Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced that he would not veto a broad crime and public safety bill, despite concerns raised in the Legislature. The bill would allow tougher sentencing for fatal hit-and-run offenders, put in place stricter evidence processing times for sexual assault kit examination, and criminalize generation of child sexual abuse material with artificial intelligence.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s desk, Rep. Sarah Vance, a Homer Republican and contributor to the bill, said "I double-dog dare" him to veto it, referencing the broad support the bill saw in the Legislature.cited concerns raised by some lawmakers that the bill "may not have received adequate deliberation.
". "HB 239 will require careful analysis by subject matter experts in the governor’s office and the Department of Law," Turner said. After that, he said, "the governor will be briefed by his staff before deciding to sign it, veto it or to let it become law without his signature.
" The underlying bill, sponsored by House Majority Leader Chuck Kopp, an Anchorage Republican, would allow tougher sentences for fatal hit-and-run offenders. Kopp introduced the bill in response to the death of Chase Bowerson, a 26-year-old who was struck last year on the Glenn Highway by a car. Also rolled into the package are bills that would criminalize generating child sexual abuse material with artificial intelligence and put in place stricter evidence processing times for sexual assault examination kits. Sen.
Matt Claman, an Anchorage Democrat and chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, led the process of assembling the package. He read through the bill’s many provisions before the Senate floor vote Tuesday. In an interview after the vote, he said putting the bill together was an effort involving the inclusion of bills from each party, chamber and caucus.
"We looked for legislation that not only had broad support, but addressed public safety concerns that people could express," Claman said. The question of whether or not the package would move forward had caused anxiety for sponsors and advocates for individual measures earlier in the session. Rep. Andrew Gray, an Anchorage Democrat, sponsored the measure in the package that would raise the age of consent.
Advocacy organizations for survivors of sexual assault have said that raising the age of consent to 18 is the best way to protect teens from predatory relationships with older adults. Rep. Sarah Vance, a Homer Republican, and Rep. Andrew Gray, an Anchorage Democrat, attended the Senate floor session and witnessed the unanimous passage of the crime and public safety bill at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau on Tuesday, May 19.
Large omnibus bills are typical late in the session, particularly in year two of the two-year legislative cycle, after which all bills still under consideration die. The governor two years agointroduced stricter sentences for certain drug offenses in response to the fentanyl crisis. This year’s package was assembled through a method known as "bill stuffing," a fast-tracking technique where measures are added into a bill that already passed one chamber.
In this case, the Senate Judiciary and Finance committees added provisions to a bill that had already passed the House. That meant that when the bill went back to a House vote for concurrence, members could only vote up or down, without making amendments. Nikiski Rep.
Bill Elam, a member of the Republican minority, cast the lone no vote on the bill, but was one of multiple legislators from both chambers who raised concerns about they characterized as a lack of oversight in the process. The difficulty of changing the age of consent law in particular was pointed out by Rep. Andrew Gray, who sponsored the bill as it appeared in the package
Crime And Public Safety Bill Allow Tougher Sentences Allowing Tougher Sentences Fatal Hit-And-Run Offenders Put In Place Stricter Evidence Processing Time Sexual Assault Examination Kits Criminalize Generating Child Sexual Abuse Mate Raise The Age Of Consent Assembling The Package Fast-Tracking Technique Bill Stuffing Omnibus Bills
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