House Judiciary Committee opens public testimony on HB101; amendment deadline set

The House Judiciary Committee opened public testimony on House Bill 101, Crimes Against Minors, on Monday and set an amendment deadline of March 3, 2025, at 5 p.m., Representative Gray, chair, said.

Samantha Minskens, an Anchorage resident, urged lawmakers to support HB101, saying she was “baffled why the age of consent is still 16” and describing widespread sexual assaults among peers when she attended high school in South Anchorage. Captain Keo Chan of the Alaska State Police stood by to answer questions and estimated that “close to 300 cases” in 2023 involved the age range targeted by the bill.

The bill prompted committee members to seek statutory clarifications. Representative Vance asked why some statutory language referenced victims “at least 12 years of age” in one section and “under 13 years of age” in another; the chair said legal staff and the Department of Law were not available to answer that question at the hearing and that the committee would schedule further hearings to resolve statutory definitions and drafting questions.

Representative Kopp requested that Representative Vance submit written questions so staff and the Department of Law could provide focused answers. The committee emphasized that further work and possible amendments would be handled before the March 3 deadline.

No committee vote was taken on HB101 at the public-testimony hearing; the chair closed public testimony and announced the amendment deadline. Additional hearings were promised to allow legal staff and Department of Law advisers to respond to members’ technical questions.