04/30/2007 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY

             SB 128-ALCOHOL LOCAL OPTION PROVISIONS                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR FRENCH announced the consideration  of SB 128. He asked Ms.                                                               
Austerman to refresh members' recollections about the bill.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
1:58:11 PM                                                                                                                    
GINNY AUSTERMAN, Staff to Senator  Donny Olson, recapped that the                                                               
bill came about  at the request of the  Rural Justice Commission.                                                               
It  is an  integral  part of  the effort  to  regulate the  sale,                                                               
distribution, purchase, and shipment  of alcoholic beverages into                                                               
damp  local   option  communities  within  Alaska.   The  Alcohol                                                               
Beverage Control  Board (ABC) Board  would be required  to create                                                               
and maintain a database of  timely information related to written                                                               
orders for  alcohol that is  shipped to individuals.  The package                                                               
store licensee  or its agent  must consult the database  prior to                                                               
filling  each order.  Immediately  after filling  the order,  the                                                               
date  and  the  amount of  the  new  order  must  be add  to  the                                                               
database. This  will adversely impact bootleggers,  she said. The                                                               
information in  the database will  be accessible only  to package                                                               
stores and law  enforcement. SB 128 also contains  a provision to                                                               
correct  an omission  in  state law  so  that organized  boroughs                                                               
would be able to transfer  borough liquor licenses to communities                                                               
within that borough.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MS. AUSTERMAN noted a proposed  amendment and said the sponsor is                                                               
happy to  accept that amendment.  In response to a  question, she                                                               
relayed that  Sections 4 and 5  relate to the transfer  of liquor                                                               
licenses.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                              
CHAIR FRENCH  asked if anything  in those sections  requires that                                                               
the transfers be done at fair market value.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS. AUSTERMAN  replied she's  not aware  of anything  that spells                                                               
that out.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR FRENCH asked if the sponsor or the Department of Law would                                                                
object to adding a provision along those lines.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MS. AUSTERMAN said the sponsor would not object.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
2:00:51 PM                                                                                                                    
ANNE CARPENETI,  Assistant Attorney  General, Department  of Law,                                                               
said  she would  like to  check with  the head  of the  ABC Board                                                               
before  adding  that provision  because  Title  4 really  doesn't                                                               
address commercial value of liquor licenses.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR FRENCH noted that the bill has a finance referral and said                                                                
that may be the place to take care of that point.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
2:01:26 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR FRENCH offered Amendment 1 as the sponsor.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
                          AMENDMENT 1                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     OFFERED IN THE SENATE                                                                                                      
          TO: CSSB 128(CRA)                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Page 2, line 22:                                                                                                           
          Following "purchaser."                                                                                              
               Insert:                                                                                                          
               "Failure by a package store licensee, agent                                                                  
          or employee to enter into the database the date                                                                   
          and the amount of alcoholic beverages shipped to                                                                  
          the purchaser is a class B misdemeanor."                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     Page 5, following line 30:                                                                                                 
               Insert:                                                                                                          
                    "*Sec. 11 AS 04.16.180(a) is amended to                                                                   
                    read:                                                                                                       
               (a) Except as provided in AS 04.11.015, AS                                                                       
          04.16.025, 04.16.050, 04.16.051, 04.11.150(g),                                                                    
          04.16.200-04.16.210, and AS 04.21.065, a person                                                                       
          who violates a provision of this title or a                                                                           
          regulation adopted by the board is guilty, upon                                                                       
          conviction, of a class A misdemeanor. Each                                                                            
          violation is a separate offense."                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Renumber the following bill sections accordingly.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR McGUIRE objected for discussion purposes.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  FRENCH  explained that  the  amendment  is the  result  of                                                               
discussion  during the  previous  hearing. The  bill imposes  new                                                               
duties on liquor  store clerks and there was  some question about                                                               
the level of the violation should  a clerk not comport with those                                                               
new  duties.   Before  the  hearing   Ms.  Carpeneti   said  that                                                               
unauthorized release  of information  that will be  gathered into                                                               
the database will be a class A misdemeanor.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS. CARPENETI said,  "The default penalty for  Title 8 violations                                                               
is a  class A misdemeanor  unless it's specifically  excepted and                                                               
another penalty is provided."                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  McGUIRE offered  her interpretation,  which is  that the                                                               
class  A misdemeanor  would apply  throughout Section  1 so  that                                                               
anybody  who is  authorized to  have access  to the  database and                                                               
uses the  information in an  unauthorized manor would  be subject                                                               
to that penalty. I want it  to be interpreted broadly in terms of                                                               
preserving the confidentiality of the database, she stated.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS. CARPENETI said she interprets the language that way as well.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
2:03:30 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI joined the meeting.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  FRENCH  thanked  Senator  McGuire  for  highlighting  that                                                               
point. He  read the amendment and  said he believes that  in this                                                               
instance  a class  B misdemeanor  would include  a maximum  of 90                                                               
days  and a  maximum $1,000  fine for  not entering  the data  as                                                               
required by the statute.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
2:04:02 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR McGUIRE removed her objection.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  FRENCH,  finding  no  further  objection,  announced  that                                                               
Amendment 1 is adopted.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR McGUIRE  motioned to  report CSSB  128, as  amended, from                                                               
committee  with individual  recommendations  and attached  fiscal                                                               
note(s).                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  FRENCH  announced  that without  objection  CSSB  128(JUD)                                                               
moves from committee.