SB 15-SEX OFFENDER/UNDERAGE ALCOHOL OFFENSE  1:42:38 PM CHAIR DAVIS announced the next order of business would be SB 15. SENATOR EGAN moved to adopt the proposed committee substitute (CS) for SB 15, labeled 27-LS0119/I, as the working document. CHAIR DAVIS objected for discussion purposes. SENATOR KEVIN MEYER, sponsor of SB 15, said there are people who will furnish alcohol to minors in return for sexual favors. This should not be tolerated. The lure of alcohol is a way for sex traffickers to kidnap children. This bill says if a person is convicted of buying alcohol for a minor, and also has a history of being a sex offender or child kidnapper, the penalty is upped by one step. CHRISTINE MARISIGAN, Staff to Senator Meyer, said the intent of the bill is to provide aggravated penalties for sex offenders or child kidnappers who provide alcohol to minors. There are two substantive changes in the CS. Page 1, lines 5 and 6, explicitly outline which alcohol penalties are included. These are AS 04.16.051, which is the furnishing or delivering of alcoholic beverages to persons under the age of 21; AS 04.16.055, which includes the offense of renting rooms for the purpose of providing alcoholic beverages to minors; and AS 04.16.057 which refers to possessing alcohol in a dwelling. The other substantive change is on page 2, lines 6 and 7, which explicitly sets out the definitions of sex offender and child kidnapper. 1:47:05 PM SENATOR DYSON said he liked the changes in the CS and assumed the definitions referred to convicted criminals. MS. MARISIGAN affirmed that was correct. 1:47:59 PM TONY NEWMAN, Program Officer, Division of Juvenile Justice, Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), said the definitions do apply to convicted sex offenders. 1:48:41 PM KATE BURKHARDT, Executive Director, Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), said the board is a statutory advisory body, and she does not speak on behalf of DHSS. The advisory board supports SB 15. Young people who choose to use alcohol do receive it more often than not from an older person. According to the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, one-third of students using alcohol said they received it from another person. It is important to note that in alternative high schools, students reported that about 28 percent had procured alcohol from an adult. Unlike traditional high school students, young women in alternative high schools are disproportionately receiving alcohol from adults. We know that alcohol and other drugs are indicated in the exploitation of minors. 1:51:46 PM SENATOR MEYER said there was a letter from the Alaska Peace Officers Association in support of the bill. SENATOR DYSON asked if the Department of Law (DOL) and the courts had any objections. SENATOR MEYER said they had met with DOL, and they helped write the bill but did not take a position. CHAIR DAVIS asked about the fiscal note. 1:53:29 PM SHALON HARRINGTON, Legislative Liaison, Department of Corrections (DOC), said that DOC went back over the last 15 years and looked at the number of offenders who were charged as sex offenders with a second offense of providing alcohol to minors. The average was 3.5 per year. Looking at those numbers and with elevated charges, this would result in an increase of 122 man days for a class A misdemeanor. If this charge was elevated, the average would go to 336 days. Multiplied by the number of offenders, this would give an increase of 860 days per year. With a daily cost of care of $106.44, the total financial impact would be $117,308. For a class c felony, the increase would result in 1,095 days per year, multiplied by 3.5, resulting in 2,579 days per year, with a total cost of $351,924. This explains the fiscal note. 1:56:52 PM SENATOR MEYER said, "That means at least seven people every year that are known sex offenders that are buying for minors". MS. HARRINGTON responded it is an average of seven per year. So there could be years with ten or years with two. SENATOR MEYER said that number shows the need for this bill, but noted he did not understand the fiscal note. It seemed excessive. He also questioned how DOC can know precisely how many they will have each year. Obviously there will be an increased cost, but the fiscal note should be indeterminate. DOL said that prosecutors won't necessarily go for the higher sentencing, but this gives them the flexibility to do so. MS. HARRINGTON replied that DOC had not met with the Department of Law. They based their calculations on the number of individuals charged with both offenses. These numbers are based on average sentences. DOC could revisit the fiscal note and talk with DOL. 2:00:38 PM SENATOR MEYER said that would be good. MS. HARRINGTON said the additional increase over two years would be due to overlapping inmates. SENATOR MEYER noted the conviction for a class C felony would be most likely; it is an automatic sentence. MS. HARRINGTON answered the average sentence is 365 days. 2:02:28 PM DOUG WOOLIVER, Administrative Attorney, Alaska Court System, said the sentencing would be for offenders who have a prior felony conviction. This would make them second felony offenders. SENATOR MEYER responded that if a person who was convicted once is now buying alcohol to do it again, this shows the need for this bill. The sentence seems adequate to the crime. He stated he was concerned about the cost, and would work with DOC to come up with a revised fiscal note. CHAIR DAVIS said that question could be handled in Finance. SENATOR MEYER asked Chair Davis if she would accept a motion to change the fiscal note. CHAIR DAVIS answered she was willing to attach a letter, but the fiscal note would still be the Finance committee's purview. SENATOR DYSON said he guessed the real fiscal impact would be significantly less than indicated by the current fiscal note. He noted the fiscal note could get changed in Judiciary. CHAIR DAVIS noted the bill had a Judiciary referral. SENATOR MEYER said that passing it on to Judiciary would be a good solution. CHAIR DAVIS said originally there was no fiscal note. SENATOR MEYER said it definitely needs a fiscal note; it just needs to be more accurate. 2:09:25 PM SENATOR EGAN moved to report CS for SB 15, version I, from committee with individual recommendations and accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSSB 15(HSS) moved from the Senate Health and Social Services Standing Committee.