SB 240-DRUG OFFENSES: NEIGHBORS AS CRIME VICTIMS    9:15:22 AM  CHAIR RALPH SEEKINS announced SB 240 to be up for consideration. SENATOR HOLLIS FRENCH, bill sponsor, introduced the bill. Drug crimes are sometimes referred to as "victimless crimes" but people who live next door to high volume drug houses would not agree. SB 240 would allow neighbors who have lived through the criminal phase of a drug house to stay informed about the progress of the case as the matter moves through the court system. The bill is narrowly tailored to apply only to felony drug crimes that occur on adjacent property where the affected neighbor makes a request to stay informed. The need for the legislation was brought to his attention through a constituent who was unable to get basic information regarding the progress of a case involving a neighbor who operated a drug house. 9:17:08 AM  SENATOR FRENCH referred to additional information in the bill packet, such as news accounts and aerial maps of drug houses and the surrounding neighborhoods. The maps highlight the amount of people who could potentially be affected by the bill. It is crafted so that it must be a felony drug crime and it must be an instance where the adjacent neighbor would have to positively contact the district attorney's office for the requested information. 9:18:58 AM SENATOR GRETCHEN GUESS asked Senator French how citizens would know that they are authorized to call and request information on a case. SENATOR FRENCH said it would more likely be an involved citizen motivated to take the affirmative step to trigger the provisions of the bill. CHAIR SEEKINS asked Senator French at what point in the case would the person be able to obtain information and the type of information that the district attorney's office would be allowed to disclose. SENATOR FRENCH advised the committee that AS 12.61.010 was the statute being modified. Essentially it would allow the adjacent property owner the right to be notified by the appropriate law enforcement agency or the prosecuting attorney in the case. The information to be disclosed would be the date of trial, the sentencing, an appeal or any hearing in which the defendant's release from custody is being considered. 9:21:38 AM SENATOR FRENCH clarified for the Department of Law (DOL) that the working definition of "adjacent" is out of Black's Law Dictionary. The neighbor would have to be fairly close to the drug house. It would be the neighbors on either side of the house and, if close enough, the neighbor across the street and possibly the one diagonal to the drug house. CHAIR SEEKINS asked whether it could be all of the people living in an apartment building if the drug house were actually an apartment in the building. SENATOR FRENCH said yes. The district attorney's office would determine the "reasonable" amount of distance on a case-by-case basis and only the neighbors who qualified could receive the information. CHAIR SEEKINS referred to the photo of a trailer park that was provided in the bill packet and asked Senator French to provide an example of a reasonable distance. SENATOR FRENCH gave the example that if the committee were to choose any one trailer in the park, it would be three or four contiguous trailers that would qualify. 9:24:35 AM SENATOR GENE THERRIAULT asked about apartment complexes where there are several buildings together. SENATOR FRENCH said in a two-block apartment building it would be just the apartments next to the drug apartment. An apartment at the other end of the building would not be considered adjacent. The idea would be to have common sense apply and the district attorney's office would have discretion as to who could receive the requested information. CHAIR SEEKINS asked the remedy for people who, for one reason or another, did not get the requested information. SENATOR FRENCH said they would have the right to complain loudly to the district attorney's office. 9:26:52 AM CHAIR SEEKINS noted there was no one signed up to testify and so he closed public testimony. 9:28:23 AM SENATOR FRENCH said the bill was not intended to require the police to leaflet a neighborhood. It was for citizens who take the initiative to follow up on a case that affected them. SENATOR GUESS moved SB 240 from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal notes. Hearing no objections, the motion carried.