Legislature(2021 - 2022)ADAMS 519
05/17/2022 09:00 AM House FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB5 | |
| HB31 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 5 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 31 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE
May 17, 2022
9:12 a.m.
9:12:55 AM
CALL TO ORDER
Vice-Chair Ortiz called the House Finance Committee meeting
to order at 9:12 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Dan Ortiz, Vice-Chair
Representative Ben Carpenter
Representative Andy Josephson
Representative Sara Rasmussen
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Neal Foster, Co-Chair
Representative Kelly Merrick, Co-Chair
Representative Bryce Edgmon
Representative DeLena Johnson
Representative Bart LeBon
Representative Steve Thompson
Representative Adam Wool
ALSO PRESENT
Lauree Morton, Self, Juneau; Kelly Goode, Deputy
Commissioner and Legislative Liaison, Department of
Corrections; Kelly Howell, Special Assistant and
Legislative Liaison, Department of Public Safety; John
Skidmore, Deputy Attorney General, Criminal Division,
Department of Law; Nancy Meade, General Counsel, Alaska
Court System.
PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE
Keely Olson, Standing Together Against Rape, Anchorage;
Kara Carlson, Deputy Director, Interior Alaska Center for
Nonviolent Living, Fairbanks; Traci McGarry, Director,
Child Advocacy Center and Child and Family Services, Nome;
Kathleen Navarre, Alaska School Activities Association,
Anchorage; Arika Paquette, Women in Safe Homes, Ketchikan;
Jessica Stossel, Executive Director, Center for Nonviolent
Living, Fairbanks; Samantha Cherot, Public Defender, Alaska
Public Defender Agency; James Stinson, Director, Office of
Public Advocacy; Jay Pea, President, Save Standard Time,
San Francisco; Dr. Andrew Binder, Sleep Specialist,
California.
SUMMARY
HB 5 SEXUAL ASSAULT; DEF. OF "CONSENT"
HB 5 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
HB 31 OBSERVE DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME ALL YEAR
HB 31 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
Vice-Chair Ortiz reviewed the meeting agenda.
HOUSE BILL NO. 5
"An Act relating to sexual abuse of a minor; relating
to sexual assault; relating to the code of military
justice; relating to consent; relating to the testing
of sexual assault examination kits; and providing for
an effective date."
9:13:26 AM
Vice-Chair Ortiz noted that the committee had last
considered the bill on May 12, 2022.
Vice-Chair Ortiz OPENED public testimony.
9:14:12 AM
LAUREE MORTON, SELF, JUNEAU, spoke in favor of the bill.
She stated that she currently worked for the Network on
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. She was not
identifying as a victim or survivor but as someone that
had lived through sexual assault. She informed the
committee that repare was a Latin word that was the
origin of rape. It meant to steal, seize, or carry away.
She interpreted the word to mean a person was property and
historically, if a woman was sexually assaulted a male
relative, father, brother, or husband had to seek justice
in a court. Presently, a woman was considered a person, but
the narrative had changed, and it was assumed a stranger
would be the perpetrator, which meant that a woman had to
act cautiously to avoid harm. She voiced that the belief
was bad girls were at the wrong place, at the wrong time,
with the wrong dress or attitude. She stated that rapists
could be a friend, brother, father, or husband. Currently
in Alaska, it was a person's burden to say "no" and if a
woman did not fight back and force was not used there was
not a prosecutable crime. She maintained that prosecuting
sex offences was an uphill struggle. The bill did not
intend to make prosecuting sex crimes easier it was meant
to make it right. She hoped the committee would define
consent as freely given and shorten the time rape kits were
processed. She implored the committee to not lessen the
current penalties for sexual assault crimes. She believed
that it did not matter the motivation of the perpetrator;
the victim had a life sentence, which was not okay. She
offered that it was past the time to move away from the
culture where a woman had to resist to one where permission
was needed. She thanked the committee for its time.
9:18:26 AM
AT EASE
9:23:23 AM
RECONVENED
The gavel was given to Representative Josephson as acting
chair. He continued with public testimony for HB 5.
KEELY OLSON, STANDING TOGETHER AGAINST RAPE, ANCHORAGE (via
teleconference), supported the bill and encouraged the
committee to pass the legislation. She thanked the sponsor
for the arduous work on the bill. She believed that the
clandestine approach taken in the House Judiciary
Committee (HJUD) to weaken sexual assault laws was
"appalling. She stated that when watching the House
Judiciary Committee, she had been horrified by some of the
willful ignorance of some of the members and the types of
questions they had asked. She contended that freely given
consent was the law in multiple states and force was
removed from the national definition of sexual assault in
the Uniform Crime Act in 2013. The idea that there should
be a law that consent should be freely given was not
controversial. She relayed that out of one thousand sexual
assault cases in Alaska less than one-third were referred
to the Department of Law (DOL) and one-third of that would
be accepted for prosecution. She stressed the need to
strengthen laws around sexual assault, not weaken them like
the HJUD version of the bill. She indicated that the bill
sponsor and the Department of Law had been working together
to pass the bill in the current legislative session. She
stressed that it fell to the House Finance Committee to
move the bill forward. She thanked Representative Josephson
for his insightful, thoughtful questions during the
previous bill hearing. She wanted to ensure the state was
moving forward not backward. In response to the question
about why the state had highest rates of sexual assault,
she would honestly answer the reason was the legislature
lacked the will to adopt new laws that protected their
constituents if HB 5 did not pass.
9:28:50 AM
KARA CARLSON, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, INTERIOR ALASKA CENTER FOR
NONVIOLENT LIVING, FAIRBANKS (via teleconference),
supported the legislation. She provided a definition of
consent that meant a freely given reversable agreement
specific to the conduct at issue. She explained that it
meant agreement to cooperate in the act positively
expressed by words or actions. She shared that when she was
15 years of age, without consent, she had been raped by an
older man. She reported the rape to law enforcement and was
subjected to a forensic exam. She stated that on the phone
with law enforcement the assailant admitted to the sexual
assault and that he had recorded the crime. Her assaulter
had never been prosecuted. She spoke in support of the
provisions in the bill and current penalties in statute.
She shared that her assailant had coerced her into drinking
alcohol. She supported the increased incapacitation
sentences. She had spent her entire adult life working to
support people who experienced sexual violence. She
reminded the committee that Alaska had the highest rates of
sexual assault in the nation, and she wanted the state to
take a strong stand against it.
9:30:44 AM
TRACI MCGARRY, Director, CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER AND CHILD
AND FAMILY SERVICES, NOME (via teleconference), favored the
legislation. She shared that she was also testifying for
Kawerak, a native non-profit organization in Nome. She
highlighted that Alaska had the highest rate of sexual
assault including child abuse. She asked the committee to
pass the legislation to address consent issues and the rape
kit timeline. She emphasized the importance of consent. She
stated the definition needed to be altered in Alaska law.
She thanked the sponsor for introducing the legislation.
9:32:26 AM
KATHLEEN NAVARRE, ALASKA SCHOOL ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATION,
ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), spoke in favor of HB 5. She
highlighted that the association currently had two
programs; Athletes as Leaders, and Coaching Boys into Men,
which they were promoting throughout the state. She
indicated that both evidence based programs included a
curriculum component on consent and healthy relationships.
She stated that consent was important in everyday life. She
advocated for a consistent definition of consent in order
to send the same message to young adults in Alaska through
programs like those offered by the association.
9:34:14 AM
ARIKA PAQUETTE, WOMEN IN SAFE HOMES (WISH), KETCHIKAN (via
teleconference), supported expedient passage of the bill.
She favored the bills definition of consent. She shared
that in her experience with WISH she had thousands of
interactions with students facilitating the Alaska Safe
Children's Act Lessons in schools across Southeast Alaska.
She indicated that the lesson included the bills
definition of consent. She shared that in the past she had
classrooms of seventh and eighth graders that had never
heard the word consent. In the current year, in every
classroom every student was aware of the definition of
consent. She was happy the state had supported education
informing students of the updated version of consent. She
hoped that in the following year she could tell the
students that the definition was in Alaska statute. She
supported the improved timeline of rape kit processing. She
believed that quicker prosecutions and moving victims
through the judicial process quicker could have a profound
impact on the victim and communities. She was strongly
opposed to a reduction in sexual assault crime penalties
from an unclassified felony to a class B felony that was
included by the House Judiciary Committee. She did not
believe lessening penalties was the message that needed to
be sent.
9:37:58 AM
Acting-Chair Josephson asked the Department of Corrections
to review the fiscal note.
KELLY GOODE, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER AND LEGISLATIVE LIAISON,
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, reviewed the published zero
fiscal note for the Department of Corrections (DOC), Alaska
Institution Director's Office (FN8 (COR). She reported that
should the bill pass, it was expected that the department
would accomplish any changes using existing resources.
Acting-Chair Representative Josephson returned to public
testimony.
9:40:37 AM
JESSICA STOSSEL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR NONVIOLENT
LIVING, FAIRBANKS (via teleconference), encouraged the
passage of the legislation. She shared that she had worked
with many victims during her career and reported that
there was nothing more devastating and life changing as
the violation of a sexual assault. She relayed how
difficult it was for a victim to fight the law to prove
that a victim said no. She felt that the current
statutory language was the wrong message to send
communities and victims. She urged the state to strengthen
the definition of consent. She favored the shortened time
for testing rape kits to 6 months rather than one year,
which increased the suffering of the victims.
9:42:27 AM
Acting-Chair Josephson CLOSED public testimony. He returned
to the review of fiscal notes.
KELLY HOWELL, SPECIAL ASSISTANT AND LEGISLATIVE LIAISON,
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, reviewed the Department of
Public Safety's (DPS) two fiscal notes. She began with the
published zero fiscal note allocated to Alaska State
Trooper Detachments (FN9 (DPS). She explained that the
changes made in the current version of the bill were
currently part of the sexual assault response and
investigation duties of the Alaska State Troopers. She
noted some additional training was necessary to educate the
troopers on the statute changes. The department expected
that the troopers could accomplish the tasks using existing
resources.
Acting-Chair Josephson asked to hear the department's
second fiscal note.
Ms. Howell reviewed DPSs published fiscal impact fiscal
note allocated to Laboratory Services (FN14 (DPS). She
indicated that the fiscal note addressed the sexual assault
examination kit provisions reducing the amount of time the
state crime lab must test a kit from one year to six
months. The fiscal note reflected the personnel staffing
cost of achieving that goal. She reported that the governor
had shortened the time to 90 days and added funding in the
FY 2023 budget request. Therefore, the fiscal note
addressed a 90-day turnaround time for testing sexual
assault kits.
9:45:15 AM
Acting-Chair Josephson noted that Vice-Chair Ortiz had
returned to the committee. He asked to hear the fiscal note
from the Department of Law.
JOHN SKIDMORE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL, CRIMINAL DIVISION,
DEPARTMENT OF LAW, spoke to the published fiscal impact
fiscal note for the Department of Law allocated to Criminal
Justice Litigation (FN13 (LAW). He explained that the
fiscal note reflected the need for additional positions.
Two positions were needed to develop training and practice
materials and then conduct trainings for prosecutors and
law enforcement across the state to prosecute under the new
definitions. The definition of consent was a significant
change in the law, and the bill expanded the scope of the
criminal statutes, therefore, it would likely result in
additional case referrals and additional cases filed. It is
also expected the new definition of consent would result in
additional litigation associated with sexual assault cases.
The Criminal Division also anticipates the need for four
additional prosecutors and four associated support staff
across the state to handle the expected increase in sexual
assault cases and additional litigation. He delineated that
three prosecutors and associate staff will be placed in the
offices that received the highest number of referrals for
sexual assault: Anchorage, Bethel, and Fairbanks. The
fourth attorney and support staff combination will be
placed in Special Prosecutions, also located in Anchorage,
to assist offices across the state with these offenses.
Acting-Chair Josephson asked if the personal services costs
could be used anywhere in the department or only in the
Criminal Division. Mr. Skidmore replied that the
appropriation was specifically for the Criminal Division
and could not be used in the Civil Division or the
Administrative Services Division. He furthered that the
appropriation could be moved around in the Criminal
Division, but the division was not in the habit of doing
something other than what was stated in the fiscal note. He
asserted that he intended to execute the appropriation
exactly as noted.
9:48:59 AM
Acting Chair Josephson asked to hear from the Public
Defender Agency.
SAMANTHA CHEROT, PUBLIC DEFENDER, ALASKA PUBLIC DEFENDER
AGENCY (via teleconference), reviewed the published fiscal
impact fiscal note for the Department of Administration
(DOA) allocated to the Public Defender Agency (DPA) (FN12
(ADM). She offered that the bill changed the definition of
consent as it related to sexual assault and established a
new crime, thus the agency anticipated an increased
workload based on the additional cases that would be filed
by DOL and more litigation throughout various stages of
sexual assault cases. She shared that the public defenders
handling sexual assault cases presently had the highest
workload in the agency. The fiscal note reflected the
request for six attorneys, two investigators, one
paralegal, and one law office assistant in FY 2023, and
beyond. The positions would be placed in Anchorage,
Fairbanks, Bethel, and other areas based on the volume of
the cases.
Acting-Chair Josephson noted that Representative Carpenter
had joined the meeting.
9:50:38 AM
JAMES STINSON, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF PUBLIC ADVOCACY (via
teleconference), reviewed the published fiscal impact
fiscal note for DOA allocated to the Office of Public
Advocacy (OPA) (FN11 (ADM). He communicated that his
comments mirrored Ms. Cherot's in terms of the need for the
additional resources. He spoke to four more specific
points. He discussed that the agency had a severe backlog
of cases due to the COVID pandemic and had not received any
new positions in the prior year. He elucidated that OPA's
structure organized multiple independent law firms under
one umbrella. Typically, he would add more resources for
in-house attorneys if the job market was good, but it was
not presently the case. He delineated that due to the
attorney shortage, if he requested more attorney positions
(PCN's) he would compete with the PDA for the small pool of
available hires. Therefore, he focused the request on
contract services. The fiscal note shored up the existing
"lease spaces" that currently existed, added one Attorney
IV Specialist that would work out of Anchorage, and updated
the contract line. He had recently increased its case
caps, but OPA has not updated its hourly rate of pay for
contract attorneys ($65-$95 an hour) since the early 1990s.
He shared that any attorneys willing to take the cases at
the low rates had informed OPA that they would not take any
additional cases beginning in July 2022. In order to find
contractors willing to accept these cases, OPA must
increase the hourly rate of pay.
Acting-Chair Josephson remarked on the request for $1
million more than the Public Defender Agency. He deemed
that the request was unusual because he was requesting more
for the agency's other shortfalls.
9:53:49 AM
NANCY MEADE, GENERAL COUNSEL, ALASKA COURT SYSTEM, reviewed
the Court System's published indeterminate fiscal note
(FN10 (CRT). She commented that the agencies were expecting
to file more cases for sexual felonies. The Court System
was unable to determine the number of new cases or what the
impacts would be.
Representative Rasmussen asked for a rough estimate of how
much one case generally cost. Ms. Mead replied that it was
impossible to estimate that information due to a tremendous
variation in cases and the number would be invalid.
9:55:09 AM
AT EASE
9:55:40 AM
RECONVENED
Acting-Chair Josephson indicated that amendments for HB 5
were due as soon as possible.
HB 5 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
HOUSE BILL NO. 31
"An Act relating to daylight saving time; and
providing for an effective date."
9:56:34 AM
Acting-Chair Josephson noted that it was the second hearing
for HB 31.
9:56:47 AM
AT EASE
9:57:09 AM
RECONVENED
Acting-Chair Josephson asked the members if they had
questions.
Representative Carpenter asked to briefly explain why he
chose Daylight Savings Time (DST) over Standard Time.
Vice-Chair Ortiz replied that there had been discussions
both nationwide and in Alaska regarding ending changing
clocks in the spring and fall. He relayed that his
constituents preferred longer daylight time in the summer
evenings mostly for economic reasons such as tourism and
fishing. Currently, Alaska had long daylight hours. He
offered the bill in support of his constituents.
Representative Carpenter asked if there was any analysis
whether children would benefit from the change or if
families preferred morning daylight. He wondered whether
there was a dilemma about whether the time change would
affect children and families negatively. Vice-Chair Ortiz
observed that children were already going to school in the
dark in his district. If HB 31 passed, children would go
home with daylight hours remaining. He was unaware of any
studies about being able to go to school in the light
versus the dark.
10:02:10 AM
Representative Rasmussen asked when the tourism business
started in Southeast Alaska. Vice-Chair Ortiz answered that
it began in early May. Representative Rasmussen observed
that given how much daylight was experienced by May, she
was unsure if an additional hour was necessary for
extending tourist activities. Vice-Chair Ortiz remarked
that extending daylight into the summer impacted tourism
later in the season. He noted that the tourism season was
solid until around the 24th of September and businesses
were impacted in their ability to do flight seeing and
ocean activities; they were curtailed due to lack of
daylight. He noted that typically cruise ships stayed in
Ketchikan until 10:00 P.M.
10:05:04 AM
Acting-Chair Josephson asked if the proposal meant Alaska
would still remain four hours from New York. Vice-Chair
Ortiz answered that part of the year the state would have a
three hour difference and part of the year it would be at a
four hour difference. Acting-Chair Josephson asked if the
state would be on Seattle time. Vice-Chair Ortiz answered
in the affirmative but noted that the bill would be enacted
when several West Coast states adopted permanent DST that
also had to be approved by the federal government.
10:06:07 AM
Acting Chair Josephson opened public testimony.
JAY PEA, PRESIDENT, SAVE STANDARD TIME, SAN FRANCISCO (via
teleconference), opposed the bill for several reasons. He
pointed out that in federal law, the Uniform Time Act,
Title 15 forbade permanent Daylight Savings Time, and it
could not be implemented without federal approval.
Permanent Standard Time was pre-approved by the federal
government. He underlined that Arizona, Hawaii, and all 5
US territories avoided the biannual time change by staying
on permanent Standard Time. He spoke to the health issues.
He maintained that many studies showed that permanent
daylight time impacted health and stated that some
countries tried it to ill effects. He voiced that permanent
daylight time was like "forcing ourselves to wake earlier
in the dark." He discussed current sunrises and sunsets in
Anchorage and did not think the extra evening daylight was
necessary. He did not support the legislation.
10:09:11 AM
DR. ANDREW BINDER, SLEEP SPECIALIST, CALIFORNIA (via
teleconference), opposed the legislation. He acknowledged
that it was universally agreed that many people loathed the
biannual time change. He stated that it created sleep
disorders. He listed some reasons his patients hated
changing clocks. He declared that permanent Daylight
Savings Time was a crime against human physiology. People
suffering with insomnia and mood disorders were exacerbated
by waking in the dark and needed to sleep more on weekends.
The bodys internal clock was set by sunlight. He believed
that it was dangerous for adolescents who were prone to
circadian misalignment. He opined that Arizona and Hawaii
lacked problems with tourism. He doubted there was a sleep
specialist who would defend permanent DST. He supported
permanent Standard Time.
Acting Chair Josephson CLOSED public testimony.
Representative Rasmussen commented that the bill would move
daylight to 11:00 A.M. in Anchorage in the winter. She did
not want her kindergarten aged son to have morning recess
in the dark at 10:45 A.M. She did not support the concept.
HB 31 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
Acting Chair Josephson notified members amendments for both
bills heard during the meeting were due as soon as
possible. He recessed the meeting [the meeting never
reconvened].
ADJOURNMENT
10:13:43 AM
The meeting was adjourned at 10:13 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 5 Public Testimony Rec'd by 051722.pdf |
HFIN 5/17/2022 9:00:00 AM |
HB 5 |