CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 64(FIN) "An Act relating to theft and property offenses; relating to the definition of 'prior convictions' for certain theft offenses; establishing the Alaska Criminal Justice Commission and providing an expiration date; relating to the crime of custodial interference; relating to the duties of the Alaska Judicial Council; relating to jail-time credit for offenders in court-ordered treatment programs; relating to conditions of release, probation, and parole; relating to duties of the commissioner of corrections and board of parole; establishing a fund for reducing recidivism in the Department of Health and Social Services; requiring the commissioner of health and social services to establish programs for persons on conditions of release or probation that require testing for controlled substances and alcoholic beverages; requiring the board of parole to establish programs for persons on parole that require testing for controlled substances and alcoholic beverages; relating to the duties of the Department of Health and Social Services; and providing for an effective date." 10:48:59 AM Co-Chair Stoltze discussed that the committee would hear a presentation on the bill. JORDAN SHILLING, STAFF, SENATOR JOHN COGHILL, stated that SB 64 had had 21 hearings since its introduction, the summary of changes explaining the bills evolution could be found in member packets (copy on file). He stated that the bill had been created with the help of many experts in the Department of Law, Corrections, the Court System, and the Public Defender Agency. He introduced the PowerPoint presentation: "Senate Bill 64 Omnibus Crime/Corrections/Recidivism Bill" (copy on file). Mr. Shilling spoke to Slide 7, "Bill Components": · 24/7 Sobriety · Alaska Criminal Justice Commission · Probation Reform (P.A.C.E.) · More Risk-Needs Assessments · Recidivism Reduction Fund · Limited Licenses · Stricter penalties for attempted abduction · Adjusting the Felony Theft Threshold · Incentivizing Residential Treatment · PTSD Mitigating Factor · Confidentiality of Criminal Records Vice-Chair Neuman expressed concern about the Recidivism Reduction Fund. He believed that the Department of Corrections (DOC) had not used the funding it had received in FY14 through the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) because DOC had not had the ability to catch the shorter term people in need. He asked how it was envisioned that the fund would work; where would the money come from and how much money was expected. Mr. Shilling understood that Vice-Chair Neuman's office was in communication with DOC concerning movement of the fund. He deferred the question to the department. 10:53:46 AM RON TAYLOR, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, stated that $1 million had lapsed in terms of programming funds for substance abuse treatment programs and sex offender treatment programs. Co-Chair Stoltze asked if it was due to the inability to transfer the money to other programs. Mr. Taylor replied that the funds designated for those programs was not spent due to a number of factors and had not been transferred to other programs. Vice-Chair Neuman queried why the money available for drug treatment programs was not being used by the department for those programs. Mr. Taylor replied that contracts with providers needed to be vetted; additionally, when the contracts were established it was on a fee for service basis; if no services were provided on the contract then the department did not pay the money. He said that it was discovered toward the end of the fiscal year the money would lapse because of the way that the contracts were structured. He assured that the department was making efforts to ensure that the money was getting where it needed be in addition to working to include incentives in contract to ensure that staffing was appropriate. He said that the sex offender treatment program in Bethel had been the biggest problem for the department because there had been no provider in the area for several years. Vice-Chair Neuman reminded the committee that there was an amendment included in the operating budget directing legislators to work with DOC to reduce recidivisms. 10:56:52 AM Co-Chair Stoltze asked which of the provisions had initially been a priority of the sponsor. Mr. Shilling replied that the evidence based programs were extremely important, the 24/7 Sobriety Program, the Probation Reform Program (P.A.C.E.), and the Recidivism Reduction Fund. He said that the purpose of the fund differed from the funds previously mentioned; the purpose of the fund was to provide resources for individuals that had been incarcerated for a long time and had been recently released. He stressed that one of the biggest drivers of the recidivism rate was the way that prisoners were release without resources to be successful outside prison. Mr. Shilling shared that the provisions that had been added to the original legislation were: the PTSD Mitigating Factor, the Limited License provision, and Sections 2 through 4 concerning custodial interference were added in Senate Judiciary. He related that all other provisions were decided to be put into the bill during the interim as directed by the bill sponsor. Representative Munoz asked about the Limited License provision. Mr. Shilling pointed to Slide 23. He explained that the third DUI was considered a felony DUI, and often the offender would lose their license for the rest of their life. He stated that it was the sponsor's belief that, while the state had told them that they could not drive anymore, those individuals were currently on the road and without any accountability measures. He suggested that a special license could be granted to those individuals and referred to Slide 38, which listed details of the provision found in Section 30: A court may grant a limited license for felony DUI if:    · The person is participating in a court-ordered treatment program · Provides proof of insurance · Has an ignition interlock installed on their vehicle · Enrolled in the ASAP program. · Participating in 24/7 Sobriety · Has not been granted a limited license before Representative Munoz asked for details on the ASAP program. Mr. Shilling answered that is was the Alcohol Safety Action Program (ASAP), a drug screening and monitoring program. He related that anyone who got a DUI in the state was enrolled for a certain period of time. He added that the Limited License had been structured in a way that the offender would be fully accountable and there were no loopholes for them to be a danger to the public. Representative Munoz asked about the testing twice per day related to the 24/7 Sobriety provision. Mr. Shilling affirmed that that the 24/7 provision required twice daily breathalyzer tests. Representative Munoz understood that the alternate license was an alternative to permanent revocation. Mr. Shilling replied that it was an option for certain felony DUI offenders with lifetime revocations that were eligible for the therapeutic courts. 11:02:54 AM Representative Munoz asked whether partial custody interference and removal of a child for the state against the wishes of the other parent fell under the provisions of the bill. Mr. Shilling answered no. He furthered that the Custodial Interference section was geared towards non-relatives and dealt only with custodial interference in the 2nd degree. 11:05:33 AM Representative Guttenberg referred back to Section 30 of the legislation. He wondered what would happen to individuals who received the alternative license and then continued to disregard the law. Mr. Shilling answered that the same penalties would apply to them as would for individuals with regular licenses. He added that one aspect that was intended to change the behavior was the requirement that they successfully participate in the therapeutic courts. Representative Guttenberg wondered what would happen if a person received another DUI. Mr. Shilling said that if another DUI was received under the limited license the person would lose the limited license and would not be eligible again for the limited license. // Representative Guttenberg asked at what point the person would face jail time. Mr. Shilling opined that the bill did not address the question. Representative Thompson expressed concern about proof of insurance and thought language should be included that mandated proof of insurance for the limited licensees. Mr. Shilling pointed to Page 18, line 30 of the bill that required an individual to provide proof of insurance. 11:09:08 AM Representative Wilson had heard about two different 24/7 programs. She wondered which program was included in the bill. Mr. Shilling answered that the bill contained the felony limited license program, the other program was a misdemeanor limited license program that tied the 24/7 program to the license. Representative Wilson understood the third DUI would be considered a felony under the bill. Mr. Shilling answered in the affirmative; in a 10-year period. Representative Wilson asked about the timespan between the moment for felony conviction and eligibility for a limited license and what the restrictions would be on the license. Mr. Shilling deferred the question to the court system. 11:12:14 AM TIFFANY THOMAS, DRIVER LICENSING MANAGER, DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES, DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION (via teleconference), relayed that there would be two different mechanisms for a termination of revocation for a felony offender. The first would be for those offenders that did not have the opportunity to go through therapeutic court; according to AS 28.35.030, the person would have a 10 year minimum period of revocation before they could apply for a termination. The second path would involve the people that participated in therapeutic court; upon completion of therapeutic court and successful participation on a limited license they would be eligible to apply for a termination of revocation through the department. She said that the process could take 1 to 2 months. Representative Wilson asked how long it would take a person to get through the therapeutic court system before they could begin driving again. 11:16:19 AM Ms. Thomas replied that the court orders treatment program would take 6 months and all other requirements would need to be met. She thought it could take over a year before they could apply for the termination process. Representative Wilson asked for a definition of a limited license. Ms. Thomas replied that the division referred to it as an unlimited limited because it was not restricted to work. She said the limitations would be outlined in the bill. 11:17:54 AM SB 64 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further consideration. 11:18:27 AM RECESSED 5:16:34 PM RECONVENED Co-Chair Stoltze called the meeting to order. He relayed that the updated fiscal notes for HCS CSSB 195(FIN) and SJR 23 had not changed. The bills had reported out of committee earlier in the day.