SB 207-ACCESS TO MARIJUANA CONVICTION RECORDS  4:07:34 PM CHAIR SHOWER announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 207 "An Act restricting the release of certain records of convictions; and providing for an effective date." CHAIR SHOWER identified himself as the sponsor. 4:07:52 PM At ease 4:08:24 PM CHAIR SHOWER reconvened the meeting. Speaking as sponsor, Senator Shower introduced SB 207 reading the following sponsor statement: Senate Bill 207 would make confidential the records of individuals who have been convicted of minor marijuana crimes and were not charged with any other crimes in the same incident. These records would automatically be removed from Court View. The records would also be removed from some background checks administered by the Department of Public Safety, if requested by the convicted individual. In 2014, Alaskans voted to legalize the cultivation, sale, and possession of marijuana for those 21 years old or older. Despite this change in state law, some Alaskans remain blocked from employment and housing due to previous marijuana possession convictions that would not be a crime today. According to a report prepared by Legislative Research, there were more than 700 Alaskans convicted of low-level marijuana crimes between 2007 and 2017. Those convictions can make obtaining housing and gainful employment challenging. Now that voters have legalized marijuana, this legislation would allow those previously convicted to move on with their lives, while ensuring those in the criminal justice field still have access to appropriate background information. CHAIR SHOWER stated that he did not vote to legalize marijuana, but he worked with the original sponsor and agreed to carry SB 207 to make sure the bill is only about possession of small amounts of marijuana and that it only applies to the limited number of Alaskans who have low-level marijuana convictions on their record but would not be charged with a crime today if they had the same amount of marijuana in their possession. The hope is this bill will help that limited number of individuals move on with their lives without a criminal record. 4:11:19 PM SENATOR COSTELLO asked if there is a definition of low-level crimes and what the penalty is for selling to minors. CHAIR SHOWER asked Ms. Meade to respond to the first question. In response to the second question, he said the bill doesn't apply to individuals who are selling marijuana. SENATOR COSTELLO clarified that she wanted to know what the crime is for selling to minors. CHAIR SHOWER deferred the question to Ms. Meade. 4:12:26 PM NANCY MEADE, General Counsel, Alaska Court System, Juneau, Alaska, said the bill uses the term low-level and suggested that the question about selling to minors would be better addressed by the executive branch. 4:13:01 PM SENATOR KAWASAKI noted that the bill applies to persons who have not been convicted of any other criminal charges in the case. He asked if a person who is charged with a crime typically is charged with a number of ancillary crimes as well. MS. MEADE stated that SB 207 was carefully drafted to say it only applies to those persons who were not convicted of any other charges in the case. The court will only look at the final conviction, not what could be a roster of other charges some of which could have been resolved through a plea bargain. None of that matters under SB 207; it is only the final conviction in the case. SENATOR KAWASAKI offered his understanding that a person charged with a misdemeanor assault and possession in the same case, but only convicted of possession of less than one ounce of marijuana, would qualify to have that record concealed. 4:15:03 PM MS. MEADE clarified that the person would qualify under Section 4 of SB 207 to have their case removed from the public face of CourtView, but the record would not be sealed or hidden. The preference is to have court records open and transparent, so those records would still be accessible at the courthouse. CHAIR SHOWER stated that the intent is to have the marijuana charge available and searchable at the courthouse, but it would be removed from CourtView. MS. MEADE clarified that the entire case would be removed from CourtView if the marijuana charge was the only conviction in the case. However, someone could go to a kiosk at the courthouse to search the unpublished cases. Those cases can only be viewed at the courthouse. 4:16:51 PM CHAIR SHOWER restated that the intent is to apply only to those marijuana conviction cases that are not a crime today. The idea is to help those individuals get on with their lives. He noted that a companion bill was moving through the other body and he wanted to ensure that they were reconcilable. 4:17:35 PM SENATOR HOLLAND asked if this is limited to persons 21 years of age and older because there are no possession crimes for persons who are younger than 21 years of age. MS. MEADE countered that there are indeed possession crimes for people under 21 years of age. Until February 2015, all possession of marijuana was a B misdemeanor. The voter initiative changed that but the only thing legalized was possession of less than one ounce or six marijuana plants by individuals older than age 21. SB 207 speaks solely to the conduct that the voters of Alaska decided should not be criminalized. Those cases would be retroactively removed from CourtView. 4:19:18 PM CHAIR SHOWER presented the sectional analysis for SB 207. It read as follows: [Original punctuation provided.] Section 1: Adds a new section stating the legislative intent behind this bill. Section 2: Amends subsection (b)(8) of AS 12.62.160 by adding criminal justice information, for marijuana possession that meet the requirements laid out in (f) of this section, to the list of exceptions for the release of criminal justice information. Section 3: Adds a new subsection (f) to AS 12.62.160, which adds new criteria for criminal justice information that an agency cannot release. This new section prohibits release of criminal justice information for convictions under AS 11.71.060 for less than one ounce of a "schedule VIA" controlled substance, where the defendant was 21 years or older at the time of the offense, was not convicted of any other criminal charges in that same case, and has formally requested that the agency not release these records. Section 4: Adds a new section to AS 22.35, stating that records of criminal charges or convictions that meet the requirements stated in this section, may not be published by the court system on a publicly available website. This applies to criminal justice information for convictions under AS 11.71.060 for less than one ounce of a "schedule VIA" controlled substance, where the defendant was 21 years or older at the time of the offense, and was not convicted of any other criminal charges in that same case. Section 5: Adds a new section to uncodified law of the State of Alaska saying that the Alaska Court System shall remove court records that meet the requirements of this bill, retroactively going back from the effective date of the bill. It also uses the language "to the extent practicable" to clarify that the court system will not be legally required to expend excessive resources or funds to ensure every single record that meets the requirements of this bill for removal from court view, is removed. Section 6: Provides an effective date of January 1, 2023. 4:20:50 PM CHAIR SHOWER said the fiscal note for SB 207 reflects the cost of going through the individual records and making the necessary changes. The estimated cost is about $184,000 in FY2021 and $121,000 in FY2024. 4:21:37 PM CHAIR SHOWER opened public testimony on SB 207; finding none, he closed public testimony. 4:21:56 PM CHAIR SHOWER held SB 207 in committee for future consideration.