Post by Logan on Apr 10, 2016 17:23:18 GMT -6
The Alaska Senate passed a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill Saturday aimed at reducing the state’s prison population by reforming bail, sentencing and pretrial supervision, in ways that sponsors say would lead to quicker court dates and shorter prison terms for nonviolent crime.
The vote was 16-2, with Sens. Bill Stoltze, R-Chugiak, and Charlie Huggins, R-Wasilla, the two opposing votes. Sens. Berta Gardner, D-Anchorage, and Donny Olson, D-Golovin, were absent. The bill, Senate Bill 91, now heads to the state House, where lawmakers will work on merging it with a companion version they’ve been working on, House Bill 205.
The bill’s major elements include:
• Limits on the amount of time people would spend in jail for low-level probation violations, like a missed appointment or alcohol use.
• A change in bail laws to assess a person’s risk of committing a new crime and not appearing in court, instead of requiring cash bail, which gives an advantage to defendants with more money even if they were just as unlikely to violate bail conditions.
• More ways for people to serve sentences for nonviolent crimes outside a cell, including expanded electronic ankle monitoring.
• The conversion of simple drug possession into a misdemeanor instead of a felony, though an amendment from Stoltze on Saturday exempted a drug known as GHB, more commonly known as a “date rape” drug, keeping it a felony to possess in any amount.
• A requirement of citations instead of arrests for nonviolent crimes unless the officer feels the person is a risk or danger to the public.
Read more: www.adn.com/article/20160409/alaska-senate-passes-criminal-justice-reform-bill
The vote was 16-2, with Sens. Bill Stoltze, R-Chugiak, and Charlie Huggins, R-Wasilla, the two opposing votes. Sens. Berta Gardner, D-Anchorage, and Donny Olson, D-Golovin, were absent. The bill, Senate Bill 91, now heads to the state House, where lawmakers will work on merging it with a companion version they’ve been working on, House Bill 205.
The bill’s major elements include:
• Limits on the amount of time people would spend in jail for low-level probation violations, like a missed appointment or alcohol use.
• A change in bail laws to assess a person’s risk of committing a new crime and not appearing in court, instead of requiring cash bail, which gives an advantage to defendants with more money even if they were just as unlikely to violate bail conditions.
• More ways for people to serve sentences for nonviolent crimes outside a cell, including expanded electronic ankle monitoring.
• The conversion of simple drug possession into a misdemeanor instead of a felony, though an amendment from Stoltze on Saturday exempted a drug known as GHB, more commonly known as a “date rape” drug, keeping it a felony to possess in any amount.
• A requirement of citations instead of arrests for nonviolent crimes unless the officer feels the person is a risk or danger to the public.
Read more: www.adn.com/article/20160409/alaska-senate-passes-criminal-justice-reform-bill