who votes and who does not vote and clearly there is not just one American way to restore voting rights, she stated. Some states never restore the right; some restore the right upon petition of the governor for a pardon; some restore the right after incarceration regardless of probation or parole; and some states, like Alaska, restore the right after probation and parole have been served. She noted that in Alaska almost all felons have some period of probation and/or parole following release from incarceration. MS. PUGH said American democracy is an evolving process. In the early days the elite governed and as a result disabilities were visited on women, slaves, illiterates, and non-property owners. Those legal disqualifications continued for years and some states, notably in the south, instituted other disabilities such as the poll tax. Ms. Pugh relayed that her great-grandfather had to pay poll taxes and her great-grandmother could not buy her own sewing machine. The purpose of these disabilities was clearly discriminatory and fortunately most of those practices have been overcome. She pointed out that today her great-grandmother could purchase a sewing machine on her own and she could vote. Today there is no more slavery, there are no more poll taxes, voters are not required to be literate, and vision or hearing is not a requirement. However, she said, a disability that many states have not revisited, is the one that is visited upon convicted felons. MS. PUGH said she views SB 7 as a first step because all it does is restore voting rights to persons convicted of felonies upon release from custody; they could vote before probation and parole is complete. Because the Alaska constitution says that voting rights are surrendered by people convicted of felonies of moral turpitude, and because most felonies in Alaska are, by definition, considered to be crimes of moral turpitude, SB 7 would not restore voting rights to very many people, she stated. SB 7 does not restore other forfeited civil rights. For example a convicted felon on probation and/or parole must submit to search of a person, home, or property of any sort without protection of a warrant; must provide urine samples; must continue treatment; can not work in certain fields; and can not bear arms. MS. PUGH pointed out that restoring voting rights does not present a threat to any person, place or thing. This is a very small thing for the legislature to do, she said, but it's a huge leap for American democracy. In her view the current practice is blatant racial discrimination and it is time for change. 1:50:58 PM SENATOR McGUIRE agreed with the previous testimony and said she has never understood why restoring a felon's right to vote would be problematic. She asked Ms. Pugh to comment on testimony last year from the Department of Corrections suggesting that it would be difficult to maintain a registry of the different conditions of release to show the people who have their voting rights restored and those who do not. MS. PUGH replied it is an issue, but the Department of Corrections (DOC) and the Permanent Fund Division already exchange data bases for forfeited permanent fund dividends so the technology is available for DOC and the Division of Elections to exchange data. There will always be a few issues, but there is no reason they can't be overcome, she said. SENATOR McGUIRE asked if she believes that rehabilitation is still a tenet of the penal system. If so, how large a part does restoring voting rights play in the rehabilitation process. MS. PUGH said the very definition of correction means to change and correct and not punish. "I believe that corrections should have treatment programs of all types and offenders should be able to vote when they are released from custody," she stated. 1:57:34 PM NATALIE LANDRETH, Staff Attorney, Native American Rights Fund (NARF), stated strong support for SB 7. The most critical reason is that the current law disproportionately impacts Alaska Natives because they comprise a disproportionate part of the felon population. In 2004 a study by the Alaska Judicial Council concluded: that Alaska Natives were overrepresented in the felon population; that Alaska Natives receive longer sentences than non-Natives; that Alaska Natives typically have lower per capita incomes than non-Natives and can not afford private attorneys; and that people with private counsel generally served less time in prison and on parole and were generally more successful in getting reduced charges. MS. LANDRETH said Alaska Judicial Council statistics highlight the following: 83 percent of all felons are male, almost 50 percent are under 30 years of age, 50 percent are Caucasian, 37 percent are Alaska Native, 63 percent have alcohol problems, 45 percent have drug problems, more than 33 percent have identifiable mental health problems, and almost 80 percent financially qualified for a public defender. MS. LANDRETH, responding to a question from the state affairs hearing, relayed that "65 percent of felons were convicted of class C felonies with property crimes comprising 30 percent and drug crimes 20 percent. Murder and sexual assault by the way are only 2 percent and 12 percent of these felons respectively." In conclusion she said that the people most likely to benefit from the bill are young men who need help reintegrating into society. Re-enfranchising these people after they have served their sentence is a positive and empowering way to achieve that. 2:02:16 PM MICHAEL MACLEOD-BALL, Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska (ACLU), noted that he had submitted written testimony. He asked the committee to think of the issue of restoring voting rights in the larger context of the right to rehabilitation under the state constitution. The people who would benefit from this law are the ones that the court system has said are ready and worthy of reentering society. The scope and context of rehabilitation should encompass the notion of giving these people a vote of confidence to exercise a basic right of citizenship - the right to vote. He suggested committee members refer to the December 2006 issue of the Alaska Law Review. It contains a relevant article by Christopher R. Murray titled "Felon Disenfranchisement in Alaska and the Voting Rights Act of 1965." 2:05:24 PM DANIEL LEVITAS, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said he submitted written testimony. His work focuses on the issue of felon enfranchisement and in the last 10 years 16 states have taken positive steps in this direction. Of the 11,000 Alaskans who are disenfranchised as a result of felony convictions, roughly 54 percent would be reenfranchised if SB 7 were to pass. MR. LEVITAS said the issue enjoys bipartisan support because it is a fundamental issue of democratic participation, rights and community safety. It's axiomatic that giving former offenders a stake in society will make them feel less inclined to repeat their behavior. In fact, one study shows a clear link between voting behavior and lower re-arrest rates. MR. LEVITAS echoed Ms. Pugh's point that SB 7 simply restores the right to vote in a narrow and specific context. It does not restore full civil rights to people on parole/probation or parole. In conclusion he said SB 7 will reduce risks to communities by promoting the reintegration of ex-offenders. CHAIR FRENCH noted that Deputy Commissioner Peeples sent a letter dated March 1 responding to a question raised at the previous hearing. The data shows the numbers of probationers and parolees whose last conviction was a felony crime of moral turpitude. Unclassified felonies are the most serious and C felonies the least. Unclassified Felony: 101 A Felony: 200 B Felony: 728 C Felony: 1,640 He asked Mr. Levitas if he is aware of any state that conditions the right to vote upon the severity of the crime. MR. LEVITAS replied the majority of states use the simplest scheme of not distinguishing between particular crimes, but it is not unheard of to make a distinction and set aside enfranchising people who commit violent crimes or crimes against persons until release from probation or parole. The patchwork approach can be quite confusing and perhaps it contributes to the fact that most felons who are released from jail believe they can never vote again, he said. 2:15:47 PM CHAIR FRENCH found no further public testimony and announced he would hold SB 7 in committee to look at possible modifications. At ease
Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
---|