HB 334 - SENTENCING; 3RD SERIOUS FELONY OFFENDER Number 619 REP. CON BUNDE, Prime Sponsor of HB 334, testified that the intent of this legislation is to deal with the violent predator in our society. He further stated that this legislation would not affect a great deal of people, perhaps six per year. Rep. Bunde indicated that there was a CS for HB 334 and asked the committee if they could address the CS. Number 635 REP. GREEN moved that the committee adopt the CS for HB 334 as the document of record. Number 636 CHAIRMAN PORTER moved the CS as being before the committee. Number 639 REP. BUNDE indicated that the CS addresses several of the problems raised by the Department of Law; i.e., prosecutorial discretion, constitutional questions, and some problems that have been addressed in other states. The point he wanted to make was that the intent of the bill was not to make someone who gets into trouble with the IRS, defaces something in the post office, etc., it is not the intent to put them in jail for life. What he is talking about here is violent offenders who are what we call predators and repeat offenders who are causing a large portion of the crime and endangering society. Number 674 DEAN GUANELI, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, Department of Law, testified that the committee substitute requires a 99 year mandatory sentence for someone who is convicted of a Class A or Unclassified felony, and who has been previously convicted of similar offenses at least twice. He further testified that this bill gives prosecutors some prosecutorial discretion in deciding whether to proceed with this mandatory sentencing provision or not and he feels that consideration is very important in order to eliminate, perhaps, some unjust result that might occur. He further indicated the bill requires that the third felony be an unclassified offense. Number 776 JUDGE JIM HANSEN, Superior Court, Anchorage, testified via teleconference in support of the legislation and further testified that HB 334 would be a good tool to use and he is pleased that prosecutorial discretion is a component of the legislation. Specifically, Judge Hansen testified that on page 4, line 26, adding the word "similar" and deleting the words "substantially identical" would create difficulties for the court. REP. GREEN asked if there would be any benefit of having a mandatory life or another 15 year sentencing addition to present law that would lock up an individual for the remainder of his life. MR. GUANELI responded that the first two "strikes" could be a class of lower felonies that would satisfy those first two strikes. He then added that on the first felony conviction, an individual might only serve one or so years. On the second felony, they might serve only four or so years, maybe more. He felt they were talking about people who are in their late twenty's or early thirty's who would commit the serious third felony.