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SB42 • 2026

LAW ENFORCEMENT: REGISTRY; USE OF FORCE

An Act relating to the duties of the Alaska Police Standards Council; relating to municipal correctional officers and municipal correctional employees; making municipal police officers subject to police standards; relating to the duties of the Department of Public Safety; relating to reports of incidents of use of force by state and municipal police, probation, parole, pretrial services, and correctional officers and municipal correctional facility employees; and providing for an effective date.

Firearms Labor
Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON
Last action
2025-01-22
Official status
(S) CRA
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill text defines 'use of force' narrowly as causing fatality/serious injury or discharging a firearm; it does not cover all uses of physical restraint.

Alaska SB42: Police Standards, Registry, and Use-of-Force Reporting

This bill requires certain law enforcement workers to report specific uses of force, creates a registry for officers who lost their certificates, makes municipal correctional employees subject to state standards, and sets up new reporting rules.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires the Alaska Police Standards Council to adopt regulations requiring officers to report incidents where they used force against a person as soon as practicable.
  • Creates a central registry listing names of people denied certificates and officers whose certificates were revoked, including reasons for those actions.
  • Makes municipal correctional employees required to meet state standards instead of allowing cities to choose whether to apply them via ordinance.
  • Requires municipalities and the Department of Corrections to send reports on use-of-force incidents to the Department of Public Safety using prescribed forms.
  • Directs the Department of Public Safety to collect all use-of-force data, report it to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and submit an annual summary to the legislature.

Who It Names or Affects

  • State police officers including troopers, village public safety officers, and regional public safety officers.
  • Municipal police officers and employees working in municipal correctional facilities.
  • Probation officers, parole officers, pretrial services officers, and state correctional officers.
  • The Alaska Police Standards Council and the Department of Public Safety.

Terms To Know

Use of force
Force that causes death or serious physical injury, or when a firearm is fired at or toward another person during an interaction with an officer.
Central registry
A list kept by the council containing names of officers who had their certificates denied or revoked and the reasons why.
Municipal correctional employee
Any person employed in a municipal correctional facility, now required to meet state standards applicable to municipal correctional officers.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill text does not specify the exact effective date for these new rules.
  • The specific content of the forms used to report use-of-force incidents is determined by the Department of Public Safety and not detailed in this excerpt.

Bill History

  1. 2025-01-22 37

    (S) REFERRED TO COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS

  2. 2025-01-22 37

    (S) CRA, JUD

  3. 2025-01-22 37

    (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS

  4. 2025-01-22 37

    (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/17/25

Official Summary Text

LAW ENFORCEMENT: REGISTRY; USE OF FORCE
An Act relating to the duties of the Alaska Police Standards Council; relating to municipal correctional officers and municipal correctional employees; making municipal police officers subject to police standards; relating to the duties of the Department of Public Safety; relating to reports of incidents of use of force by state and municipal police, probation, parole, pretrial services, and correctional officers and municipal correctional facility employees; and providing for an effective date.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
SB0042A -1- SB 42
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34-LS0080\A

SENATE BILL NO. 42

IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION

BY SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON

Introduced: 1/22/25
Referred: Community and Regional Affairs, Judiciary

A BILL

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED

"An Act relating to the duties of the Alaska Police Standards C ouncil; relating to 1
municipal correctional officers and municipal correctional empl oyees; making 2
municipal police officers subject to police standards; relating to the duties of the 3
Department of Public Safety; relating to reports of incidents o f use of force by state and 4
municipal police, probation, parole, pretrial services, and cor rectional officers and 5
municipal correctional facility employees; and providing for an effective date." 6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 7
* Section 1. AS 18.65.220 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 8
(b) The council shall make recommendations relating to and may adopt 9
regulations requiring a police officer, probation officer, parole officer, pretrial services 10
officer, municipal correctional officer, or correctional office r to report to a supervisor, 11
as soon as practicable, an incident in which an officer engaged in the use of force 12
against a person. 13
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(c) The council shall maintain a central registry of the names of persons who 1
have had a certificate denied and the names of police officers, probation officers, 2
parole officers, pretrial services officers, municipal correcti onal officers, and 3
correctional officers who have had a certificate revoked under AS 18.65.240(c) or 4
18.65.245. The council may enter and maintain in the central re gistry information that 5
the council obtains from the Depa rtment of Public Safety, the D epartment of 6
Corrections, or a municipality a bout each officer who has had a certificate denied or 7
revoked. The central registry information shall include the rea son for which each 8
officer's certificate was denied or revoked. The council shall adopt regulations to 9
ensure the appropriate circulation to law enforcement agencies of information 10
contained in the central registry. 11
(d) The council shall prepare a report detailing the central registry information 12
updates that have been entered in the preceding year and, not l ater than December 1 of 13
each year, submit the report to the senate secretary and the ch ief clerk of the house of 14
representatives and notify the legislature that the report is available. 15
(e) Upon request, the council sha ll assist a department, an ag ency, or a 16
municipality in developing rules based on recommendations or re gulations adopted 17
under (b) of this section. 18
* Sec. 2. AS 18.65.285 is amended to read: 19
Sec. 18.65.285. Municipal correctional employees. A municipality that 20
employs persons in a municipal correctional facility shall [MAY, BY ORDINANCE,] 21
require that those persons meet the requirements of AS 18.65.13 0 - 18.65.290 that are 22
applicable to municipal correctional officers. 23
* Sec. 3. AS 18.65.290(6) is amended to read: 24
(6) "municipal correctional officer" means a person who is emp loyed 25
full-time in a municipal correctional facility whose primary duty is to provide custody, 26
care, security, control, and discipline of persons charged or c onvicted of offenses or 27
held under authority of law; [AND THE MUNICIPALITY HAS ADOPTED AN 28
ORDINANCE UNDER AS 18.65.285 MAKING AS 18.65.130 - 18.65.290 29
APPLICABLE;] 30
* Sec. 4. AS 18.65.290 is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 31
34-LS0080\A
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(10) "pretrial services officer" means a person who performs t he duties 1
assigned in AS 33.07; 2
(11) "serious physical injury" has the meaning given in 3
AS 11.81.900(b); 4
(12) "use of force" means force that causes a fatality or seri ous 5
physical injury or the discharge of a firearm at or in the dire ction of another person in 6
the course of an interaction between a police officer, probatio n officer, parole officer, 7
pretrial services officer, municipal correctional officer, or c orrectional officer and 8
another person. 9
* Sec. 5. AS 18.65.670(h) is amended to read: 10
(h) The commissioner may, in c onsultation with grant recipient s, as provided 11
in (k) of this section, adopt regulations related to village pu blic safety officers, 12
including establishing minimum standards and training, physical fitness requirements, 13
criteria for participation by a community, a municipality, an A laska Native 14
organization, or a corporation, a nd the interaction between the department and village 15
public safety officers. If the commissioner adopts regulations regarding training for 16
village public safety officers, t he training must be consistent with the standards in 17
AS 18.65.676 and disability training under AS 18.65.220(a)(3) [AS 18.65.220(3)]. 18
The commissioner of corrections may, in consultation with grant recipients, adopt 19
regulations related to the functions of village public safety o fficers providing pretrial, 20
probation, and parole supervision. 21
* Sec. 6. AS 18.65.676(a) is amended to read: 22
(a) A village public safety officer basic training program must provide 23
(1) a physical training program that includes instruction in p hysical 24
methods of arrest, use of batons , use of chemical defensive wea pons, and electronic 25
control weapons; 26
(2) instruction in 27
(A) the state's criminal and procedural law; 28
(B) the state's criminal justice system; 29
(C) police procedures; 30
(D) disabilities training described under AS 18.65.220(a)(3) 31
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[AS 18.65.220(3)]; 1
(E) domestic violence and se xual assault prevention and 2
response procedures; 3
(F) emergency trauma technician training; 4
(G) search and rescue training; 5
(H) rural fire protection specialist training. 6
* Sec. 7. AS 29.71 is amended by adding a new section to read: 7
Sec. 29.71.070. Reporting requirement for use of force. A municipality that 8
employs a person as a municipal police officer or in a municipa l correctional facility 9
shall report to the Department of Public Safety, on a form pres cribed by the 10
Department of Public Safety, eac h incident in which a municipal police officer or 11
municipal correctional facility employee engages in use of forc e as defined in 12
AS 18.65.290. 13
* Sec. 8. AS 44.28.020 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 14
(d) The department shall submit to the Department of Public Sa fety, on a form 15
prescribed by the Department of Public Safety, a report of each incident in which a 16
probation officer, parole officer , pretrial services officer, o r correctional officer 17
engages in use of force as defined in AS 18.65.290. 18
(e) In this section, "department" means the Department of Corrections. 19
* Sec. 9. AS 44.41.020 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 20
(l) The Department of Public Safety shall submit to the Federal Bureau of 21
Investigation a report of each i ncident in which a state troope r, village public safety 22
officer, or regional public safety officer engages in use of fo rce as defined in 23
AS 18.65.290. 24
* Sec. 10. AS 44.41 is amended by adding a new section to read: 25
Sec. 44.41.055. Statewide reporting of use of force. (a) The Department of 26
Public Safety shall maintain a central repository of incidents o f u s e o f f o r c e i n t h e 27
state. 28
(b) The Department of Public Safety shall report all incidents of use of force, 29
including qualifying incidents r eported to the department by mu nicipalities, to the 30
Federal Bureau of Investigation for inclusion in the Federal Bu reau of Investigation's 31
34-LS0080\A
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data collection program for the use of force. 1
(c) The Department of Public Safety shall prepare a report that summarizes the 2
information contained in the reports of use of force submitted by the Department of 3
Public Safety, the Department of Corrections, and municipalitie s during the preceding 4
fiscal year and, not later than December 1 of each year, submit the report to the senate 5
secretary and the chief clerk of the house of representatives a nd notify the legislature 6
that the report is available. 7
(d) In this section, "use of force" has the meaning given in AS 18.65.290. 8
* Sec. 11. AS 18.65.280(b) is repealed. 9
* Sec. 12. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 10
read: 11
APPLICABILITY. AS 18.65.285, as amended by sec. 2 of this Act, applies to 12
employment contracts entered into on or after the effective date of sec. 2 of this Act. 13
* Sec. 13. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 14
read: 15
TRANSITION: EMPLOYMENT. Each person who, on the effective date of sec. 11 of 16
this Act, is employed as a municipal correctional officer or mu nicipal police officer by a 17
political subdivision with an established police training program that met the requirements for 18
exemption under former AS 18.65.280(b) , repealed by sec. 11 of this Act, has one year from 19
the effective date of sec. 11 of this Act to comply with the requirements of AS 18.65.240. 20
* Sec. 14. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 21
read: 22
TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The Department of Corrections, the Dep artment of 23
Public Safety, and a municipality that employs a person as a mu nicipal police officer or in a 24
municipal correctional facilit y shall, by January 1, 2026, adop t regulations necessary to 25
implement secs. 7 - 10 of this Act. 26
* Sec. 15. Section 14 of this Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 27