SB 235-ALCOHOL: LOCAL OPTION/LICENSING/MINORS  CHAIR OLSON announced the consideration of SB 235. 4:41:57 PM ANNE CARPENETI, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, Department of Law, said there are three sources for SB 235: recommendations from the Rural Justice Commission; a study by the Department of Health and Social Services in conjunction with federal guidelines to limit underage drinking; and an effort by the administration to enforce bootlegging laws in communities that have adopted local option. 4:42:45 PM MS. CARPENETI said the holdover from the Rural Justice Commission prohibits sending alcohol to a local option community in plastic bottles. It is more difficult to detect alcohol in plastic bottles. Sections 2, 3, 4, and 5 require the Alcohol Beverage Control Board to impose civil penalties on liquor licensees if their agents or employees in bars and package stores are convicted of selling alcohol to a minor. This was a recommendation by the study on underage drinking. It follows the laws regarding tobacco sales, which have greatly reduced sales of tobacco to minors because store owners are paying more attention to employee behavior. By having civil penalties on liquor licensees, it is hoped that they will emphasize the law to employees. Currently, bootlegging is a Class A misdemeanor for small amounts of liquor, and it is a Class C felony for larger amounts. In support of local option, the bill makes it a Class C if convicted for a third time of supplying smaller amounts. There is a mandatory minimal penalty for bootleggers, which is almost exactly like the one for drunk drivers, except the look-back period will be 10 years. It will change the manslaughter statute. A person who bootlegged alcohol to one of these communities could be prosecuted for manslaughter if a person who drank it died from alcohol poisoning. That is similar to the methamphetamine law. The bill will also allow those charged to be eligible for therapeutic courts. 4:46:08 PM SENATOR WAGONER said he is from Washington where a person can't buy liquor without a special identification card. "There wasn't any under-aged purchase of alcoholic beverages from state liquor stores in the state of Washington." MS. CARPENETI said there is a bill being considered that requires driver's licenses to be easier to read. That would be similar to the Washington situation. SENATOR WAGONER said not at all. In Washington, a driver's license is not a recommended identification in a liquor store. MS. CARPENETI said she will take that idea to DMV. 4:48:39 PM SENATOR THOMAS expressed concern about the second paragraph and holding people responsible for another person's actions. It requires the ABC to levy fines and suspend licenses if a bartender or clerk is convicted of furnishing alcohol to a minor. So the owner will be punished for what the bartender does. He acknowledged that there is a big problem, but trying to hold one person responsible for another's action is difficult for him to accept. It may impact a responsible bar owner. 4:50:12 PM MS. CARPENETI said she understands, but the experience with tobacco enforcement has been impressive in how these civil penalties can affect the way an owner runs a business. It is the owner who sets the tone of how important the laws are. The penalties are graduated so that the first offense has a small penalty. It has worked very, very well with tobacco enforcement. SENATOR THOMAS asked if more distinct I.D.s. or marks on driver's licenses for DUI offenders have been considered. MS. CARPENETI said there was a several-year discussion on a recently-passed bill on marking the driver's license. It was a real struggle to pass it, and it doesn't require licensees to check licenses, but it requires DMV to have the mark on the license. That was a compromise. 4:52:25 PM SENATOR THOMAS said someone with a fake I.D. is a different circumstance than if someone was not asked to show one. If they were required to ask, that would make a difference to him. MS. CARPENETI said that was one of the problems; the licensees didn't want to have to ask everyone. CHAIR OLSON asked if a person traveling with alcohol in their checked baggage has to have it in plastic containers as well. MS. CARPENETI said the bill applies to licensees sending alcohol to local option communities in response to a written order. 4:53:28 PM CHAIR OLSON asked if homemade wine needs to be in plastic. MS. CARPENETI said SB 235 refers to licensees who are sending alcohol to a rural area. DIANE CASTO, Manager, Prevention and Early Intervention Services, Behavioral Health, Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), Juneau, said she supports SB 235. One of the main issues she deals with is substance abuse. To stem the tide of later alcohol abuse it is important to work with youth. She will supply the committee with Alaska's Plan to Reduce and Prevent Underage Drinking. The plan is now open to public comment. The acting Surgeon General came to Alaska when the plan was released. Alaska's plan is based on a national movement. In 2002, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council put together a strategy called "Reducing Underage Drinking, a Collective Responsibility." It helped Alaska develop its plan. All of the research asserts that access to alcohol is the main issue. Not all access comes through venders, but the plan calls for higher penalties for retailers, which is a critical component. 4:57:20 PM MS. CASTO referred to the Biannual Youth Risk Behavior Survey. It is a CDC survey that is done by the Department of Education and DHSS. The 2007 results show a small decline in substance abuse in Alaska. She said 73.6 percent of students in grades 9 - 12 reported having had at least one drink of alcohol one or more days during their lifetime, and 20.4 percent of students had their first drink -- other than a few sips -- before age 13. Research shows that rates of lifetime dependence on alcohol decline from more than 40 percent among individuals who start drinking at age 14 or younger, to roughly 10 percent for those who start drinking at age 20 or after. "So it is critical when kids start drinking as to what their lifetime dependence will be." She said 39.7 percent of students had at least one drink in the last 30 days, and 25.8 percent of students reported having five or more drinks in a row -- binge drinking -- on one or more occasions. Over 9 percent reported driving and drinking at least once in the past. 4:59:33 PM MS. CASTO said it is a problem that over 70 percent of our children have started drinking by high school. "We need to find ways to curb that." SENATOR WAGONER asked how it compares nationally. MS. CASTO said Alaska is often high, but she doesn't have the current national data. In 2005, Alaska is a little below the national average, which is good. "Hopefully we're starting to see some progress." 5:00:53 PM SENATOR THOMAS asked the sources of alcohol for the kids. MS. CASTO said that question is not asked in the survey. The tobacco survey does ask. She referred to a chart. In 1995 27 percent of Alaska high school youth purchased tobacco at a store, and in 2003 it dropped to 12 percent. "We changed our laws related to penalties for selling tobacco to a minor in 2002." There was a significant drop in how many youth were buying at the store. In 2007 only 3 percent were purchasing tobacco from a store. She doesn't have the data for alcohol. SENATOR THOMAS said it would be wise in figuring how to spend resources. MS. CASTO said it is a CDC survey. There is a process for adding questions, and that question has been discussed. 5:03:20 PM MS. CASTO said alcohol and youth is a lethal combination. The highest suicide rates for Alaskans are for 15-24 year olds. Nationally the age is much older. In Alaska 43.7 percent of all suicides involve alcohol or drugs. "So we know that alcohol is mixing with youth who are having a bad day and often times ending up in suicide." Alcohol increases the natural impulsivity of youth. Many are driving and drinking, creating critical injuries and fatalities. The three things in SB 235 that will impact under-aged drinking include the development of a statewide system to track minor consuming citations. Data is kept sporadically in the court system, but there is not one source where a judge, a treatment facility, or a probation officer can find out how many minor consuming offenses a youth has had. A judge might think the youth has only had the current offense, when he or she has actually had several. SB 235 will provide a tracking system for these youth and make sure they are getting the treatment they need. The bill will also reduce access to alcohol from vendors by increasing penalties. Alaska is proud of its stringent tobacco penalties. It has significantly reduced the sale of tobacco to Alaska youth. 5:06:31 PM MS. CASTO said that holding both the clerk and owner responsible is the critical element. The other piece that has made the tobacco law successful is the consistent and mandatory penalty. Alcohol penalties are not now mandatory or consistent. Sometimes there is no penalty at all. New laws have worked for tobacco. The third impact of SB 235 is putting more emphasis and more control in the damp and dry communities. The kids are getting some of the alcohol coming into those communities. SENATOR WAGONER asked why the proposed penalties for clerks are greater than for the licensee and business owner. 5:08:37 PM MS. CASTO said there are no proposed changes for the clerks in this bill. It will make the owner part of the responsibility. SENATOR WAGONER said the owner should have the primary responsibility. It should be more stringent for the business owner selling alcohol than the clerk. The clerks are getting $8.00 an hour, and the first offense is $10,000 and a year in jail. The penalties for the licensee are much smaller. MS. CARPENETI said current law will not change for the clerks and the agents. This bill will impose the only penalties on the licensee and the owner of the business. Right now there are no penalties. This would make it more rational. SENATOR WAGONER said maybe we should make it more stringent. MS. CASTO said the penalties are not mandatory now. The normal penalty for a clerk is some community service hours or a suspended penalty. SENATOR WAGONER said his son owned a sport bar in Washington and the laws were strict; if he had a violation of drugs on the premises or serving tobacco or alcohol to a minor, he would lose his license for good. Alaska is not stringent. 5:11:52 PM SENATOR THOMAS asked how the tobacco data was confirmed. MS. CASTO said the state is responsible to the federal government because of a $4.6 million block grant. Alaska has to do a Synar inspection, named after former U.S. Senator Mike Synar. Three investigators work with student interns to do compliance checks. There is a stratified sample across rural and urban Alaska. SENATOR THOMAS asked if the investigating interns use an I.D. showing their ages. MS. CASTO said they use their own I.D. Most of them are around 16 years old. There are strict requirements to keep from tricking anyone. Boys can't have facial hair, for example. There is an annual Synar Report. 5:15:11 PM SENATOR STEVENS asked about waitpersons. MS. CASTO said they're included, as is anyone who sells alcohol. SUE MCLEAN, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, Department of Law, said she spent years as a prosecuting attorney and wants to address the importation of alcohol into communities that exercise local option. She worked in Kodiak, Kenai, Bethel, and elsewhere. She was the District Attorney in Bethel and then started a rural prosecution program to assist attorneys in western Alaska. Crimes there are so much more serious than elsewhere. The villages that have kept alcohol from their communities have done it purposefully. The violent crime in those places when alcohol turns up is much more violent. Tragically, it is often directed at another family member or friend. It is tragic all around; it isn't a drive-by shooting. 5:18:17 PM MS. MCLEAN said of the few cases that she helped, two involved young people who were intoxicated and threatened to shoot themselves and ended up shooting their parents. One involved chasing an unarmed peace officer with an ax. "I don't think those things would have happened if it weren't for alcohol." Alcohol plays a large part in almost every crime she has seen in western Alaska. Yesterday she read a transcript of a taping of a bootlegger who said he had R & R Whiskey, which he would get $150.00 for each 1.5 pints. That is the going rate -- if not more. The bootleggers are making a business decision, because the first time they are caught the likelihood of serving any time is nil. It is probably true for the second time they are caught. The villagers are trying to keep the tragedy of alcohol from their families. It is indescribable to stand in a courtroom where a brother has killed another brother, or where a sister tried to burn down a house with her brother and his children inside. When she was brought into court the next morning, she can't even believe she did that. There are so many conflicting emotions. People don't remember what they have done. The families love the victim and the offender. That they have chosen to have the village dry, is something we should all support. 5:21:41 PM MS. MCLEAN said one way to support those communities is to make the bootlegger's business decision a little more expensive -- knowing that he will go to jail -- knowing that the third time he gets caught, he will have a felony - knowing that if someone drinks themselves to death, he will be held criminally responsible. That puts the bootlegger in touch with the consequences of what, for them, is simply a business. She referred to the bootlegger who was selling the $10 whiskey for $150. He had 76 bottles and would make $11,000. "There's no reason that a person wouldn't bootleg if they know they're not going to jail and they're going to get $11,000 for six cases of alcohol." 5:22:51 PM MATT FELIX, Director, National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Juneau, said he is head of the legislative committee for the State Directors Association. He is in the trenches with the people who are addicted to or abusing alcohol. He has done this for 36 years. He was once the state director of the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse. He assisted Senator Binkley in developing and implementing local option. He supports the local option section of this bill. "Any time you can tighten up local option, then we certainly agree with it." It has been effective in dramatic reductions in a variety of health and social ills, as shown by studies. Barrow and Selawik were perfect research spots because they switched from dry to wet and back. He supports the enforcement section. He agrees with Senator Wagoner on enforcement; Washington does it right and Alaska doesn't. The licensee is the responsible person. They are licensed to sell alcohol - a product that has potential harm. If they don't follow the law, they should suffer the consequences. "I think this bill is a little light on that area." 5:25:32 PM MR. FELIX said enforcement is prevention. Title IV is a statute that came into being with statehood, and it needs updating. The bill does this well. 5:26:28 PM PATRICIA LEEMAN, Deputy Directory, Operations, Division of Juvenile Justice, DHSS, Bethel, spoke to the impact that alcohol is having on rural Alaska and its kids. She has spent 18 years as superintendent of the Bethel Youth Facility, which is a juvenile detention and treatment facility. When youth drink, their judgment is reduced, and the awareness of the consequences of their actions becomes muddled. Between 50 and 80 percent of all crime by juveniles involve alcohol in some way. The youth may be intoxicated when committing an assault, or they may be breaking into someone's house to find liquor. Drinking makes young people easy targets for rape, assault, and sexual abuse and vulnerable to suicide. It is not unusual to see girls who have been so intoxicated when they were raped they don't even know it happened. Families become devastated. When she came to town 19 years ago, many youth who came to the attention of juvenile justice could not identify a single sober member of their family to be placed with. It remains true. The more readily alcohol is available, the more crimes youth commit. The more that access is limited, the more we can limit crimes. 5:29:37 PM MS. LEEMAN said there were 521 minor consuming alcohol referrals to the Bethel District Attorney's office from January 1, 2007 to October 11, 2007. It represented 25 percent of all misdemeanor referrals and 20 percent of total referrals during that time. This bill does a lot of different things to keep alcohol out of the hands of young people. Making alcohol less accessible in the YK [Yukon-Kuskokwim] delta would make a big difference for all the villages. For juvenile justice, the most useful part of SB 235 is establishing a tracking mechanism for minor consuming. Currently, when someone is cited for underage drinking, there is no indication as to the number of times that youth has been cited before. There is lack of information on whether the person has complied with the treatment requirements that had been set. In 2006 some agencies convened a task force on minor consuming. They found that youth were listed as first-time offenders multiple times as there was no way to track their histories. Police couldn't appropriately charge a young person for consuming alcohol. 5:31:28 PM MS. LEEMAN said the police could only contact a dispatch officer and ask to look at a four-inch stack of prior convictions, so the youth would often be charged as a first-time offender. The task force learned that 52 percent of the youth that were in court for the third time were convicted as first-time offenders. One youth was on the sixth offense and was convicted of having a first offense. Bethel now has a better tracking mechanism. This bill lays the groundwork for a statewide system. Bethel youth seem to be taking the charges more seriously now that they see that the justice system is more serious and following up with increased penalties for subsequent offenses and increased treatment that they so desperately need. 5:33:28 PM CHAIR OLSON obtained unanimous consent to redraft SB 235, Version A, to conform to the drafting manual. SENATOR THOMAS said he is concerned that owners of a license are responsible for their agents. It seems to be no different than holding the commissioner of public safety responsible for all of the criminal actions of their personnel. There have been many police officers charged, and that is "no different than holding a bar owner responsible for their bartenders, when they may not even be on the premises." CHAIR OLSON said Senator Wagoner is on the other end of that, but he has elected not to offer an amendment. SENATOR THOMAS said part of the bill deals with problems in the bush, and that is most serious. That doesn't mean there are no problems in the urban areas. His concern is with licensees that "make a good attempt to control something, but this is twice in a five-year period of time." That's a long time to make sure that every employee does not violate the law. A person may be responsible for 30 or 40 employees. Senator Thomas said he is not prepared to offer an amendment today. 5:37:39 PM CHAIR OLSON said he can hold the bill. SENATOR THOMAS said he would not want to be held responsible for some of his employees' actions. MS. CARPENETI said this is a civil penalty. A person is not criminally responsible for the acts of another person. It occurs only after a third offense in five years. SENATOR THOMAS read the lines: levy fines, and for second or subsequent offense in a five-year period -- suspend license. MS. CARPENETI said, "It's a 7-day license suspension for second, and it's a 30-day for third and subsequent … in a five-year period."