HB 49 - EXTEND TERMINATION DATE FOR BD OF PAROLE Number 1190 CHAIR ROKEBERG announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 49, "An Act extending the termination date of the Board of Parole; and providing for an effective date." Number 1174 LARRY JONES, Executive Director, State Board of Parole, Department of Corrections (DOC), explained that the Division of Legislative Audit has performed a sunset review and recommends that the State Board of Parole be extended. He added that the State Board of Parole supports HB 49. In response to questions, he said the final audit report makes three perfunctory, administrative-type recommendations, none of which will require statutory changes. He noted that the audit report recommends that the termination date be extended to June 30, 2005, whereas HB 49 provides for a June 30, 2006, termination date. He also mentioned that in past years, [the Division of Legislative Audit] has been trying to provide for longer termination dates for the State Board of Parole because of the cost of doing reviews more often. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL commented that parole officers seem to have a lot of power without a lot of oversight, and he then inquired about accountability. MR. JONES, in response, and for clarification, said that the State Board of Parole is an autonomous board that is ostensibly associated with the DOC but is officially a board that is appointed by the governor. He noted that the State Board of Parole is placed in the DOC for administrative expediency, but is very self-contained and is strictly concerned with parole hearings. He said that the State Board of Parole consciously tries to stay out of the DOC'S business, which includes oversight of parole officers. And although he acknowledged that the State Board of Parole interacts everyday with "the system", he maintained that the State Board of Parole does not have any authority over parole officers. He remarked that the State Board of Parole highly respects the parole officers of the state of Alaska, and feels that the parole officers do a very commendable job. CHAIR ROKEBERG asked whether any steps have been taken to follow through with the audit report's Recommendation No. 1 regarding notification of a victim's right to comment at parole hearings. MR. JONES noted that over the last few years there have been statutory additions to the parole process that have provided victims' rights, such as allowing victim participation at parole hearings, which the State Board of Parole views as a positive thing. As more victims become aware of those rights, he explained, they are becoming more participative, which has a profound impact on the decisions made at parole hearings. In response to the question regarding Recommendation No. 1, he reported that current statute holds the State Board of Parole responsible for notifying a victim of an upcoming parole hearing, but in practice, it is the DOC that carries out that responsibility. Recommendation No. 1 suggests that the State Board of Paroled should develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the DOC to formally reflect that it is the DOC that performs this service. He noted that since the DOC maintains a database of victims, and since the State Board of Parole only has a staff of five, it makes logistical sense for the DOC to continue with the notification process; thus the MOU will simply acknowledge in writing what is already being done. He added that he and the "victims' rights coordinator" from the DOC are in the process of drafting the MOU. Number 0772 MR. JONES, with regard to Recommendation No. 2, explained that there are five citizen board members, none of which are State of Alaska employees, and most serve on the board for a long time; for instance, the current board chair has been on the board for 18 years. Current statute, he continued, states that the governor shall set the board members' compensation, which was last set in 1984 by Governor Sheffield at $150 per day and $75 per half-day. He relayed that the audit report indicates that the State Board of Parole should submit something more current with regard to compensation of board members. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL asked how out-of-state inmates receive parole hearings. MR. JONES explained that the State Board of Parole travels to Arizona for "face-to-face hearings." Number 0626 REPRESENTATIVE JAMES moved to report HB 49 out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal note. There being no objection, HB 49 was reported from the House Judiciary Standing Committee.