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SB0085A -1- SB 85
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SENATE BILL NO. 85
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION
BY THE SENATE RULES COMMITTEE BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
Introduced: 2/5/25
Referred: Labor and Commerce, Judiciary
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
"An Act relating to unauthorized publication and use of communi cations; and relating 1
to eavesdropping." 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3
* Section 1. AS 42.20.300(a) is amended to read: 4
(a) A [EXCEPT FOR A PARTY TO A PRIVATE CONVERSATION, A] 5
person who receives or assists in receiving, or who transmits o r assists in transmitting, 6
a private communication may not divulge or publish the existenc e, contents, 7
substance, purport, effect, or meaning of the communication, except 8
(1) with the consent of all parties to the communication; 9
(2) through authorized channels of transmission or reception 10
(A) [(1)] to the addressee or the agent or attorney of the 11
addressee; 12
(B) [(2)] to a person employed or authorized to forward a 13
communication to its destination; 14
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SB 85 -2- SB0085A
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(C) [(3)] to proper accounting or distributing officers of the 1
various communicating centers over which the communication may be passed; 2
(D) [(4)] to the master of a ship under whom the person is 3
serving; 4
(E) [(5)] to another on demand of lawful authority; or 5
(F) [(6)] in response to a subpoena issued or order entered by a 6
court of competent jurisdiction. 7
* Sec. 2. AS 42.20.310(a) is amended to read: 8
(a) A person may not 9
(1) use an eavesdropping device to hear or record all or any p art of an 10
oral conversation without the consent of all parties [A PARTY] to the conversation; 11
(2) use or divulge any information which the person knows or 12
reasonably should know was obtained through the illegal use of an eavesdropping 13
device for personal benefit or another's benefit; 14
(3) publish the existence, contents, substance, purport, effec t, or 15
meaning of any conversation the person has heard through the il legal use of an 16
eavesdropping device; 17
(4) divulge, or publish the existence, contents, substance, pu rport, 18
effect, or meaning of any conversation the person has become ac quainted with after 19
the person knows or reasonably should know that the conversation and the information 20
contained in the conversation was obtained through the illegal use of an eavesdropping 21
device. 22
* Sec. 3. AS 42.20.320(a) is amended to read: 23
(a) The following activities are exempt from the provisions of AS 42.20.300 24
and 42.20.310: 25
(1) listening to a radio or wir eless communications of any sor t where 26
the same are publicly made; 27
(2) hearing conversation when heard by employees of a common 28
carrier by wire incidental to the normal course of their employ ment in the operation, 29
maintenance, or repair of the e quipment of the common carrier b y wire, provided the 30
information obtained is not used or divulged in any manner by the hearer; 31
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SB0085A -3- SB 85
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(3) a broadcast by radio or other means whether it is a live broadcast or 1
recorded for the purpose of later broadcasts of any function wh ere the public is in 2
attendance and the conversations that are overheard are inciden tal to the main purpose 3
for which the broadcast is then being made; 4
(4) recording or listening with the aid of any device to an em ergency 5
communication made in the normal course of operations by a fede ral, state, or local 6
law enforcement agency or institutions dealing in emergency ser vices, including 7
hospitals, clinics, ambulance services, fire fighting agencies, a public utility 8
emergency repair facility, civilian defense establishment, or military installations; 9
(5) inadvertent interception of telephone conversations over p arty 10
lines; 11
(6) a peace officer, or a person acting at the direction or re quest of a 12
peace officer, 13
(A) engaging in conduct authorized by or under AS 09.65.215 14
or AS 12.37; or 15
(B) investigating crimes, collecting evidence, or issuing 16
lawful court processes; 17
(7) interception, listening, or r ecording of communications by a peace 18
officer, or a person acting under the direction or request of a peace officer, in an 19
emergency where the communications are received from a device t hat intercepts the 20
communications of a person 21
(A) barricaded and not exiting or surrendering at the directio n 22
or request of a peace officer, in circumstances where there is an imminent risk 23
of harm to life or property; 24
(B) holding another person hostage; or 25
(C) threatening the imminent illegal use of an explosive [; 26
( 8 ) T H E I N T E RCE PTI O N B Y A PE A CE OF FI CE R OF A N O RAL 27
COMMUNICATION BY USE OF AN ELECTRONIC, MECHANICAL, OR 28
OTHER EAVESDROPPING DEVICE THAT IS CONCEALED ON OR CARRIED 29
ON THE PERSON OF THE PEACE OFFICER AND THAT TRANSMITS THAT 30
ORAL COMMUNICATION BY MEANS OF RADIO TO A RECEIVING UNIT 31
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SB 85 -4- SB0085A
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THAT IS MONITORED BY OTHER PEACE OFFICERS, IF 1
(A) THE INTERCEPTION AND MONITORING OCCURS 2
(i) DURING THE INVESTIGATION OF A CRIME 3
OR THE ARREST OF A PERSON FOR A CRIME; AND 4
( i i ) F O R T H E P U R P O S E O F E N S U R I N G T H E 5
SAFETY OF THE PEACE OFFICER CONDUCTING THE 6
INVESTIGATION OR MAKING THE ARREST; 7
(B) THE PEACE OFFICER WHO INTERCEPTS THE ORAL 8
COMMUNICATION IS A PARTY TO THE COMMUNICATION AND HAS 9
CONSENTED TO THE INTERCEPTION; AND 10
(C) THE COMMUNICATION INTERCEPTED IS NOT 11
RECORDED]; 12
(8) [(9)] interception of a private communication to which a minor is a 13
party by a parent of the minor, except that interception of a p rivate communication 14
between a minor and the minor's attorney or guardian ad litem o r between a minor and 15
a child-custody investigator is not exempt from the provisions of AS 42.20.300 and 16
42.20.310; evidence obtained under this paragraph may be 17
(A) considered by a guardian ad litem or a child custody 18
investigator only if the guardian ad litem or child custody inv estigator 19
determines that consideration of the evidence is in the best in terests of the 20
minor; 21
(B) admitted in a judicial proceeding, subject to the Alaska 22
Rules of Evidence; 23
(C) admitted in a judicial proceeding relating to the custody of a 24
minor, subject to the Alaska Rules of Evidence and only if the court 25
determines that admission of the evidence is in the best intere sts of the minor; 26
or 27
(D) admitted in an official proceeding that is not a judicial 28
proceeding, subject to the rules of evidence governing the proc eeding and only 29
if the official presiding over th e proceeding determines that a dmission of the 30
evidence is in the best interests of the minor; 31
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SB0085A -5- SB 85
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(9) interception by a peace officer of a communication by use of an 1
electronic, mechanical, or other eavesdropping device during th e normal course 2
of the peace officer's employment where the person making the c ommunication 3
knew or reasonably should have known that the communication was being made 4
in the presence of a peace officer. 5