HB 75 VEHICLE THEFT AND JOYRIDING  REPRESENTATIVE JERRY SANDERS, sponsor of HB 75, explained the bill raises vehicle theft to a class C felony with the exception of first offense theft of snow machines and other off-road vehicles. HB 75 provides a strong deterrent to those who might otherwise commit vehicle theft. Under current law, those caught joyriding can only be convicted of a class A misdemeanor. Current law ties the hands of police and provides no deterrent for the car thief unless he/she caused $500 in damage or is caught for a second offense. HB 75 calls for license revocation, mandatory restitution to be paid to the victim, raises the maximum jail time from one to five years, and changes the maximum fine from $5,000 to $50,000. The bill was drafted to address extreme problems in Anchorage, but should be helpful in deterring car theft around the state. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked about the fiscal note. REPRESENTATIVE SANDERS replied DOC estimated $1,049,000. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR commented that last year the committee tried to create an effective bill but it was watered down at the request of the Department of Law. The Governor then vetoed the bill because he wanted to create a more comprehensive juvenile crime package. REPRESENTATIVE SANDERS indicated HB 75 provides for heavier sanctions, but does not waive minors into Superior Court automatically. Prosecutors would have that option, however. SENATOR GREEN asked if there is an age component included in the bill. ANNE CARPENETI, Assistant Attorney General, responded the offender would be treated as a minor if under the age of 18. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR noted the bill makes the adult offense more serious but does not address juvenile offenses. REPRESENTATIVE SANDERS explained the offense has been raised to a felony for both minors and adults. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR observed many offenders are not prosecuted while the crime is considered a misdemeanor. DONNA SCHULZ, a probation officer with the Division of Family and Youth Services, testified in support of HB 75 since it acknowledges vehicle theft for what it is. By raising the offense to a felony, DFYS will petition such juvenile cases to court. Currently it tries to handle 60 to 70 percent of misdemeanor cases in-house. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked why, if 3,000 cars are stolen per year in Anchorage, and at least 50 percent of those cars are stolen by minors, more cases are not petitioned into court. MS. SCHULZ did not have DFYS data available and explained statistics are not specific as to the number of auto thefts. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR expressed frustration that the problem of car theft by juveniles is not being addressed now and questioned how changing the classification will change the level of enforcement. He noted the fiscal note for the Department of Corrections appears to apply to car thieves over the age of 18. He asked Ms. Schulz if she believed more minors will be brought to court if HB 75 passes. MS. SCHULZ believed that would occur because the offense would be raised to the felony level. MS. CARPENETI noted there were 600 arrests for joyriding in 1994, 403 of which were for adults, and 205 were for juveniles. That number does not reflect the number of cars stolen, only the number of arrests made. The Department of Law supports HB 75. DUANE UPLAND, Deputy Chief of the Anchorage Police Department, stated law enforcement agrees that the crime of car theft should be a felony. Law enforcement has been frustrated with both minor and adult convictions as a misdemeanor offense because it is not treated seriously. He urged committee members to raise the offense to a felony. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked Mr. Udland what the normal protocol is if an officer pulls over a stolen car with three juveniles in it, and the juvenile driver was speeding. He asked if the juvenile driver would be treated as an adult for the moving traffic violations, but as a juvenile for the actual theft of the car. MR. UDLAND replied that is correct and causes a lot of frustration for law enforcement officers. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked what the law officer does with the juveniles in the car under that scenario. MR. UDLAND stated there are a number of variables, but police would have the option of booking them into juvenile intake if they all had knowledge the vehicle was stolen, but odds are they would be cited for reckless driving or speeding and would be summoned into court at a later date. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if any of the juveniles end up booked or locked up. MR. UDLAND replied it depends on their ages, past records, availability of parents, and a number of other variables. If the offense is a felony, police officers will lean more towards a booking. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR stated the offender needs to be booked and to wake up in jail. MR. UDLAND stated more times than not, juveniles are only cited for moving traffic violations. He noted the frustration often stems from the fact that the jail or juvenile intake system is often full which dictates whether an offender is booked. Police are requested to bring in only the most serious offenders on nights when there is limited space at the jails. He stated the question in his mind is which system will deal with juveniles most appropriately. At this time, he does not believe a Superior Court judge will sentence minors to jail for a long term, whereas minors at McLaughlin would probably get longer sentences. He did not agree that the adult court system is necessarily the best place to deal with juveniles. FIRST SERGEANT MIKE CORKILL, Alaska State Troopers, testified in support of HB 75 as it will help people protect one of their major investments - vehicles. JERRY SHRINER, representing the Department of Corrections (DOC), testified in support of HB 75. He explained the fiscal note submitted with the original version of the bill was reduced in the House Finance Committee. The fiscal note was calculated using a standard procedure consisting of the average daily cost of care across the state which is $107. The committee objected to that calculation because DOC did not know how many prisoners would be housed in which facility. DOC then calculated the total amount by using the same estimate of 32 people but placing them in the Palmer facility. That calculation requires an additional post at that facility which is actually five positions, working around the clock. The amount equals the amount in the original fiscal note. Number 427 CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked how many new prisoners DOC expects to receive. MR. SHRINER replied the primary cost will be to house people convicted of a second felony. It is expected that most people convicted of a first felony charge will go to halfway houses. Second time convicts will spend approximately two years in prison. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR commented that the fiscal matters can be taken up in the Senate Finance Committee. SENATOR GREEN moved CSSSHB 75(FIN) out of committee with individual recommendations. There being no objection, the bill moved from committee.