Legislature(1997 - 1998)
02/26/1998 03:35 PM Senate STA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATE STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
February 26, 1998
3:35 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Lyda Green, Chairman
Senator Jerry Ward, Vice-Chairman
Senator Jerry Mackie
Senator Mike Miller
Senator Jim Duncan
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 334(FIN) am
"An Act relating to waiver of tuition and fees for certain family
members of a peace officer or a fire fighter killed in the line of
duty; and providing for an effective date."
- MOVED SCS CSHB 334(STA) OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE BILL NO. 309
"An Act relating to the use of force by peace officers and
correctional officers."
- MOVED CSSB 309(STA) OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 1
Relating to compensation of Holocaust victims and survivors, their
heirs, and Jewish communities by the government of Switzerland and
the Swiss banking industry.
- MOVED SR 1 OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 22
Relating to promotion of Kids Voting Alaska programs.
- MOVED CSSCR 22(STA) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION
HB 334 - See State Affairs minutes dated 2/19/98, 2/24/98.
SB 309 - No previous action to record.
SR 1 - No previous action to record.
SCR 22 - No previous action to record.
WITNESS REGISTER
Craig Johnson, Staff to Senator Jerry Ward
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented overview on SB 309
Bill Parker, Deputy Commissioner
Department of Corrections
4500 Diplomacy Drive, Suite 207
Anchorage, AK 99508-5918
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 309 with
suggested amendment
Senator Dave Donley
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Prime Sponsor of SR 1
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 98-10, SIDE A
Number 001
CHAIRMAN GREEN called the Senate State Affairs Committee to order
at 3:35 p.m., and noted all members were present.
CSHB 334(FIN) am - TUITION WAIVER FOR POLICE WIDOW/CHILD
CHAIRMAN GREEN brought CSHB 334(FIN) am before the committee as the
first order of business. She directed attention to a proposed
amendment to page 2, lines 25 through 27. She explained the new
language addresses a concern raised in a previous hearing that the
current wording on those lines implied that the person had to have
lived in Alaska for one year before being hired. Therefore,
someone who maybe had moved to the state and lived in the state 11
months and then worked for 25 years would not be eligible for this
program.
SENATOR MILLER said he would support the amendment, but he pointed
out that the rewording will raise the fiscal note. He also
questioned if the bill raises an equal protection problem by
creating two classes of citizens differently, and he suggested it
is a question that needs to be looked at in the next committee of
referral.
CHAIRMAN GREEN asked if there was any objection to the adoption of
Amendment No. 1, and hearing none, she stated the following
amendment was adopted to be incorporated into a State Affairs SCS.
Amendment No. 1
Page 2, line 25-27:
Delete "one year before serving in the armed services, in a
fire department, or as a peace officer and who lists Alaska as the
home state for purposes of military records or state,
municipal, or fire department employment records:"
Insert "one year before serving in the armed services and who
lists Alaska as the home state for purposes of military records, or
a person who was employed as a peace officer in this state or was
a member of a fire department located in this state:"
Number 085
SENATOR MACKIE moved that SCS CSHB 334(STA) and the accompanying
fiscal notes be passed out of committee with individual
recommendations. Hearing no objection, it was so ordered.
Number 100
SB 309 - USE OF NONLETHAL AND DEFENSIVE WEAPONS
CHAIRMAN GREEN brought SB 309 before the committee as the next
order of business.
SENATOR WARD, prime sponsor of SB 309, informed the committee that
his son-in-law is a member of the SWAT team in Anchorage and that's
how he became interested in the use of nonlethal firearms.
CRAIG JOHNSON, staff to Senator Ward, explained that the bill will
basically indemnify an officer who, while acting under his training
and within the rules of engagement, fires what is known as a
nonlethal projectile or a less lethal projectile which is designed
to incapacitate but not kill an individual. As the law stands
today, a police officer acting under instructions who fires this
weapon and causes bodily harm is subject to liability.
Mr. Johnson said SB 309 is patterned after a law in Iowa, and it
has been crafted with the attorney from the Anchorage Police
Officers Association. He said many of the state's law enforcement
branches have indicated their support, in concept, for the
legislation and they will have formal support once they have had
the opportunity to review the bill.
Mr. Johnson directed attention to an article in the members' backup
from the Anchorage Daily News relating to an incident in Anchorage
where a beanbag round was used successfully to keep a woman from
committing suicide. He added that there have been cases where
these weapons don't work as designed and beanbags have been the
cause of at least five deaths in the U.S., and SB 309 keeps the
police officer from being responsible for using deadly force.
Number 155
SENATOR MACKIE commented that read the article in the Anchorage
Daily news, and having that having been a police officer, he
thought that in that instance it was a pretty good use of nonlethal
force, but he asked if that currently was not allowable. MR.
JOHNSON replied that it's allowable to use the weapon, but Alaska
law does not protect the officer from liability in the event the
lady decides to file a lawsuit against him . This was a projectile
launched from a weapon capable of being lethal and under Alaska law
that is lethal force. SB 209 makes it a nonlethal use of a
potentially lethal weapon.
SENATOR MACKIE asked if an officer shoots somebody with a
"nonlethal weapon' and it kills them, is it correct that the
officer can't be sued for using a lethal weapon because it was
supposed to be nonlethal even though it killed the individual. MR.
JOHNSON responded that would be correct at long as the officer was
acting within the training under the guidelines of the police
force.
SENATOR WARD noted police officers have to undergo training in
order to become certified to use these weapons and right now only
30 out of 350 police officers in Anchorage are qualified to use
them.
Number 215
CHAIRMAN GREEN commented that a bigger concern might be the chance
of someone being injured rather than being killed, and then filing
an action against a police officer.
Number 300
BILL PARKER, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Corrections, voiced
the department's support for SB 309. He noted that the
correctional officers preferred to be called "officers" not
"guards' as they are referred in two places in the bill.
Number 320
SENATOR MACKIE moved the following amendment to SB 309:
Amendment No. 1
Page 1, lines 5 and 7: Delete "guards" and "guard" and replace
with "correctional officers" and
correctional officers"
Hearing no objection, the amendment was adopted.
CRAIG JOHNSON pointed out that according to the legal department
"guard" is a recognized statutory term throughout the statutes.
However, SENATOR DUNCAN and SENATOR MACKIE thought that could be
addressed by the revisor of statutes.
SENATOR WARD moved SB 309, as amended, and the accompanying zero
fiscal note be passed out of committee with individual
recommendations. Hearing no objection, it was so ordered.
Number 352
SR 1 - SWISS COMP OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS
CHAIRMAN GREEN brought SR 1 before the committee as the next order
of business.
SENATOR DAVE DONLEY, prime sponsor of SR 1, explained the
resolution is in support of the current effort being made by other
states and the U.S. government to encourage Switzerland and the
Swiss banking industry to continue to cooperate with the families
and survivors of the Holocaust in identifying their assets that
were held in Swiss banks during that tragic episode in history.
Senator Donley said his office has been working with the World
Jewish Restitution Organization which is an international
organization formed in 1993 by Jewish organizations from 80
countries internationally to facilitate this effort. He noted the
Swiss have begun to cooperate, and in January of this year, the
World Jewish Congress adopted the position of asking people to take
the course of action as is presented in SR 1.
CHAIRMAN GREEN asked if "The Holocaust Victims Redress Act" has
been passed by both bodies of Congress and signed into law, and it
was acknowledged that it has.
SENATOR MILLER expressed his wholehearted support for SR 1. He
noted, however, that there are still some people living in the
Fairbanks area who believe that the Holocaust never happened.
There being no further testimony or questions on SR 1, CHAIRMAN
GREEN asked for the pleasure of the committee.
SENATOR MACKIE moved SR 1 be passed out of committee with
individual recommendations. Hearing no objection, it was so
ordered.
Number 396
SCR 22 - KIDS VOTING ALASKA PROGRAMS
CHAIRMAN GREEN brought SCR 22 before the committee as the final
order of business.
SENATOR MILLER, prime sponsor of SCR 22, said the Kids Voting
Alaska Program has done well in the state, and Alaska was the first
state in the nation to provide municipal election voting experience
to its youth. He expressed his appreciation to Carrs, National
Bank of Alaska, and Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. for the major
contribution they have made to the program.
SENATOR DUNCAN suggested adding the Alaska Association of School
Administrators and NEA Alaska to the list of who will be receiving
copies of the resolution, and SENATOR MILLER agreed it was a good
suggestion.
CHAIRMAN GREEN asked if there was any objection to adding the
Alaska Association of School Administrators and NEA Alaska to page
2, line 27 of the resolution. Hearing no objection, the amendment
was adopted to be incorporated into a State Affairs CS.
SENATOR MACKIE moved CSSCR 22(STA) be passed out of committee with
individual recommendations. Hearing no objection, it was so
ordered.
There being no further business to come before the committee, the
meeting adjourned at 4:07 p.m.
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