Legislature(2023 - 2024)BUTROVICH 205

03/21/2024 01:30 PM Senate TRANSPORTATION

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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
*+ HB 81 VEHICLES/BOATS: TRANSFER ON DEATH TITLE TELECONFERENCED
Heard & Held
-- Invited & Public Testimony --
+= SB 255 OBSTRUCTION OF PUBLIC PLACES; TRESPASSING TELECONFERENCED
Heard & Held
-- Public Testimony --
+ Bills Previously Heard/Scheduled TELECONFERENCED
        SB 255-OBSTRUCTION OF PUBLIC PLACES; TRESPASSING                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
2:03:07 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR   KAUFMAN  reconvened   the  meeting   and  announced   the                                                               
consideration  of SENATE  BILL NO.  255 "An  Act relating  to the                                                               
obstruction of airports and runways;  relating to the obstruction                                                               
of  highways;  establishing  the  crime of  obstruction  of  free                                                               
passage in public  places; relating to the  obstruction of public                                                               
places; relating  to the  crime of  trespassing; relating  to the                                                               
obstruction of  navigable waters; and providing  for an effective                                                               
date."                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
This  is  the   second  hearing  of  this  bill   in  the  Senate                                                               
Transportation Committee.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2:04:05 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR KAUFMAN opened public testimony on SB 255.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
2:04:29 PM                                                                                                                    
KAY  BROWN, representing  self, Anchorage,  Alaska, testified  in                                                               
opposition to  SB 255. She  said SB  255 impinges on  the peoples                                                               
constitutionally  protected right  to gather  in  a public  place                                                               
without   a  permit.   She  said   the  bill   criminalizes  this                                                               
constitutionally  protected behavior,  the right  to assemble  as                                                               
citizens and to protest and speak  out. She opined the bill is an                                                               
attempt  to  intimidate,  dissuade  and  discourage  people  from                                                               
assembling, by  establishing this  new crime of  obstructing free                                                               
passage in a  public place. She said she hopes  the bill does not                                                               
pass, but  that if  it does,  she said  the definition  of public                                                               
place  is far  too broad.  She said  it appears  that significant                                                               
criminal and civil liabilities could  be triggered by standing on                                                               
a  sidewalk  and  blocking  someone's path.  She  noted  SB  255,                                                               
Section 9 evokes  unreasonable inconvenience, without definition,                                                               
could result  in Class B  misdemeanor conviction, which  she said                                                               
is outrageous.  She said SB  255, Section 4 also  has significant                                                               
problems, including that  it lacks a clear  definition of nominal                                                               
damages. Ms. Brown  asked for consideration of the  effect SB 255                                                               
would  have on  the unhoused  who  occupy public  places and  may                                                               
arguably  impede  movement at  times.  She  concluded SB  255  is                                                               
unnecessary and  an unconstitutional  violation of the  rights of                                                               
citizens.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2:07:08 PM                                                                                                                    
MORGAN  LIM,  Advocate,  Planned Parenthood  Alliance  Advocates,                                                               
Juneau, Alaska, testified  in opposition to SB 255.  He said this                                                               
bill  would criminalize  Alaskans who  exercise their  freedom of                                                               
speech and  assembly, and the  language of  the bill is  so broad                                                               
that it renders constitutionally protected  speech illegal and so                                                               
vague that  those who  would wish  to follow  or enforce  the law                                                               
would be  unclear as to  the legislation's scope. He  noted under                                                               
SB 255, people  could be charged for obstruction  of free passage                                                               
in  public  places   if  they  knowingly  make   a  public  place                                                               
impassable  or   significantly  inconvenient  or   hazardous  for                                                               
passage;  and  it  is   unclear  what  impassable,  significantly                                                               
inconvenient or  hazardous for  passage mean.  He said  the vague                                                               
language of  the bill is  an attempt  to crack down  on Alaskans'                                                               
ability  to protest,  demonstrate and  freely assemble  in public                                                               
places.  He noted  that  vague  and overly  broad  laws could  be                                                               
applied selectively  by law  enforcement against  parties engaged                                                               
in disfavored  speech and that there  is no way for  the state to                                                               
neutrally  apply  this  bill.  He   said  the  bill  raises  more                                                               
questions  than  answers about  what  conduct  is permissible  in                                                               
public.  Moreover, he  said  a new  obstruction  of free  passage                                                               
crime appears  to criminalize homelessness  in public  spaces and                                                               
could  be weaponized  by law  enforcement to  target marginalized                                                               
groups   including  the   un-housed,  exacerbating   rather  than                                                               
alleviating  Alaska's  housing  crisis. He  submitted  that  this                                                               
legislation does  not make  Alaska safer  or address  the current                                                               
problem  for  people protesting  across  the  state. Instead,  he                                                               
said,  it  is  government  overreach  that  sends  a  threatening                                                               
message to protestors, intending to chill free speech.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
2:09:33 PM                                                                                                                    
MATT JACKSON, representing self,  Anchorage, Alaska, testified in                                                               
opposition to  SB 255. He  began by reading: Congress  shall make                                                               
no law  abridging the freedom of  speech, or of the  press, or of                                                               
the right  of the  people peaceably to  assemble and  to petition                                                               
the government  for a  redress of grievances.  He opined  that is                                                               
all  that needs  be known  about  SB 255,  that it  is a  blatant                                                               
violation of first amendment rights.  He said the bill is clearly                                                               
intended to  chill dissent  and he said  the first  amendment was                                                               
specifically intended  to protect against  bills like SB  255. He                                                               
noted Section  4 describes the  liability for civil  action under                                                               
this  Act, for  no  less than  $50,000 to  a  person who  suffers                                                               
damage  to property.  It appears  that someone  who caused  $5 in                                                               
damages while  exercising the  right to  protest could  be liable                                                               
for no  less than  $50,000. He  noted that  the median  income in                                                               
Alaska is $34,000.  He concluded this is just one  example of the                                                               
issues this bill  raises of the intimidating effect of  SB 255 on                                                               
the  constitutionally   protected  right   to  free   speech  and                                                               
encourages the committee to oppose SB 255.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
2:11:35 PM                                                                                                                    
AARON BRAKEL,  representing self,  Douglas, Alaska,  testified in                                                               
opposition to  SB 255.  Mr. Brakel  said SB  255 is  a non-Alaska                                                               
solution  to  a non-Alaska  problem.  He  related his  experience                                                               
earlier in the day of being  directed to vacate a public sidewalk                                                               
outside the  Dimond Courthouse and that  the directive originated                                                               
with  the Department  of Law  building manager.  He characterized                                                               
the  gathering as  an assembly  of  people speaking  in front  of                                                               
their state capital.  He said SB 255 is an  unacceptable bill and                                                               
is  a sign  of things  to  come. He  opined that  the bill  could                                                               
create an  entirely litigious, ridiculous  situation. He  said SB
255  exists so  people who  are assembling  with concerns  can be                                                               
targeted by big concerns, both individually and in groups.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
2:13:55 PM                                                                                                                    
MICHAELA  STITH,  Climate   Justice  Director,  Native  Movement,                                                               
Juneau,  Alaska, testified  in opposition  to SB  255. Ms.  Stith                                                               
characterized  SB 255  as an  attempt  to criminalize  nonviolent                                                               
protest. She said  the bill is against the  First Amendment right                                                               
to peaceable assemble,  and the right to  petition the government                                                               
for a  redress of  grievances. She evoked  Martin Luther  King Jr                                                               
and recalled  that he  said: We adopt  the means  of non-violence                                                               
because our end is a community  at peace with itself. We will try                                                               
to persuade  with our words, but  if our words fail,  we will try                                                               
to persuade  with our acts.  She said non-violent action  is core                                                               
to American  identity and core  to what  it means to  be Alaskan.                                                               
She sought  to remind those  present that the right  to peaceably                                                               
assemble is  a unique freedom  provided in this country.  She put                                                               
forth  specific concerns  with Sections  8 and  7 addressing  the                                                               
obstruction of highways, a common  form of non-violent protest in                                                               
the United States.  She emphasized that banner  drops and highway                                                               
blockades make a statement to  persuade when people are not heard                                                               
by other means. She maintained that  it is a right to participate                                                               
in non-violent  direct action. She said  it was not clear  to her                                                               
whether a  conviction under SB  255 would  result in the  loss of                                                               
the right  to vote  in federal elections.  She concluded  that SB
255 is  a violation of First  Amendment rights and urged  that it                                                               
not be passed.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:16:12 PM                                                                                                                    
Cathy Walling, representing self,  Fairbanks, Alaska testified in                                                               
opposition  to  SB 255.  Ms.  Walling  invited the  committee  to                                                               
uplift the voices of previous  testifiers, and to uphold peaceful                                                               
assembly and protection of First  Amendment rights by opposing SB
255.                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
2:17:22 PM                                                                                                                    
KIRA LENA  LAJARNIE, Climate Justice Organizer,  Native Movement,                                                               
Anchorage, Alaska,  testified in opposition  to SB 255.  She said                                                               
when  government   bodies  and  assemblies  are   not  adequately                                                               
representing the  will of the people,  the people have to  have a                                                               
way  for  redress.  She  said  SB 255  is  a  clear  conflict  of                                                               
interest; if the  people want to protest  government actions that                                                               
are not serving  them, the government could simply  choose not to                                                               
grant  them  a  permit  to   assemble.  The  bill  could  promote                                                               
authoritarian government actions and  suppress freedom of speech.                                                               
The First  Amendment clearly protects  this right. She  said that                                                               
if  people have  the protection  to gather  for their  beliefs in                                                               
religious places of  worship, people must also be  able to gather                                                               
on the streets, even  if they don't have the means  to buy a hall                                                               
of  worship. She  concluded  that  the public  has  the right  to                                                               
public spaces.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:18:39 PM                                                                                                                    
SARAH  FURMAN, Member  Organizer and  Administrative Coordinator,                                                               
Fairbanks Climate Action  Coalition, Fairbanks, Alaska, testified                                                               
in  opposition to  SB 255.  Ms.  Furman said  SB 255  is a  clear                                                               
violation of  freedom of  speech and  assembly, protected  in the                                                               
constitution.   The  language   in  the   bill  is   vague,  will                                                               
criminalize  people directly  and indirectly  in constitutionally                                                               
protected activities.  She said  the ability  for US  citizens to                                                               
assemble and  protest is fundamental  to democracy and  there are                                                               
examples throughout  history when the  people needed to  use this                                                               
right  to fight  injustices: the  civil rights  movement, women's                                                               
suffrage movement, etc.  Looking back, she said,  we uplift these                                                               
people  and their  leaders  for moving  the  country forward.  We                                                               
don't  say: oh,  they  shouldn't have  blocked  that sidewalk  in                                                               
their  pursuit of  fundamental rights.  She concluded:  these are                                                               
the kind of  laws that authoritarian and  fascist governments use                                                               
against their people, and we don't want to do that.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
2:19:52 PM                                                                                                                    
ELEANOR  GAGNON, Advocate,  Fairbanks  Climate Action  Coalition,                                                               
Fairbanks, Alaska,  testified in opposition  to SB 255.  She said                                                               
public  spaces  exist  for  people to  gather.  She  agreed  with                                                               
earlier testimony describing the language  of SB 255 as vague and                                                               
offered  a   range  of  interpretation  for   the  definition  of                                                               
obstruction  and the  potential for  subjective application.  She                                                               
emphasized that the lack of  clear definitions contributes to the                                                               
dangers of SB 255. She said the  people who are most likely to be                                                               
harmed by SB 255 are those  unhoused, and they need public spaces                                                               
the most. She implored the  committee that denying access to safe                                                               
spaces for the unhoused is a crime.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
2:20:56 PM                                                                                                                    
AURORA  BOWERS, Narrative  Strategist,  Fairbanks Climate  Action                                                               
Coalition, Fairbanks, Alaska, testified  in opposition to SB 255.                                                               
Ms. Bowers said  she was eleven when 911 happened  and that event                                                               
and those that  followed set the course for her  life. She joined                                                               
nonviolent protests  against the invasion of  Iraq. She described                                                               
her childhood  involvement and experience as  empowering and said                                                               
the experiences demonstrated  to her the power of  a citizen. She                                                               
said that,  though the demonstrators  weren't able to  affect the                                                               
change they  desired, they  exercised a  core right  of Americans                                                               
and Alaskans.  She pointed out  that those gatherings  of fifteen                                                               
or  fifty  pacifists  could  have   been  charged  with  criminal                                                               
activity under SB 255. She urged opposition to SB 255.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
2:22:31 PM                                                                                                                    
PATTI SAUNDERS,  representing self, Anchorage,  Alaska, testified                                                               
in  opposition to  SB  255. Ms.  Saunders said  she  is a  former                                                               
lawyer  and that  she spent  three years  in law  school learning                                                               
about things like the Bill of  Rights, the rights of citizens and                                                               
what democracy meant.  She said reading SB  255 engendered horror                                                               
in her heart  and mind when she realized the  governor was trying                                                               
to impose  this in Alaska.  She emphasized  that it was  not some                                                               
nutjob that proposed the bill,  but our governor. She opined that                                                               
SB  255  guarantees litigation.  She  predicted  someone will  be                                                               
arrested and someone will be  sued because this bill violates the                                                               
constitution.  She  predicted  a   costly  outcome  and  eventual                                                               
Supreme Court action.  She said SB 255 is a  solution looking for                                                               
a problem and there is  no evidence that demonstrations, rallies,                                                               
gatherings, exercises of free speech  or assembly have caused any                                                               
problems  in Alaska.  She asserted  there  is no  reason for  the                                                               
bill, even  if was  constitutional. She  said she  cannot believe                                                               
the man who  serves at the head of our  state government proposed                                                               
this. She implored the committee to oppose SB 255.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
2:24:53 PM                                                                                                                    
MOLLY  LEMEN,  Interfaith  Organizer,  Fairbanks  Climate  Action                                                               
Coalition, Fairbanks, Alaska, testified  in opposition to SB 255.                                                               
Ms. Lemen expressed  concern that SB 255 seems, on  it's face, to                                                               
protect  people's freedom  of movement  and  access to  emergency                                                               
care but will  in fact be used against peaceful  protesters as an                                                               
excuse to force  people to vacate a premises  when their opinions                                                               
are inconvenient,  restricting the right to  peacefully assemble.                                                               
She queried:  who would  determine what  constitutes unreasonable                                                               
inconvenience  and  how  can such  broad  language  be  equitably                                                               
enforced?                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2:25:49 PM                                                                                                                    
JEFF  CHEN, representing  self, Anchorage,  Alaska, testified  in                                                               
opposition to  SB 255. Mr.  Chen said protests and  rallies, like                                                               
journalism,  like  serving as  a  senator,  like filibusters  and                                                               
conversations with  families, are  tools used in  democracies for                                                               
making change.  He emphasized that  he, coming from  an immigrant                                                               
family, holds these  things dear. He urged  better definitions in                                                               
SB 255. He characterized the  bill as an overreach of government,                                                               
an   impingement  on   free  speech   and  he   encouraged  broad                                                               
opposition.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
2:27:18 PM                                                                                                                    
ANDRES CAMACHO,  representing self, Juneau, Alaska,  testified in                                                               
opposition to  SB 255. Mr.  Camacho affirmed prior  testimony and                                                               
noted  that  the expression  of  shared  values is  an  essential                                                               
promise of  this country.  He affirmed the  system of  checks and                                                               
balance that allows  for many ways to be heard,  in buildings and                                                               
rooms  like  this,  as  well  as in  greater  public  places.  He                                                               
expressed  appreciation for  the  opportunity to  demand, to  cry                                                               
out,  to  express  the  needs  and  values  of  a  community.  He                                                               
suggested that  there is  still a  lot to be  done to  fulfill an                                                               
essential promise  of this  country: to honor  the voices  of all                                                               
those that live  here. He said SB  255 strips away a  key part of                                                               
that process.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
2:29:36 PM                                                                                                                    
MICHAEL  GARVEY,  Advocacy  Director,  American  Civil  Liberties                                                               
Union (ACLU)  Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska, testified  in opposition                                                               
to  SB  255  on  behalf  of  the ACLU  in  Alaska.  He  said  the                                                               
organization is  wholly opposed to  the bill  and views it  as an                                                               
unconstitutional  and   overbroad  bill  that  would   chill  all                                                               
Alaskans' fundamental  rights to freedom of  speech and assembly.                                                               
By  creating  a  new  crime, increasing  penalties  for  existing                                                               
crimes  and establishing  extreme civil  penalties, SB  255 would                                                               
deter Alaskans  from exercising these rights.  The proposed civil                                                               
penalties,  which he  said  are  not based  on  actual losses  or                                                               
damages  and   could  apply  to   a  broad  range   of  behavior,                                                               
potentially  including sharing  information  about  a protest  on                                                               
social  media, are  the  minimum amounts  that  could be  imposed                                                               
without  having  to prove  that  a  person acted  negligently  or                                                               
unreasonably  or with  ill intent.  He said  this form  of strict                                                               
liability  likely means  that our  constitutional rights  to free                                                               
speech may  not be a  defense. Additionally, when  the government                                                               
regulates  speech and  expression, it  must do  so in  a narrowly                                                               
tailored way that satisfies a  compelling government interest. SB
255 was proposed  to prevent hypothetical scenarios  and is based                                                               
on  a right  to free  passage  that is  not found  in either  the                                                               
federal or  state constitution. He  further noted that,  in order                                                               
to  uphold  Alaskans' due  process  rights,  the government  must                                                               
clearly  define  conduct  that  it  prohibits.  Implementing  the                                                               
concept of  obstruction of  free passage  in public  places would                                                               
require law  enforcement and prosecutors  to make  judgment calls                                                               
about  what  conduct  qualifies [for  prosecution],  because  the                                                               
[current]  definition   could  capture  a  lot   of  unremarkable                                                               
activity.  He  said   the  standard  is  too   vague  to  clearly                                                               
understand  and too  subjective to  avoid uneven  enforcement. He                                                               
concluded that  SB 255 is  an overbroad  solution in search  of a                                                               
problem  and,  top  to  bottom,  a  violation  of  constitutional                                                               
rights. For these reasons, he said,  the ACLU of Alaska urges the                                                               
committee not to advance SB 255.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
2:31:40 PM                                                                                                                    
ED  MARTIN,  representing  self,   Kenai,  Alaska,  testified  in                                                               
opposition  to  SB 255.  Mr.  Martin  sought  to share  with  the                                                               
committee his findings that SB  255 originated with a publication                                                               
by the Yale Law Journal, 2014.  He said he was not surprised that                                                               
there have  been attempts  to limit  free speech,  assembly, free                                                               
access and choice of residence.  Mr. Martin expressed frustration                                                               
with local Kenai leadership that  reflected what he considered to                                                               
be similar attempts to limit citizens' rights.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:34:39 PM                                                                                                                    
PHIL  MOSER,  representing  self, Juneau,  Alaska,  testified  in                                                               
opposition  to SB  255. Mr.  Moser said  SB 255  would have  been                                                               
applicable to  the march  from Selma to  Montgomery and  to other                                                               
civil rights  efforts in the  1950's and  1960's. He said  he was                                                               
present  during  Juneau's  version  of the  Freedom  Convoy,  the                                                               
protest against  vaccinations in 2022.  He asserted that,  had SB
255 been  in effect for  that event, he  would have been  able to                                                               
sue  many  people  and  organizations,  including  several  state                                                               
legislators   and  community   leaders.  He   pointed  out   that                                                               
legislation which  is intended to  support one ideology  can also                                                               
be used to support opposing viewpoints.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:37:22 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR KAUFMAN closed public testimony on SB 255.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  KAUFMAN invited  questions from  committee members  noting                                                               
that individuals  representing Alaska State  Troopers, Department                                                               
of Transportation  and Public Facilities (DOTPF),  and Department                                                               
of Law are available to answer them.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
2:37:51 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR KIEHL asked whether there  is a state law that explicitly                                                               
permits the  Department of  Transportation and  Public Facilities                                                               
(DOTPF) to plow snow onto the sidewalks.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
2:38:18 PM                                                                                                                    
ANDY  MILLS, Legislative  Liaison,  Department of  Transportation                                                               
and   Public  Facilities   (DOTPF),   Juneau,  Alaska,   answered                                                               
questions during the  discussion of SB 255. Mr.  Mills offered to                                                               
find the regulations that address  berms and clearing of snow and                                                               
provide that to the committee.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:38:37 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  KIEHL   said  DOTPF  may  have   an  explicit  statutory                                                               
authorization, but the  City and Borough of Juneau  does not have                                                               
regulations  allowing  snowplow  drivers  to  pile  snow  on  the                                                               
sidewalks. He asked  whom to sue when his sidewalk  is plowed in,                                                               
whether the suit  would be against the drivers  in their personal                                                               
capacity for $10,000  each, or in their  professional capacity as                                                               
city employees.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
2:39:15 PM                                                                                                                    
PARKER  PATTERSON, Assistant  Attorney  General, Civil  Division,                                                               
Department  of  Law  (DOL), Juneau,  Alaska,  answered  questions                                                               
during  the discussion  of SB  255. Mr.  Patterson said  he would                                                               
have to  investigate city ordinances.  He said he would  get back                                                               
to the committee.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
2:39:34 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR KIEHL  said that  he checked with  the city  attorney and                                                               
there is no authorization.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MR. PATTERSON said  that he would have to  personally research it                                                               
before offering an opinion.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  KIEHL said  there may  be even  more overbreadth  in the                                                               
liability section than public testimony indicated today.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
2:40:35 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR KAUFMAN held SB 255 in committee.                                                                                         
#                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
2:41:00 PM                                                                                                                    
There being  no further  business to  come before  the committee,                                                               
Chair  Kaufman  adjourned   the  Senate  Transportation  Standing                                                               
Committee meeting at 2:41 p.m.                                                                                                  

Document Name Date/Time Subjects
HB 81 Sponsor Statement.pdf HFIN 5/4/2023 1:30:00 PM
STRA 3/21/2024 1:30:00 PM
HB 81
HB 81 Sectional Analysis .pdf HFIN 5/4/2023 1:30:00 PM
STRA 3/21/2024 1:30:00 PM
HB 81
HB 81 Fiscal Note DOA DMV 2.14.24.pdf STRA 3/21/2024 1:30:00 PM
HB 81
HB 81 Letters of Support.pdf STRA 3/21/2024 1:30:00 PM
HB 81
SB 255 Public Testimony recieved as of 3.20.24.pdf STRA 3/21/2024 1:30:00 PM
SB 255