HB 163-DPS LAW ENFORCE. SVCS: AGREEMENTS/FEES    5:41:55 PM CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 163, "An Act authorizing the Department of Public Safety to enter into agreements with nonprofit regional corporations and federal, tribal, and local government agencies to provide law enforcement services; authorizing the Department of Public Safety to collect fees for certain law enforcement services; and providing for an effective date." 5:42:23 PM WALT MONEGAN, Commissioner Designee, Department of Public Safety (DPS), relayed that there will be changes to HB 163 to clarify the intent of the proposed legislation. He stated that the intent of HB 163 is not to charge villages for DPS services for which they are entitled, but to facilitate the contracting for DPS services by communities seeking extra protection. 5:43:39 PM REPRESENTATIVE WOOL noted that there is a shortage of troopers and DPS has withdrawn trooper coverage from areas due to lack of funding. He suggested that when an entity such as a municipality, regional corporation, or tribal government contracts for a trooper, that creates a shortage of troopers in the area from which that trooper came. He explained that unless there is a surplus of troopers and the money saved is used to hire and train another trooper, "we're playing a bit of whack-a- mole." COMMISSIONER MONEGAN responded that is not the intent of the proposed legislation. He suggested that the "cleanest" way to provide a contract trooper is to hire one into a long-term, non- permanent ("non-perm") position, so as not to detract from trooper coverage elsewhere. He stated that DPS is not "chasing the money"; it is trying to provide a service; and if the contract ends, so does the long-term, non-perm position. 5:45:58 PM REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH relayed that he is continually contacted by constituents in South Anchorage about the lack of trooper enforcement on the Seward Highway. He offered that having lived in Fairbanks for 25 years, he is aware that troopers provide law enforcement outside the corporate city limits of Fairbanks and North Pole but still within the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB). He asked how DPS, with limited resources, chooses the areas of trooper coverage. COMMISSIONER MONEGAN answered that at one point there were 19 troopers assigned to the Alaska Bureau of Highway Patrol (ABHP), but now there are 3. He stated that Colonel [James] Cockrell, Director, Alaska State Troopers (AST), has indicated that AST will service the Seward Highway Safety Corridor until the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) can "gear up" and take it over. He added that AST would still patrol that highway for limited hours during times of high traffic, since it is a state highway. He maintained that ultimately DPS needs to consider the areas with no other law enforcement available. He expressed his hope that MOA will arrange for all the communities along Turnagain Arm to "ante up" and work towards having that highway patrolled. He added that there is an ongoing discussion between the state and MOA regarding this matter. REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH asked about law enforcement coverage on Farmer's Loop Road, Steese Highway, Richardson Highway, and all the roads outside of the city limits of Fairbanks and North Pole, where residents have an expectation of public safety and public safety response. COMMISSIONER MONEGAN responded that the AST detachment in Fairbanks is more robust for patrol than that of Anchorage. The Fairbanks detachment handles areas not protected by the North Pole, Fairbanks, or University police, and often the police and troopers will support each other. He relayed that realistically the detachment in Fairbanks has a few more troopers who can respond to calls, whereas the Anchorage post has mostly command staff. 5:49:44 PM REPRESENTATIVE TUCK posed the question: If an agency contracted with DPS for services, would the authority for enforcement be with DPS or with the contracting agency? COMMISSIONER MONEGAN answered that the troopers would be working under the authority of state statutes. REPRESENTATIVE TUCK asked, "Who do they answer to?" COMMISSIONER MONEGAN responded that the troopers would take direction from the community to address the issues and concerns for which they were contracted. 5:52:00 PM CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS opened public testimony on HB 163. 5:52:22 PM WILL MAYO, Alaska Regional Coalition (ARC) and Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC), testified that ARC is a consortium of five Native non-profit regional corporations representing 65,000 Alaskans and 100 tribes from Kotzebue to Ketchikan. He stated that the members of the coalition include the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (CCTHITA) in Southeast Alaska, Kawerak in the Nome region, Chugachmiut in the Prince William Sound region, Maniilaq in Northwest Alaska, and TCC in the Interior. He relayed that [these corporations] partner with the State of Alaska through contracts and grants to provide numerous services to Alaska residents, including public safety in remote rural communities. MR. MAYO maintained that the Alaska Regional Coalition appreciates the intent of HB 163, which is to find ways to increase the number of public safety officers in the state. He asserted that public safety is a key priority for the coalition. He reiterated that the intent of HB 163 is for the department to have the flexibility to contract with communities that want to pay for trooper presence. He stated that this is a laudable goal; however, he expressed that the coalition is concerned that HB 163 may have unintended consequences. This concern is that HB 163 may one day be interpreted such that all 150-plus small communities in Alaska that currently do not have any public safety presence might be invited, expected, or required to enter into contracts with DPS to receive public safety services. MR. MAYO mentioned that the coalition has brought this concern to the attention of DPS; DPS shares the concern and is drafting language to address it. He asserted that DPS did go on record to the House State Affairs Standing Committee [during the 3/21/17 meeting] stating that it does not intend to create a system in which law enforcement is available to one community and not another. He conceded that the interpretation he cited does not represent the intent of HB 163, but the coalition believes that this concern should be alleviated explicitly within the proposed legislation. 5:56:18 PM CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS closed public testimony on HB 163. [HB 163 was held over.]