HOUSE BILL NO. 259 "An Act establishing the Council on Human and Sex Trafficking; and relating to the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault." 6:14:44 PM REPRESENTATIVE SARAH VANCE, SPONSOR, explained that the bill would establish the Council on Human and Sex Trafficking in statute and would provide planning and coordination programs specific to victim services, education, public awareness, data collection and dissemination, and reducing demand for human and sex trafficking. The bill would develop standardized data for the annual reports, award grants and provide audits, and increase education and public awareness. She spoke to the reason for establishing the council in statute versus continuing the council established under an executive order by the governor. The bill would enable the council to award grants and provide audits, a function the current council under administrative order could not do. The council would also have the ability to pursue federal grants that would bring more money and services to the state. The bill would mean providing longevity for the work. She believed continuing the council in statute would be money well spent and it would be a significant step to the state's long-term commitment to eradicate human trafficking in Alaska. Co-Chair Foster OPENED public testimony. 6:17:10 PM LAUREE MORTON, SELF, JUNEAU, shared that she had joined the battered women's movement in 1984 in rural Alaska. She moved to Bethel in 1989 and led Tundra Women's Coalition for five winters. She moved to Juneau in 1994 and served as the director of the Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. She elaborated further on her work history. She had been the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (CDVSA) director under former Governor Sean Parnell and into the former Walker administration. Ms. Morton stated that Sections 1 and 2 of HB 259 were not practical. She stressed that each council needed its own director. She explained that their critical natures demanded separate, undivided attention. She detailed that CDVSA had 14 statutory responsibilities. She expounded that choosing a chair and hiring the executive were critical steps for the full council, not merely two members. She relayed that the application of the remaining 12 responsibilities fell to the director, which was a full- time job. She knew what it was like to fund victim services, batterers' intervention, and prevention programs. She understood what it was like to support an intensive statewide campaign Choose Respect. The director was responsible for interacting with school districts, health facilities, training academies, Department of Public Safety, Department of Health, Department of Corrections, Department of Law, Department of Education and Early Development, the supreme court, and the Alaska Court System. She noted that she would submit the statutory responsibilities along with her written testimony. Ms. Morton hoped committee members would take time to think about how they would be able to coordinate getting it all done and done well, much less adding another council's work into the mix. She stated, "I'm saying to you, I could not do it." She stated that it was not fair to any of the issues to think that anyone could combine the councils. She thanked the committee for its time. 6:20:00 PM Representative Josephson asked if Ms. Morton had brought her concerns to the bill sponsor earlier in the session. Ms. Morton responded affirmatively. Representative Coulombe asked if Ms. Morton supported the idea of a commission. She asked for verification that Ms. Morton's concern was that one director would be doing both jobs. Ms. Morton responded in the affirmative. She believed both were important, critical issues in Alaska and they deserved to have focus and attention. She stated that one person could not do both. 6:20:48 PM BRENDA STANFILL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALASKA NETWORK ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT, shared that she was representing the 24 member programs across the state that provided direct services, batterer intervention programs, and prevention programming to communities and outlying areas. She considered the bill to be a situation where two things were true. She supported the creation of a council on human sex trafficking. She had participated as a co- chair. She relayed that the council had big plans and a lot of work was needed in the state. She stressed that it was a big job and it needed someone whose sole attention was focused on the issue of sex trafficking and labor trafficking. She explained that between the councils there was four major issues including domestic violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and labor trafficking. She elaborated that while there may be some overlap between sex trafficking and sexual assault, there was not a lot. She shared that when she had been the director of the Fairbanks program for 25 years, they had received a sex trafficking/human trafficking grant and they had discovered that programming was very different than the services provided for sexual assault and domestic violence victims. Ms. Stanfill relayed that CDVSA wanted to ensure the issues were not overlooked. She detailed that the executive director of CDVSA was hired to supervise a staff of 11, oversaw more than 100 grants from multiple funding sources, and coordinated the work of an 11-person staff and 11- person council. She highlighted that the council would be undertaking the Alaska Victimization Survey in the current year, and it needed to begin the process of a new strategic plan. She relayed that there was no additional capacity in the position [for other work]. Under the legislation, two members of each council would be making the decision to hire the executive director along with the Department of Public Safety (DPS) commissioner or designee. She explained that it ignored the careful work that had been done with the creation of the seats on CDVSA. There were six state seats and five public seats. She noted the five public seats were very specific to rural Alaska representing Alaska Native members and three public members. She explained that under the bill, there was not a guarantee that a public member would sit on the hiring committee of the new executive director. Ms. Stanfill urged the legislature to create the council on human and sex trafficking with its own executive director and support person, using the newly created victim services division within DPS. Additionally, she supported ensuring the new council had the knowledge, focus, and attention it deserved by removing all connection to CDVSA. She thanked the committee. 6:24:28 PM TERRA BURNS, ADVOCATE, COMMUNITY UNITED FOR SAFETY AND PROTECTION, FAIRBANKS (via teleconference), testified in opposition to the bill. She shared that she was a victim of sex trafficking as a child. As an adult she had spent over 20 years working in almost every aspect of Alaska's sex industry. She stated that according to what Representative Vance told the committee in the last hearing on the bill, it meant Ms. Burns had lived over 20 years longer than expected. In 2015, she successfully defended her masters research at the University of Alaska Fairbanks on the lived experiences and policy recommendations of people in Alaska's sex industry. The research was replicated at Brown University and later across the U.S. The research was instrumental in Alaska in 2016 in the changes in the prostitution and sex trafficking law included in SB 91 [omnibus crime legislation passed in 2016]. She believed she was the only one who had done academic research on sex trafficking in Alaska. Ms. Burns shared that she traveled nationally and internationally to consult and present on the issues at institutions such as the Cambridge Union, the Freedom Network Conference, universities, nonprofits, and community groups. She currently worked as the research and policy director of Coyote Rhode Island where she did participatory action research with sex workers and sex trafficking survivors about how they were impacted by different laws. She had reported the Alex Asino case, which at the time was the second case in ten years of sex trafficking of a non- fictitious minor in Alaska's sex industry to be charged at the state or federal level. She stated it was despite the fact that for several of the years the Alaska Bureau of Investigations operated an investigative unit with the focus of locating and rescuing minor sex trafficking victims. Ms. Burns relayed that she had emailed the committee details about the difficulty the Community United for Safety and Protection had accessing the council meetings and the ombudsman complaints the organization had made about the difficulties. She stated that at the last House Finance Committee hearing on the bill, Representative Vance had stated the average life expectancy of a sex worker was seven years. She elaborated that it was a common claim about 15 years back, but it had been debunked numerous times. She highlighted a 2004 study in the Journal of Epidemiology that followed 2,000 sex workers over 33 years and only found an 8 percent mortality rate during that timeframe. She stated that if anyone on the council had searched online, they would have discovered the "supposed fact" was completely false; rather, they were comfortable in presenting easily discredited facts as reality to the legislature. Ms. Burns pointed out that on page 15 of the council's 2022 report, "Do John Schools Really Decrease Recidivism? A methodological critique of an evaluation of the San Francisco First Offender Prostitution Program" in support of their claim that John schools reduced recidivism. She elaborated that at the 2024 Alaska Data Summit, council member and assistant attorney general Chris Darnall again referenced the study as showing that John schools were effective at reducing recidivism. She emphasized that the study found that John schools did not reduce recidivism. She stated that it was a fact the council members would have known if they would have read the study. She underscored that lies and misrepresentation of the truth had no place in good government or policy. She stressed that it was impossible to create good evidence-based policy with misinformation. Ms. Burns stated it was concerning to think of CDVSA hosting the sex trafficking council because the CDVSA definition of sex trafficking, located in the most recent report of the trafficking council, included all commercial sex as well as seduction. She underscored that it was not possible to talk about sex trafficking in a way that made sense if seduction and all sex work was considered sex trafficking. She stated it was not a way to make evidence- based policy serving all Alaskans. She detailed that the council was composed primarily of people whose jobs benefit from the criminalization of sex workers and sex trafficking survivors. She elaborated that it was evident in policy promoted in HB 68, which would further felonize sex trafficking survivors and sex workers. She believed it would be a nightmare to legitimize the council and give it more power in awarding and receiving funding or creating policy in Alaska. She suggested that a proper council would be led by sex trafficking survivors and would only promote evidence-based policy. She asked the committee to vote against HB 259. 6:31:03 PM MAXINE DOOGAN, COMMUNITY UNITED FOR SAFETY AND PROTECTION, FAIRBANKS (via teleconference), was a currently working prostitute of 35 years and planned to work as a prostitute for another 35 years. She testified in opposition to the bill. She reported that the organization found limited opportunities for public participation while witnessing excessive governmental and faith-based participation as well as numerous issues while trying to gain access to the public meetings and minutes. She urged the committee to not fund "this bad government body." She emphasized the importance of inclusivity of survivor advocates and robust public engagement in the establishment and function of a council on human and sex trafficking. She stated that a more collaborative and transparent approach was essential in addressing challenges posed by human and sex trafficking. She reported that the council had only demonstrated it wanted to profit off of the criminalization of prostitution. She stressed that if legislators really wanted to prevent sex trafficking in Alaska, they should fully fund education. She underscored that having access to proper, fully funded education and housing prevented forced labor in the sex industry. She urged members to vote against the legislation. She thanked the committee. 6:33:28 PM Co-Chair Foster CLOSED public testimony. Representative Vance noted that the governor's council on sex trafficking through DPS had issued a letter of support for HB 259 with the idea of sharing a director. The council believed it was possible to share a director. She understood there had been numerous concerns about the specific issue. She relayed that the bill was based on the guidance of the governor's council through DPS. She was open to amending the bill for the council to have its own director in order to establish the council in statute. She wanted to ensure the success of the council and CDVSA. She stated she was not ignoring the concerns, but she had tried to continue moving forward with the will of the governor's council in DPS. She had a prepared amendment that any committee member could pick up, which would give each council its own director. Overall, she believed establishing a council in statute would help the state continue to do the work for the benefit of Alaskans. Representative Ortiz asked if there had been discussion about adopting the potential amendment in a previous committee. Representative Vance responded that there were concerns shared in the House State Affairs Committee, but an amendment was not considered at the time. The conversation had been more about flushing out the possibility of sharing a director. She relayed that DPS had spoken with the new CDVSA director. She elaborated that at the time of hiring the new director the department talked about the possibility of establishing the council and providing oversight. She explained that the bill had a delayed start date of March 2025 to give the current director time to get settled with the new staff. She stated that if there was consternation about the issue, she was open to the direction everyone felt was best for success. Representative Ortiz asked the model where one director oversaw both councils was primarily a financial consideration or about what would be most effective. Representative Vance responded that it was a financial consideration. She explained that the previous year when there had been discussion about an original goal to have the council in statute, the conversation had included looking at the state's financial situation and concern about adding more positions in government. She expounded that the discussion had considered how to make the idea successful. She described the council and CDVSA as cousins and the idea had been to have a director overseeing both bodies. She stated that the idea had worked in other areas and the overall goal was for the work to continue. 6:38:03 PM Representative Cronk asked if there was someone available from DPS to answer a question. Co-Chair Foster highlighted individuals available from DPS. Representative Cronk asked if prostitution was legal in Alaska. LISA PURINTON, ACTING LEGISLATIVE LIAISON AND SPECIAL ASSISTANT, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF STATEWIDE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, responded, "To the best of my knowledge it was not legal in Alaska." Co-Chair Johnson asked if any of the fiscal notes showed what it would cost if the council had its own executive director. Representative Vance deferred the question to her staff. 6:40:14 PM ROBERT BALLINGER, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE SARAH VANCE, replied that the original fiscal note was $320,000 for the council. He explained that there would be two employees including an executive director. The increase would be $24,000 if the position was located in Juneau. He stated it could be less if the position was located in Anchorage or somewhere else. He detailed that originally the bill showed the position located in Juneau because it proposed sharing the director with CDVSA and the CDVSA director was located in Juneau. Co-Chair Johnson asked how much extra it would be for the council [Council on Human and Sex Trafficking] to have its own executive director. Mr. Ballinger responded, "$24,000." Co-Chair Johnson asked for verification that the $24,000 was if the position was located in Juneau. Mr. Ballinger replied affirmatively. Co-Chair Johnson considered that it would require an office location. She asked how much extra it would cost to have an office for the individual. She wondered whether it would be located within DPS. Representative Vance deferred the question to Ms. Purinton with DPS. Ms. Purinton responded that the department's current fiscal note included funding for two positions including a program coordinator 2 and an administrative assistant. The first- year cost for the two positions was just over $333,000. She noted that first-year costs were typically higher because they reflected startup costs for things like a desk, chair, workstation, and access to any licensing. The annual cost in FY 26 going forward was $296,900. If the program coordinator 2 position changed to an executive director position, the cost would go up by just under $25,000. She noted that managing the 17-member council would be a lot in terms of coordinating schedules. The first year cost would be a total of $358,000 and future years shown in the fiscal note would increase by $24,000 annually. 6:44:02 PM Co-Chair Johnson noted that she had looked at some of the minutes from previous meetings and thought it sounded like Representative Vance would prefer for the council to have its own executive director. Representative Vance responded in the affirmative. She stated that having a focused mindset was helpful. Overall, she supported doing whatever possible to get the council established [in statute]. She was amenable to the idea of sharing [an executive director] with someone already working on the issues of sexual violence if it meant being able to move forward. She agreeable with the will of the committee. Co-Chair Johnson remarked that she likely shared some similarities with Representative Vance's perspective. She believed it was an important topic and council. She did not want to see CDVSA's own work negatively impacted. She was mulling over how to possibly fund the council and make it work. 6:46:11 PM AT EASE 6:46:28 PM RECONVENED Representative Ortiz asked for verification that the reason the cost would only be an additional $24,000 was because the assistant position would be reclassified as the executive director position. Representative Vance agreed. Representative Coulombe asked how the bill was getting funded going forward. She wondered if the funding was UGF [unrestricted general fund]. Representative Vance responded that the fund source was UGF. Her long-term goal was to see grants supplant UGF. She did not know what the future funding possibility may be. Representative Coulombe remarked on the funding struggles CDVSA was having to operate and provide grants. Co-Chair Foster asked the sponsor if she had any additional comments. Representative Vance thought that the crime bill on sex and human trafficking would provide a broader understanding of the issue and the importance of the council to further its work. She thanked the committee. Co-Chair Foster asked for a review of the fiscal notes beginning with the Department of Corrections (DOC). 6:49:07 PM TERI WEST, ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS (via teleconference), relayed that the department had not submitted a fiscal note for the bill. Co-Chair Foster asked for a review of the fiscal note from the Department of Education and Early Development (DEED). KELLY MANNING, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF INNOVATION AND EDUCATION EXCELLENCE, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT (via teleconference), reviewed the zero fiscal note, OMB component 2796. She explained that DEED's submitted a zero fiscal note because DEED would sit as a member of the council and provide support, but there were not currently any components of the bill that had a fiscal impact on DEED. Co-Chair Foster asked for a review of the fiscal note from the Department of Health [note: there was no one from Department of Health present or online]. He asked for a review of the fiscal note from the Department of Law (DOL). 6:51:45 PM ANGIE KEMP, DIRECTOR, CRIMINAL DIVISION, DEPARTMENT OF LAW, relayed that the fiscal note, OMB component 2202 showed no funding request for DOL. Co-Chair Foster clarified that it was a zero fiscal note. He asked Ms. Purinton to review the DPS fiscal note. Ms. Purinton reviewed the DPS fiscal note, OMB component 521 for CDVSA. The first year cost for FY 25 was $333,700 to fund a program coordinator 2 and administrative assistant to help manage the council. She noted that the first-year cost was slightly higher than outyears due to the initial startup costs for a new position including workstations, computers, and other services needed for the positions. The cost in the outyears was $296,900 annually to continue funding the positions. Representative Hannan asked if Ms. Purinton knew of any federal grant programs that could potentially fund the council. Ms. Purinton answered that there were federal grants that could help support the objectives of the Council on Human and Sex Trafficking whether it was a marketing campaign or victim support and services. She did not know if there would be federal grants to fund the positions for the council. She would have to do more research to provide a definitive answer. Representative Hannan asked for verification that the department anticipated the funding would come from UGF through FY 30. Ms. Purinton replied that without additional resources, it was the department's expectation. Co-Chair Johnson referenced the operating budget and believed CDVSA had a $3.7 million budget request [for FY 25]. She directed a question to a committee member and asked for verification there had been an amendment to include the funding in the base budget. She recalled there had been another amendment to add funding to the request, but it had not been adopted. She asked for the total amount. Representative Josephson believed the amount was $3 million. He noted there was a separate amendment for $500,000 to help with utilities expenses. 6:56:25 PM Co-Chair Foster asked for a review of the DOH fiscal note. RENEE GAYHART, DIRECTOR, HEALTH CARE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (via teleconference), reviewed the DOH fiscal note, OMB component 242. The fiscal note was zero as the impact to DOH was limited to the commissioner or designee being a member of the council in addition to public health and public information staff coordinating the awareness and materials development. Co-Chair Foster noted there was no one available from DOC to review their fiscal note. He asked his staff to provide a review of the DOC note. 6:57:42 PM BRODIE ANDERSON, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE NEAL FOSTER, reviewed the DOC fiscal note, OMB component 694. The fiscal note was zero. The department had submitted a fiscal note because the commissioner or their designee would serve on the council; however, there was no anticipated fiscal impact. Representative Galvin directed a question to Representative Vance. She remarked that the council was very large and included many commissioners. She remarked on the zero fiscal notes and highlighted that all of the council members were doing work, which took time away from their department work. She noted that the council was assembling frequently. She asked for comment from the bill sponsor. Representative Vance recognized it was a large council for a large issue. She stated that the council had been functioning for several years with the participation of most of the same commissioners or their designee. She was very impressed with the work and enthusiasm by all of the members involved on the commission. She added that other commissioners requested to be involved in the council such as the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT) pertaining to labor trafficking and human smuggling. She agreed that commissioners had a substantial amount demanded of them, but they had significant assets in their designees to participate on their behalf. She believed if it had been burdensome, the council would have heard about it and seen a lack of participation; however, in her short experience she had been impressed by the commissioners' engagement. Representative Galvin asked if Representative Vance had council successes to share or examples of how having "this many" assemble has moved the ball in terms of changing outcomes. Representative Vance responded with an example in the area of education. She explained that the council was doing work on providing e-learning modules for first responders, troopers, medical professionals, and hopefully teachers to have an introduction into human and sex trafficking through DPS. She elaborated that DEED had been involved in order to make the module a usable resource for a variety of professionals. The idea was for first responders to understand how to handle the particular kind of trauma. 7:02:58 PM Representative Galvin stated her understanding that the council was putting together a program where responders would know how to identify and respond appropriately to victims. She asked if Representative Vance was aware of any change in population outcomes. Representative Vance responded that it may be too early to see a change in outcomes because the work was new. She elaborated it was a part of existing duties the council had been working on. The goal was to offer continuing education credits. She stated it was not as widespread yet because it was still a work in progress. The council was tasked with providing the data to see any changes in order to determine the impact of the council's work throughout Alaska over time. Co-Chair Foster asked Representative Vance for any closing comments. Representative Vance thanked the committee for its consideration of the bill. She stated that ending trafficking began with awareness and the ability to identify it. Co-Chair Foster set an amendment deadline for Thursday, May 2 at 5:00 p.m. Representative Hannan asked if the bill sponsor was running any amendments that changed the council's intersection with CDVSA. Alternatively, she wondered if the committee would need to create the amendment. Co-Chair Foster replied that the sponsor had indicated she had an amendment drafted and that she was open to splitting the duties between two people instead of one. Representative Hannan remarked that the issue pertained to several places in the bill. She wondered if there was a committee substitute (CS) in the works. She noted there were several places CDVSA was referenced related to a transition, hiring, and responsibilities. Co-Chair Foster responded that there was no CS in the works, but the sponsor had indicated she had an amendment available. He suggested Representative Hannan may want to touch base with Representative Vance to determine whether it was to the extent Representative Hannan was describing. HB 259 was HEARD and HELD for further consideration. 7:06:41 PM