SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 151(JUD) "An Act relating to possession, control, or consumption of alcohol by a person under 21 years of age; relating to revocation and reinstatement of the driver's license of a person at least 14 years of age but not yet 21 years of age; and relating to offenses involving operating a motor vehicle by a person not yet 21 years of age." This was the second hearing for this bill in the Senate Finance Committee. Co-Chair John Torgerson noted that in the earlier hearing, a proposed committee substitute was submitted by the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Co-Chair John Torgerson added that previous testimony from the departments stated that with the adoption of the committee substitute, the fiscal notes would be zeroed out. Senator ROBIN TAYLOR, Chair, Senate Judiciary Committee, indicated that he was distributing information provided by GLAD, an organization working on this legislation. (Copy not provided for the record.) He qualified that the bill's prime sponsor, Representative Pete Kott does not support the committee substitute. He apologized, but argued that the Department of Law advised there was not adequate support for repealing the entire statute as the original version of the bill proposed. Senator Robin Taylor stated that the committee substitute solves the problem of individuals being prohibited from receiving a driver's license until they are in their forties or fifties. Changes in the proposed committee substitute, he explained allows the department to review those cases and issue a license if the individual's behavior has improved. Senator Robin Taylor then directed the Committee's attention to page four of his proposed committee substitute, saying that this version accomplishes a goal that couldn't be worked out in the House of Representatives. He explained the new provision as, "if a court either finds you not guilty or the case is dismissed by a court of law; that automatically dismisses the administrative action that was based upon the same facts." This eliminates the situation where cases have been dismissed, but individuals still have their driver's licenses revoked by an administrative action, according to Senator Robin Taylor. Representative PETE KOTT stressed that he still has concerns with the establishment of the punishment in relationship to the violation committed and the intended results of the statute. He said that statistics suggest this current law that revokes licenses for underage miners in possession of alcohol is not working. His intent was to establish legislation that will focus on those who posses and/or consume alcohol while driving. He referred to a Supreme Court case challenging the nexus of the existing law that resulted in a non-binding, tied vote. Senator Loren Leman asked Representative Pete Kott if he was satisfied with the revocation penalties of 30 days, 60 days, 90 days and one-year periods as stipulated in Section 3 of the proposed committee substitute. Representative Pete Kott responded that without the nexus argument in the bill, he was satisfied. However, he was hesitant to fully support the lowered penalties. For Representative Pete Kott's benefit, Senator Loren Leman repeated comments he made in the last hearing. His preference is to increase the penalties but also to provide a mechanism for juveniles to "buy back" some of that time through community service and treatment programs. He wanted to "encourage their good behavior through their positive actions." Because of the late date, he noted that he would not propose such an amendment unless there was full concurrence. He suggested the matter could be addressed during the interim. Representative Pete Kott replied that the issue had been discussed through an earlier version of the bill. However, he said that the Department of Law advised that there are "due process" problems and that court hearings would be required, resulting in a fiscal note. He would have liked to see that provision included in the final bill, he said. In the interest of producing legislation that has at least some benefit, Senator Loren Leman announced that he would not offer an amendment at this meeting. He qualified that he did want to revisit the matter later. ANNE CARPENETI, Assistant Attorney General, Legal Services Section, Criminal Division, Department of Law had reviewed the proposed committee substitute at the request of Co- Chair John Torgerson. She testified that the department was comfortable with the changes. JUANITA HENSLEY, Director, Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of Administration relayed statistics supplied by the Division of Public Health, Community Health and Emergency Medical Services. She stressed that the statistics show alcohol-related injuries involving youths between ages fourteen and twenty from 1995-1997 decreased by 9.5 percent. The alcohol-related motor vehicle injuries had dropped twelve-percent for the same age group, she stated. She also noted alcohol-related assault injuries for this age group had decreased overall by thirty-three percent. Juanita Hensley was unsure if the reductions could be tied directly to the "Use It-Lose It" law, and suggested it could be a combination of all the juvenile laws passed in the last several years. However, she believed this law has had an impact. Juanita Hensley also referred to information supplied by the Highway Safety Planning Agency showing that the number of alcohol related motor-vehicle fatalities for this age group has dropped. Co-Chair Sean Parnell moved for adoption of HB 151, Version "P" as a Workdraft. It was adopted as a Workdraft without objection. Co-Chair Sean Parnell offered a motion to report from Committee, SCS CSHB 151(FIN) with individual recommendations and forthcoming zero fiscal notes from the Department of Health and Social Services, Department of Corrections and the Department of Law. There was no objection and the bill was REPORTED OUT.