HOUSE BILL NO. 334 "An Act relating to wavier of tuition and fees for certain family members of a police officer killed in the line of duty; and providing for an effective date." Representative Kelly spoke in support of HB 334. He provided members with a proposed committee substitute, work draft 0-LS1380\E, 1/27/98 (copy on file). He reviewed changes incorporated by the work draft. He observed that the proposed committee substitute would clarify that the tuition waiver would be for undergraduate studies. The proposed committee substitute also added a retroactive clause. SANDY PERRY-PROVOST, SPECIAL ASSISTANT, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY estimated that two or three dependents would be eligible under the retroactive clause. Co-Chair Therriault MOVED to ADOPT, work draft 0-LS1380\E, 1/27/98. There being NO OBJECTION, the motion was adopted. PATRICK EGGERS, ALASKA STATE FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION spoke in support of the legislation. He asked that firefighters, who face daily peril in their jobs, be included in the legislation. He observed that no dependents of firefighters would be covered under the retroactive clause. RICHARD DUNCAN, ALASKA STATE FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION provided members with information on the deaths of the following Alaskan firefighters killed in the line of duty: Hugh Rudolph, Thomas Dunnigan, Harry Newell, Donald Hyde, Charles Whitehorn, and Christine Pennington (copy on file). JIM SAMPSON, JUNEAU spoke in support of HB 334. He observed that John Kevin Lamm, a Fairbanks police officer was recently killed while on duty. On behalf of Mr. Lamm's dependents, he expressed his appreciation for the legislation and urged its adoption. Representative Foster MOVED to ADOPT Amendment #1 (copy on file). Amendment #1 would add spouses and dependents of firefighters, killed in the line of duty, to HB 334. Co- Chair Therriault OBJECTED for the purpose of discussion. (Tape Change, HFC 98 - 8, Side 2) Co-Chair Therriault observed the difficulty of "drawing a line." He questioned where the line should be drawn. Representative Kelly stated that he would draw the line based on the scope of a person's duties. He compared a security guard that is working to protect the assets and patrons of a bank, to military personnel, police officers and firemen that are protecting society at large. Co-Chair Therriault and Representative Davis expressed concern that the legislation could become too inclusive. Representative Martin stressed that the State needs to encourage people that are willing to sacrifice themselves, daily, for the citizens on the street and in the neighborhoods to live safely. Co-Chair Therriault WITHDREW his OBJECTED. There being NO OBJECTION, the motion to adopt Amendment #1 was passed. Representative Grussendorf MOVED to ADOPT Amendment #2 (copy on file). Amendment #2 would add village public safety officers (VPSO) to HB 334. He emphasized that village public safety officers are the police in rural areas. He observed that a VPSO officer was killed in an ambush on his way to investigate a domestic violence assault, in 1986. No village public safety officers have been killed in the line of duty since that time. There being NO OBJECTION, Amendment #2 was adopted. Representative Mulder MOVED to ADOPT Amendment #3. Amendment #3 would adopt a title change to reflect the amendments adopted by the Committee. He stressed that the title should be tightened to prevent addition. Representative Kelly spoke in support of Amendment #3. There being NO OBJECTION, Amendment #3 was adopted. MIKE CORKHILL, ALASKA POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION, ANCHORAGE testified via the teleconference network in support of HB 334. He spoke in support of expanding the legislation to cover other police officers such as village public safety officers. He asked if an unborn child would be covered by the legislation. He suggested that clarification be made that current, not former, spouse be covered by the legislation. He expressed concern regarding residential requirements. He noted that police officers can be hired by municipal agencies from outside the State. He felt that an officer working in Alaska should not be excluded from the benefits of the legislation. Co-Chair Therriault observed that an unborn child would be covered as the officer's dependent. Representative Mulder MOVED to report CSHB 334 (FIN) out of Committee with the accompanying fiscal note. CSHB 334 (FIN) was REPORTED out of Committee with a "do pass" recommendation and with a fiscal impact note by the University of Alaska.