SENATE STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE February 26, 1998 3:35 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Senator Lyda Green, Chairman Senator Jerry Ward, Vice-Chairman Senator Jerry Mackie Senator Mike Miller Senator Jim Duncan MEMBERS ABSENT All members present COMMITTEE CALENDAR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 334(FIN) am "An Act relating to waiver of tuition and fees for certain family members of a peace officer or a fire fighter killed in the line of duty; and providing for an effective date." - MOVED SCS CSHB 334(STA) OUT OF COMMITTEE SENATE BILL NO. 309 "An Act relating to the use of force by peace officers and correctional officers." - MOVED CSSB 309(STA) OUT OF COMMITTEE SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 1 Relating to compensation of Holocaust victims and survivors, their heirs, and Jewish communities by the government of Switzerland and the Swiss banking industry. - MOVED SR 1 OUT OF COMMITTEE SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 22 Relating to promotion of Kids Voting Alaska programs. - MOVED CSSCR 22(STA) OUT OF COMMITTEE PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION HB 334 - See State Affairs minutes dated 2/19/98, 2/24/98. SB 309 - No previous action to record. SR 1 - No previous action to record. SCR 22 - No previous action to record. WITNESS REGISTER Craig Johnson, Staff to Senator Jerry Ward State Capitol Juneau, AK 99801-1182 POSITION STATEMENT: Presented overview on SB 309 Bill Parker, Deputy Commissioner Department of Corrections 4500 Diplomacy Drive, Suite 207 Anchorage, AK 99508-5918 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 309 with suggested amendment Senator Dave Donley State Capitol Juneau, AK 99801-1182 POSITION STATEMENT: Prime Sponsor of SR 1 ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 98-10, SIDE A Number 001 CHAIRMAN GREEN called the Senate State Affairs Committee to order at 3:35 p.m., and noted all members were present. CSHB 334(FIN) am - TUITION WAIVER FOR POLICE WIDOW/CHILD CHAIRMAN GREEN brought CSHB 334(FIN) am before the committee as the first order of business. She directed attention to a proposed amendment to page 2, lines 25 through 27. She explained the new language addresses a concern raised in a previous hearing that the current wording on those lines implied that the person had to have lived in Alaska for one year before being hired. Therefore, someone who maybe had moved to the state and lived in the state 11 months and then worked for 25 years would not be eligible for this program. SENATOR MILLER said he would support the amendment, but he pointed out that the rewording will raise the fiscal note. He also questioned if the bill raises an equal protection problem by creating two classes of citizens differently, and he suggested it is a question that needs to be looked at in the next committee of referral. CHAIRMAN GREEN asked if there was any objection to the adoption of Amendment No. 1, and hearing none, she stated the following amendment was adopted to be incorporated into a State Affairs SCS. Amendment No. 1 Page 2, line 25-27: Delete "one year before serving in the armed services, in a fire department, or as a peace officer and who lists Alaska as the home state for purposes of military records or state, municipal, or fire department employment records:" Insert "one year before serving in the armed services and who lists Alaska as the home state for purposes of military records, or a person who was employed as a peace officer in this state or was a member of a fire department located in this state:" Number 085 SENATOR MACKIE moved that SCS CSHB 334(STA) and the accompanying fiscal notes be passed out of committee with individual recommendations. Hearing no objection, it was so ordered. Number 100 SB 309 - USE OF NONLETHAL AND DEFENSIVE WEAPONS CHAIRMAN GREEN brought SB 309 before the committee as the next order of business. SENATOR WARD, prime sponsor of SB 309, informed the committee that his son-in-law is a member of the SWAT team in Anchorage and that's how he became interested in the use of nonlethal firearms. CRAIG JOHNSON, staff to Senator Ward, explained that the bill will basically indemnify an officer who, while acting under his training and within the rules of engagement, fires what is known as a nonlethal projectile or a less lethal projectile which is designed to incapacitate but not kill an individual. As the law stands today, a police officer acting under instructions who fires this weapon and causes bodily harm is subject to liability. Mr. Johnson said SB 309 is patterned after a law in Iowa, and it has been crafted with the attorney from the Anchorage Police Officers Association. He said many of the state's law enforcement branches have indicated their support, in concept, for the legislation and they will have formal support once they have had the opportunity to review the bill. Mr. Johnson directed attention to an article in the members' backup from the Anchorage Daily News relating to an incident in Anchorage where a beanbag round was used successfully to keep a woman from committing suicide. He added that there have been cases where these weapons don't work as designed and beanbags have been the cause of at least five deaths in the U.S., and SB 309 keeps the police officer from being responsible for using deadly force. Number 155 SENATOR MACKIE commented that read the article in the Anchorage Daily news, and having that having been a police officer, he thought that in that instance it was a pretty good use of nonlethal force, but he asked if that currently was not allowable. MR. JOHNSON replied that it's allowable to use the weapon, but Alaska law does not protect the officer from liability in the event the lady decides to file a lawsuit against him . This was a projectile launched from a weapon capable of being lethal and under Alaska law that is lethal force. SB 209 makes it a nonlethal use of a potentially lethal weapon. SENATOR MACKIE asked if an officer shoots somebody with a "nonlethal weapon' and it kills them, is it correct that the officer can't be sued for using a lethal weapon because it was supposed to be nonlethal even though it killed the individual. MR. JOHNSON responded that would be correct at long as the officer was acting within the training under the guidelines of the police force. SENATOR WARD noted police officers have to undergo training in order to become certified to use these weapons and right now only 30 out of 350 police officers in Anchorage are qualified to use them. Number 215 CHAIRMAN GREEN commented that a bigger concern might be the chance of someone being injured rather than being killed, and then filing an action against a police officer. Number 300 BILL PARKER, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Corrections, voiced the department's support for SB 309. He noted that the correctional officers preferred to be called "officers" not "guards' as they are referred in two places in the bill. Number 320 SENATOR MACKIE moved the following amendment to SB 309: Amendment No. 1 Page 1, lines 5 and 7: Delete "guards" and "guard" and replace with "correctional officers" and correctional officers" Hearing no objection, the amendment was adopted. CRAIG JOHNSON pointed out that according to the legal department "guard" is a recognized statutory term throughout the statutes. However, SENATOR DUNCAN and SENATOR MACKIE thought that could be addressed by the revisor of statutes. SENATOR WARD moved SB 309, as amended, and the accompanying zero fiscal note be passed out of committee with individual recommendations. Hearing no objection, it was so ordered. Number 352 SR 1 - SWISS COMP OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS CHAIRMAN GREEN brought SR 1 before the committee as the next order of business. SENATOR DAVE DONLEY, prime sponsor of SR 1, explained the resolution is in support of the current effort being made by other states and the U.S. government to encourage Switzerland and the Swiss banking industry to continue to cooperate with the families and survivors of the Holocaust in identifying their assets that were held in Swiss banks during that tragic episode in history. Senator Donley said his office has been working with the World Jewish Restitution Organization which is an international organization formed in 1993 by Jewish organizations from 80 countries internationally to facilitate this effort. He noted the Swiss have begun to cooperate, and in January of this year, the World Jewish Congress adopted the position of asking people to take the course of action as is presented in SR 1. CHAIRMAN GREEN asked if "The Holocaust Victims Redress Act" has been passed by both bodies of Congress and signed into law, and it was acknowledged that it has. SENATOR MILLER expressed his wholehearted support for SR 1. He noted, however, that there are still some people living in the Fairbanks area who believe that the Holocaust never happened. There being no further testimony or questions on SR 1, CHAIRMAN GREEN asked for the pleasure of the committee. SENATOR MACKIE moved SR 1 be passed out of committee with individual recommendations. Hearing no objection, it was so ordered. Number 396 SCR 22 - KIDS VOTING ALASKA PROGRAMS CHAIRMAN GREEN brought SCR 22 before the committee as the final order of business. SENATOR MILLER, prime sponsor of SCR 22, said the Kids Voting Alaska Program has done well in the state, and Alaska was the first state in the nation to provide municipal election voting experience to its youth. He expressed his appreciation to Carrs, National Bank of Alaska, and Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. for the major contribution they have made to the program. SENATOR DUNCAN suggested adding the Alaska Association of School Administrators and NEA Alaska to the list of who will be receiving copies of the resolution, and SENATOR MILLER agreed it was a good suggestion. CHAIRMAN GREEN asked if there was any objection to adding the Alaska Association of School Administrators and NEA Alaska to page 2, line 27 of the resolution. Hearing no objection, the amendment was adopted to be incorporated into a State Affairs CS. SENATOR MACKIE moved CSSCR 22(STA) be passed out of committee with individual recommendations. Hearing no objection, it was so ordered. There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting adjourned at 4:07 p.m.