Southcentral Alaskans offered passionate testimony in support of a rollback of criminal justice reforms, but despite outcry from those in Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, the idea appears to have little momentum in the Alaska Senate.<\/p>\n
Senate Bill 127<\/a>, repealing most parts of the criminal justice reform measure known as Senate Bill 91, is in the Senate Finance Committee.<\/p>\n Finance Co-chair Sen. Anna MacKinnon, R-Eagle River, said, “There isn’t support in this building for a full repeal.”<\/p>\n Nevertheless, MacKinnon said holding public testimony is important because while there isn’t support for repealing SB 91, there is support for fixing it.<\/p>\n “I do think the path forward is to make surgical fixes … rather than wholesale repeal,” said Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth, testifying Thursday in front of the finance committee.<\/p>\n While the committee reserved the morning for state officials, the afternoon was open to calls and in-person testimony from members of the public.<\/p>\n Many callers urged lawmakers to take action on a crime wave afflicting Anchorage and the Mat-Su Borough. Some said they believe SB 91, enacted by the Legislature in 2016<\/a>, is contributing to the wave.<\/p>\n Public testimony lasted for almost three hours Thursday afternoon, with a majority in favor of SB 127 or some repeal of SB 91. A count offered by a Republican senator’s staffer measured 30 testifiers in favor of repeal and 23 against, with some questionable. A count offered by a Democratic senator’s staffer included 35 testifiers in favor of repeal and 22 against.<\/p>\n Sen. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, backed SB 91 but now is supporting SB 127. She told members of the finance committee that she is hearing the views of her constituents, and other senators also heard some of those views Thursday.<\/p>\n