SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE March 27,2000 2:18 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Senator Robin Taylor, Chairman Senator Rick Halford, Vice-Chairman Senator John Torgerson Senator Johnny Ellis MEMBERS ABSENT Senator Dave Donley COMMITTEE CALENDAR SENATE BILL NO. 26 "An Act relating to providing false information or reports to a peace officer." -MOVED CSSB 26 (JUD) OUT OF COMMITTEE HOUSE BILL NO. 288 "An Act relating to the creation of an aggravating factor for the commission of domestic violence in the physical presence of a child." -MOVED SCS CSHB 288(JUD)am OUT OF COMMITTEE SENATE BILL NO. 294 "An Act relating to the possession of concealed handguns and to concealed handgun permits." -SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION SB 26 - See Judiciary Committee minutes dated 3-8-99. HB 288 - No previous action to report. SB 294 - No previous action to report. WITNESS REGISTER Mr. Michael Pauley Staff to Senator Leman State Capitol Building Juneau, Alaska 99801 POSITION STATEMENT: Read Sponsor Statement for SB 26 Ms. Denise Henderson Staff to Representative Kott State Capitol Building Juneau, Alaska 99801 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on HB 288 Mr. Arthur Hansen 1329 McGrath Road Fairbanks, Alaska 99712 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on HB 288 ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 00-16, SIDE A Number 001 CHAIRMAN ROBIN TAYLOR called the Judiciary Committee meeting to order at 2:18 p.m. Present were SENATOR TORGERSON, SENATOR HALFORD and CHAIRMAN TAYLOR. The first order of business to come before the committee was SB 26. SB 26-FALSE INFORMATION/REPORT TO POLICE MR. MIKE PAULEY, staff to Senator Leman, offered a brief overview of SB 26, and then discussed the blank committee substitute that Senator Leman is recommending the Judiciary Committee adopt in lieu of the original bill. Mr. Pauley read the following statement: Briefly, SB 26 proposes a new crime of giving false information to a police officer in the first and second degrees. If a person knowingly gives false information about their identity while under arrest or detention or being served a warrant for a felony offense, they can be charged with false information or report in the first degree. That is designated in the bill as a class C felony. On the other hand, if a person knowingly provides false identity information while under arrest or detention or being served a warrant for a misdemeanor offense, or while being issued a citation, that person can be charged with false information or report in the second degree. This is designated as a class A misdemeanor. This is the basic summary of the original bill. During last year's hearing in this committee, several concerns were raised about this legislation, and we believe we have addressed all those concerns in the blank CS. The first concern, raised by the Department of Law, was that the class C felony designation was disproportionate. It was noted that resisting or interfering with arrest [AS 11.56.700] is arguably more serious than lying. Yet resisting or interfering with arrest is designated as a class A misdemeanor, and this is the case regardless of whether the person is being arrested for a felony or a misdemeanor. In the blank CS, we have changed the bill to follow this model. The blank CS creates a single crime of providing false information to a peace officer, and this is a class A misdemeanor under all circumstances. A second issue was raised by some committee members and also a representative of the Alaska State Troopers. The concern was that the bill was too narrow because the false information crime kicks in only if the false information is provided while the person is under arrest or detention, or being served a warrant or issued a citation. It was pointed out that false information could be provided to a peace officer while conducting an investigation, and this would not be covered under this bill. The blank CS expands the scope of the bill considerably, and the new language can be found on the letter "H" draft in your packets, on page 2, lines 11 through 13. This new language states that the crime of false information has been committee if a person, "having committed a crime, knowingly gives false information to a peace officer with the intent of avoiding apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment." The final change included in the CS is an amendment to our existing statute on hindering prosecution. This can be found in section 1 of the blank CS, letter "H" draft, page 1, lines 4 through 12. This statute makes it a crime to render assistance to another person who has committed a crime, with the intent of hindering the apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of that person. The definition of rendering assistance to another includes using deception to obstruct the discovery or apprehension of that person. Accordingly, if a person lies to a police officer in an effort to obstruct the apprehension of a criminal, that is in itself a crime. However, there is a catch. Under the terms of our existing law, this would apply only if the person lies to prevent apprehension of a person who has committed a crime that is punishable by imprisonment of greater than 90 days. This effectively means that all class B misdemeanors are not covered under existing law. Class B misdemeanors include such offenses as disorderly conduct, harassment, misconduct involving weapons in the fifth degree, and criminal mischief in the fourth degree. While these may not be the most serious offenses on the books, they do consume a great deal of police time. It does not seem appropriate for state law to sanction lying to a police officer under these circumstances. The blank CS removes the exception for class B misdemeanors, so that the statute applies to all crimes. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if Senator Leman had considered making it a crime to file false information to the legislature. MR. PAULEY responded that idea had not been considered. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR moved to adopt CSSB 26 (JUD), version H, dated 3/16/00, as the working document of the committee. There being no objection, CSSB 26 (JUD) was adopted. Number 445 SENATOR HALFORD asked about Section 2(4), knowingly makes a false report to the Department of Natural Resources under AS 46.17 concerning the condition of a dam or reservoir; or, wondering how this subsection came about. MR. PAULEY responded that last year Senator Halford had informed him this section was an ill-advised piece of legislation that had been adopted by the legislature several years ago. SENATOR HALFORD moved to delete subsection (4). There being no objection, subsection (4) was deleted. SENATOR HALFORD moved CSSB 26 (JUD)am out of committee with individual recommendations. There being no objection, the motion carried. HB 288-CHILDREN WITNESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE MS. DENISE HENDERSON, staff to Representative Kott, started by saying that HB 288 is an Act relating to the creation of an aggravating factor for the commission of domestic violence in the physical presence or hearing of a child. This bill will add a new section to statute 12.55.155(18). At the present time, committing domestic violence in the presence of a child is not included as a determining factor in the sentencing of the perpetrator. Currently there is nothing in the Alaska statutes that would allow judges to factor the egregiousness of the crime into the sentencing. This should be an aggravating factor in determining sentence for the crime of domestic violence. This bill will expand the list to protect the special vulnerability of children. It will become a major factor in determining the severity of the crime and the resulting sentence thereof. HB 288 will allow the courts to consider these factors to mitigate or aggravate the severity of domestic violence when committed in the presence of a child. This is valid criteria for the court in rendering sentence. Mr. Chairman and fellow committee members, I myself have seen the long term emotional and psychological damage that violence in the home causes. While working for the Juvenile Division of the District Attorney's Office in Albuquerque, New Mexico there was one underlying factor that always seemed to play a role in the lives of the children coming through the system "domestic violence." Since moving to Anchorage, I have been employed with Abused Women's Aid in Crisis, where once again I witnessed the devastation that domestic violence has on public advocacy in Anchorage. This bill would not only bring awareness to the trauma that children bear in witnessing domestic violence in the home, but will be instrumental in breaking this on-going cycle. The public policy that you are being asked to consider today is: should the commission of the crime of domestic violence in the presence of a child be included on this list of factors. Number 763 CHAIRMAN TAYLOR commented that this bill considers factors that can mitigate or aggravate the severity of the crime, and speaks to this offense in AS 11.41 as being a felony--this will not include "aggravating factor" on a misdemeanor. MS. HENDERSON agreed, saying it will only be considered in felony domestic violence cases. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR noted that AS 11.41 is sexual assault in the first degree. Number 811 SENATOR ELLIS asked why this bill only applies to felony domestic violence. MS. HENDERSON responded that a lot of misdemeanor cases are not reported, and most of the emphasis in the court system is on felony cases. SENATOR ELLIS commented that even misdemeanor cases have a negative impact on children. MS. HENDERSON agreed. SENATOR ELLIS asked Ms. Henderson if she thought Representative Kott would accept the inclusion of misdemeanor cases. MS. HENDERSON responded yes. Number 905 SENATOR HALFORD indicated that the definition in the Alaska statute of "household members" is very broad. Included in the definition are adults or minors who are current or former spouses--that could be 20 years ago, adults or minors who live together or who have lived together--at any time, engaged in a sexual relationship--at any time, formerly related by marriage--at any time. Senator Halford feels there should be a limitation on the definition of household member. He did not realize that a special class of criminal, people who may not have seen each other for 20 years, was being set up. Number 1035 CHAIRMAN TAYLOR made the comment to Ms. Henderson that the committee is concerned with the definition of household, and that there is no statute of limitation for the crime. MS. HENDERSON explained that when the bill was originally drafted, the interpretation was of a standard perception of household. Sometimes it is a good thing that the laws are written in an open and broad way, and sometimes not. Anyone at anytime, when there is domestic violence, should be held accountable and hopefully the court will look at this as an aggravating factor. Number 1210 SENATOR HALFORD said he does not disagree, but there is no way to amend the bill with this title. The bill talks about one mitigator in the broad category of domestic violence--he was not aware that the statute was so broad. SENATOR HALFORD moved to strike the last phrase on page 1, starting with "a household member" and inserting "within the household." There being no objection, the motion carried. The new language will read: (C) specified in AS 11.41 that is a crime involving domestic violence and was committed in the physical presence or hearing of a child under 16 years of age who was, at the time of the offense within the household. SENATOR HALFORD moved SCS CSHB 288(JUD)am from committee with individual recommendations. There being no objection, the motion carried. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR apologized to Mr. Arthur Hansen for overlooking the fact that he was waiting to testify via teleconference. Number 1482 MR. ARTHUR HANSEN, a dentist in Fairbanks, commented that it is part of the dental code of ethics that dentist's look for child abuse in their offices. Mr. Hansen is involved with Prevent Abuse And Neglect Through Dental Awareness (PANDA). He and a police office in Anchorage helped instigate this bill. With no further business to come before the committee, CHAIRMAN TAYLOR adjourned the meeting at 2:35 p.m.