Legislature(1995 - 1996)
04/07/1995 01:39 PM Senate JUD
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SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
April 7, 1995
1:39 p.m
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Robin Taylor, Chairman
Senator Lyda Green, Vice-Chairman
Senator Mike Miller
Senator Al Adams
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Johnny Ellis
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 145
"An Act requiring the reporting of winners of prizes of $50 or more
from a bingo or pull-tab game to the Department of Health and
Social Services to ensure that recipients of services or assistance
are reporting those winnings and are eligible for services or
assistance; relating to the awarding of those prizes; prohibiting
charitable gaming permittees, operators, and registered vendors
from cashing state public assistance checks; and relating to
penalties for violations of the charitable gaming laws."
SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE BILL NO. 102
"An Act relating to the use of the court records of minors that
have been ordered sealed."
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 188(JUD) am
"An Act creating the crime of indecent viewing or photography."
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 4(STA)(title am)
"An Act allowing, for the purposes of permanent fund dividend
eligibility, an individual to accompany, as the spouse or minor or
disabled dependent, another eligible resident who is absent for
vocational, professional, or other specific education for which a
comparable program is not reasonably available in the state, for
secondary or postsecondary education, for military service, for
medical treatment, for service in the Congress or in the Peace
Corps, or for other reasons that the commissioner of revenue may
establish by regulation; requiring, for the purposes of permanent
fund dividend eligibility, an individual who is not physically
present in the state to maintain and demonstrate at all times an
intent to return to the state to remain permanently; relating to
the eligibility for 1992, 1993, and 1994 permanent fund dividends
of certain spouses and dependents of eligible applicants; relating
to appeal periods for certain 1994 permanent fund dividends; and
providing for an effective date."
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 14 - SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Alaska
relating to certain public corporations.
PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION
SB 145 - No previous Senate action.
SSSB 102 - No previous Senate action.
HB 188 See Judiciary minutes dated 3/27/95.
HB 4 - See State Affairs minutes dated 3/21/95 and 3/28/95.
See Judiciary minutes dated 4/5/95.
SJR 14 - See State Affairs minutes dated 2/21/95.
See Judiciary minutes dated 3/22/95.
See Judiciary worksession dated 4/5/95.
WITNESS REGISTER
Portia Babcock
Legislative Aide
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska 99811-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on SB 145
Dennis Pochard, Director
Charitable Gaming Division
Department of Revenue
P.O. Box 110440
Juneau, AK 99811-0440
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on SB 145
Senator Judy Salo
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska 99811-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of SB 102
Rod Mourant
Legislative Aide
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska 99811-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified for sponsor of HB 4
Michael McGee
Chief, PFD Operations
Department of Revenue
P.O. Box 110460
Juneau, Alaska 99811-0460
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 4
Margot Knuth
Assistant Attorney General
Department of Law
P.O. Box 110300
Juneau, Alaska 99811-0300
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on HB 4
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 95-18, SIDE A
Number 001
SB 145 CHARIT.GAMING:PRIZES,REPORTS,PENALTY
CHAIRMAN ROBIN TAYLOR called the Judiciary Committee meeting to
order at 1:39 p.m. The first order of business before the
committee was SB 145.
PORTIA BABCOCK, committee aide to the Senate HESS committee, stated
the following. SB 145 makes reporting changes to bingo and pull
tab operations, and prohibits operators from cashing public
assistance checks. The bill creates a mechanism to log and track
winners of cash prizes. Under current law, the winner must sign
for the prize money, but is not required to show identification.
SB 145 requires permittees, operators or vendors to verify prize
recipients identification and report names and prize amounts to the
Department of Health and Social Services.
Number 057
SENATOR ADAMS asked if $1,000 bingo prize winners must provide
their names and social security numbers to the permittee. MS.
BABCOCK believed the prize recipient only has to sign for the
prize.
SENATOR ADAMS asked about the penalty provisions contained in SB
145. DENNIS POCHARD, director of the Division of Charitable
Gaming, commented that $1,000 bingo prize winners must provide
their names and social security numbers because the IRS requires
any gaming activity, when a prize of over $600 is awarded, to be
reported to the IRS. MS. BABCOCK stated a first violation would
carry fine of up to $5,000, a second offense would be a class B
misdemeanor which carries a fine of up to $10,000 and a prison
term.
SENATOR TAYLOR questioned why the current Alaska reporting standard
for prize money is $1,000 if the IRS standard is $600. MR. POCHARD
replied there are no provisions for reporting prize winners in
statute. An operator conducting a gaming activity is required to
keep records of winners, but is not required to report those names
to the Department of Revenue. The operator is required to keep the
records for three years for audit purposes.
Number 125
SENATOR TAYLOR asked if the records include the actual pull tabs.
MR. POCHARD stated the pull tabs are not kept as records. SENATOR
TAYLOR asked if an operator would be required to report a prize
award of $650 to the IRS. MR. POCHARD replied affirmatively.
SENATOR TAYLOR commented the reporting requirement in SB 145 is not
a new burden being placed on operators since they are already
reporting larger prizes. He asked if the prize award will be
treated as income. MR. POCHARD responded affirmatively.
Number 141
SENATOR ADAMS moved the adoption of a proposed amendment allowing
municipalities to limit the number of permittees and licensees
within their boundaries. SENATOR TAYLOR objected to the motion for
the purpose of discussion. SENATOR ADAMS explained the amendment
also allows municipalities to limit the number of hours of
operation of bingo and pull-tab games conducted each week.
SENATOR TAYLOR expressed concern that by allowing municipalities to
limit the number of permittees and licensees within their
jurisdiction, a franchise on gambling will be created within the
city, and businesses would become dependent on who they know on the
city council. SENATOR ADAMS responded the current law allows for
all or nothing; the amendment would allow the municipalities to
decide which non-profits could operate.
Number 174
SENATOR GREEN stated she agrees with the amendment in concept, but
expressed concern that under such a system, as communities grow in
size, they would need to be regulated by an entity that approves
the relocation or addition of operators and licensees. SENATOR
TAYLOR stated his concern is that creating the power to limit would
be creating the power to kill. He added the amendment would allow
a municipality to favor some operators, and restrict others, and
create a limited entry type of system. He stated he is in favor of
the right of municipalities to limit the number of sessions.
SENATOR ADAMS commented the amendment provides for accountability
of permittees. SENATOR GREEN stated the amendment says a
municipality "may" do this by ordinance, it does not say "shall."
SENATOR ADAMS noted an ordinance would have to be passed first, so
the amendment merely creates an option for the municipality.
Number 220
SENATOR TAYLOR stated he would not vote for the amendment unless
lines 10-12 were deleted, and maintained his objection. A roll
call vote was taken with the following result: Senators Miller,
Adams, and Green voted "Yea," and Senator Taylor vote "Nay." The
amendment was adopted.
SENATOR ADAMS moved and asked unanimous consent that SB 145, as
amended, pass out of committee with individual recommendations.
There being no objection, the motion carried.
SB 102 RELEASE OF JUVENILE RECORDS
SENATOR SALO, sponsor of SB 102, explained Superior Court judges
have access to juvenile records, so that if an adult is convicted
of a crime, the judge can open the juvenile file to review the
person's past record. District Court judges do not have the same
access to those records and are required to follow time consuming
procedures to get access. SB 102 gives the District Court the same
authority to review juvenile records and adds that either court
could review records for the purpose of setting bail or sentencing.
Number 272
SENATOR ADAMS asked for an explanation of the procedure a District
Court judge must go through to review juvenile records. SENATOR
SALO replied the District Court judge must be appointed as a
Superior Court judge Pro tempore to get the authority to review the
records. It is a cumbersome process that is alleviated in SB 102.
SENATOR GREEN noted her support for the measure and moved SB 102
out of committee with individual recommendations. There being no
objection, the motion carried.
HB 188 INDECENT PHOTOGRAPHY
SENATOR TAYLOR announced CSHB 188(JUD)am was previously heard by
the committee but was delayed to give others a chance to review the
measure.
DAVE GRAY, legislative aide to Representative Mackey, was available
to answer questions on the bill.
SENATOR TAYLOR stated there was concern that the definitions
included in the measure were too vague, as well as the description
of the offense itself. MARGOT KNUTH, assistant attorney general,
stated the definitions are not a concern of the Department of Law.
SENATOR TAYLOR commented the Public Defender Agency shared some
concerns about the definitions but were unable to offer alternative
or additional language. He noted he is still concerned about the
broadness of the definition, but does not have better language to
offer. SENATOR ADAMS asked which definition Senator Taylor was
concerned about. SENATOR TAYLOR replied the term "reasonably
believed" on page 2, line 17, is unclear, because the intent of the
person being photographed, and the intent to use that which is
produced, both need to be reviewed. He added the committee also
had a lengthy discussion about the age of the person who gives
consent, and he did not want to lower the age below 13. He stated
the bill, although not perfect, addresses a unique situation that
has occurred.
SENATOR ADAMS stated he thought the committee agreed to maintain
the age of 13 in the bill. SENATOR TAYLOR agreed.
SENATOR GREEN moved CSHB 188(JUD)am from committee with individual
recommendations. There being no objection, so moved.
HB 4 PERMANENT FUND DIVIDEND ELIGIBILITY
ROD MOURANT, legislative aide to Representative Kott, stated the
committee requested the following information: the dollar amounts
required to pay people previously denied permanent fund dividends
for the reasons covered in HB 4; and the number of late filers and
cost involved in paying those people. The expenses are as follows:
1994 2,690 applicants @ $983.90 $2,646,691
1993 200 applicants @ 949.46 189,892
1992 25 applicants @ 915.84 22,896
$2,859,479
SENATOR TAYLOR asked if the fiscal impact on the general fund would
remain at $600. MR. MOURANT answered affirmatively.
Number 372
SENATOR ADAMS asked how many spouses are of residents of the
military and how many are married to college students. MR. McGEE,
stated that breakdown is not available, however those two
categories comprise approximately 12,000 applicants which amount to
over 50 percent of the out-of-state applicants. He clarified there
will be no expense to the general fund from CSHB 4 (STA)am, the
administrative cost of $600 will come from permanent fund dividend
funds.
SENATOR GREEN moved CSHB 4 (STA)am out of committee with individual
recommendations. There being no objection, the motion carried.
SENATOR TAYLOR announced SJR 14 would be taken up at the next
committee hearing. He adjourned the meeting at 2:07 p.m.
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