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SB265 • 2026

CRIM. NEG. HOMICIDE; FAILURE TO ASSIST

An Act relating to the duty of an operator immediately after an accident.

Crime
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
SENATOR CLAMAN
Last action
2026-04-22
Official status
(S) JUD
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Duty After a Car Accident

This bill changes penalties for not following rules and failing to help injured people after car accidents in Alaska.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the penalty to up to one year in jail or a fine of $500, or both, if someone does not follow certain rules after an accident and is found guilty.
  • Makes it a felony with a possible sentence of up to ten years in prison or a fine of up to $10,000, or both, for failing to help injured people after an accident.
  • Adds new penalties for those who do not give reasonable help and cause someone's death while driving, making them guilty of criminally negligent homicide.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Drivers involved in car accidents
  • People who fail to follow rules or help others after a crash

Terms To Know

Felony
A serious crime that can lead to more than one year in prison.
Criminally Negligent Homicide
Causing someone's death due to very careless behavior while driving.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if the person is physically unable to follow the rules after an accident.
  • It only applies to offenses committed on or after the effective date of the law, which has not been set yet.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-22 Alaska State Legislature

    (S) REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

  2. 2026-04-22 Alaska State Legislature

    (S) FN5: ZERO(LAW)

  3. 2026-04-22 Alaska State Legislature

    (S) FN4: ZERO(DPS)

  4. 2026-04-22 Alaska State Legislature

    (S) FN3: ZERO(COR)

  5. 2026-04-22 Alaska State Legislature

    (S) FN2: ZERO(ADM)

  6. 2026-04-22 Alaska State Legislature

    (S) FN1: ZERO(ADM)

  7. 2026-04-22 Alaska State Legislature

    (S) NR: DUNBAR, YUNDT

  8. 2026-04-22 Alaska State Legislature

    (S) DP: GRAY-JACKSON

  9. 2026-04-22 Alaska State Legislature

    (S) CRA RPT 1DP 2NR

  10. 2026-04-21 Text

    (S) Moved SB 265 Out of Committee

  11. 2026-04-21 Text

    (S) COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  12. 2026-04-07 Text

    (S) Heard & Held

  13. 2026-04-07 Text

    (S) COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  14. 2026-04-07 Text

    (S) Heard & Held

  15. 2026-04-07 Text

    (S) COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  16. 2026-02-23 1756

    (S) CRA, JUD

  17. 2026-02-23 1756

    (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS

Official Summary Text

CRIM. NEG. HOMICIDE; FAILURE TO ASSIST
An Act relating to the duty of an operator immediately after an accident.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SB0265A -1- SB 265
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

34-LS1243\I

SENATE BILL NO. 265

IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION

BY SENATOR CLAMAN

Introduced: 2/23/26
Referred: Community and Regional Affairs, Judiciary

A BILL

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED

"An Act relating to the duty of an operator immediately after an accident." 1
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 2
* Section 1. AS 28.35.060(b) is amended to read: 3
(b) Except as provided in (c) or (d) of this section, a person who fails to 4
comply with any of the requirements of this section is, upon conviction, punishable by 5
imprisonment for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than $500, or by 6
both. This provision does not apply to a person incapacitated by the accident to the 7
extent that the person is physically incapable of complying with the requirement. 8
* Sec. 2. AS 28.35.060(c) is amended to read: 9
(c) A person who fails to comply with a requirement of this section regarding 10
assisting an injured person is, upon conviction, guilty of a class B felony, punishable 11
as provided in AS 12.55 [BY IMPRISONMENT FOR NOT MORE THAN 10 12
YEARS, OR BY A FINE OF NOT MORE THAN $10,000, OR BY BOTH]. This 13
provision does not apply to a person incapacitated by the accident to the extent that the 14
person is physically incapable of complying with the requirement. 15
34-LS1243\I
SB 265 -2- SB0265A
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

* Sec. 3. AS 28.35.060 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 1
(d) A person who fails to comply with a requirement of this section regarding 2
failure to render reasonable assistance is, upon conviction, guilty of a class A felony 3
punishable as provided in AS 12.55 and for a first felony conviction shall be sentenced 4
to a presumptive term of imprisonment of seven to 11 years, if the person caused the 5
death of another person while operating a motor vehicle and is convicted of criminally 6
negligent homicide under AS 11.41.130 or of criminally negligent homicide of an 7
unborn child under AS 11.41.170. 8
* Sec. 4. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 9
read: 10
APPLICABILITY. AS 28.35.060(b), as amended by sec. 1 of this Act, 11
AS 28.35.060(c), as amended by sec. 2 of this Act, and AS 28.35.060(d), enacted by sec. 3 of 12
this Act, apply to offenses committed on or after the effective date of this Act. 13