HB 234-MISSING/MURDERED INDIGENOUS PEOPLE;REPORT  8:09:46 AM CHAIR MCCORMICK announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 234, "An Act relating to police officer training; establishing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Review Commission; relating to missing and murdered indigenous persons; relating to the duties of the Department of Public Safety; and providing for an effective date." 8:10:02 AM CALLAN CHYTHLOOK-SIFSOF, Staff, Representative CJ McCormick, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative McCormick, prime sponsor, gave an overview of HB 234. She said the bill would do four things: mandate cultural training under the Police Standards Council; codify two missing and murdered indigenous persons (MMIP) full-time investigator positions within DPS; establish the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Review Commission in statute; and require the Department of Public Safety (DPS) submit an annual needs assessment report to the legislature. She described three forthcoming amendments. Amendment 1 would incorporate HB 235 in the bill by requiring that all missing person reports be submitted to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) within 30 days. Amendment 2 would increase the number of MMIP investigators from two to four. Amendment 3 would ensure that sensitive materials reviewed by the commission are allowed in a court of law to prosecute cases. 8:15:49 AM CHAIR MCCORMICK closed public testimony on HB 234, [which was left open from 2/27/24]. 8:17:20 AM JAMES COCKRELL, Commissioner, Office of the Commissioner, Department of Public Safety (DPS), gave invited testimony in support of HB 234. He said DPS has been involved in the MMIP mission for several years and recognized the importance of focusing on this issue. He discussed the need for MMIP investigators and shared his belief that four positions would suffice. He maintained that the department is already meeting the bill's requirements, explaining that all missing persons had been put into the NamUs database, which is similar to Alaska's missing person clearinghouse. Currently, he said, DPS submits names within 60 days, not 30. He discussed a partnership with the Anchorage Police Department (APD) and the Fairbanks Police Department to publish a quarterly report with an updated list of all missing persons in the state. He addressed DPS's budget request, which included $450,000 for the four investigators and $250,000 for outreach and education. 8:24:46 AM REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT asked about the retire/re-hire process for the investigators who were brought back into service. COMMISSIONER COCKRELL explained that the positions are long-term non-permanent salary positions. In response to a follow up question, he confirmed that the FY 25 budget request included $450,000 for four MMIP investigators. CHAIR MCCORMICK said it spoke volumes to him that the commissioner had apologized for the lack of services in rural Alaska. He thanked the commissioner for his work and accountability on this issue. 8:26:59 AM CHAIR MCCORMICK invited Ms. Schroeder to speak to the proposed amendments. 8:27:33 AM KACI SCHROEDER, Assistant Attorney General, Legal Services Section, Criminal Division, Department of Law (DOL), explained that [Amendment 3] would delete "admissible in" and insert "subject to discovery or subpoena in connection with" because DOL does not want the commission to become a source of information for criminal or civil cases. She shared her belief that the amendment would ensure that the commission is not spending a lot of time responding to discovery requests and subpoenas. In addition, the language in the second part [of Amendment 3] would clarify that prosecutors and peace officers serving on the commission could also work on the cases that the commission reviews. 8:30:12 AM CHAIR MCCORMICK moved to adopt Amendment 1 to HB 234, labeled 33-LS1044\B.1, C. Radford, 2/28/24, which read: Page 1, line 1, following "training;": Insert "relating to the duty of law enforcement  agencies to report missing persons;" Page 2, following line 3: Insert new bill sections to read: "* Sec. 2. AS 18.65.620 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: (c) Within 30 days after the first report concerning a missing person was filed with a local or state law enforcement agency, the agency shall submit a missing person report to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System for a missing person whose location has not been determined.  * Sec. 3. AS 18.65.630(a) is amended to read: (a) When a person files a report of a missing person with a law enforcement agency or with the clearinghouse, a form authorizing the release of medical and dental records to the law enforcement agency, [AND] to the clearinghouse, and to the  National Missing and Unidentified Persons System shall be supplied to the family, next of kin, or legal guardian of the missing person. The family, next of kin, or legal guardian of the missing person may complete the release form and deliver the release form to the physician or dentist of the missing person. The physician or dentist who receives a release form signed by the family, next of kin, or legal guardian of the missing person shall release to the law enforcement agency, [AND] the clearinghouse, and the  National Missing and Unidentified Persons System only that information that is necessary to identify the missing person.  * Sec. 4. AS 18.65.630(c) is amended to read: (c) Medical and dental records obtained under this section shall be provided to the clearinghouse and to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons  System.  * Sec. 5. AS 18.65.630 is amended by adding new subsections to read: (e) If available, a law enforcement agency shall submit fingerprints, photographs, and voluntary DNA samples from family members of the missing person to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. (f) In this section, "DNA" has the meaning given in AS 18.13.100." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 5, line 1: Delete "Section 4" Insert "Section 8" Page 5, line 2: Delete "Section 3" Insert "Section 7" CHAIR MCCORMICK announced that there being no objection, Amendment 1 was adopted. 8:30:33 AM CHAIR MCCORMICK moved to adopt Amendment 2 to HB 234, labeled 33-LS1044\B.2, C. Radford, 2/28/24, which read: Page 2, line 6: Delete "two" Insert "four" CHAIR MCCORMICK announced that there being no objection, Amendment 2 was adopted. 8:30:41 AM CHAIR MCCORMICK moved to adopt Amendment 3 to HB 234, labeled 33-LS1044\B.3, C. Radford, 3/1/24, which read: Page 3, line 25: Delete "admissible in" Insert "subject to discovery or subpoena in connection with" Page 3, line 27, following "proceeding.": Insert "Nothing in this subsection prohibits a member of the commission from prosecuting a criminal case or otherwise participating in a civil or criminal proceeding as part of, or relating to, the member's normal course of employment if the criminal case or civil or criminal proceeding involves a case reviewed by the commission." REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE objected. 8:30:57 AM REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE asked whether the committee was trying to do too much to protect the database from legal discovery or use by criminal prosecutors or defense attorneys. MS. SCHROEDER opined that the language is not too much. She explained that the language is consistent with language used in other areas of law with other commissions that review this type of information. The normal discovery procedures driven by court rule indicate that it's the prosecutor not the commission's role to turn over discovery. She reiterated that the commission should not be the source of this information, which the proposed amendment makes clear. 8:32:38 AM REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE shared his understanding that [Amendment 3] would "immunize" the database. REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE removed his objection. There being no further objection, Amendment 3 was adopted. 8:33:53 AM CHAIR MCCORMICK thanked everyone for their work on the bill. He said small communities have been fighting this issue for a long time and referenced the disappearance of Stella Evon. He reiterated that MMIP is a continent-wide issue. 8:35:23 AM REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE moved to report HB 234, as amended, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 234(CRA) was reported from the House Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee.