HB 238-CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 3RD DEGREE  1:35:09 PM CHAIR VANCE announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 238, "An Act relating to criminal mischief in the third degree; and providing for an effective date." 1:35:22 PM REPRESENTATIVE ANDY JOSEPHSON, Alaska State Legislature, prime sponsor of HB 238, introduced himself for the record. 1:35:45 PM The committee took a brief at-ease. 1:36:13 PM REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON paraphrased the sponsor statement [included in the committee packet], which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: The Anti-Defamation League reports that recent years have seen the most antisemitic vandalism since they started reporting in 1979. The Municipality of Anchorage saw at least two notable incidences of vandalism on churches: a nazi symbol of the lawn of Mountain City Church and spray-painted phallic symbols on St. Andrew Catholic church. Instances such as these show that 1) targeted vandalism based on religious worship can affect anybody, and 2) we should not treat these types of crime as simple property damage. HB 238 amends AS 11.46.482: Criminal Mischief in the 3rd Degree to include a common criminal law known as "Institutional Vandalism." Forty-two states and the District of Columbia have passed laws which emphasize and punish criminal behavior related to the destruction of property used for, or owned by, a place of worship or the site of burial or cemetery. Alaska already makes it a C felony to deface, desecrate, or destroy a cemetery or place of burial under AS 11.46.482. Without that specific language, desecrating a cemetery would fall under typical destruction of property. Typical destruction of property is punished based on the value of the property: • C felony if the property value was $750 or more (AS 11.46.482); • A misdemeanor if the property value was between $250 and $750 (AS 11.46.484); • B misdemeanor if the property value was less than $250 (AS 11.46.486) Destruction of religious property or place of worship is treated like any other property crime; Therefore, it falls under the above measures. HB 238 would make any intentional desecration of religious property or place of worship a C felony just like vandalism to a place of burial. 1:41:35 PM CHAIR VANCE sought questions from committee members. 1:41:42 PM REPRESENTATIVE GRAY asked whether mosques, Buddhist temples, and other places of worship would be included in the bill. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON answered in the affirmative. 1:42:36 PM REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON read an excerpt from a book by Phyllis Gerstenfeld, titled "The ADL Perspective on Hate Crimes." He noted that in the aggravating section of Alaska Statutes, there is no inclusion of religion. Consequently, if someone were targeted for their religious belief, the Alaska courts would not enhance the punishment. 1:45:40 PM ALEXANDER SCHROEDER, Staff, Representative Andy Josephson, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Josephson, prime sponsor of HB 238, explained that there are five criminal mischief statutes with the first degree being a class A felony and the fifth degree being a class B misdemeanor. The intent of the bill, he explained, is to reclassify what would fall between the third and fifth degrees or "institutional vandalism" - under the third degree. He directed attention to a PowerPoint, titled "HB 238: Criminal Mischief in the Third Degree" [hard copy included in the committee packet]. 1:46:54 PM MR. SCHROEDER began on slide 2, "Institutional Vandalism," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: Intentional defacement, damage, or desecration of a building of worship. 42 states and D.C. make this a distinct crime from property damage. US Department of Justice and FBI report an increase in recent years of crimes to property motivated by religious bias. 1:48:17 PM MR. SCHROEDER continued to slide 3, which exhibited the states with institutional vandalism laws/statutes. He proceeded to slide 4, "Why Do we Need This Bill?" Slide 4 read as follows [original punctuation provided]: Vandalism to a place of worship is currently treated as a typical property crime. National and global events have a lead to an increase in these types of crimes, both nationally and locally. In 2022 (most recent data), crimes against property and religion as a bias motivating factor accounted for 80% of all hate crimes.* 1:50:30 PM MR. SCHROEDER proceeded to slide 5, titled "Hate Crime Incidents in 2022 (Alaska)," which broke down the bias motivation categories for hate crimes. He indicated that in 2022, 80 percent of hate crimes fell under the religion category. 1:50:58 PM MR. SCHROEDER moved to slide 6, which featured images showing local examples of religious desecration. He reiterated that the intent of the bill is to cover such instances within criminal mischief in the third degree. REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD said she appreciated Representative Josephson for bringing the bill forward and felt that the issue was "near and dear" to his heart. 1:52:26 PM REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON, referencing the photo on the right of slide 6, asked whether the Nazi symbol burned into the ground would be covered by the bill. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON theorized that that it may not be covered because, although it is real property used for a religious purpose, the bill provides for the defacement damage or desecration of a "building, structure, or personal property" used for worship or any other religious purpose. 1:53:42 PM MR. SCHROEDER said he would follow up with the requested information. He concluded on slide 7, "What Does HB 238 Do?" Slide 7 read as follows [original punctuation provided]: 1. Elevates any intentional vandalism to a religious institution to a C Felony. 2. Exempts authorized intentional damage by an employee of the institution. 3. Provides for an immediate effective date. This ensures that no matter the value of property damaged, vandalism of a place of worship is treated the same: • There is no dollar value that can be placed on psychological and/or spiritual harm. • The bill's language will house places of worship and places of burial in Criminal Mischief in the Third Degree. MR. SCHROEDER added that the value of property should not be the measure for punishment. He pointed out that the free exercise of religion is a First Amendment right for a reason and opined that these types of crimes encroach on that right by causing spiritual and psychological harm. 1:56:05 PM REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON said it strikes him as inconsistent that the building next door deserves less protection than a place of burial or cemetery, which when desiccated or defaced, is provided for under current law. CHAIR VANCE sought questions from committee members. 1:56:40 PM REPRESENTATIVE GRAY highlighted the 182 percent increase in violence against Muslims between the three weeks following October 7. He sought to confirm that the purpose of the affirmative defense outlined in Section 2 of the bill is to protect someone who might tear down a wall in a church as part of his/her job. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON answered in the affirmative. CHAIR VANCE announced that HB 238 would be held over.