HOUSE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE January 26, 1993 3:00 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Rep. Cynthia Toohey, Co-Chair Rep. Con Bunde, Co-Chair Rep. Gary Davis, Vice Chair Rep. Tom Brice Rep. Bettye Davis Rep. Pete Kott Rep. Irene Nicholia Rep. Harley Olberg (arrived later) Rep. Al Vezey MEMBERS ABSENT None COMMITTEE CALENDAR Overview of the Department of Corrections WITNESS REGISTER Lloyd Rupp, Commissioner Designee Department of Corrections P.O. Box 112000 Juneau, Alaska 99811-2000 (907) 465-3376 Allen Cooper, Interim Deputy Commissioner Department of Corrections P.O. Box 112000 Juneau, Alaska 99811-2000 (907) 465-3376 ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 93-5, SIDE A Number 000 CO-CHAIR CYNTHIA TOOHEY called the meeting to order at 3:04 p.m., announced she would chair the meeting, and noted members present. She announced that the purpose of the meeting was to hear an overview of the Department of Corrections and to question Commissioner Rupp. LLOYD RUPP, COMMISSIONER DESIGNEE , DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, introduced two members of his staff: Allen Cooper, interim deputy commissioner, and Dana Latour, legislative assistant. COMMISSIONER RUPP read a prepared statement to the committee. (Attachment 1) In it, he described the department's mission, the rising crime rates, prison populations, corrections budgets, prison construction costs, and the long delays between a judge's sentencing and the actual start of incarceration. He said he opposed a master plan consultant's recommendation to build new facilities for up to 700 new inmates without first trying alternatives to full-time incarceration. Commissioner Rupp proposed addressing alcohol, which he said was a major cause of crime, and reserving prison cells for serious criminals. He proposed using his department to teach basic literacy, employment, and social skills to reduce recidivism. He also proposed alternatives to confinement, such as daily reporting, fines, restitution, intense supervision, and electronic monitoring. COMMISSIONER RUPP said such efforts would require cooperation with the court system, with communities, and with private organizations. Number 172 COMMISSIONER RUPP referred to a document laying out the department's organization and some issues it faced. (Attachment 2) The statement outlined the increased numbers of those awaiting incarceration, the general violation of emergency population caps, and the large backlog of cases requiring incarceration. He said the department must increase its commitment to the use of intermediate sanctions. He noted that 1,000 Alaska Natives were imprisoned in the state, and the department needed to improve its sensitivity to their different culture. COMMISSIONER RUPP asked the legislature's help to implement Project Hope, a "boot camp" type program of early intervention and financial accountability for substance abusing criminals. (An outline of the program is included in Attachment 2). He also asked for legislative help in developing sentencing alternatives, which he defined as options available to a judge passing sentence on a convict, other than incarceration, which can cost the state up to $100 per day per inmate. He defined intermediate sanctions as measures, such as half-way houses or community residence centers, where incarcerated felons may transition to freedom. He defined back-end sanctions as those applied to parolees who may need to be returned to incarceration or to a half-way house. He also asked the legislature to return the Wildwood Correctional Facility to full operating capacity. Number 248 COMMISSIONER RUPP said he attended a meeting January 26 with several commissioners involved in the Point Hope project. He reported that he expected faster-than-expected progress in laying the groundwork for setting up Project Hope camps at the site of the state-supported Point MacKenzie dairy farms. CHAIR TOOHEY asked Commissioner Rupp to explain his confrontation with the Speaker of the House over his supplemental budget request. COMMISSIONER RUPP answered that the department has in the past often sought $10 million in supplemental appropriations, but deficits from earlier fiscal years, combined with more recent budget reductions, had left the department about $10 million in the hole. While the previous commissioner may have accepted such a budget situation, possibly based on different assumptions about prison populations, he said he could not accept such a situation and needed the supplemental funding. COMMISSIONER RUPP said he had been on the job only three months, but the recent skyrocketing in the population of felons in the state also justified the request for supplementary funding. He reiterated his desire to move from a bed-driven system to a system relying more on alternative sanctions, a desire he predicted would be reflected in his budget requests and which might lower the department's budget in the long run. Number 331 REP. BETTYE DAVIS asked how much of the department's budget would be spent on community corrections, and whether it was higher or lower than the previous year. She expressed concern about the cancellation of a probation officer training academy. COMMISSIONER RUPP replied that the community corrections budget would be significantly higher this year. He said while last year's budget cutback aimed at closing the academy, there were some staffers remaining. He believed training was important, especially in administering alternative sanctions, and he planned to restart the training academy. He noted that the department's training function has been moved directly under the commissioner. REP. B. DAVIS asked whether it was true that some parole and probation officers had received permission to carry guns 24 hours a day, though they may not have completed psychological testing. COMMISSIONER RUPP answered that that was true. He said department staffers in Fairbanks have expressed an interest in allowing officers to carry weapons, as the department had caught 36 parolees or probationers carrying guns in the last 18 months. He said he approved 24-hour weapons carrying permits for those that requested them, as long as they had been trained and qualified with their weapons, and as long as body armor was also made available to them. Commissioner Rupp said the state does not now require psychological testing prior to issuing such permits, though he supported such tests and wanted to begin administering them. However, he declined to put officers at risk by depriving them of weapons for the weeks or months it may take to get such tests. Number 390 REP. BUNDE asked about the possibility of requiring alcohol abusing offenders to take Antabuse, a drug which induces violent physical reactions to any alcohol they consume. COMMISSIONER RUPP answered that the department was planning a pilot study of using acupuncture, and was soliciting information from private contractors on methods found to be successful in other states. He expressed his opposition to discussion groups as a waste of money, and his devotion to job skills training as an important element of rehabilitating alcoholics inmates. Number 431 REP. BUNDE expressed an interest in learning recidivism rates in Alaska, and also asked whether the state provides tobacco to inmates. ALLEN COOPER, INTERIM DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, remarked that this question had been raised by Rep. Jerry Sanders and an answer would be available the next day. COMMISSIONER RUPP said the department was studying the possibility of having smoke-free corrections institutions and the legal ramifications. REP. BUNDE asked whether recent reports on the dangers of second-hand tobacco smoke would bring changes in prison smoking policies. COMMISSIONER RUPP responded that the report would likely have a major impact on such policy considerations. Number 456 REP. BRICE asked whether probation officers were covered by the Alaska Police Standards Commission. COMMISSIONER RUPP said they were, but he was not sure exactly how the commission's standards applied and he would have to get more detailed information later. REP. B. DAVIS asked how many members of minority groups were employed in the department, particularly upper management. COMMISSIONER RUPP stated the department employed 106 Alaska Natives and 36 American Indians, but he was not sure of the number of Blacks or Hispanics. At Rep. B. Davis' request, he promised to forward a thorough breakdown. Commissioner Rupp expressed concern that, except for one deputy superintendent and a recent hire to address Native cultural issues, few minority employees were at ranks higher than sergeant. He said the department had formed an ad hoc committee to address the small numbers of minority and female employees. Number 496 REP. BRICE asked whether the department had any long-term departmental budget projections. He also asked for projections for a new women's facility, for any planned changes to the Wildwood Correctional Facility, or any proposed locations for new facilities. COMMISSIONER RUPP answered that the lack of a management information system handicapped production of such projections, and the department has started a three-year program to develop such a system. He pointed out his obligation to accommodate all inmates sent him by the courts, and his lack of control over the process. However, some computer models allowed some projections, though he disagreed with a master planning consultant's recommendation to build a new 700-bed facility by 1996. He said the demand did not justify building a separate women's facility but supported studying the possibility of building a women's unit adjacent to some existing correctional facility. COMMISSIONER RUPP projected a 2.5 percent to 4.5 percent annual increase in convictions, which would justify expanded intermediate sanctions programs instead of more building. Building more prisons to handle large loads of convicts felons would be an expensive and not always successful tactic, he said. He commented he would prefer to address the causes of crime, and to work with minor criminals before they commit offenses necessitating long-term imprisonment. With such an effort, he said, the department could meet its long-term inmate housing needs without new construction, though with some adjustments. Number 555 REP. BRICE asked about the department's policy on procurement, and said small Interior businesses had expressed interest in this area. COMMISSIONER RUPP said the department had both state-wide and single-institution procurement policies, and was trying to reduce procurement costs. He asked permission to respond in writing with more information. Number 572 CHAIR TOOHEY asked whether, given budget restrictions, the department could train prison inmates to serve as alcoholism peer counselors. COMMISSIONER RUPP said it was inappropriate to allow inmates to provide their fellow inmates some services, such as medical care, as such work involved delicate issues of health and confidentiality. However, inmates can be successfully used to provide vocational training to other inmates. TAPE 93-5, SIDE B Number 000 REP. OLBERG asked whether the committee could visit the Wildwood Correctional Facility. COMMISSIONER RUPP answered that such a visit would be beneficial and possible, and visits were now being scheduled around legislators' schedules, possibly early in the morning. REP. B. DAVIS asked whether the department's plans for Operation Hope required enactment of a bill. COMMISSIONER RUPP said some attorneys have told him that the commissioner has power to enact many of the provisions in Project Hope, but other advice has indicated that sending those convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol to Project Hope "boot camps" might require some clarifying changes in laws. The commissioner said he wanted to scope out problems, generate a consensus, and come up with a thoroughly researched plan to be presented to the legislature next year. Number 086 COMMISSIONER RUPP, responding to questions from REP. BRICE, said the state's prison industries program was alive and well, though its focus was changing under his new leadership. He said he wanted to involve businesses and unions to help determine what job skills would help inmates get jobs, then help teach such skills. He expressed enthusiasm at the prospect of providing inmates with useful work skills. REP. NICHOLIA encouraged Commissioner Rupp to hire more Alaska Natives in the department, including administration, and also to promote Natives already employed. She also asked the percentage of minority workers at Lemon Creek Correctional Center. MR. COOPER said there were now 60 workers, but he did not know the number of minorities. COMMISSIONER RUPP said that when he first joined the department, he found little awareness of minority employment. He stated he would provide more information on minority employment. He also said the department was interested in using interns this summer to provide executive training for university students or others, and possibly providing scholarships for such a program. Number 196 CHAIR TOOHEY suggested offering internships to lower-level departmental employees. COMMISSIONER RUPP said the department's training academy was a good way to achieve such training. Number 216 REP. B. DAVIS asked Commissioner Rupp whether he was happy to be in his current position, and whether he planned any major changes in the department. COMMISSIONER RUPP answered that, on balance, he was glad to be in his current position, though he recognized the difficulty of his position. Insofar as making changes, he noted that he had already reestablished the training academy under his direct authority. He said he was proposing other changes, including adding staffers to deal with special needs and Alaska Native offenders. He also praised the professional qualifications and dedication of his staff. Number 268 There being no more questions, CHAIR TOOHEY adjourned the meeting at 4:05 p.m.