Back to Alaska

SB62 • 2026

BOARD OF PAROLE: MEMBERSHIP, REPORT

An Act relating to the board of parole; and providing for an effective date.

Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor
SENATORS TOBIN, Gray-Jackson
Last action
2026-04-08
Official status
(S) L&C
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and digest do not provide specific details about the transition rules for current members.

Changes to the Board of Parole

This act changes the membership requirements and reporting duties for the board of parole.

What This Bill Does

  • Increases the number of members on the board from five to seven.
  • Limits each member's service to two terms, with a term length of five years.
  • Requires that one new member be someone who has experience in providing drug or alcohol addiction recovery support or personal experience with drug or alcohol addiction.
  • Adds a requirement for an annual report detailing parole hearings and outcomes, including demographic information about applicants.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Members of the board of parole
  • The governor, who appoints members to the board
  • Legislators, as they confirm appointments

Terms To Know

staggered terms
A system where different members' terms end at different times.
annual report
A yearly document that summarizes the board's activities and decisions.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how long after January 1, 2026, the changes will take effect.
  • It is unclear what happens to members who are serving terms when this act takes effect.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-08 Text

    (S) Heard & Held

  2. 2026-04-08 Text

    (S) LABOR & COMMERCE at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  3. 2025-05-16 Min

    (S) Minutes (SL&C)

  4. 2025-05-16 Text

    (S) Heard & Held

  5. 2025-05-16 Text

    (S) LABOR & COMMERCE at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  6. 2025-04-30 Min

    (S) Minutes (SL&C)

  7. 2025-04-30 Text

    (S) Heard & Held

  8. 2025-04-30 Text

    (S) LABOR & COMMERCE at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  9. 2025-04-09 742

    (S) REFERRED TO LABOR & COMMERCE

  10. 2025-04-09 742

    (S) FN1: (COR)

  11. 2025-04-09 742

    (S) DP: GRAY-JACKSON

  12. 2025-04-09 742

    (S) NR: KAWASAKI, WIELECHOWSKI, YUNDT

  13. 2025-04-09 742

    (S) STA RPT 3NR 1DP

  14. 2025-04-08 Min

    (S) Minutes (SSTA)

  15. 2025-04-08 Text

    (S) Moved SSSB 62 Out of Committee

  16. 2025-04-08 Text

    (S) STATE AFFAIRS at 03:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  17. 2025-03-26 624

    (S) COSPONSOR(S): GRAY-JACKSON

  18. 2025-03-11 Min

    (S) Minutes (SSTA)

  19. 2025-03-11 Text

    (S) Heard & Held

  20. 2025-03-11 Text

    (S) STATE AFFAIRS at 03:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  21. 2025-02-19 300

    (S) STA, L&C

  22. 2025-02-19 300

    (S) SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE INTRODUCED-REFERRALS

  23. 2025-01-24 61

    (S) STA, L&C

  24. 2025-01-24 61

    (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS

Official Summary Text

BOARD OF PAROLE: MEMBERSHIP, REPORT
An Act relating to the board of parole; and providing for an effective date.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
SB0062B -1- SSSB 62
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

34-LS0227\N

SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE BILL NO. 62

IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION

BY SENATORS TOBIN, Gray-Jackson

Introduced: 2/19/25
Referred: State Affairs, Labor and Commerce

A BILL

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED

"An Act relating to the board of parole; and providing for an effective date." 1
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 2
* Section 1. AS 33.16.020(a) is amended to read: 3
(a) There is in the Department of Corrections a board of parol e consisting of 4
seven [FIVE] members appointed by the governor, subject to confirmat ion by a 5
majority of members of the legislature in joint session. 6
* Sec. 2. AS 33.16.020(b) is amended to read: 7
(b) Members of the board serve for staggered terms of five yea rs and may not 8
serve more than two terms [UNTIL THEIR SUCCESSORS ARE APPOINTED]. 9
* Sec. 3. AS 33.16.030(b) is repealed and reenacted to read: 10
(b) The board consists of seven members, including 11
(1) one licensed physician, psychologist, or psychiatrist; 12
(2) one victim of a crime, family member of a victim of a crim e, or a 13
member of a crime victims advocacy group; 14
(3) one member who has experience in providing drug or alcohol 15
34-LS0227\N
SSSB 62 -2- SB0062B
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

addiction recovery support or who has personal experience with drug or alcohol 1
addiction; and 2
(4) one member of a federally recognized tribe in the state. 3
* Sec. 4. AS 33.16.030(c) is amended to read: 4
(c) Officers or employees of the state may not be appointed to the board. Not 5
more than three members of the board may be current or former e mployees of a 6
federal or private entity that operates a correctional facility or former employees 7
of a state entity that operates a correctional facility. 8
* Sec. 5. AS 33.16.030 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 9
(d) In this section, 10
(1) "crime" means an offense for which a sentence of imprisonm ent is 11
authorized; a crime is either a felony or a misdemeanor; 12
(2) "federally recognized tribe" has the meaning given in 13
AS 23.20.520. 14
* Sec. 6. AS 33.16 is amended by adding a new section to read: 15
Sec. 33.16.280. Annual report. (a) Not later than the 30th day following the 16
convening of each regular session of the legislature, the board shall prepare an annual 17
report of its operations and all parole hearings conducted in t he preceding calendar 18
year and deliver the report to the senate secretary and the chi ef clerk of the house of 19
representatives and notify the legislature that the report is a vailable. The board shall 20
also deliver the report to the Alaska Criminal Justice Data Ana lysis Commission and 21
publish the report on its publicly available Internet website. The report must include 22
information on discretionary parole hearings, special medical a nd geriatric parole 23
hearings, parole revocations, and parole discharges for the preceding calendar year. 24
(b) The information required in the annual report relating to all parole hearings 25
must include 26
(1) the number of each type of hearing held; 27
(2) the number of each type of hearing that resulted in parole b e i n g 28
granted, denied, or continued; 29
(3) applicant demographic data, including age, gender, race, a nd 30
ethnicity, for each type of hearing outcome; 31
34-LS0227\N
SB0062B -3- SSSB 62
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

(4) data on the applicant's most serious offense and whether a parole 1
request was granted, denied, or continued; 2
(5) a summary of the statutory or regulatory criteria the boar d most 3
frequently used in making its decisions; 4
(6) data on parole revocations, including specific violations that led to 5
revocation; 6
(7) information on why a parole request was denied; 7
(8) data on the amount of time a person served on parole befor e a 8
discharge was granted; and 9
(9) the voting record of each member of the board for each typ e of 10
hearing. 11
* Sec. 7. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 12
read: 13
TRANSITION; APPOINTMENTS. (a) Notwithstanding AS 33.16.020(b), as 14
amended by sec. 2 of this Act, a member of the board on the eff ective date of this Act who 15
has previously served two or more terms or is currently serving a second term may finish the 16
term to which the member was appointed, but may not be reappointed. 17
(b) Notwithstanding AS 33.16.030(b), as repealed and reenacted by sec. 3 of this Act, 18
a member of the board on the effective date of this Act may con tinue to serve the term to 19
which the member was appointed. 20
(c) In this section, "board" means the board of parole. 21
* Sec. 8. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026. 22