CSHB 179(FIN)-UNDERAGE DRINKING & DRUG OFFENSES  REPRESENTATIVE NORMAN ROKEBERG presented CSHB 179(FIN) on behalf of the House Judiciary Committee. In December, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled on the state versus Neidemeyer (ph) case making structurally inoperative the "Use it and lose it" law. The court found that revoking a minor's driver's license without a trial violated the minor's constitutional right of due process. Consequently, the House Judiciary Committee worked with the Administration to find a way to re-criminalize minor possession and consumption. The prosecutors and law enforcement are doing little or nothing to enforce the law because their hands are tied. Right now a maximum fine of $300 is imposed. He said the Legislature needs to send a message to the youth of this state that they should wait until they are of age before using alcohol responsibly. Working with the Administration, the House Judiciary Committee designed a new penalty scheme which provides for a violation on the first two offenses. The fine amounts range from $200 to $600, which can be suspended. It also mandates attendance at an alcohol education program and, for a first offense, allows the use of a community diversion panel, which could be a youth court, if approved by the court. For a second offense, the maximum fine is $1,000 (up to one-half may be suspended), 48 hours of community service, revocation of the driver's license for three months. A third offense rises to a class B misdemeanor with the imposition of 96 hours of community service and revocation of the driver's license for 6 months. A person under 18 years of age is referred to juvenile court, if over, to district court. TAPE 01-32, SIDE B  CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked why community service is part of the sentence for offenders over the age of 18 if they are old enough to go to jail. REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG said, "Well, I believe Mr. Chairman, it is a class B misdemeanor." CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if the House Judiciary Committee came up with a habitual minor consuming standard and if that is new. REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG said he believes it is new and that it also provides for a juvenile alcohol safety action program (ASAP). CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if it will provide for treatment. REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG said the bill includes a pilot treatment program that specifies the communities of Ketchikan, Fairbanks, Kotzebue and Juneau as recipients of the treatment money at this time. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked a representative from the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) to testify. MR. ELMER LINDSTROM, special assistant to Commissioner Perdue, DHSS, said he appreciates the opportunity to work with Representative Rokeberg on this bill. The genesis of HB 179 began last summer when they met with representatives from the court system, law enforcement, prosecutors and the public defender. The bill contains elements that DHSS believed should come forward even before the Alaska Supreme Court ruled. From DHSS's perspective, monitoring is key. ASAP serves only adults and the court system wants and needs equivalent assistance for juveniles. The court system feels it has been unable to have any kind of meaningful intervention with juveniles. If the "Use it and lose it" law did nothing else, it provided good data. That data revealed juveniles who were 10, 12, or 15-time offenders. Under current law, the state's response for the 15th offense is the same as it is for the first offense so the concept of graduated sanctions was one that DHSS felt had merit. Its goal is to get the monitoring and provide treatment to intervene early. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if the state has any treatment facilities for juveniles. MR. LINDSTROM said treatment capacity for juveniles in Alaska is very limited, either in-patient or out-patient. DHSS's original fiscal note on this bill requested in excess of $1 million for treatment in all places it wanted to put juvenile ASAP sites. The House Finance Committee cut that and put in language for pilot sites. He said he does not want anyone to believe that even with passage of this bill and its attached fiscal note, there will be adequate facilities for youth in the state. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said, In fact, what we've been doing with the court system until the decision came down from the Supreme Court, is we were fining kids until we worked our way through their permanent fund dividend check. So, at $300 a pass, it took you about seven times and you got to drink for free. So, number 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 that year, those were free because you'd already burned up your permanent fund dividend check. That's literally how they work it in the court. They'd come in and give them $300 civil fine - they'd take it out of their permanent fund dividend check ...." He said he appreciates this legislations and said he would personally go a little tougher on the state as far as providing treatment facilities. Number 470 MR. ROBERT BUTTCANE, Division of Juvenile Justice, DHSS, informed the committee that his division has a number of treatment programs in the state for adolescents, mostly outpatient programs. The amount in the fiscal note will increase some of that capacity but HB 179 will hopefully provide a scheme to identify chronic abusers of alcohol earlier so that early intervention can take place. DHSS will be able to provide additional supervision and support to the court system to try to change behavior. If that doesn't happen, the delinquency system will kick in on the third offense and the forces of the Superior Court, juvenile probation officers and family members will attempt more intrusive and effective interventions. He believes it will be a lot better than what currently exists. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said he is glad the bill has a pilot program aspect to it so that the state can get some hard numbers to determine how it works and how to expand it. He then asked Mr. Guaneli what happened to the minors who lost their drivers' licenses for decades as a result of multiple offenses under the "Use it lose it law." MR. DEAN GUANELI, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Law, said he believes that provision of the law was changed recently so that those revocations will run concurrently rather than consecutively. There being no further questions or testimony, SENATOR DONLEY moved CSHB 179(FIN)am from committee with individual recommendations. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR announced that with no objections, the motion carried.