Legislature(1997 - 1998)
03/25/1998 09:03 AM Senate HES
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SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE
March 25, 1998
9:03 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Gary Wilken, Chairman
Senator Loren Leman, Vice-Chairman
Senator Lyda Green
Senator Jerry Ward
Senator Johnny Ellis
MEMBERS ABSENT
None
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 335
"An Act replacing the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act with
the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act; and
amending Rules 4 and 62, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, and Rule
205, Alaska Rules of Appellate Procedure."
PASSED HB 335 OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION
HB 335 - No previous Senate committee action.
WITNESS REGISTER
Patti Swenson
Staff to Representative Con Bunde
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, Alaska 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified for sponsor of HB 335
Representative Con Bunde
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, Alaska 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of HB 335
Deborah Behr
Assistant Attorney General
Department of Law
P.O. Box 110300
Juneau, Alaska 99811-0300
POSITION STATEMENT: Explained the provisions of HB 335
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 98-28, SIDE A
Number 001
CHAIRMAN WILKEN called the Senate Health, Education and Social
Services (HESS) Committee to order at 9:03 a.m. Present were
Senators Green, Ellis, and Chairman Wilken.
HB 335 - UNIFORM INTERSTATE CHILD CUSTODY ACT
PATTI SWENSON, staff to Representative Con Bunde, stated HB 335
addresses the problem of interstate child custody. It is intended
to give swift, sure enforcement of court ordered custody or
visitation inexpensively and, in most cases, without a lawyer.
Alaska's current statute, known as the Uniform Child Custody
Jurisdiction Act, has not been revised since 1968. The new act,
the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act
(UCCJEA), revises the current statute and adds needed enforcement
provisions. HB 335 is advantageous to custodial and non-custodial
parents. It addresses modern communications, domestic violence
orders, the Kidnaping Act, and other problems that frequently
occur. The UCCJEA's enforcement provisions will also prevent the
confusion and delay that parents or guardians experience when
conflicting court orders from different states are at issue. Under
current law, a parent with a valid visitation or custodial order
has to go through a long and expensive court process to get an
order enforced which can result in indefinite delays. These delays
often result in the custodial parent waiting for months or years to
see their child. The revised UCCJEA allows a person with a valid
order to register it and give a certified copy to the other court.
The court can then quickly hold a hearing to decide to honor the
order or to decide that the order needs to be modified in the
original state of issue. Alaska's current statute allows each
state to use different paperwork and time frames for the
enforcement of orders. The revised UCCJEA makes paperwork and time
frames consistent in all states with the intent of enabling parents
to do the necessary paperwork without hiring a lawyer and bearing
the associated costs. HB 335 is important for those who will be
involved in custody disputes. Children will benefit from the
security it will give them, and parents will not be able to
manipulate court orders in an effort to gain custody of a child, or
to keep a child from seeing the other parent.
Number 070
SENATOR GREEN asked Ms. Swenson to provide an example of what
problem HB 335 will correct.
MS. SWENSON replied Deborah Behr of the Department of Law could
better address that question.
CHAIRMAN WILKEN asked what prompted Representative Bunde to
introduce this legislation.
MS. SWENSON answered that Representative Bunde liked the fact that
it would be a uniform bill passed in all 50 states and it would
prevent the type of manipulation of court orders that is occurring
in which a child can be taken out of state and not returned.
Number 084
DEBORAH BEHR, Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Law
and a Uniform Law Commissioner for the State of Alaska, explained
she was one of nine attorneys selected nationwide to participate on
a task force to update the Uniform Child Custody Act. Uniform Law
Commissioners are appointed in all 50 states, the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Alaska has been a
member since 1912. The Uniform Law Commission (ULC) is comprised
of judges, lawyers, private attorneys, and others. Its goal is to
get representatives of all states together to vote on recommended
interstate acts and to get those laws enacted in all 50 states. HB
335 is not a federal mandate; it only deals with interstate actions
so it will not affect families with both parents living in Alaska.
HB 335 took two years to draft; domestic violence advocates,
father's rights groups, and family law judges observed this bill
during that time. The bill is advantageous to both custodial and
non-custodial parents, because enforcement of existing court orders
is in the best interest of the child until the order is modified.
HB 335 contains a provision that allows a court order change if
domestic violence has occurred. The Uniform Law Commissioners of
all 50 states voted in favor of this legislation because it
establishes which court gets to decide, and how to quickly enforce
a valid order. The bill does not deal with the substantive rights
of parents or child suppport.
MS. BEHR gave the following example of the type of problem this
bill attempts to address. A couple marries in Alaska and has a
child. The couple divorces in Alaska five years later. The mother
moves to Washington with the child for four months, then decides to
move to California. Four months later, a dispute about visitation
occurs. HB 335 will determine which court will decide whether the
court order needs to be modified. Under existing law, a California
court would probably decide that Alaska has lost its home state
jurisdiction because the child has been out of the state for more
than six months. If HB 335 was enacted, the Alaska court would
decide because Alaska was the home state, one parent remains here,
and the court has records and information on the case. If the
child has been out of state for a long time and there is better
information elsewhere, the Alaska Court could defer jurisdiction to
another state. If an emergency situation occurs, the bill contains
a provision to allow a judge in a different jurisdiction to take
immediate action. Parents do not always have the money to keep
child custody orders updated so a dramatic change may be necessary,
but in a routine situation, where a squabble about visitation
occurs, the divorce and child custody orders are not re-litigated
in an enforcement action.
MS. BEHR noted she spoke to local attorneys who practice family law
and was told by one that a parent recently paid $7,000 in attorney
fees just to have the court decide what state would have
jurisdiction. MS. BEHR said she believes that consistent
enforcement will prevent parents from flaunting orders. The goal
of the ULC was to provide a registration system among all of the
states. Once an order is registered, the parent can request
enforcement. The other parent will get notice of the registration
and can object. That parent will be given the opportunity to say
whether the order is valid and whether a temporary emergency crisis
situation occurred that needs to be addressed. It also allows a
judge to permit make-up visitation. At present, both parties would
have to hire attorneys to deal with such a situation and pay the
associated costs. The ULC hopes that passage of this legislation
will encourage parents to follow court orders or return to the
court of origin to have the order modified if necessary. MS. BEHR
said HB 335 passed the House with one negative vote.
Number 194
SENATOR ELLIS questioned the ramifications of the reference to the
Hague Convention made on page 9, line 25.
MS. BEHR stated that Congress passed a law that allows recognition
of other state court child custody decisions when appropriate. The
State Department negotiates treaties with particular countries when
Congress enacts such laws. Under the Hague Convention, court
orders from those countries would be honored, and vice versa. She
added the State Department has no agreements with countries such as
Iran or Iraq, so the United States would not honor their orders.
CHAIRMAN WILKEN noted Senators Leman and Ward had joined the
committee.
Number 221
SENATOR ELLIS asked whether the State of Idaho has adopted similar
legislation.
MS. BEHR said it has not.
CHAIRMAN WILKEN asked Senator Ellis why he asked that question.
SENATOR ELLIS responded it relates to concerns that a member of the
committee expressed in the past about actions taken by the Idaho
Legislature in regard to other legislation.
Number 230
SENATOR LEMAN asked Ms. Behr if she and Art Peterson are the
Uniform Law Commissioners for the State of Alaska.
MS. BEHR answered there are five: Art Peterson, Justice Rabinowitz,
Jerry Kurtz, Grant Callow and herself.
There being no further discussion on HB 335, SENATOR LEMAN moved HB
335 out of committee with individual recommendations. There being
no objection, the motion carried.
There being no further business to come before the committee,
CHAIRMAN WILKEN adjourned the meeting at 9:16 a.m.
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