04/11/2005 01:45 PM Senate HEALTH, EDUCATION & SOCIAL SERVICES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB10 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 10 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE
April 11, 2005
2:10 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Fred Dyson, Chair
Senator Gary Wilken, Vice Chair
Senator Lyda Green
Senator Kim Elton
Senator Donny Olson
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 10
"An Act relating to liability for destruction of property by
unemancipated minors; and providing for an effective date."
MOVED CSSB 10(HES) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 10
SHORT TITLE: PARENTAL LIABILITY FOR CHILD'S DAMAGE
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) GUESS, DYSON
01/11/05 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 12/30/04
01/11/05 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/11/05 (S) HES, JUD
01/19/05 (H) HES AT 1:30 PM SENATE FINANCE 532
01/19/05 (S) Heard & Held
01/19/05 (S) MINUTE(HES)
01/26/05 (S) HES AT 1:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
01/26/05 (S) -- Meeting Canceled --
04/04/05 (S) HES AT 1:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
04/04/05 (S) Heard & Held
04/04/05 (S) MINUTE(HES)
04/06/05 (S) HES AT 1:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
04/06/05 (S) Scheduled But Not Heard
04/11/05 (S) HES AT 1:45 PM BUTROVICH 205
WITNESS REGISTER
MATTHEW BAUTISTA, Student
Dzantik'i Heeni Middle School
Juneau AK 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SB 10.
SHELDON WINTERS
State Farm Insurance Co.
Juneau AK 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 10 and adopted amendments.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR FRED DYSON called the Senate Health, Education and Social
Services Standing Committee meeting to order at 2:10:11 PM.
Present were Senators Kim Elton, Lyda Green, Gary Wilken, Donny
Olson, and Chair Fred Dyson.
2:10:46 PM
SB 10-PARENTAL LIABILITY FOR CHILD'S DAMAGE
CHAIR FRED DYSON announced SB 10 to be up for consideration.
SENATOR GRETCHEN GUESS, sponsor of SB 10, assured the committee
that the title was fine. There was also a question about what is
on a juvenile's record and she explained:
Currently, records of proceedings against minors
including records of drivers' license proceedings
under AS 28.15.185 are permanent, but confidential
with some exceptions. They are sealed when a minor
turns 18 or at a later time if the court retains
jurisdiction over the minor past the age of 18. But
they may be used in pre-sentencing reports.
CHAIR DYSON asked if a creditor who was exploring a child's
records would know that the child has a court-ordered liability.
SENATOR GUESS responded that she believed that that information
would stay confidential even after the child turned 18. Failure
to report a child's illegal behavior is not a crime for parents
under current statute, but parents could be protected from
liability if they turn in their child with an amendment to the
exemption section.
SENATOR ELTON asked her to make a value judgment about whether
or not she thought that such an amendment would be acceptable.
SENATOR GUESS responded, "This is a bill of constant policy
calls." If the parents know all the laws, they may choose to not
turn their child in because of their own liability. Parents are
being held accountable in other situations. She would leave that
up to the committee to decide.
SENATOR WILKEN arrived at 2:15:46 PM.
CHAIR DYSON remarked that accessory provisions are activated
when someone doesn't report a crime and receives a benefit from
it. He said that a parent who does not report may be considered
an accessory.
SENATOR GUESS said that mandatory reporting is only required in
certain professions and crimes against children. She said that
the exemption of hard-to-place children could be included with
an amendment.
SENATOR GREEN arrived at 2:17:31 PM.
SENATOR GUESS said that there is a question about unintentional
acts and the crimes in this bill would be covered in a similar
manner to other crimes in a civil court - a preponderance of the
evidence in a criminal act that is beyond a reasonable doubt.
She said that obviously age considerations would play a role in
evaluating these cases.
She wanted to eliminate any possible application of this bill to
crimes against persons as she had not intended to include those
and wanted to limit it to crimes against property. She noted
that a conceptual amendment was in the process of being drafted.
2:21:24 PM
CHAIR DYSON stated that other statutes have provisions for
restitution relating to crimes against persons.
2:22:48 PM
CHAIR DYSON asked her to explain bullets 3 and 4.
SENATOR GUESS explained that the second bullet makes the statute
consistent with the idea that you can lose the right to your
driver's license if you are convicted of a crime, a misdemeanor
or a felony. However, there are constitutional problems with
limiting the bill to property crimes, because that limitation
means that some crimes are being dealt with differently than
others.
CHAIR DYSON said that his intention is that taking a driver's
license should be one of the tools a judge could use with the
assumption that if a child is involved in a long-term payment
plan, he could be allowed restricted driving privileges. But he
also wanted to the judge to have the option of telling the
person with a long-term payment plan that three minutes after
they fail to meet the payment plan, the driving privilege would
be revoked.
2:24:29 PM
SENATOR GUESS responded that those issues had been addressed
except the last one, which has constitutional problems. The
third amendment says that the PFD provisions in the bill go to
all crimes. So, if there is restitution, the minor's PFD goes
toward paying that restitution and the state can order the minor
to apply for it.
2:26:21 PM
CHAIR DYSON remarked that it would be proper for the committee
to separate the conceptual amendment into three. He announced
that Amendment 1 returns the bill to just being crimes against
property and deletes crimes against persons.
SENATOR ELTON moved to adopt conceptual Amendment 1 as follows:
Direct the drafter to make the restitution provisions
of this bill (sections 3, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14 and 15)
apply only to property crimes and harm to property.
Statutes regarding non-property crimes and harm to
persons would remain unchanged by this bill.
He then objected to comment saying there were more discreet ways
of accomplishing the purpose of Amendment 1 - like describing
harm to a person as physical harm. He used the recent example of
an assistant attorney general who had been beaten in a manner
that required expensive reconstructive surgery.
That kind of harm, I think, is just as egregious and
possibly more egregious, than harm to property. I
think that there ought to be consequences and I think
that there ought to be economic assistance that
accrues to that kind of victim as well as a victim of
property violence....
He said he would work with the sponsor.
2:29:19 PM
SENATOR GREEN asked if the instance given by Senator Elton would
be defined as assault and battery that already has a remedy.
CHAIR DYSON agreed saying that he worked on that issue a couple
of years ago, but he offered to work on it again.
A roll call vote was taken. Senators Olson, Green, Wilken and
Chair Dyson voted yea; Senator Elton voted nay; and conceptual
Amendment 1 was adopted.
CHAIR DYSON moved to adopt conceptual Amendment 2, which retains
the application of driver's license provisions of the bill in
sections 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 11 to all crimes currently specified
in the bill.
SENATOR ELTON objected for the purpose of clarification. He
asked if the committee needed to amend the bill to retain that
language if it's already in it.
SENATOR GUESS explained that when she wanted to pull out the
"harm to persons" provision, but wanted to retain the driver's
license and PFD provisions, the drafter responded with these
directions, given that she couldn't get the CS to the committee
in time.
2:32:38 PM
SENATOR OLSON asked if she supported both amendments.
SENATOR GUESS replied that she supported both amendments.
CHAIR DYSON noted there were no objections to conceptual
Amendment 2 and it was adopted.
CHAIR DYSON moved to adopt conceptual Amendment 3 to retain the
application of the PFD provision in section 7 relating to all
crime and harm to persons or property as currently specified in
the bill.
SENATOR GREEN objected to ask if they are talking out the
reference to harm to persons in an earlier section.
SENATOR GUESS replied yes.
2:34:44 PM
CHAIR DYSON noted there were no further objections and
conceptual Amendment 3 was adopted. He asked the committee if it
wanted to hold the bill for a CS on Wednesday or pass it on to
the Judiciary Committee.
SENATOR ELTON said he would go with the comfort level of the
chair.
2:36:10 PM
MATTHEW BAUTISTA, Dzantik'i Heeni Middle School student, opposed
SB 10 saying that minors should be entirely responsible for
their actions. He said the rate of vandalism has increased
dramatically for people between the ages of 12 and 18 and SB 10
would reduce the deterrent affect to children by deferring the
responsibility of those acts to their parents. He asked the
committee members how they would feel if their children
committed acts of vandalism and whether introducing parental
accountability would reduce it.
CHAIR DYSON responded that the bill is intended to establish a
long-term payment process, which would make the children pay the
bulk of the restitution, but if parents had to pay in the
beginning, he hoped that would encourage them to force their
child to work to pay them back.
2:40:47 PM
SENATOR GREEN asked whether or not wages could be garnished for
restitution.
SENATOR GUESS said that the court would set up a payment plan
and it currently garnishes wages for restitution.
2:42:13 PM
SHELDON WINTERS, State Farm Insurance Co., supported the
proposed amendments.
SENATOR GREEN moved to pass CSSB 10(HES) out of committee with
individual recommendations and attached fiscal notes. There were
no objections and it was so ordered.
CHAIR DYSON adjourned the meeting at 2:42:44 PM.
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