LAW RESTRICTS POSSESSION OF METHAMPHETAMINE INGREDIENTS

JUNEAU - A bill increasing the penalties for manufacturing methamphetamine
was signed into law by Gov. Tony Knowles along with three other crime bills.

Rep. Tom Brice, D-Fairbanks, sponsored House Bill 3, tightening laws against
possessing ingredients for methamphetamine, an addictive stimulant also
known as meth or speed.

Brice said the new law will allow police to shut down dangerous, clandestine
laboratories before they actually produce illegal drugs. Brice said the
volatile meth ingredients could explode and kill people in the neighborhood
of the illegal labs.

Possessing certain chemicals will be a crime if prosecutors prove an intent
to manufacture the illegal drug. Banned chemicals might include ephedrine,
found in cold and diet tablets, and the materials used to cook it down for
methamphetamine, such as acetone, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, kerosene
or ethyl ether.

Brice's bill elevates the crime of manufacturing meth from a class B felony,
which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, to a class A felony,
with a maximum sentence of 20 years.

The bill also increases the penalties for the possession or distribution of
ketamine hydrochloride. A synthetic drug developed as an anesthetic,
ketamine is sometimes used as a "date-rape" pill.

Knowles on Monday also signed Senate Bill 259, sponsored by Sen. Robin
Taylor, R-Wrangell, tightening laws pertaining to theft of identity. Knowles
said the bill will help police prosecute crimes committed with computers and
other technology.

"It recognizes that theft of personal information, known as 'identity
theft,' can damage people in financial loss and reputation, which is
difficult to repair," Knowles said. "Likewise, it updates laws dealing with
theft through modern technology, false advertising, and the production and
distribution of child pornography."

The bill replaces "credit card" in Alaska's theft statutes with "access
device" so the law clearly prohibits using identification and telephone
numbers to commit fraud.

The bill also broadens the definition of criminal use of a computer to
include obtaining proprietary information and introducing information that
damages the computer.

Knowles said the Legislature failed to set aside money he requested for
hiring a new state trooper to investigate and prosecute cybercrimes in
cooperation with the FBI and Anchorage Police Department. Without funding
for this position, Knowles said, the law's full effect won't be felt right
away.

Knowles also signed:

* SB 26, sponsored by Sen. Loren Leman, R-Anchorage, which makes it a
misdemeanor for people under arrest to lie about their identity.

* HB 288, sponsored by Rep. Pete Kott, R-Anchorage, which allows judges to
hand down a more serious domestic violence sentence if the crime was
committed in the presence of a child who lives in the home of the victim or
where the crime occurred.