SB 7-STATE TROOPER POLICIES: PUBLIC ACCESS  2:14:26 PM CHAIR HOLLAND reconvened the meeting announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 7 "An Act requiring the Department of Public Safety to publish certain policies and procedures on the department's Internet website." 2:14:55 PM SENATOR ELVI GRAY-JACKSON read the sponsor statement: First, I would like to thank the hard-working men and women peace officers and office staff who provide the services that protect lives and welfare of the people within Alaska's communities. Thank you all for your service. The recent casualties surrounding civilians has drawn even greater attention to issues around policing and police to community relationships. This moment seems to have created real momentum to address one of the longest standing injustices in society. During last summer and into the Fall, my office - along with Senator Begich's office - worked together to develop a series of bills. These bills were drafted by Legislative Legal as a bill packet that our offices refer to as TPIP- Turning Pain into Progress. TPIP was crafted after the national 8 Can't Wait campaign which is eight specific policies that have been proven, with data, to reduce police violence by as much as 72 percent, when implemented. I recognize that the national campaign can't and shouldn't be applied to a place as unique as Alaska. Therefore, I spent a great deal of time talking to stakeholders and gaining input throughout the process of drafting these bills to ensure that the proposal would be fitting for Alaska. I am pleased to say that I have engaged public safety agencies to include the Anchorage Police Department, Anchorage Police Employees Association, Public Safety Employees Association, and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives during the process. Because of my proactive approach, I am confident in moving forward with the implementation of public safety policy changes that will benefit both the citizens of Alaska and our law enforcement officers. 2:16:56 PM SB7 "An Act requiring the Department of Public Safety to publish certain policies and procedures on the department's Internet website." This bill would require that the Department of Public Safety publish on their website the department's current policies and procedures related to the conduct of peace officers employed or regulated by the department. The duty of the Department of Public Safety is to ensure public safety within our communities and, as such, the public must be able to easily access the current policies and procedures that requires peace officers regulated by the department to adhere to. 2:17:27 PM KEITH BAUGUESS, Staff, Senator Gray-Jackson, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, read the sectional analysis on behalf of the sponsor: Section 1: Amends AS 44.441.020 to add the Department of Public Safety shall publish on their website the current policies and procedures related to the conduct of peace officers employed or regulated by the department. 2:18:15 PM SENATOR MYERS stated that this bill would not only affect the conduct of peace officers employed by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) but also peace officers regulated by the department. He asked if this would impact any departments outside the state, such as municipalities or Village Public Safety Officers. SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON answered yes. She said DPS and the Anchorage Police Department post their policies on their websites. She said the goal is to have all agencies post their current polices on their websites. 2:18:54 PM SENATOR MYERS related his understanding that DPS would need to publish the policies of other law enforcement agencies on its website, such as the Anchorage Police Department (APD). SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON answered that she was not certain since APD already posts its policies on its website. 2:19:26 PM SENATOR MYERS referred to page 1, lines 5 to 7 of SB 7, which read, "The Department of Public Safety shall publish on the department's Internet website the department's current policies and procedures related to the conduct of peace officers employed or regulated by the department." Thus, if DPS is in charge of regulating another agency, it would need to publish that department's policies and procedures on its website. SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON pointed out that the Alaska Police Standards Council (APSC) regulates peace officers throughout the state. 2:20:10 PM SENATOR HUGHES referred to the language in the bill that read, "the department's current policies and procedures related to the conduct of peace officers." She said she did not interpret this to mean that the department would post policies and procedures from other police departments throughout state. She stated that there are about 35 police departments in the state. Instead, this refers to DPS's own policies and procedures related to conduct, which would likely be APSC's policies and procedures. SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON agreed that was her understanding. 2:21:10 PM SENATOR HUGHES asked for the number of pages in DPS policies and procedures. 2:21:45 PM SENATOR SHOWER asked for clarification. He recalled hearing the bill in the State Affairs Committee. During the debate there was general agreement that publishing police policies and procedures (P&Ps) on "use of force" online could reduce tension. 2:23:24 PM ERIC OLSEN, Lieutenant, Alaska State Troopers, Department of Public Safety (DPS), Anchorage, Alaska, stated that the department does not have any issues with posting its own policies on DPS's website. DPS currently posts its standards of conduct for DPS's personnel on its website. However, the department is not in charge of publishing other law enforcement agencies' policies and procedures. 2:24:07 PM SENATOR SHOWER related his understanding that SB 7 would not require DPS to publish for all. LIEUTENANT OLSEN responded that he could not speak for the Department of Law, but he personally does not interpret it to mean it was inclusive of other agencies. 2:24:56 PM SENATOR HUGHES related her understanding that DPS is already posting its policies and procedures on DPS's website so the bill would not currently change anything but it would place it in statute for future departments to consider. LIEUTENANT OLSEN answered yes. 2:25:28 PM SENATOR SHOWER clarified that the department does not post everything in its manual. Thus, this is not all encompassing, since some tactics, techniques and procedures are not posted. He recalled that DPS indicated there is a clear boundary of what is posted. LIEUTENANT OLSEN agreed that certain portions of the department's policies and procedures are not published but the majority is posted. He was uncertain which chapters of the Operating Procedures Manual (OPM) were not posted. The department does not publish its policies on use of force. 2:26:37 PM SENATOR KIEHL said he thought the bill was a good step forward. He surmised that the sponsor's intent is not to publish DPS's detailed investigation, interrogation, or other tactical rules on the department's website. He asked how far the phrase "conduct of peace officers" goes. SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON said that SB 46 covers police use of force. SENATOR KIEHL stated that the Juneau Police Department (JPD) publishes its use of force policy online. Lieutenant Olsen said that the Alaska State Troopers does not publish their use of force policy online. He asked if the sponsor's intent is to have the use of force policies posted online. SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON answered yes. 2:28:23 PM SENATOR HUGHES asked if the committee needs a legal opinion on whether the language includes posting the use of force policies and procedures since DPS does not interpret the bill to include it. SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON agreed that Legislative Legal Services could explain the language. She explained she introduced another bill, SB 46, to address use of force. 2:29:24 PM CHAIR HOLLAND related his understanding that SB 46 does not address publishing information on internet websites. SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON said that bill would require reporting use of force instances. 2:29:58 PM SENATOR MYERS pointed out there is a difference between the use of force incidents, which is addressed in SB 46, and use of force policies in SB 7. He suggested an amendment might be needed to make that more explicit. SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON deferred to DPS as to whether the department includes its use of force statistics in its policies. 2:30:44 PM LIEUTENANT OLSEN responded that Chapter 107, related to the use of force is published on the department's website. CHAIR HOLLAND asked if that resolved the questions. SENATOR SHOWER stated that all these questions relate to the department not posting more sensitive information on its website. It's important to give criminals access to some information. He recalled testimony given before the Senate State Affairs Committee indicated the department was comfortable with the language with the caveat that DPS could decide which information would be posted. The department felt it might reduce tension for the public. 2:32:18 PM SENATOR HUGHES suggested a legal opinion might be necessary. The current commissioner has chosen to post the policies and procedures related to conduct but has also chosen to post use of force. It is important to know if the bill will require the department to list its policies on "use of force" since a new commissioner could decide not to do so. 2:33:05 PM SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON related her understanding that the department said its policies include use of force. CHAIR HOLLAND related his understanding that use of force was related to policies for officer conduct. 2:33:36 PM SENATOR HUGHES maintained her interest in knowing if the bill covers use of force and policies and procedures. 2:34:16 PM SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON stated that the purpose of bringing SB 7 forward is to ensure the information will be posted in the event a police chief decided not to do so. 2:34:41 PM SENATOR HUGHES asked DPS to address whether the use of force is separate from the policies and procedures (P&P) related to APSC. 2:35:10 PM LIEUTENANT OLSEN explained that the Alaska Police Standards Council (APSC) regulates the officers not law enforcement agencies. He reiterated that DPS publishes the majority of its policy and procedures manual online, including Chapter 101 and 107, which relate to the use of force. SENATOR HUGHES asked if both chapters would need to be posted under the bill. LIEUTENANT OLSEN deferred to DPS's commissioner and to the Department of Law to further respond. SENATOR HUGHES said it was important to know the definitive answer. CHAIR HOLLAND agreed to research this and report back to the committee. CHAIR HOLLAND held SB 7 in committee.