1990-21 Opposing Senate Bill 446 and House Bill 489 Relating to Municipalities and the Care and Responsibility of Prisoners.By: Mayor Selby
Introduced: 03/15/90
Adopted: 03/15/90
KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH
RESOLUTION NO. 90-21
A RESOLUTION OF THE KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH OPPOSING SENATE
BILL 446 AND HOUSE BILL 489 RELATING TO MUNICIPALITIES
AND THE CARE AND RESPONSIBILITY OF PRISONERS
WHEREAS, existing law places upon the Commission of Public
Safety the responsibility for the custody and care of state
prisoners pending admission into a state correctional facility; and
WHEREAS, because of the lack of state correctional
facilities, the State of Alaska has contracted with various
municipalities to perform this service; and
WHEREAS, because of liability exposures and other factors,
a number of these municipalities, including Kodiak, have decided
not to continue this contractual arrangement; and
WHEREAS, at the request of Governor Cowper, bills have
been introduced into both houses of the Alaska State Legislature
which would mandate all municipalities with a population greater
than 1, 000 and which are more than 50 miles away from a State
pretrial facility which places an unfair burden on rural
communities, and
WHEREAS, these identical bills would require the State to
reimburse the municipalities "to the extent that money is
appropriated by the legislature for that purpose", however it
carried no fiscal note; and
WHEREAS, it has been Kodiak's experience that annual
negotiations with the Department of Public Safety frequently are
not concluded in the best interest of Kodiak's taxpayers; and
WHEREAS, negotiations with the State of Alaska for
adequate liability protection have been less than satisfactory
resulting in local communities bearing the brunt of obtaining
adequate liability insurance, which is not always available; and
WHEREAS, Article II, Section 19, of the Alaska
Constitution requires that any local acts of the Legislature
"necessitating appropriations by a political subdivision may not
become effective unless approved by a majority of the qualified
voters voting thereon in the subdivision affected,"
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Assembly of the
Kodiak Island Borough, Kodiak, Alaska, opposed both Senate Bill 446
and House Bill 489 and urges the Alaska Legislature to defeat them.
Resolution No. 90-21
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be
sent to Governor Cowper, all members of the Alaska Legislature,
Department of Public Safety Commissioner Arthur English, and
Department of Corrections Commissioner Susan Humphrey -Barnett.
PASSED AND APPROVED THIS 15th DAY OF MARCH 1990.
ATTEST:
KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH
i
lof . ��kesiding Officer\
Resolution No. 90-21
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