MAY 22, 2014

Public Safety & Corrections
Police memorial and More Police Academies

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

A representative of the U.S. Coast Guard poised to ring the bell for each departed service member.

On May 9, 2014, the Anchorage Police gathered with Troopers, the Coast Guard, local firefighters, and members of the public to commemorate Alaska Police Memorial Day. The ceremony honored the 65 men and women who have died in the line of service in Alaska, and a program was handed out so that those who gathered could learn about the departed. I attended this beautiful ceremony at the Alaska Police Memorial off of Tudor, along with Senator Hollis French and representatives from the police department, the fire department, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Our next piece of work is to ensure that there are enough police officers to keep our neighborhoods safe. Senator Ellis and I recently wrote a joint letter to Mayor Sullivan regarding the police presence in Anchorage. We congratulate the 16 graduates from the most recent Academy, yet Anchorage aims to graduate twice this number at two yearly Academies and only a few have been held over the past few years.

Given the recent incidences of violent crimes in our neighborhoods and last year’s incentive to retire, we need to hold more trainings. It was welcome news when the Assembly announced that additional Academies are scheduled. We love our community and want to see the quality of life improve.

Senate Bill 64: Omnibus crime bill

Senator Ellis has been working for a number of years on a Corrections Reform effort and I’m proud to say the bill passed this session. Called “Smart Justice”, this model calls for addressing non-violent drug and alcohol offenses in a different way than violent crimes. Thanks to bipartisan cooperation, we have taken a significant step towards reversing the extraordinary growth of state prison budgets. The high prisoner population, coupled with the high rate of repeat offenders, leads to unsustainable budgets – it costs $159 to house one person in an Alaska prison for a single day, and $58,000 for a single year. Additionally, Goose Creek is almost at capacity so at this rate of incarceration a new prison would need to be built very soon. Goose Creek cost $240 million dollars and we simply can’t afford the status quo. I know we can do better for Alaskans and Senate Bill 64 is an important first step.

Some notable parts of the legislations include:

1) Creation of the Alaska Criminal Justice Commission to review the effectiveness of laws and practices within the state’s criminal justice system;

2) Reforming the parole system to create “swift and certain” punishment for violators;

3) Creation of a new mitigating factor for crimes so that a judge can take into account whether an offense was related to combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury;

4) Creation of a 24/7 Sobriety Program, requiring some offenders to submit to twice a day drug testing. In other states, this led to a reduction of substance abuse-related offenses;

5) Increasing the threshold for felony theft from $500 to $750.

House Bill 347

I proposed House Bill 347 as a complement to the Corrections Reform bill. This bill would allow people who have been convicted of a felony drug offense to receive food stamps. This idea was brought to my attention by one of our Russian Jack neighbors that works in public assistance. Many people do not realize that felony drug offenders are banned for life from receiving food stamps they may otherwise qualify for. This has been in place on the federal level since the 1996 landmark welfare reform. When enacted, the federal law allowed states to opt out of the ban so that their residents could receive food stamps, even after a felony drug conviction.

Though nearly two decades have passed, Alaska has yet to opt out of the ban and allow these people to receive federal food stamp money. The bill would only allow access to food stamps after successful completion of a treatment program. Almost 40 other states have already opted out, citing reasons such as reduced recidivism rates when people have help getting back on their feet. People should not have to choose between housing, transportation, and food after receiving their paycheck and this is a simple, federally funded way of helping them through.

I am determined to continue working to reduce recidivism rates in Alaska after the enactment of Senate Bill 64 and will be carrying forward with my work on this food stamp effort as the year progresses.

House Bill 336

Rep. Tarr discusses the progress of H.B. 336 through the Legislature.   Rep. Tarr presents the certificates to students at Clark.

I was lucky this year to spend quite a bit of time working with the Clark Middle School Scholars on a piece of legislation. The students spoke up to see what we could do about the inebriates hanging out in front of their school and near the store directly across the street. These individuals make the students feel unsafe on the walk to and from school. Students were constantly subject to harassment and pressure to drink and frequently witnessed people vomiting and urinating near the school grounds.

After speaking with students, I proposed House Bill 336 to extend the buffer between schools and licensed liquor establishments. This bill would not affect the existing stores, such as the liquor store across from Clark Middle School, but the students were adamant that they wanted to help students facing this problem from future establishments.

A number of the students testified before the Labor & Commerce Committee when the bill had its hearing. To show my gratitude, I gave each of them a Certificate Of Appreciation and a letter of thanks for their testimony. I am so proud of these students’ dedication to helping others and their enthusiasm for involvement in government.

These are our future leaders and I am so excited to see what they do next!

Hmong Veterans Memorial Day

Look for next week’s e-news on Mental and Physical Health!

In the meantime, please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Representative Geran Tarr