Legislature(2015 - 2016)GRUENBERG 120
03/23/2016 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| HB205 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 205 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
March 23, 2016
1:06 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Gabrielle LeDoux, Chair
Representative Wes Keller, Vice Chair
Representative Bob Lynn
Representative Charisse Millett
Representative Matt Claman
Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Neal Foster
Representative Kurt Olson (alternate)
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 205
"An Act relating to conditions of release; relating to community
work service; relating to credit toward a sentence of
imprisonment for certain persons under electronic monitoring;
relating to the restoration under certain circumstances of an
administratively revoked driver's license, privilege to drive,
or privilege to obtain a license; allowing a reduction of
penalties for offenders successfully completing court- ordered
treatment programs for persons convicted of driving under the
influence; relating to termination of a revocation of a driver's
license; relating to restoration of a driver's license; relating
to credits toward a sentence of imprisonment, to good time
deductions, and to providing for earned good time deductions for
prisoners; relating to early termination of probation and
reduction of probation for good conduct; relating to the rights
of crime victims; relating to the disqualification of persons
convicted of certain felony drug offenses from participation in
the food stamp and temporary assistance programs; relating to
probation; relating to mitigating factors; relating to treatment
programs for prisoners; relating to the duties of the
commissioner of corrections; amending Rule 32, Alaska Rules of
Criminal Procedure; and providing for an effective date."
- HEARD AND HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 205
SHORT TITLE: CRIMINAL LAW/PROCEDURE; DRIV LIC; PUB AID
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) MILLETT
04/17/15 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/17/15 (H) JUD, FIN
03/11/16 (H) JUD AT 12:30 AM GRUENBERG 120
03/11/16 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
03/12/16 (H) JUD AT 2:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
03/12/16 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
03/14/16 (H) JUD AT 12:30 AM GRUENBERG 120
03/14/16 (H) Heard & Held
03/14/16 (H) MINUTE (JUD)
03/16/16 (H) JUD AT 12:30 AM GRUENBERG 120
03/16/16 (H) Heard & Held
03/16/16 (H) MINUTE (JUD)
03/18/16 (H) JUD AT 12:30 AM GRUENBERG 120
03/18/16 (H) Heard & Held
03/18/16 (H) MINUTE (JUD)
03/21/16 (H) JUD AT 12:30 AM GRUENBERG 120
03/21/16 (H) Heard & Held
03/21/16 (H) MINUTE (JUD)
03/21/16 (H) JUD AT 5:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
03/21/16 (H) Heard & Held
03/21/16 (H) MINUTE (JUD)
03/22/16 (H) JUD AT 5:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
03/22/16 (H) Heard & Held
03/22/16 (H) MINUTE (JUD)
03/23/16 (H) JUD AT 12:30 AM GRUENBERG 120
03/23/16 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
WITNESS REGISTER
AL TAMAGNI
National Federation of Independent Business
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During the hearing of HB 205, offered
testimony.
BUTCH MOORE
Big Lake, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During the hearing of HB 205, discussed
possible amendments.
MELANIE BAHNKE, President
Kawerak, Inc.
Nome, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During the hearing of HB 205, offered
support for the bill.
MARNA SANDFORD
Tanana Chief's Conference
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During the hearing of HB 205, offered
support for the bill.
CATIN WALSH
Community United for Safety and Protection (CUSP)
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During the hearing of HB 205, was unable to
testify due to technical difficulties.
VICKY WALNER
Stop Valley Thieves
Palmer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During the hearing of HB 205, discussed
property crimes.
MARTY KINCAID
Palmer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During the hearing of HB 201, discussed
driving licenses.
HELEN CROOM
Sterling, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During the hearing of HB 205, spoke in
opposition.
JANET MCCABE
Partners for Progress
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During the hearing of HB 205, offered
support.
TERRA BURNS
Community United for Safety and Protection (CUSP)
Nenana, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During the hearing of HB 205, offered
support.
RIC LANNOLINO
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During the hearing of HB 205, discussed
aspects of the bill.
ROBYN LANGLIE, Executive Director
Victims for Justice
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During the hearing of HB 205, offered
concern.
NIKKI HINES, Coordinator
Fairbanks Reentry Coalition
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During the hearing of HB 205, discussed
reentry.
MARY SATTLER, Lobbyist
Alaska Regional Coalition
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During the hearing of HB 205, offered
support.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:06:55 PM
CHAIR GABRIELLE LEDOUX called the House Judiciary Standing
Committee meeting back to order [from recess] at 1:06 p.m.
Representatives Claman, Keller, Lynn, Millett, and LeDoux were
present at the call to order. Representative Kreiss-Tomkins
arrived as the meeting was in progress.
HB 205-CRIMINAL LAW/PROCEDURE; DRIV LIC; PUB AID
1:07:45 PM
CHAIR LEDOUX announced that the only order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 205, "An Act relating to conditions of release;
relating to community work service; relating to credit toward a
sentence of imprisonment for certain persons under electronic
monitoring; relating to the restoration under certain
circumstances of an administratively revoked driver's license,
privilege to drive, or privilege to obtain a license; allowing a
reduction of penalties for offenders successfully completing
court- ordered treatment programs for persons convicted of
driving under the influence; relating to termination of a
revocation of a driver's license; relating to restoration of a
driver's license; relating to credits toward a sentence of
imprisonment, to good time deductions, and to providing for
earned good time deductions for prisoners; relating to early
termination of probation and reduction of probation for good
conduct; relating to the rights of crime victims; relating to
the disqualification of persons convicted of certain felony drug
offenses from participation in the food stamp and temporary
assistance programs; relating to probation; relating to
mitigating factors; relating to treatment programs for
prisoners; relating to the duties of the commissioner of
corrections; amending Rule 32, Alaska Rules of Criminal
Procedure; and providing for an effective date."
[Before the House Judiciary Standing Committee was CSHB 205,
labeled 29-LS0896\H, adopted in the 3/14/16 meeting.]
CHAIR LEDOUX continued public testimony and advised that
testimony is limited to three minutes per speaker.
1:09:16 PM
AL TAMAGNI, National Federation of Independent Business,
referred to the felony theft threshold increase from $500 to
$2,000 and noted it is a 267 percent increase, which affects
individuals, local and state government and others. In the
event there is any increase, he asked whether the legislature
had obtained statistical information from the Anchorage Police
Department (APD) in that he was aware of an APD annual report
depicting the types of crime committed, and that the committee
may want to review that information on the internet. He
suggested that if the legislature is going to increase the
allowance up to $2,000, from a thief's perspective that is
pretty good because they can almost steal three times as much
and pay the same amount of fine which, he described is not good
public policy. In the event that happens, he suggested that the
fines should be increased by 267 percent and increase that
amount at three percent annually. Due to the increase in fines,
one-third could go to the state, one-third to the citing entity,
and one-third to compensate the victims for their losses. He
noted that this is a huge jump with no statistics presented here
locally to indicate what the numbers are from the last increase
up to $500. He recommended that if the legislature increases
any value to the allowance beyond what it currently is, that the
committee contact someone from the Anchorage Police Department.
1:12:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MILLETT related that this is a policy call this
committee would have to make on the increase of theft and its
impact on the private sector and businesses. She said she is
keeping his remarks in mind while moving forward.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN stated he anticipates an amendment with a
threshold of $750.
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER surmised that Mr. Tamagni's testimony was
if the threshold is raised, the committee should consider
balancing the fine level. He offered to explore that suggestion
further.
MR. TAMAGNI put forth that if there will be an increase to
$2,000 which is a 267 percent increase, the fines should be
equally raised by 267 percent, and to increase that amount at
three percent annually.
1:14:05 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN asked his current understanding of the
maximum fines for misdemeanors.
MR. TAMAGNI responded that he is not certain of the maximum, and
that possibly Representative Claman could assist.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN noted that Mr. Tamagni had proposed an
interesting idea so he took a quick look at AS 12.55.035,
wherein the maximum fine for a class A misdemeanor is $10,000.
He then offered a scenario of raising the potential fine level
from $10,000 to $20,000, and asked whether Mr. Tamagni would be
comfortable with raising the threshold amount for felonies.
MR. TAMAGNI asked how much.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN explained that the proposal is to raise
the felony level to $2,000, wherein a misdemeanor is less than
$2,000. He referred to his question that if the fine level for
misdemeanors was raised from $10,000 to $20,000, thereby giving
the judge the authority to possibly fine at ten times the amount
the person was stealing, and asked whether he would be
comfortable with increasing the felony theft threshold.
1:15:42 PM
MR. TAMAGNI said it would be acceptable only if it was raised to
$1,000 to $1,500, with the provision that one-third of the
increase would go to the courts, one-third to the citing agency,
and one-third to the victim.
MR. TAMAGNI, in response to Representative Claman, answered that
he was referring to the fine.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN explained that the discussion is going
from $10,000 to $20,000, which is much more than $1,500.
MR. TAMAGNI asked about the percentages being equal.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN offered a scenario of making the
percentage equal, the equal percentage would raise the fine
level to a maximum fine level of $25,000 so it was a
proportional increase in the fine, and asked whether he would be
comfortable with the felony theft threshold.
MR. TAMAGNI offered that it would be something to consider.
1:16:50 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER asked the two attorneys on the committee
whether there is a possibility of building restitution options
into a section of law particular to this that would specify the
damages going to the business owner.
CHAIR LEDOUX advised that this discussion could take place after
public testimony is completed, and commented that it would be a
good idea.
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER said he just wanted it on the record and
did not expect a discussion at this time.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN deferred to the Department of Law, or
Public Defender's Office to discuss how restitution is
incorporated.
1:18:31 PM
BUTCH MOORE, said he is the father of Bree Moore, and noted that
HB 44 was sponsored by Charisse Millett and he thanked the
committee for passing the bill to keep our children safe. He
referred to a 3/22/16 email from him containing seven items that
could be possible amendments. He said he and his wife spent
time with Ann Seymour of the PEW Charitable Trust and they agree
with the three components it recommended, as follows: taking the
lesser offenders and giving them a lesser sentence to not create
criminals that just made a mistake; reinvestment and
reintegrating people back into the community to educate and
prevent crime; and become harsher on the most violent offenders.
1:19:52 PM
MR. MOORE related that the purpose of HB 205 is to save money
and accomplish those three different items. He noted that SB 91
includes changes that it do not apply to anyone convicted of an
unclassified felony, sexual felony, or a crime involving
domestic violence so that would exclude the easier sentencing
for these people. He offered testimony as follows:
Another item that I have is number six and, I think it
is very important, and I can use it to apply directly
to our situation is that when someone is by court
order put on parole or probation they have an alcohol
restriction, which means they cannot consume alcohol.
Their license should be surrendered. In other words,
when they check out of jail or when they're bailed,
they should not have their license given back to them.
Um, they should be given a state ID or a driver's
license with the red bars on it that say "alcohol
prohibited." In our particular case, Josh Almeda
walked into a liquor store and bought a bottle of
alcohol, got drunk, and killed our daughter. He was
on probation and he was on alcohol restriction but
they had not taken his license away. So, that was
number six on my list.
We have Cindy scheduled to speak next and if she'll
let me speak for her. She's asked me if I would speak
for her because she's not feeling like talking today,
if that's acceptable.
CHAIR LEDOUX replied, certainly.
Um, I think the biggest thing that we need to address,
and the purpose for this bill is to save money, and to
help our society in general not to create criminals
where we have been. And so, I think, and correct me
if I'm wrong, but our prison population has doubled in
the last ten years. The majority of that is pretrial,
people awaiting trial and awaiting sentencing. And,
Josh Almeda, who killed our daughter, is a perfect
example. If it was not for our persistence and the
pressure that we've applied to the prosecutor's office
and to the defense attorney, we wouldn't be as far
along in the process as we are now. We're coming up
on two years, Josh Almeda still has not been
sentenced. So, when we look at the problem that we
have and the overcrowding that we have in our prisons,
let's look at really where the problem is. And, the
problem is 93 percent of that increase are -- are
people awaiting trial, or awaiting sentencing,
defendants. And, the strategy, just like the defense
attorney for Josh Almeda, Andrew Lambert has another
murder trial down in Kenai and his only strategy, the
only way that a ... these defense attorneys can run
these cases are to put the cases off as long as
possible where the witnesses, the detectives, the
prosecutors, the judges will quit, die, retire, get
fired, move, or forget. And so, it is a benefit to
the defense attorney and the defendant to put it off
as long as possible. And what my suggestion is, and
what I would submit to you, is the overcrowding in the
prisons that we have are people awaiting trial. And
so, if we were to say that if, and we have -- a
statute that says we, as a victim and the defendant
have a right to a speedy disposition, which is 120
days. So, in the case of Josh Almeda, he did not
plead guilty until over a year after the offense. So,
if he was only to be given 120 days' worth of jail
time credit towards his final sentence he would have
motivation to get out of jail. In other words, if
he's in jail for three years and he only gets credit
for 120 days, then all these defendants would be
pressuring and pushing their attorneys to get them
into -- into trial immediately. That's where the
overcrowding is and that's what's happened in our case
with Josh Almeda and many other defendants. And the
other thing I would submit with that, is if they are
in jail for three years or two years, and I talked to
the district attorney's office today and they have
some cases that have gone five and six years where the
state is paying to house defendants. And, after -- if
after 120 days the defendants are screaming at their
attorneys saying "I'm not getting any credit for this
time, so if I'm sentenced to ten years and I've been
in jail for five, I effectively only get 120 days'
worth of credit." This is where all the pressure and
all the overcrowding is. And I think that there's a
way that we can pass a law, we can eliminate the
majority of the changes in HB 205, and SB 91, and
really address what the problem is. It'll be better
for victims because they'll get a speedier
disposition. The people you're going to get the
objections from are going to be the defense attorneys
because they will not be able to drag these -- these
times out where they're coming up with two and three
and four and five years billing their clients and
their client's families the whole time. And in
addition, maybe we should consider billing the
defendants if they're found guilty for the additional
time past 120 days if it's continued at their a -- at
their request or their attorneys request.
MR. MOORE noted that he was unable to address all of the
suggestions contained within his email, and the committee will
find they are good suggestions.
CHAIR LEDOUX thanked Mr. and Mrs. Moore for their testimony and
their suggestions. She noted that she was a co-sponsor on HB 44
and offered her condolences on their loss.
1:26:59 PM
MELANIE BAHNKE, President, Kawerak, Inc., said she is the co-
chair of the Council for Advancement of Alaska Natives, a
committee of the Alaska Federation of Natives. She explained
that the Council is comprised of the presidents of the 12
regional non-profit tribal consortiums throughout the state.
She related that they support HB 205 as it will help to restore
healthy communities, improve public safety, save the state
money, and expand treatment and services. She further related
that a couple of weeks ago, staff from the Anvil Mountain
Correctional Center attended a joint health corporation and
board meeting, and the information they shared highlighted the
need for changes to the criminal justice system. She pointed
out that the vast majority of inmates within Alaska's jails are
Alaska Natives with low incomes, and most are incarcerated due
to alcohol related crimes and suffering from substance abuse and
mental health issues. Anecdotally, she said, the local crime
blotter weekly shows a high number of people listed for
probation violations. A few months ago, the Alaska Mental
Health Trust Authority visited the region, and at that point
Commission Taylor was heading up the Department of Corrections.
A comment Commissioner Taylor related struck her in that, "his
department is basically the largest mental health and substance
abuse facility in the State of Alaska, but without the resources
for substance abuse and mental health treatment," she said. She
reiterated that she supports HB 205, and especially within every
provision that aligns with the Alaska Criminal Justice
Commission report issued December 2015.
1:30:06 PM
MARNA SANDFORD, Tanana Chief's Conference, said that the Tanana
Chief's Conference is in support of HB 205. She referred to
some of the concerns presented today, and expressed that it is
important for the committee to remember that communities are
looking to the legislators as leaders to help Alaskans do the
right thing here. As members of the community, they can often
be afraid that these kinds of bills are just going to be handing
the keys to the jail to people. Although, she said, everyone in
Alaska can go the web site of the Alaska Criminal Justice
Commission and review the studies. She pointed out that the
current criminal justice system has not worked and until
everyone buys in together as Alaskans to allow these changes to
take place Alaska won't have less victims. The state will
continue to have more, and more victims if the state continues
to operate within its current system. She encouraged the
committee to keep the version in front of them intact and not
water it down because it will make many positive changes and
once Alaskans allow the provisions to get moving and see the
effects, in that all Alaskans will be better off.
1:32:02 PM
CATIN WALSH, Community United for Safety and Protection (CUSP),
said they are a group of current [technical difficulties].
CHAIR LEDOUX advised Ms. Walsh that her testimony was difficult
to decipher and asked her to start from the beginning.
MS. WALSH offered to call back on another line.
1:34:10 PM
VICKY WALNER, Stop Valley Thieves, said that Stop Valley Thieves
is based in the Valley and is an online group similar to a
neighborhood watch group with approximately 11,000 members. She
stressed that the group encourages vigilance and not vigilantes.
She put forth that she speaks on behalf of the victims of
property crimes, and noted that the focus of this bill is on
low-level non-violent offenders, such as property crime. Due to
property crime being considered a non-violent offense, little
consideration is given to the impact of property crime on its
victims. Yet, she offered, that impact is financial, emotional,
physical, spiritual, the ripple effect of property crime on
neighborhoods, communities, people such as Mid-Town, Mountain
View, Meadow Lakes, is very real and it erodes and tears the
social fabric of communities. Property crime accounts for 81
percent of the crime in Alaska, she stated, but only 17 percent
of the people incarcerated are there due to property crimes, and
this bill will lower the levels of incarceration even more.
Victims of property crimes feel helpless and hopeless when they
report a burglary or a car theft because there may not be a
physical police response, only a telephone call, and
fingerprints are not taken, no pictures, and most people believe
no one cares. The provisions lowering the threshold of class C
felony theft is not only insulting to victims of property crime,
but it reinforces the belief that they not real people who have
been harmed. She asked, who cares and since when should the
majority of offenders no longer be held accountable for their
actions. People on the street are asking for treatment who have
not committed a crime and can't get into the limited beds
available because the state is clogging them up with court
ordered offenders. She asked why the state can't hold offenders
accountable by putting them in jail and giving the carrot of
incentive by linking their early release to in-house programs
which are being underutilized, such as the Residential Substance
Abuse Program (RSAP), and the Life Success Substance Abuse
Treatment (LSSAT). Last year only 601 prisoners completed LSSAT
and only 152 completed RSAP and worse yet, she point out, only
23 offenders last year got their GED. There are comments that
the prisons are full with the ten year increase of prison
population but, she encouraged the committee to look at the five
year prison population wherein the population increased by 124
individuals. She stated that from 2013 to 2015 the state
increased its prison population by three people. Therefore, the
state is making headway in reducing the population with House
Bill 50 and Senate Bill 64, and the state can reduce it in this
bill by enacting the barriers to reentry and the DMV portion.
She stressed that this bill is opposed by the Anchorage Police
Department Employees Association, the Alaska Peace Officers
Association, a number of small law enforcement agencies, and the
Office of Victims' Rights because they are concerned about
public safety.
1:40:24 PM
MARTY KINCAID, read her testimony as follows:
I want to just read cause it'll make concise what I
wrote to my senators and representatives concerning SB
91, HB 205, and HB 276. I am so thankful for the
above-referenced bills that are before the legislature
regarding the current DUI laws. My concern is for the
individuals who have previously lost their license for
life. Do these bills provide any hope for them?
Understandably, public safety is of the highest
concern but there should be a balance between
corrective punishment and providing opportunities for
men and women to be restored. Currently, individuals
that have had three or more DUIs within a ten year
period are branded as a class B felony and have lost
their license for life with the possibility of
restoration after ten years. What has happened to
these men and women that have floundered within the
system as treatment programs were unavailable at the
time. The goal of any new legislation should allow
past offenders the same opportunity as present or
future violators to be healed and restored as
productive members to their families and the
community.
And then I wrote this to Representative Tilton in
response to the HB 93 that she mentioned, or the
Frontiersman mentioned, and uh in talking about the
house bill as being fine in keeping from employment.
And I said, one critical area in finding and keeping
gainful employment is the ability to drive. Losing
one's license for life suffocates any possibility of
attaining that employment. Along with checking off
the box that the applicant has been convicted of a
felony greatly inhibits the possibility of even a job
interview. There needs to be measures in place to
balance public safety with redeeming productive lives
for past, present, and future offenders. Treatment,
restrictive license, ignition monitors, etc., are some
possibilities. And Butch Moore had an excellent idea
about marking a driver's license with red bars or
something so they weren't able to buy any alcohol.
And um, the other thought I had on this was that when
there is no harm to person or property, maybe there
should be different levels or degrees of offense so
that not all DUI offenders are thrown into losin [sic]
license for life and a class B felony, when there has
been no harm to person or property. Um, thank you
very much. Any questions?
1:43:32 PM
HELEN CROOM said she has lived in Sterling for 38 years and the
town has had a tremendous amount of property theft. She pointed
to the DUI provision and related that her mother was blind and
rode a taxi to work, and she agrees with Mr. Moore's suggestion
of 120 days. Property stolen that amounts to $750 may not be
much too some people, but "I'm going to tell you somethin,
that's money at our house. And to say they've got to steal
$2,000 worth of stuff from us before they're really held
accountable is just absolutely unacceptable in my opinion." She
related that the reinvestment piece is a program that will be
cut somewhere down the road, and it has no weight whatsoever for
her. All it will do is increase victims and possibly decrease
the prison population, which she stated she did not believe was
true, it will just go back to paying victims which means the
state will be raising more and more victims. This bill makes it
difficult for the public to maintain their own property and
difficult for law enforcement, who are against this bill. She
related that she is 100 percent against this bill as it is going
in the wrong direction, and that reentry and rehabilitation
should take place in-house. She said that reentry should be
community based, and opined that it should be Alaska
Correctional Ministries, Teen Challenge, and the state should be
able to rally other organizations to take it over and it may
relieve some of the cost.
1:48:19 PM
JANET MCCABE, Partners for Progress, responded that the Board of
Directors for Partners for Progress is in full support of HB
205. Adoption of this omnibus reform bill would make Alaska one
of the leaders in change that has long been needed by Alaska,
and the nation. This bill is the result of a large amount of
research and study by the PEW Charitable Trust, public safety,
and the justice reinvestment group who partnered with the Alaska
Criminal Justice Commission. She said, the PEW Charitable Trust
used a multi-variant analysis which is the highest standard of
research, it simply means looking at a topic from different
perspectives and studies to assure the accuracy of the findings.
As a result, their recommendations are solidly based on
excellent evidence and changes in the bill will have a positive
outcome for public safety and cost savings. Partners for
Progress sees the primary benefits of this bill in five
categories, as follows: for the state's budget by avoiding
expenditure for the expanded prison capacity; for overall public
safety by reducing crime; for victims by preventing additional
victimization and facilitating payment of restitution; for the
welfare of the individual's families and children involved; and
for the good of the whole community that is Alaska.
1:51:22 PM
TERRA BURNS, Community United for Safety and Protection (CUSP),
said Community United for Safety and Protection (CUSP) is a
group of former and current Alaskan sex workers, sex trafficking
victims, and its allies, working toward safety and protection
for everyone in Alaska's sex industry, and offered testimony as
follows:
We're strongly in support of HB 205. House Bill 205
is a timely fix to statutes that no longer serve
Alaskans. House Bill 205 is an important step that
has to be taken now in light of evidence based
research in combination with Alaska's reduced
financial circumstances. We don't want Alaska to end
up like California with no money and a prison system
in federal receivership. We support HB 205 also
because there are members of our community who are
serving really long prison sentences for, you know,
what are defined as crimes against public decency.
And if HB 205 passed it would allow those members of
our community to be at home with their children. Um,
and to not, you know, have them lose their housing and
become a burden on the state when they get out of
prison. We would like to see language added to HB 205
to address the needs of victims and witnesses of crime
by including language from SB 21. Senate Bill 21
clarifies that -- clarifies and updates the intent of
the prostitution statute and expands public safety by
including 16 violent crimes that victims or witnesses
would be allowed to report without the threat of being
charged with prostitution, um, and this is needed. I
did research at UAF in my graduate degree in 2014, I
consulted with 48 people who had worked recently in
Alaska's sex trade. Seventy-four percent of them said
that they had been the victim or witness of a crime
that they did not report because they were afraid of
being charged with prostitution. Of the sub-group of
people who did try to report crimes and who could also
be defined, federally, as sex trafficking victims, 80
percent of them said that they were turned away by the
police, and 60 percent said they were reported -- or
threatened with arrest, and 33 percent were actually
arrested while they were trying to report that they
had been the victim or witness of a crime.
We urge your support for HB 205, and ask you to please
include the language from SB 21. It is against our
Alaskan values to allow criminals to target our most
vulnerable community members with impunity. Um, and
in considering amending HB 205 with the language to
protect victims from [HB] 205, we ask you to please
include five additional crimes that people should be
able to report without being charged, um, extortion,
coercion, and robbery are the crimes that are most
frequently committed against sex workers and sex
trafficking victims. And then while they are less
common we think it's also really important that people
be able to report sexual assault of a minor, or
possession or distribution of child pornography
without -- you know, with confidence that they will
not be charged with prostitution as a result of making
that report. Reconfiguring the many statutes in HB
205 are a priority and so must be protecting Alaska's
most vulnerable with language from SB 21 in this
Twenty-Ninth legislative session.
Thank you so much for hearing my testimony and I am
available for any questions.
1:55:07 PM
RIC LANNOLINO said he is retired and testifying on his own
behalf. His background includes being a previous board member
for Juneau Alliance for Mental Health, and the coordinator for
the Fetal Alcoholic Spectrum Diagnostic Clinic. Clearly, he
related, when the PEW Charitable Trust and the Alaska Criminal
Justice Commission is performing evidenced based research, the
information is solid. Speaking within his experiences with
clients when he was with the clinic, he said that a large number
of his adult clients with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
were in and out of prison for low-level crimes with a lot of
expense to the system. He noted that house arrest and
electronic monitoring worked well with their clients, people who
had businesses, people who were working could keep their jobs,
and it kept the community safe. He said he takes classes at the
University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) and knows there are
students who are successful and their electronic monitor allows
them to go to class and to housing, and that is all they can do.
Eventually, he noted, the students get off electronic monitoring
and are successful students with high grades. He related that
he takes a UAS class in the prison that is half students, and
half inside students.
1:56:58 PM
MR. LANNOLINO pointed out that treatment care services and after
care services related to reentry are vital in this bill. The
entire country is dealing with geriatric offenders who are old,
some can't walk, and have expensive medical bills. He related
that these offenders shouldn't be in an institutional setting
with the costs and budget issues Alaska faces as they can return
safely to the community. When his clients went into prison, he
pointed out, they went to the school for scoundrels and learned
anti-social coping mechanisms. These people came out with
criminal friends who set them up to perform crimes because they
didn't understand the consequences of their actions due to the
brain damage with FASD. He wanted to keep his clients out of
prison as prison was not appropriate, but there weren't other
places for them at that time. Alaska needs to use some of these
other mechanism that the bill provides, he stressed.
1:58:30 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN pointed to testimony offered last night and
said that at least one sex offender had been arrested by this
testifier who committed a sex offense to a child while in a
wheelchair. He related that it does happen regardless of age.
1:59:38 PM
ROBYN LANGLIE, Executive Director, Victims for Justice, said her
main concern is the reinvestment portion of HB 205 and SB 91,
which has been discussed as the main component of the criminal
justice reinvestment by putting that money back into the system.
She urged the committee to not get caught up in the fiscal
crunch of the state and to consider the fact that Alaska does
need to put the money back into mental health. It is known that
the Department of Corrections is the biggest provider of mental
health in the state currently. More sex offender training must
be provided, more substance abuse programs, and she noted that
heroin is on the rise, and alcohol has been a consistent problem
for many years. Without reinvestment, this bill will not go
anywhere and her concern is that nothing is actually outlined in
the bill or outlined in the fiscal notes. The Alaska criminal
system is broken for the offenders, victims, and that everyone
wants to see it changed but changed in a responsible and
respectful manner for all people and especially victims, she
said.
2:01:53 PM
CHAIR LEDOUX noted that the reinvestment piece will be discussed
next week. She stressed that the bill is not moving without the
reinvestment component and that the legislature is fully aware
of how critical that piece is to the bill.
2:02:36 PM
NIKKI HINES, Coordinator, Fairbanks Reentry Coalition, described
herself as the person who sits face-to-face with the reentrants
prior to their release to the halfway house. Of great concern
to her is the allowance of a license and earning the privilege
back of having a driver's license. In speaking with the
inmates, they see zero hope in being able to return back into
the community and provide a stable work environment, attending
to probation requirements or doctor's appointments, and the
normal things a person does throughout the day that requires
having a car. Public transportation in Fairbanks is not
conducive to someone trying to get back into the community and
she related that riding a bike is difficult during the winter
months. She said she fully supports allowing for the
reinstatement of the driver's license after completion of their
conditions.
2:04:31 PM
MARY SATTLER, Lobbyist, Alaska Regional Coalition, said the
Alaska Regional Coalition represents tribes from five regions
and the Coalition is united behind the comments previously
stated by the Kawerak Region and the Tanana Chiefs Council. She
said her organization believes that criminals should be held
accountable, but it is also interested in making sure that
people who have found themselves involved in the criminal
justice system can find their way home, and the Coalition is
interested in making sure there are healthy communities. The
impact to victims is not lost on them because many of the
victims of these crimes are family members and friends within
their own communities. The Coalition wants to make sure that
all Alaskans can be productive citizens and can seek the
treatment many need, and it supports this legislation, she said.
2:06:19 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER put forth that the Department of
Corrections (DOC) will be working on risk assessment tools and
he encouraged her organization to work with DOC to make sure
those risk assessment tools are appropriate for the needs in
rural Alaska.
MS. SATTLER advised that they are looking forward to working
with the Department of Corrections on the tools it will be
using.
2:07:45 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 2:07 p.m. to 2:08 p.m.
2:08:07 PM
CHAIR LEDOUX after ascertaining no one further wished to
testify, advised that public testimony would be held open.
[HB 205 was held over.]
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Judiciary Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 2:08 p.m.
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