SB 206-VEHICLE REGIS/LICENSING/ACCIDENT REPORTS    8:05:50 AM VICE CHAIR KELLER announced that the first order of business was CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 206(STA), "An Act relating to motor vehicle registration and fees; relating to licensing of school bus drivers; relating to notice of an accident involving a motor vehicle; and providing for an effective date." 8:06:34 AM SENATOR PETER MICCICHE, Alaska State Legislature, as prime sponsor, presented CSSB 206(STA). He said the bill was about three things: efficiency of the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), timely reporting of highway accidents, and ensuring appropriate employees are entrusted to drive children to school. He said he envisions a DMV where most of the business is done on line. People would set up an account where they could manage the registration and other payments on their vehicles, using PayPal or a credit card. He said statutes need to be updated to facilitate the use of current technology, which he said he believes would reduce costs. He said the proposed legislation would allow the DMV to use e-mail notification, would put into statute the current process of waiving the $10 fee for using the web site to renew registrations, and would allow accident reports to be submitted electronically. SENATOR MICCICHE emphasized that the only licenses that would be affected under CSSB 206(STA) would be those of school bus drivers. He named the following crimes as allowed in the past history of school bus drivers: murder, assault, kidnapping, indecent exposure, and felony prostitution. The proposed legislation would give a 10-year "look back" for existing school bus license holders and require a background check every five years at renewal. It would give [the DMV] discretion for licensing a person convicted of a misdemeanor within the prior two years, if the crime did not involve a child. 8:09:54 AM SENATOR MICCICHE said he likes the common sense aspect of the proposed legislation, as well as the focus on increasing efficiency. He asked the committee to think about a fleet manager and how easily he/she could manage stock in a couple hours a year by using on line resources. He asked for the committee's support of CSSB 206(STA), and noted that there were representatives available from the DMV and the Department of Administration (DOA) to answer questions. 8:10:33 AM REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES noted that some people change their e-mail addresses frequently. She asked if, under CSSB 206(STA), people would have the option of being notified by e-mail or the United States Postal Service (USPS), or if the DMV would use the e-mail option if it had the person's e-mail address. SENATOR MICCICHE responded that the purpose of the proposed legislation was to make it legal for the DMV to make the change; it would not set up the details for the department. He offered his understanding that the DMV would not rely on just one method of communication; it would ensure that people are notified. He said he envisions a box that could be checked to indicate that the individual wants to receive notifications by e-mail, and the person would periodically go the web site and update his/her e- mail notification. He said it would be similar to people who get mailed notifications and notify the DMV when they have an address change. REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES said she supports paperless transactions, but knows that sometimes spam filters "catch" e-mails so the intended recipient does not see them. She indicated she would hear what the DMV's plans would be. She explained that she does not want people to have to pay a penalty if they do not receive an e-mail. SENATOR MICCICHE, in response to Vice Chair Keller, clarified that the language in the bill relating to criminal convictions relates solely to the licensing of school bus drivers, but Section 8 addresses licensing in general. 8:14:03 AM REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON said, "So, Section 3 starts with the school bus drivers." SENATOR MICCICHE said, "Right." REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON thanked the bill sponsor for proposing the improvements under CSSB 206(STA). He asked him to confirm that under the proposed legislation, all actions currently made with the DMV would be available electronically or would be omitted. SENATOR MICCICHE offered his understanding that none were left out; however, he deferred to the director of the DMV. He stated his assumption that there are some documents that would require an applicant to be physically present to sign his/her name. 8:15:12 AM VICE CHAIR KELLER opened public testimony. 8:15:35 AM BARBARA HUFF TUCKNESS, Director, Teamsters Local 959, testified in support of CSSB 206(STA). She assured the committee that she trusts the hundreds of school bus drivers that Teamsters Local 959 hires, because of the due diligence of the DMV, which currently runs background checks on the drivers. Notwithstanding that, she said Teamsters Local 959 supports "cleaning up that effort." She said she has spoken with the staff of the bill sponsor and the director of the DMV regarding language on page 5, lines 1-3, which read as follows: A person may renew a license under this section within one year before its expiration upon proper application, payment of the required fee, and the completion of a background check under (b)(4) of this section. 8:18:27 AM MS. HUFF TUCKNESS said this is new language, and she questioned whether the language needs to be clarified. She explained that the understanding of Teamsters Local 959 is that "the current practice shall continue to apply," which is: a bus driver applies for a license from the DMV, in conjunction with his/her commercial driver's license (CDL); a background check is done by the State of Alaska once the bus driver has applied for the job; the application is made directly to the school district or to a contractor with the school district; once awarded the job, the bus driver goes through the DMV licensure process. Ms. Huff Tuckness said in addition to the state background check, there is a federal background check done; however, the federal government is not as quick with the results. She expressed concern with allowing bus drivers to start work before the federal results are reported and then terminating their employment if and when the federal background check finds a criminal record. She explained that it is difficult to hire and retain school bus drivers because of the number of hours available, the unusual schedule, and the nine-month duration of the school term. She stated that Teamsters Local 959 supports all the other changes in CSSB 206(STA), but wants to make sure that an already difficult hiring process is not further complicated. She added, "Because if they are awarded and then they have to wait six months, they're probably going to be looking for other employment." 8:19:36 AM MS. HUFF TUCKNESS, in response to Representative Isaacson, clarified that under the proposed legislation, a prospective employee would have to wait until the federal response had been received before being allowed to go to work. She said that has not been the practice. She indicated concern that the proposed legislation may negatively impact current practice of clearing someone for hire through the state background check. She said, "Once they've actually been cleared through the state background check - and those new provisions that they will be checked for will be included in that - then they are actually awarded the job, pending anything negative coming from the federal background check. 8:20:49 AM REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON said he appreciates that Ms. Huff Tuckness wants to put people to work and does not want to lose good drivers; however, he said there could be a situation in which a person who had committed a type of crime that would make him/her unfit to be a school bus driver would be hired, because the state's background check showed nothing, but six months later the federal background check results would show that criminal background. He said that may not be the normal situation, but on the other hand, for a person looking for work, "that's maybe a good place to hide, unless the word goes out you will be found." 8:21:37 AM MS. HUFF TUCKNESS said she does not know how to speed up the federal process, which she indicated she had heard can take up to six months. She deferred to the director of the DMV to answer questions, but said the issue concerns Teamsters Local 959. She said she thinks Representative Isaacson's point was well taken. 8:22:04 AM REPRESENTATIVE GATTIS said, "If you don't know your information, you do the best with what you have." She said if someone is hired and information comes in that shows the person has committed an offense that warrants firing him/her, then actions are taken at that point to dismiss the person. She expressed her hope that Teamsters Local 959 supports that idea. She stated, "I certainly would not want to have a school district not be able to let that employee go based on that new information that they received." 8:23:08 AM MS. HUFF TUCKNESS emphasized that Teamsters Local 959 supports the current practice wherein the school district immediate terminates the employment of a school bus driver if it receives a negative report from the federal background check. She said Teamsters Local 959 respects good bus drivers and appreciates that they drive with up to 85 children behind them and make sure these children make it safely to school. 8:24:22 AM VICE CHAIR KELLER remarked that rushing the federal government is not an option. He said he would resist giving the federal government precedence over what Alaska does, because the state has a good system and the responsibility to make that system work. 8:25:08 AM AMY ERICKSON, Director, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Department of Administration, said she believes Ms. Huff Tuckness was correct in her outlining of the DMV process. She said the DMV accepts the application, takes a check for [payment of] the background check, and submits the fingerprints. There is a review of the applications, at which time the fingerprint cards are sent to the Department of Public Safety (DPS), which takes 30-60 days to deliver a response back to the DMV. If the background check comes back with "anything on the record," then the DMV sends an immediate cancellation. 8:25:46 AM REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON asked how much of the background check process of the state mirrors that of the federal government. 8:26:11 AM MS. ERICKSON said she is not certain how they compare, but said the DMV reviews the results of the state's background check for disqualifying offenses. REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON noted that the statute under which the DMV submits the applicant's information is AS 12.62.160. He asked if that information is sent to the Alaska State Troopers. MS. ERICKSON confirmed that the information is sent to the Department of Public Safety. REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON offered his understanding that much of the information that the [federal] criminal background check would cover may also be covered in a more expedited way by the Alaska State Troopers. He added that there are some gaps, but there is a lot of overlap. VICE CHAIR KELLER said that is a question that would be left unsatisfactorily answered in order to move the proposed legislation. He indicated that he was comfortable with that, because there has been "no indication of a problem in this area." 8:27:43 AM REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES asked Ms. Erickson to outline how the DMV would handle the electronic method proposed under CSSB 206(STA). MS. ERICKSON answered that the DMV envisions that customers would be able to opt in [to electronic communication], and if they do not, the division would continue to send notices out by mail. She said under statute, everyone must update his/her address when it changes, and it is a good question as to whether the DMV should have the same requirement for those using e-mail addresses. REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES said she thinks an update on e-mail addresses may be more important sometimes than an update on a physical address. 8:28:40 AM VICE CHAIR KELLER noted that Chair Lynn had joined the meeting and had indicated to him he would like him to continue leading the discussion. 8:28:51 AM REPRESENTATIVE GATTIS said from a customer standpoint, she would like to access all her vehicle information on line. 8:29:50 AM REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON commended the department for the offerings it has already put in place on line, and he emphasized how much time is saved by doing business with the DMV on line. 8:30:31 AM MS. ERICKSON said the DMV is excited, because it has "borrowed a web master" from DOA to "spruce up our web site and make it even easier for customers." 8:30:44 AM VICE CHAIR KELLER closed public testimony. 8:31:00 AM REPRESENTATIVE GATTIS opined that CSSB 206(STA) is a clean-up bill that should have been passed years ago, and she expressed appreciation for "where DMV is going with this." 8:31:20 AM REPRESENTATIVE GATTIS moved to report CSSB 206(STA) out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSSB 206(STA) was reported out of the House State Affairs Standing Committee.