Legislature(2007 - 2008)BELTZ 211
02/19/2008 09:00 AM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB185 | |
| SB202 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 185 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 202 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 185-SEX OFFENDER/CHILD KIDNAPPER REGISTRATION
CHAIR MCGUIRE announced the consideration of SB 185.
9:06:28 AM
SENATOR BUNDE moved to adopt the committee substitute (CS) for
SB 185, labeled, 25-LS0985\M, Luckhaupt, as a working document.
Hearing no objection, Version M was before the committee.
SENATOR BILL WIELECHOWSKI, Alaska State Legislature, said he
tried to incorporate the concerns of the committee and the
Department of Public Safety (DPS) to create this compromise.
Section 1 makes it a crime for sexual offenders to fail to
register their internet address. Section 2 has some clean up
language, and it also provides for registering email, instant
messaging addresses, or other internet identifiers. Section 3
requires registration within one day of getting an address. He
noted the high level of compliance with the sexual offender
registry. Section 4 reflects the concerns of the committee by
making the list publicly available, but a person will need to
type in the particular address to determine if it belongs to a
registered sex offender. The language looks loose because of the
term "may". There is a federal program starting, and it will be
free and available to everyone and every state. If that program
does not come online, and this bill requires DPS to sign on,
there will be significant costs to create a new one. That is why
the language is a little loose, but it is the intent of the DPS
to have a database up and running.
9:09:54 AM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said the next part is in response to
Senator Stevens, and it will make this information available to
internet service providers and security firms to assist them in
identifying and preventing communications with registered sex
offenders. It allows the department to do that. The department
has the intent of getting the program running as soon as
possible, but staff was concerned about finances and wants to
wait for the federal software. So he decided Alaska will begin
registering everyone by January 2009, and as sex offender
reports become due, they will have to register their email
addresses. The worst sex offenders will have to register
quarterly, and the lesser offenders could possibly register
later. That decision was made to keep costs down.
9:11:58 AM
SENATOR STEVENS asked for a definition of instant messaging.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said it was his intent to cover instant
messaging addresses, and he defined the term.
SENATOR STEVENS asked if it was the same as a text message.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said cell phones are not addressed in this
legislation. It would come down to what an electronic address
is. Internet communication identifiers include MySpace and
Facebook, and their use by sexual predators has been a huge
concern of those companies. Commissioner Walt Monegan thinks
there are 16,000 sexual predators using the internet in Alaska.
9:14:55 AM
KATHY MONFREDA, Chief, Criminal Records, Department of Public
Safety (DPS), Anchorage, said the identifiers include networking
sites like MySpace, gaming sites, and chat rooms. Text messaging
will not be included because cell phones aren't on the internet.
SENATOR FRENCH asked if terms are explicit enough to cover those
people who masquerade on MySpace and Facebook.
MS. MONFREDA said there may not be a way to prevent someone from
using a false identifier or pretending they are someone else.
SENATOR FRENCH said predators masquerade as teenagers on
MySpace. "Would not registering that alias … on the internet be
a violation of this law?" Does the alter ego get registered?
9:18:04 AM
MS. MONFREDA said those addresses must be reported.
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked if other states are experimenting with a
type of bracelet that would send a signal if a person is
interfacing with the internet.
MS. MONFREDA said she doesn't know if that is possible.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said, considering the sex offense recidivism rate,
she hopes technology can keep these people away from children.
MS. MONFREDA said she has never heard of such.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said so we are just trying to keep people honest
by registering.
SENATOR STEVENS said he understands electronic addresses, and he
understands MySpace-type addresses, but he doesn't know what
instant messages are.
MS. MONFREDA said it allows people to chat back and forth while
they are doing other things on their computers.
9:20:23 AM
SENATOR STEVENS asked if that is the same as a chat room.
MS. MONFREDA said a chat room is where many people communicate.
CHAIR MCGUIRE explained that he can instant message with his
Blackberry and send real-time instant messages. Chat rooms are
different, and she assumed they are covered under the bill.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said yes, as an internet identifier.
SENATOR STEVENS said someone could have hundreds of identifiers.
Is it unenforceable?
SENATOR FRENCH said these people have been convicted of a sex
crime and can be restricted. While some people may avoid the
law, it will give another hook to catch them with.
9:23:01 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE spoke of a conversation with Ms. Monfreda about
another bill requiring sex offenders to register with the DMV.
"And I think your point was, keep doing these little things, but
it's not the 30,000-foot view."
MS. MONFREDA said her concern was that DMV and DPS are two
separate departments.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said Ms. Monfreda had made the point that DPS has
been doing a lot of work getting people to register, and what it
needed is more resources, not necessarily more policies.
MS. MONFREDA agreed. There is already 90 percent compliance with
the law, but tracking people is very labor intensive. There is a
shortage of police officers statewide. It is hard to get law
enforcement to go to a reported address, but they are still
doing it. She provides a list each month of noncompliant
offenders to all of law enforcement, including the troopers.
9:25:21 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said these things help highlight the issue, but
the legislature needs to keep an eye on the resources. "We can
make a lot of great policies, but if the resources are not there
to carry them through..."
MS. MONFREDA said if an offender goes to DMV and is turned away,
then they are still not registered.
RODNEY DIAL, Lieutenant, Alaska State Troopers, Ketchikan, said
he supports SB 185 and likes the changes. The registrant list
should not be readily available for exchange. Investigators know
that most of the illegal information is spread through offender
emails. The bill provides another tool, and it can be used
during an investigation of another issue. An examination of
computers may uncover the failure to register.
9:27:11 AM
SENATOR STEVENS moved the CS of SB 185, labeled 25-LS0985\M,
from committee with individual recommendations and attached
fiscal note(s). There being no objection, CSSB 185(STA) passed
out of the Senate State Affairs Committee.
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