Senate bill:Kids should pay for acts of vandalism

JOEL DAVIDSON/Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - It still has a long way to go, but if Alaska Senate Bill 10 passes, young vandals will be held financially accountable for damages they inflict on residential homes, schools, businesses and other properties - regardless of how much the cost is.

The bill is sponsored by Sen. Gretchen Guess, D-Anchorage, and Sen. Fred Dyson, R-Eagle River, who both claim it is time to send a message to keep vandals accountable.

Current state law holds only the parents financially liable for their child's vandalous acts and parents are only liable for $15,000 or $25,000 if they have a homeowner's policy. SB 10 would remove any financial cap and make both the parent and the minor liable for paying all damages caused by the minor's vandalism.

"This bill would leave it up to the courts to decide who is responsible," Guess said in a phone interview Friday. "It's a fairly difficult policy to think through when trying to identify where the liability falls. Some people say the parents shouldn't be liable, others say they should. But right now, the child is not held accountable at all."

Guess said the bill would also make vandals financially responsible for their actions once they turned 18, even if their crime was committed when they were younger.

"We want to send a message to young people, that they will be held accountable for their actions," Guess said. "We also want to ensure a fair recovery process."

With the current financial cap of $15,000 to $25,000, some property owners do not receive full compensation when damage occurs. Guess said this bill is designed to address that without sending parents or minors into bankruptcy.

"Some arguments for having a cap were from a worry of bankrupting families," she said. "This bill would ensure that a reasonable payment schedule is set up by the courts."

Representatives from the Anchorage and Juneau school districts and the Alaska Association of School Boards testified in favor of the bill.

Guess said she and Dyson hope to get the bill passed this year.

"It's time to make vandals pay for the damage that is plaguing our communities," Dyson stated in a press release. "School districts are being forced to take money away from the classroom and use it to pay for the senseless destruction inflicted on our schools by a few rebellious kids."

Contact Joel Davidson at joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.