CSHB 75(STA) - DRIVERS LICENSE: ALCOHOL AWARENESS/MINOR    9:42:42 AM CHAIR MCGUIRE announced consideration of HB 75. [Before the committee was CSHB 75(STA).] BARBARA COTTING, staff, to Representative Jay Ramras, bill sponsor, introduced CSHB 75(STA) to the committee. The bill stipulates that a driver's license issued to a person under twenty-one will expire ninety days after the person turns twenty-one. A twenty-one-year-old person applying for a new license after the expiration date must pass an alcohol and drug awareness and safety test. The test will be designed by the DMV and Representative Ramras hopes Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) will also participate in the process. Licenses for persons over twenty-one and under twenty-one would look different making it easier for alcohol servers and sellers to detect minors. The goal of the bill is to significantly reduce under-age drinking in Alaska and improve alcohol awareness in the state. She noted that a committee substitute (CS) at the request of Mr. Bannock of the DMV, adds an effective date of January 1, 2008. Also included is a small fiscal note of a one- time $5,000 charge to initiate the process. 9:46:24 AM CHAIR MCGUIRE asked if the bill had a finance referral. MS. COTTING answered yes. SENATOR GREEN asked if an alcohol awareness test existed for first time license applicants. MS. COTTING replied not that she was aware of. DUANE BANNOCK, Director, Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of Administration, Anchorage, said there are currently questions in the knowledge section of the driving test regarding drinking and driving. SENATOR GREEN asked for clarification of the difference between the current test and the test proposed in the bill. MR. BANNOCK said the bill would create a separate test at a different time from when most people take the knowledge test. Most applicants take the test at fourteen-years-old when they get an instruction permit. This bill would require a second test at the expiration of the driver license when a driver turns twenty-one. 9:48:49 AM SENATOR FRENCH asked what the cost of the test would be. MR. BANNOCK said DMV would charge a $15 fee for a duplicate license, but the test itself would be free of charge. SENATOR FRENCH asked where the driver would get the information necessary to pass the test. MR. BANNOCK said it would not be proper for the DMV to provide the information. However, it would be appropriate for the DMV to be the distribution point of a booklet or pamphlet. 9:50:19 AM CHAIR MCGUIRE noted that Representative Ramras does not want the CS adopted today. She said the committee should work off the original bill labeled 25-LS0348\K. SENATOR GREEN asked how the requirement would apply to a forty- seven-year-old from out of state seeking a license. REPRESENTATIVE JAY RAMRAS, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, said the requirement would not apply to people older than twenty-one or people moving into the state older than twenty- one. 9:51:31 AM SENATOR FRENCH asked how the provision would apply to twenty- one-year-old out of state military personnel or college students. REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS said Mr. Bannock of the DMV could speak to this question. MR. BANNOCK said licenses held by active duty military personnel have no expiration date while they are out of the State of Alaska. However, their license will expire 90 days after returning to the state or after separating from active duty service, whichever comes first. The DMV has statutory authority to offer expiration extensions to college students. 9:53:16 AM SENATOR FRENCH asked who will develop the training required by the bill. REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS said the present general knowledge test contains one thousand questions in the pool. An applicant is given sixteen questions out of the pool to answer; eight on driving, four on insurance, and four on alcohol. He would be very comfortable if the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and MADD put the second test together, under the direction of the DMV. Alcohol related questions could also be generated from the pool that already exists. 9:54:36 AM CHAIR MCGUIRE asked Representative Ramras to speak about the policy goals of the bill. REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS said he has two objectives. One is to clarify the age line between minors and adults. He said the Alcohol Beverage Control Board (ABC) has conducted extensive stings over the last few years showing "there is a leakage rate amongst minors being served in on-premise and off-premise establishments." SENATOR FRENCH asked for clarification of the terms "leakage rate" and "predator." REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS said "leakage rate" is not an industry term but one he uses to describe the numbers of minors being served by operators. He considers any young person under the legal age that tries to secure an alcoholic beverage and any licensee who sells alcohol to a minor, a predator. REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS reiterated that the first half of the bill establishes a clearer line between a minor and an adult with the automatic expiration component. The second component addresses the need for more comprehensive education about the risks of consuming alcohol and driving. A twenty-one-year-old is moving through a very influential phase of life when alcohol use is merging with the responsibility of driving. He believes it is in the best interest for the safety of communities and young people to consider both halves of this bill. 10:01:21 AM SENATOR FRENCH said he agrees with the intent of the bill to reduce DUI citations and save lives. He also likes the landscape versus portrait orientation to differentiate age groups. However, he wants to see evidence that required testing would change behavior. He mentioned DARE as an example of a program that was supposed to work and after a couple of years found out it had very little impact on young people's behavior. 10:02:51 AM CHAIR MCGUIRE said she agrees with Senator French's statements. She advised Representative Ramras to provide details about what the test will look like and how it will be administered. Other details to consider are costs, effectiveness, and comparison to other states that may have a similar program. She also suggested having someone from DPS or MADD speak to the bill. REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS agreed those were excellent suggestions. He said he envisions alcohol education being incorporated into the DMV handbook. Since the general knowledge test is designed for a fourteen-year-old to pass, he thinks this will help to institutionalize the dissemination of more information regarding drinking and driving. 10:05:03 AM CHAIR MCGUIRE said Representative Ramras should outline costs and how the program will work for the Finance Committee. 10:06:06 AM SHIRLEY MARSHAL, representing herself, said she supports HB 75. She said seven years pass between the time a fourteen-year-old takes the written test and when they renew their license at twenty-one. At twenty-one, the driver renews with no written or driving test. She believes a written test regarding current alcohol awareness is a great idea when a driver turns twenty- one. 10:08:11 AM CHAIR MCGUIRE closed public testimony on HB 75. SENATOR STEVENS moved to report HB 75 from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 75(STA) moved from the Senate State Affairs Committee.