SENATE BILL NO. 63 "An Act providing for automatic waiver of juvenile jurisdiction and prosecution of minors as adults for certain violations of laws by minors who use deadly weapons to commit offenses that are crimes against a person, and relating to the sealing of the records of those minors." JAMES AMRSTRONG, STAFF, SENATOR DONLEY testified in support of SB 63. He observed that the Committee received a proposed committee substitute for SB 63, work draft O- LS0295\B, 6/30/98 (copy on file). He maintained that the proposed committee substitute would create a strong deterrent to the repeated use of deadly weapons by juveniles. The proposed committee substitute would prosecute as adult, minors that: 1. Use a deadly weapon to commit a class B felony crime against a person; 2. Are 16 or older, and 3. Were previously adjudicated delinquent or convicted as an adult of using a deadly weapon to commit a crime against a person punishable as a felony. Mr. Armstrong pointed out that the proposed committee substitute would not waive juvenile offenders who have committed class C felony offenses. He clarified that offenses committed with a dangerous instrument would not be included under the proposed committee substitute. Representative Davies asked how many cases the legislation would affect. Mr. James estimated that three cases would be affected by the legislation Representative Davies noted that the Department of Law waived seven cases in the past year. Mr. James observed that the legislation expands the law to cover class B offenses. Co-Chair Therriault MOVED to ADOPT work draft O-LS0295\B, 6/30/98. There being NO OBJECTION, the motion was adopted. Representative Davies asked the significance of the language "a crime punishable as a class B felony." He questioned if the language would reach beyond class B felonies; such as in the case of a class C aggravated offense. A class C aggravated offense would be punishable as a class B offense. Mr. James did not think that a class C aggravated offense would be waived by the legislation. MARGOT KNUTH, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, CRIMINAL DIVISION, DEPARTMENT OF LAW AND GOVERNOR'S CHILDRENS CABINET ON ISSUES OF JUVENILE JUSTICE testified that SB 63 represents a change in Alaskan law. She observed that, currently, automatic waivers only occur for unclassified and class A felony offenses. She noted that the Governor's Conference on Youth and Justice considered the issue of extending automatic waivers to other offenses. The Governor's Conference on Youth and Justice concluded that dual sentencing for younger offenders or lesser offenses would be a better alternative. She pointed out that HB 16 would include a dual sentencing provision for this type of offense. The Governor's Conference on Youth and Justice recommended more prevention for the bulk of juvenile offenses. She acknowledged that the legislation is improved by the proposed committee substitute. She estimated that eight juveniles a year would be affected by the legislation. In response to a question by Co-Chair Therriault, Ms. Knuth clarified that the Senate Finance Committee's fiscal note was in reaction to the Department of Corrections' request for a new facility. The Senate Finance Committee disputed the Department of Corrections' claim that the legislation would require an expansion of existing facilities. She noted that the Department of Corrections' revised fiscal note only includes incarceration costs of new offenders. Co-Chair Therriault provided members with a copy of the offenses that would be captured by the proposed committee substitute (copy on file). Co-Chair Hanley noted that the Department of Corrections estimated that eight juveniles would be affect by the mandatory waiver per year. He questioned if this estimate reflects the number of juveniles that would be waived under the current discretionary law. Ms. Knuth did not know if the figure included juveniles that would be waived under current law. She clarified that the language "punishable as" applies to a unclassified felony, a class A felony and a class B felony. She observed that sections 1 and 3 are not parallel. She explained that "punishable as an unclassified felony" indicates that it is a crime against a person and is also an unclassified felony. Representative Davies provided members with Amendment #1 (copy on file). The amendment would removed "punishable as". He emphasized that his intent is to clarify the language. He asked that the legislation be held in Committee in order to clarify the best method of drafting. Mr. Armstrong provided members with a list of cases that occurred in the previous year (copy on file). Senate Bill 63 would have affected three of these cases. Representative Kelly observed that juveniles are adjudicated as delinquents for offenses that would be punishable as unclassified, class A, or class B felonies in adult court. GEORGE BUHITE, STATEWIDE, YOUTH CORRECTIONS, DIVISION OF YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES stated that he would try to determine the number of new cases that would be waived under SB 63. BLAIR MCCUNE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, PUBLIC DEFENDERS AGENCY testified via teleconference from Anchorage. He reiterated that the waiver would be mandatory. He spoke in support of retaining discretion. He emphasized that some of the offenders would be amenable to treatment as juveniles. He clarified that, in automatic waiver cases, the case is taken to a grand jury. The juvenile is arraigned in adult court. If the jury finds the defendant guilty of a lesser degree offense than what they were charged with, the defendant can request consideration as a juvenile. SB 63 was HELD in Committee for further consideration.