CSSB 145(CRA)-MUNIS IMPOUND/FORFEIT MOTOR VEHICLE  2:44:58 PM CHAIR FRENCH announced the consideration of SB 145. [Before the committee was CSSB 145(CRA.) SENATOR McGUIRE, sponsor of SB 145, explained that the bill would implement an option for municipalities to set up procedures to impound and forfeit vehicles of individuals who have amassed $1,000 or more in delinquent traffic fines. She said the Municipality of Anchorage brought the idea forward, because 1,017 of its individuals have a total of over $7.57 million in unpaid traffic fines. One person in the community has 43 different citations totaling almost $10,000 and another has 70 traffic citations totaling nearly $8,000. She said that this law is meant to target the habitual, repeat offenders who blatantly disregard public safety and refuse to pay their citation fines. Many refuse to pay the fines because they know the municipality has no recourse. The Anchorage Assembly unanimously passed an ordinance on this same issue making it a misdemeanor for anyone to drive if they have at least 3 unpaid traffic tickets. SB 145 does not do that; it is simply a tool that municipalities may use and it has no fiscal impact to the state. Individuals stopped by a police officer under these circumstances would lose their vehicle for 30 days. To get it back, the individual would have to pay $390 in administration fees plus towing and storage fees. This is meant to be a deterrent and a reminder to encourage people to pay their traffic fines in a timely manner. 2:48:35 PM SENATOR McGUIRE referred to a proposed amendment to allow the department of labor to help a municipal attorney track down individuals who have civil or criminal fines or penalties. Currently the municipality has had difficulty getting that cooperation, she said. The idea is for the municipality and the department to have a written agreement specifying: the purpose of the information; a description of the information provided; the procedure for transmitting, securing, using or disposing of the information; and the method of reimbursement of the cost for providing the information. SENATOR McGUIRE opined that this will be a useful tool because people who amass these fines might skip around in terms of employment and might be difficult to track down. The department of labor is most likely to have that information, and this is an effort to ask it to cooperate and help the municipality locate those individuals. The bill does two things; one is mandatory and the other is optional, she said. 2:50:13 PM SENATOR THERRIAULT calculated the average per person amount of the unpaid traffic fines and expressed amazement. He asked if the municipality has any information about the value of the vehicles that these individuals are driving. SENATOR McGUIRE replied the point of the bill isn't value-for- value; the idea is to get people's attention by taking their vehicle. SENATOR THERRIAULT asked if he has to think about lending his car to his neighbor if he/she one of the individuals who has amassed large traffic fines. SENATOR McGUIRE said yes; hopefully people will become more careful about lending their vehicle. We're trying to set up a situation where it's a deterrent, but clearly the local governing authority will have to establish a procedure of notice before taking someone's vehicle, she said. 2:53:26 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI, referring to subsection (r) in bill section 1, asked if this applies only to municipalities and not other legally designated forms of government. SENATOR McGUIRE replied this bill only applies to municipalities as defined by statute. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if the department of labor supports this provision. CHAIR FRENCH said representatives from the Department of Labor & Workforce Development, the Office of the Attorney General, and the Municipality of Anchorage have signed up to testify. 2:54:18 PM PAULA SCAVERA, Special Assistant, Office of the Commissioner, Department of Labor & Workforce Development (DOLWD), said some of the questions are more applicable to Larry McKinstry, the attorney who represents the department of this issue. She is available to answer questions. 2:55:00 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if the fiscal note applies to the new subsection (r). MR. SCAVERA said yes. The first two years will come from the general fund because there won't be receipts, but the bill is written such that any costs will be paid for by the municipality. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if there are any legal hurtles to overcome to provide this information to a municipal government. MS. SCAVERA, referring to a proposed amendment, said the department has worked with the sponsor to accommodate new federal regulations related to trading information. She deferred to Mr. McKinstry for further explanation. 2:56:21 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if the department of labor provides information to other non-state agencies or organizations. MS. SCAVERA explained that by federal and state law the department is required to provide information to certain entities. Child support is one example. 2:57:04 PM CHAIR FRENCH asked Mr. McKinstry to respond to the legal question. LARRY MCKINSTRY, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Law, explained that disclosure of this type of information is governed by both state statute and federal regulation. In general, wage and unemployment information is confidential and is held by the department solely for the administration of the unemployment insurance benefit program. There are a number of exceptions, but anything that the state gives up pursuant to the state statute must also comply with the federal regulations. "It's a somewhat complex problem of trying to figure out whether or not a specific request or a specific type of information falls within one of those written exceptions," he said. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI referenced Chapter 20 of the Alaska Employment Security Act and said the first sentence defines the purpose, which is to promote employment security. He questioned whether adding the provision does in fact do that. MR. MCKINSTRY expressed uncertainty about the thrust of the question. He explained that the statute would typically hold this type of information confidential unless it's used for unemployment purposes. This provision would create a new exception for the collection of fines and any civil judgments. The provision broadens the scope of the purpose for using the information, he added. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI, referring to subsection (r), asked what kind of information the department would provide to the municipal attorney. MR. MCKINSTRY said specifically the information would include the name and address of the employee as well as the identifying information of the employer. That would make it easier for the municipality to locate the person who has the outstanding tickets or judgment. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if just the name and address of the employee would be included. MR. MCKINSTRY said that's his understanding. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked how quickly the information would have to be provided and if the state might be liable to a municipality if it failed to provide the information. MR. MCKINSTRY said he understands that the requests would be ongoing and that the information would be exchanged through a database that's set up by the municipality and the state. With regard to liability exposure, there will have to be a written agreement between the entities that complies with all the restrictions that come with the federal regulation. "That should in fact protect the state from any potential liabilities," he said. If the information is denied the municipality would need to litigate, but once the database is established the exchange of information will be quite straightforward. 3:03:16 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI noted that paragraph (4) on page 2, says that within the agreement there must be a "method of reimbursement for the cost of providing the information." Presumably the fiscal note should be zero, he said. MR. MCKINSTRY said his understanding is that there will be significant up-front costs to set up the database exchange, but after that the long-term costs should be covered. Federal regulations make it very clear that it's a state cost if the information is provided for purposes other than unemployment, he said. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if he's saying that the state would be fully reimbursed for the general fund expenditures through FY 2013. MR. MCKINSTRY said his understanding is that those costs are for accounting, staffing to maintain the database, and to ensure that the information exchange occurs when it should. MS. SCAVERA added that the fiscal note is designed to use general funds the first two years and after that statutory designated receipts will be used. Federal dollars can not be used. 3:06:11 PM SENATOR THERRIAULT asked why it's not possible to start out using statutory designated program receipts. MS. SCAVERA said the work has to be started before entering into an agreement with the municipalities. Doing the disclosures will require two fulltime positions and one for about one month per year. More municipalities will want to come on board over time and each will require a separate memorandum of agreement, she said. CHAIR FRENCH held SB 145 in committee.