HB 106-MISSING PERSONS UNDER 21 YEARS OLD  3:05:39 PM CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 106, "An Act relating to missing persons under 21 years of age." 3:06:26 PM The committee took a brief at-ease. 3:06:57 PM REPRESENTATIVE VANCE moved to adopt Amendment 1, [labeled 32- GH1581\A.1, Radford, 4/7/21], which read: Page 1, line 1, following "Act": Insert "relating to human trafficking; and" Page 1, following line 2: Insert a new bill section to read:  "* Section 1. AS 11.41.360(a) is amended to read: (a) A person commits the crime of human trafficking in the first degree if the person compels or induces another person to engage in sexual conduct, adult entertainment, or labor in the state by force or threat of force against any person, [OR] by deception,  or by coercion." Page 1, line 3: Delete "Section 1" Insert "Sec. 2" Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS objected for the purpose of discussion. 3:07:07 PM REPRESENTATIVE VANCE recalled that during the previous bill hearing on 4/1/21, a representative from the Department of Public Safety (DPS) had mentioned that the college age group [18-21] was more susceptible to coercion, which she later concluded could lead to human trafficking. Consequently, she observed that [Alaska's] human trafficking laws did not include the term "coercion." She explained that Amendment 1 would add "or by coercion" to the definition of human trafficking. She deferred to the Department of Law (DOL) for further explanation. 3:09:40 PM KACI SCHROEDER, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Law (DOL), stated that DOL was unsure of what the sponsor of Amendment 1 meant by "coercion." She explained that if the sponsor meant to include the crime of coercion, as it appears in Title 11, a defense attorney could argue that because the broader crime of coercion is a class C felony and a lower class of offense than human trafficking [class A felony], it should be charged with the lower offense. She added that additional amendments would be required to prevent that from happening. Therefore, as drafted, DOL had concerns with implementing Amendment 1 consistent with the intent of the legislature. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE concluded that Alaska's human trafficking statutes required further work. She asserted that the statutes should clarify that coercion is a factor in human trafficking while allowing the crime to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. She withdrew Amendment 1 in light of Ms. Schroeder's advice and informed committee members that she was working on a more comprehensive human trafficking bill. 3:12:28 PM REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN asked whether the majority of sex trafficking prosecutions in Alaska were being prosecuted by the federal government or the state. MS. SCHROEDER answered both. She said she couldn't determine who was doing more prosecutions, just that state and federal prosecutors worked closely on them together. 3:13:40 PM REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked whether the intent of Amendment 1 was to account for scenarios involving drug use. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE relayed that she was trying to bring Alaska's human trafficking definitions up to the federal standard by including the word "coercion." She said she had not specifically thought of drugs [while drafting the amendment], as not all instances of coercion involve them. 3:15:04 PM REPRESENTATIVE STORY expressed her appreciation for the bill. She informed committee members that many people in her district and across the state were concerned [about missing persons under the age of 21]. CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS invited final comments from the committee on HB 106. 3:15:53 PM REPRESENTATIVE VANCE stated her appreciation for the administration for bringing this legislation forward and updating the reporting standards for missing persons under the age of 21. She believed that many people were not aware of this issue or its connection to human trafficking. Further, she addressed the [high rates of] missing and murdered indigenous women. She shared a personal anecdote regarding a missing woman from her district [District 31] and stressed the importance of recognizing signs "of people who are being sought after and go missing." She also reported that 25 percent of the homeless population [in Alaska] were trafficked, which falls into the missing persons category. 3:17:43 PM REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN believed it was important to understand how the legislature intended "reasonable efforts" on page 2, line 9, to be interpreted. He opined that without clear intent, the requirement for reasonable effort could be ineffective or work done by law enforcement would be "extremely difficult to work into all the other tasks [the legislature] is asking law enforcement to do." He maintained that the term "reasonable" is subjective. Additionally, he directed attention to Section 2, paragraph (2), of the bill, which required [that a request be made] to remove the information from state and national databases within 24 hours of the missing person being located. He argued that sometimes, information regarding a missing person may not be accurate. He said in those situations, the 24-hour requirement may need further refinement. 3:19:40 PM REPRESENTATIVE KAUFMAN suggested referring the bill to the House Judiciary Standing Committee (HJUD) to resolve the aforementioned concerns. CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS recommended raising that consideration to the chair of HJUD or the speaker of the House, as [the speaker] makes the referrals. REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN in response to Representative Kaufman, explained that the intent of this legislation was to align Alaska statutes with federal law to acquire federal funds for missing persons reports. He said he appreciated the idea that HJUD could add much to the process; however, he disagreed with that opinion, as the House State Affairs Standing Committee's process had been robust. He concluded by stating his support for the bill. 3:21:28 PM REPRESENTATIVE TARR said research showed that a young person is typically trafficked within 48 hours, which indicated that timing is critical. She expressed her hope that "they will be able to do it within 24 hours because it's less likely that they'll be able to help that young person the more time goes on." 3:22:04 PM REPRESENTATIVE STORY agreed with Representative Tarr's remarks. She expressed her support for the legislation and hoped that it would pass expeditiously. 3:22:30 PM REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN moved to report HB 106 out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. Without objection, HB 106 was moved from the House State Affairs Standing Committee.