CHAIRMAN LEMAN brings up HB 315 (THEFT OF SUBSCRIPTION TV SERVICES) as the next order of business before the Senate State Affairs Committee. The chairman calls the first witness. Number 251 ERIC MUSSER, Aide to Representative Porter, states HB 315 defines theft of cable services and sets out penalties for the unauthorized use or reception of cable transmission. HB 315 deals primarily with illegal converter boxes. At this time, the existing theft of services statute is very broad and makes theft of cable services unenforceable. Number 226 SENATOR TAYLOR asks, since estimation of loss is based upon a certain percentage of the current revenues from subscription cable service, that if cable companies are charging Alaskans rates 700% to 1000% higher for the same level of service found any place else in the United States, that means the actual loss would maybe be 150,000$ to 200,000$, and not 1,000,000$ estimated in the sponsor's statement. What we're really talking about are people who are ripping off the cable companies who are currently ripping us off. SENATOR TAYLOR wants to know how he could amend the bill to allow other people to go into the cable business. Number 194 MR. MUSSER responds he doesn't think that subject would fit under the title of HB 315. However, the public utility commission extension legislation will be coming to the senate soon, and that has in place some changes and would provide a vehicle for that subject. CHAIRMAN LEMAN states the Senate State Affairs Committee has changed the title in other house legislation, and would not be opposed to doing it a second time. The chairman asks Ms. Knuth from the Department of Law if she has anything to add. Number 185 MARGOT KNUTH, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, Department of Law says, in response to Senator Taylor's comments, that the cable company has assured the Department of Law that they are passing on their losses to existing consumers. Although, when asked in a prior committee if they would reduce their monthly subscription rates if they are not sustaining these losses any more, they indicated they needed time to respond to that question. MS. KNUTH states that, from a prosecution perspective, the benefit of this legislation is that it will identify theft of cable services by the consumer as the class A misdemeanor offense, regardless of the actual monetary value of the loss. So the prosecution will not need to calculate how many months the theft of services has been occurring. Ms. Knuth thinks a class A misdemeanor offense is appropriate to the crime. At this time, the prosecutor must know exactly what the value of the theft of services was; this bill will take that part of the guessing game out of the equation. MS. KNUTH states entrepreneurial activity relating to theft of cable services will be a class C felony, which also seems to be an appropriate classification. She expects this legislation to have a more noticeable deterrent effect than what is usually seen in crime bills. This is the type of prosecution, where, if it occurs three or four or five times in Anchorage, the word is going to get out. The Department of Law expects to see a noticeable drop in theft of services. The Department of Law supports the bill and Ms. Knuth would be glad to answer any questions. Number 152 SENATOR MILLER asks if a renter hooks up a television and is not himself paying for the cable service, if that is theft of service. Number 149 MS. KNUTH replies that is not theft of service. To be engaged in theft of service, the person must engage in knowing conduct that can be proven. If a person is in a situation where they reasonably believe their landlord is providing this service as a part of the rental, the necessary mental state for this offense is not there. If there comes a point at which the renter figures out that the landlord probably isn't paying for the cable service, and the renter continues to take advantage of the service, there is a line somewhere that might get crossed. However, it is fairly common for landlords to provide cable service to apartments. Number 134 SENATOR MILLER asks how the bill would apply to people who only have one converter box, but their house is wired for more than one television. MS. KNUTH replies that is not considered theft of service either. There was technical language in HB 315 that, at one point, made it sound as though that situation would be theft of service. But the e bill has been redrafted to clearly exclude that situation. Now, under federal regulations, if a person buys one subscription, it no longer matters how many outlets a person has in their home. Number 121 SENATOR TAYLOR asks if there are any laws relating to theft of talent. MS. KNUTH responds there should be laws relating to theft of talent. SENATOR TAYLOR states the cable companies that used to operate in his area would have someone sit in a motel room in Seattle, record the programs on television, then send the tapes to Alaska. Subscribers in his area paid through the nose for this service. Senator Taylor wants to know if that shouldn't be illegal, since they were pretty much participating in theft of service also. Senator Taylor believes it should be a class A felony for cable operators involved in the stealing of talent. Number 088 MS. KNUTH says she would have to look into that question. Number 086 MR. MUSSER adds that area of discussion was raised in previous committees. There is a distinct difference between someone receiving a direct signal directly from a satellite transmission, and an individual using a device designed to receive a signal from a cable company. Number 073 SENATOR TAYLOR says the Alaska Marine Highway System used to show movies to people. The companies who owned the rights to those movies informed the state that, because passengers were charged a fee to be on board, showing those movies was part of the commercial enterprise of transporting passengers. As a consequence, the state would have to pay those companies a fee for showing movies. Senator Taylor asks Ms. Knuth if she can get back to the committee on the issue of stealing talent. Number 038 CHAIRMAN LEMAN says the committee will not be moving HB 315 today. He appreciates the comments.