SJUD-2/8/95  SB 14 INCREASED PENALTIES FOR JOYRIDING  SENATOR TAYLOR announced SB 14 was the next item on the agenda. At his request, the Department of Law prepared an amendment to include juveniles. The amendment (Amendment #1) makes joyriding a moving traffic violation therefore both adult and juvenile violators would be treated the same. SENATOR ELLIS asked if this provision would trigger the new law that requires the mandatory waiver of juveniles into adult court. SENATOR TAYLOR answered no, currently juveniles are tried in adult court for moving traffic violations, such as speeding or driving in a negligent manner. The amendment would specifically designate joyriding as a moving traffic violation. SENATOR TAYLOR moved the adoption of Amendment #1. Due to objection, the motion was under discussion. Number 470 Margot Knuth, Assistant Attorney General with the Department of Law, testified. She explained Amendment #1 would specify joyriding as a criminal offense in Title 28. Title 47.10.010 (the statute governing juvenile proceedings) requires that juveniles committing offenses listed in Title 28 be waived to adult court. By creating the offense in Title 28, juveniles over 16 years of age would be tried as adults. The offense would also be reflected in the offender's record. Driving privileges could then be suspended. The amendment reflects several concerns of the Department of Law. The first concern is the fiscal impact of raising first joyriding offenses to a felony level, especially if juveniles are included, because the number of joyriding incidents has doubled in Anchorage alone. If first offenses are designated as felonies, the Department of Law would have to prosecute those cases because felonies can only be prosecuted by the State, therefore the cases currently being handled by the Anchorage Municipality would be transferred to the State. To further increase the workload, the juvenile offenders, which comprise 50 percent of the cases, would also be referred to the Department of Law. The number of new felony cases prosecuted by the Department would be 400 to 800 per year. Secondly, juveniles would not be affected by changing the first offense to a felony, because delinquency rules require those offenders be treated as juveniles and the offense would not be reflected in their records. Ms. Knuth explained the amendment leaves criminal mischief offenses where they are now, and adds to Title 28 the joyriding offense which would be recorded as a first offense unless the offender causes $500 or more in damages to the vehicle, which is currently a felony. The intent is to target the hundreds of cases in Anchorage in which cars are taken but either not damaged, or in which damages cost less than $500. By placing the offense in Title 28, it will remain a misdemeanor and can be prosecuted by municipalities and the State, and an offender's license would automatically be suspended upon conviction. This method would be enforceable on a consistent and thorough basis, and could be considered an incremental approach to the problem. Ms. Knuth noted she has been advised by Anchorage police officers that license suspension is the single most effective means of getting a juvenile's attention. By including this measure in Title 28, points from the offense would carry over to further license actions if the person re-offends. Number 526 SENATOR ADAMS noted the amendment allows the offense to be considered a Class C felony, which is punishable by a fine of up to $50,000 or five years of prison. He asked what other types of crimes are categorized as Class C felonies. MS. KNUTH stated this amendment does not change a second offense to a Class C felony; that is already in statute. Other Class C felonies include possession of cocaine, theft of property valued at more than $500, and reckless tampering with the pipeline. She noted Senator Leman's original bill would have made a first occasion joyriding offense a Class C felony and would elevate a second offense to a Class B felony. The amendment maintains first offenses as misdemeanors, but allows a Class C felony designation for the second offense. SENATOR ADAMS asked Ms. Knuth if she believed joyriding should be classified with other Class C felonies. MS. KNUTH replied she was unaware of the Administration's position on the existing law that makes joyriding a felony when it is a second offense. SENATOR ADAMS noted the fiscal note from the Alaska State Troopers indicates there are 700 thefts per year, yet reflects no costs associated with the passage of SB 14. He questioned the underestimation of costs. SGT. JOE D'AMICO, Alaska State Troopers (AST), responded to Senator Adams' concern. He noted the Alaska State Troopers response to vehicle thefts would not be affected by raising the offense to a felony since the type and amount of investigations conducted by the AST would not change. He estimated the AST solves about two- sevenths of the reported cases. Approximately half of the reported cases are not treated as criminal mischief cases, usually because of the juvenile factor. If the offense is classified as a felony, approximately 100 cases would be prosecuted, and the only difference would be a Grand Jury hearing which would have a negligible fiscal impact on the Alaska State Troopers. He stated of the 700 cases, 2 went to trial. SENATOR ADAMS asked if the State would be required to prosecute the cases in court if the offense is changed to a felony. SGT. D'AMICO replied affirmatively. SENATOR ADAMS expressed doubt that the AST would have sufficient funds to apprehend these offenders. He questioned the need for a supplemental appropriation and the additional 8 positions requested by the Alaska State Troopers. SGT. D'AMICO stated if the crime is changed from a misdemeanor to a felony, the investigative responsibility would not shift from the municipality to the Alaska State Troopers, therefore there would be no fiscal impact. The fiscal impact would occur in the agency prosecuting the cases. TAPE 95-5, SIDE B SENATOR TAYLOR asked if there was further objection to the amendment. SENATOR ADAMS maintained his objection. A roll call vote was taken with the following result: Senators Green, Miller, and Taylor voted "Yea" and Senators Ellis and Adams voted "Nay." SENATOR MILLER moved SB 14 as amended out of committee with individual recommendations. SENATOR ELLIS asked if the committee would be receiving a revised fiscal note from the Court System. SENATOR TAYLOR replied that would have to be presented to the Finance Committee. SENATOR ELLIS expressed concern that the amendment makes a significant fiscal impact to the bill. Number 556 Ms. Knuth clarified the amended version is the less expensive version. Elevating first offenses to felonies and including juveniles would have increased the costs significantly. The approach taken by the committee in adopting the amendment is more economical than any other approach considered by the committee. The original fiscal notes are much closer to being accurate to the amended version. SENATOR TAYLOR stated the motion before the committee was to move SB 14 as amended from committee with individual recommendations. SENATOR ADAMS objected. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Senators Miller, Taylor and Green voted "Yea" and Senators Ellis and Adams voted "Nay." The motion passed.