Legislature(1995 - 1996)
02/09/1995 03:38 PM Senate STA
| Audio | Topic |
|---|
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATE STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
February 9, 1995
3:38 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Bert Sharp, Chairman
Senator Loren Leman
Senator Jim Duncan
Senator Dave Donley
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Randy Phillips, Vice-Chairman
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE BILL NO. 4
"An Act allowing a person under age 21 to be arrested by a peace
officer without a warrant for illegal possession, consumption, or
control of alcohol; classifying certain offenses related to driving
while intoxicated or failure to submit to a chemical test as
felonies; and providing for an effective date."
PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION
SB 4 - No previous senate committee action.
WITNESS REGISTER
Senator Robin Taylor
State Capitol, Juneau, Alaska, 99801-1182¶465-3873
POSITION STATEMENT: prime sponsor of SB 4
Juanita Hensley, Chief, Driver Services
Div. of Motor Vehicles, Dept of Public Safety
P.O. Box 20020, Juneau, AK 99811-0020¶463-5860
POSITION STATEMENT: testified on SB 4
Joe Ambrose, Aide to Senator Taylor
State Capitol, Juneau, Alaska, 99801-1182¶465-3873
POSITION STATEMENT: prime sponsor of SB 4
Dave Tyler
Alaska State Fire Chief's Association
Fairbanks, AK¶479-5672
POSITION STATEMENT: in favor of SB 4
Lee Ann Lucas, Special Assistant to the Commissioner
Department of Public Safety
P.O. Box 111200, Juneau, AK 99811-1200¶465-4322
POSITION STATEMENT: testified on SB 4
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 95-4, SIDE A
Number 001
SSTA - 2/9/95
SB 4 DWI LAWS
CHAIRMAN SHARP calls the Senate State Affairs Committee to order at
3:38 p.m. and brings up SB 4 as the first order of business before
the committee. The chairman calls the first witness.
Number 012
SENATOR TAYLOR, prime sponsor of SB 4 reads the sponsor statement.
Number 125
SENATOR DONLEY asks what the penalty would be for a person
committing their third DWI in a period of five years and one day.
Number 137
JUANITA HENSLEY, Department of Public Safety, responds the offender
would have their license suspended for three years with 60 days
minimum mandatory incarceration.
(Penalties are listed under paragraph 1, subsections A through F in
SB 4.)
SENATOR LEMAN states he is concerned that DWI's acquired in an area
with DWI laws different from Alaska's cannot be counted as previous
DWI's. He is especially troubled that they cannot be counted for
persons under 21 years of age.
JOE AMBROSE, Aide to Senator Taylor, informs the committee that
section 1 of SB 4 is the only section which applies to persons
under the age of 21.
SENATOR LEMAN asks if it wouldn't be good to bring Alaska into
consistency.
SENATOR TAYLOR replies the average drunk driver apprehended is
blowing twice the legal limit. The sad part is if we change our
law, then our law would only count as a second offense in seven
other states. Senator Taylor suggests it would be nice to pass a
law basing the penalty for drunk driving on how high a person's
blood alcohol content is. However the state would run into
problems with administration and equal protection.
Number 250
SENATOR LEMAN asks, regarding confiscation of motor vehicles, if
that would constitute "double jeopardy", or being punished twice
for the same crime.
CHAIRMAN SHARP adds that part of the problem arises from the fact
that one is a civil action and one is a criminal action.
SENATOR TAYLOR thinks part of the problem might be that different
people get different treatment, depending on the value of the
vehicle they are driving.
Number 275
SENATOR DONLEY asks how the fines in SB 4 are affected by the day-
fine bill passed last year, if at all.
SENATOR TAYLOR does not have an answer to that question.
Number 285
DAVE TYLER, State Fire Chief's Association, testifying via
teleconference from Fairbanks, states SB 4 is an important bill.
Mr. Tyler also thinks it might be a good concept to have higher
penalties for higher blood alcohol contents (bac). It is a known
fact that a person with a bac of 0.3 or 0.4 can die. But Mr. Tyler
has actually seen "walking, talking 0.6's", and has heard of a case
of 0.725 in Anchorage. A person cannot achieve that high a bac by
just sitting down and drinking enough beer. It takes a person a
long time before they can drink to that level bac. The higher the
bac, the more habitual a drinker the person is.
MR. TYLER adds SB 4 is important to emergency response personnel.
Response personnel have found from experience that alcohol is
generally involved in bad accidents. There is a great deal of risk
to response personnel. This all falls back to the irresponsibility
of someone who is committing a crime. It is time that people be
held accountable for their actions.
Number 325
CHAIRMAN SHARP notes SB 4 will not be moved from the Senate State
Affairs Committee today. The committee is waiting for a fiscal
note.
Number 328
SENATOR DUNCAN asks if the committee will also be receiving a
position paper from the administration.
CHAIRMAN SHARP hopes to see one with the fiscal note.
SENATOR DUNCAN asks if there is no one from the administration
available to testify today.
CHAIRMAN SHARP asks if there is anyone from the administration in
the audience who would like to testify on SB 4.
Number 335
MS. HENSLEY replies she is available to address technical
questions.
SENATOR DUNCAN asks if the administration supports SB 4.
LEE ANN LUCAS, Special Assistant to the Commissioner, Department of
Public Safety, responds that the administration is reviewing the
bill at this time; they are waiting to see the fiscal notes.
SENATOR DUNCAN states he would like to know the administration's
position on SB 4.
CHAIRMAN SHARP responds the committee will work with the sponsor of
SB 4 and the administration to get a position paper from the
administration.
MS. HENSLEY states there will be significant fiscal impact on the
departments from SB 4. The administration wants to give accurate
numbers on the fiscal notes. Those numbers should be ready for the
committee by next week.
Number 340
SENATOR DONLEY asks Ms. Hensley if it is a mandatory minimum
sentence of one year for the third DWI offense within five years.
MS. HENSLEY replies that is correct, and would include a minimum
fine of $1,000.
Number 365
SENATOR DONLEY asks why the fine would be left at $1,000, even
though the jail time is being increased.
MS. HENSLEY responds that the minimum fine is $1,000. The maximum
fine allowed is $5,000.
SENATOR DONLEY thinks a higher fine might be more of a deterrent to
driving while intoxicated.
Number 375
MS. HENSLEY replies a law was passed a couple of years ago
requiring a DWI offender to pay up to $1,000 to serve his or her
time in jail. If the offender did not have $1,000, then their
permanent fund dividend was forfeited.
Number 380
CHAIRMAN SHARP announces SB 4 will be held pending receipt of the
fiscal note.
CHAIRMAN SHARP adjourns the Senate State Affairs Committee meeting
at 4:06 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|