HB 205-TRAFFIC OFFENSES: FINES/SCHOOL ZONES  1:31:42 PM CHAIR WES KELLER announced that the next order of business would be SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 205, "An Act relating to traffic offenses committed in a school zone; and prohibiting changing lanes in a school zone." 1:32:02 PM REPRESENTATIVE LYNN moved Amendment 1, Page 2, line 1: Delete "a misdemeanor" Insert "an infraction and is punishable by a fine not to exceed $500" CHAIR KELLER objected. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said school zones are very hazardous areas, but a misdemeanor is "probably over the top." Making the offense an infraction brings it in line with any other infraction, and there is flexibility for a judge because it says "not to exceed." 1:33:43 PM REPRESENTATIVE GABRIELLE LEDOUX pointed out that a misdemeanor would give the offender the right to a trial by jury, and she does not think an infraction would provide that right. A misdemeanor would also provide for a public defender, so the infraction would be less costly to the state and municipalities. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN asked if a ticket for speeding in a school zone is a misdemeanor or an infraction. REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX replied that she thinks speeding in a school zone gets a person a ticket, not a misdemeanor. 1:34:42 PM REPRESENTATIVE LYNN surmised that he could amend HB 205 "to make it similar to any other traffic ticket a person might get in a particular place like a school zone." CHAIR KELLER said he wanted to get this on the record, but he will save the question for later. He withdrew his objection to the amendment. REPRESENTATIVE MAX GRUENBERG said the questions need to be answered before voting on the amendment. 1:35:37 PM REPRESENTATIVE NEAL FOSTER, Alaska State Legislature, said HB 205 is an act relating to traffic offenses committed in a school zone and prohibiting [changing] lanes in a school zone. He thanked Representative Lynn for strengthening the bill by adding the provision on changing lanes. A tragedy occurred in 2011; a boy had just moved from Nome to Fairbanks and while waiting on the corner by his school he was struck and killed by a person under the influence of prescription medications and who was speeding through the intersection. The boy's family will be testifying, he added. The incident caused him to think about what could be done to make children safer. He pointed out that people driving along highways are subject to double fines when construction workers are present. "Why wouldn't we afford that same level of protection to our youngest and our most vulnerable?" he asked. The bill is simple: it says drivers who speed through school zones will be subject to double fines and drivers may not change lanes in a school zone that is equipped with a flashing light if the light is flashing. 1:37:34 PM PAUL LABOLLE, Staff, Representative Neal Foster, Alaska State Legislature, stated that speeding is considered a violation, and violations and infractions and are treated by the courts equally and are both considered minor infractions. CHAIR KELLER asked if Representative Lynn's amendment is appropriate. MR. LABOLLE said he has discussed the issue with the courts, and it does seem in line with the remainder of the bill. 1:38:33 PM REPRESENTATIVE LANCE PRUITT pointed out a street in Anchorage that goes underneath a bridge by a junior high school and is a school zone at times. There are about three lanes on each side, and the street can easily get backed up, he noted. He said he understands why the cars need to slow down because students cross the street, but now a person who changes lanes could be in trouble [under HB 205]. 1:39:51 PM REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER said that the topic was discussed right before this meeting. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN noted that the school zone he goes through most often is on Lake Otis [Parkway], "and sometimes I contemplate a citizen's arrest." He said he is religious about not exceeding the speed limit of 20 miles per hour, and people pass him like he is tied to a post, going in and out of lanes. It is a public safety hazard, he opined. He originally thought of outlawing passing in a school zone but, for now, has decided it would be "too unwieldy." He said he decided to coordinate with Representative Foster on HB 205, and he wants to still have that provision if it can be made practical. He spoke about drivers needing to change lanes to make a turn. "This is a very good bill, and I don't want to impede its progress." He asked for potential solutions from the committee. 1:43:14 PM REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX said she is a really lousy driver and does not know the answer. She asked if changing lanes in a school zone is dangerous when driving the speed limit and being cautious. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN stated that changing lanes is inherently more dangerous than not changing lanes-any place. He noted that there is a difference from just changing lanes and weaving in and out. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said that the amendment the committee just adopted created an infraction punishable by a fine not to exceed $500. The term "infraction" is defined in AS 28.90.010 with a maximum fine of $300. He said he does not know if there is an inconsistency between "the other two sections and Section 2." The other two sections delegate to the Supreme Court the responsibility of setting the fine schedule, and "it says that if you're doing it in a traffic safety corridor, it should be double the amount normally." He said, "We're adding school zone to that and here we're putting this particular crime as an infraction, and I don't know how that would be reconciled with the other two sections of the bill." He noted that in 1985, the legislature dealt with something similar, and it was a very thorny problem. The question then was how to effectively prosecute somebody who passes a school bus when the bus is stopped and the lights are flashing. In the darkness, it is difficult to tell who is driving the car, and it was effectively impossible to prosecute. 1:48:54 PM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said the same problem may exist with HB 205. A crossing guard will be watching the kids and a speeder may zoom by "and they're lucky if they get the license number." The decision was to take a Minnesota law that said, "If you can identify and prove the owner of the car, there shall be a civil penalty assessed against owner." The amount of the civil penalty was set out, and if the owner of the car came forth and identified the driver and said the driver was not the owner, "then they prosecute the driver and the civil penalty would be abated." 1:49:59 PM CHAIR KELLER announced the start of public testimony. CUSSY KAUER, Nome, Alaska, thanked the authors of the bill. The driving population in Alaska needs to be educated that when one puts our children at risk by bad driving behavior the consequences are now more severe, she said. 1:51:22 PM MS. KAUER, speaking for Jamison Thrun, who was a 4th generation Alaskan and 11-year-old student at University Park Elementary in Fairbanks said: A bright sunny August morning me and my little brother Kaden were walking to school and Kaden forgot his soccer ball. I told him to go back home and get it; I would wait for him. He started running back to our house and I heard the screaming of tires. MS. KAUER continued: That day, August 30, 2011, changed the lives of our family, my daughter Kelly, her husband, her children, and those of many across Alaska as we mourn the instant killing of Jamison just 15 days after he left Nome for his new Fairbanks home. Kaden returned with his soccer ball and witnessed his brother lying in the grass while EMTs prepared him for the ambulance. He put his hand over his eyes as he passed by and ran the rest of the way to school and in shock waited for his big brother Jamison who would never come. Jamison had plans for a new life in his new home, at his new school, in his new town, but he died on the streets of Fairbanks on his way to school. He wanted to play football. He had just gotten a new trampoline two days earlier. I know Jamison is in heaven and his mother is missing him terribly. Jamison had plans, and, I assure you, residing in Birch Hill Cemetery was not part of them. Parents should expect when their child leaves home for school in the morning the next time they will see them that evening is at the supper table, not laying opened up on an operating table. Highway work zones involve men and women exposed to an element of risk and danger as they are performing their work tasks, sometimes only protected by a hard hat, vulnerable to the driving behaviors of fellow Alaskans and the public. The same care and caution should be exercised by drivers where there are high concentrations of our most precious, which includes school zones, school yards, and school drive-throughs. While this bill does not address these other properties, by passing HB 205 and amending current statutes it is one small step down a long path I intend to take with the help of all of you and on behalf of my grandson, Jamison Thrun. 1:54:40 PM CHAIR KELLER stated that everyone is sobered in hearing Ms. Kauer's testimony. CONNIE McKENZIE, Legislative Liaison, Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT), said the DOT is preparing a fiscal note on HB 205, and she apologized for forgetting the signage aspect of the bill. There will be signage on the flashing lights to indicate that there would be no turning within the school zone, and there will be signage indicating the start and end of a double-fine zone. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN asked if the fiscal note would be different with the changing lanes provision. MS. McKENZIE said the fiscal note would change because part of the signage is addressing the "no turn zone." 1:57:03 PM REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER asked her to make a fiscal note with just the double fines and one with both. MS. McKENZIE said DOT could break out each section. CHAIR KELLER asked how many school zones are where turns are even possible. MS. McKENZIE said DOT has estimated the number, and there is often more than one school zone around a school. The estimate is 168 school zones statewide. 1:58:53 PM CHAIR KELLER said he was setting HB 205 aside.