Alaska Senate Bill 91: Reforms, Repeals, and What Remains

Alaska Senate Bill 91, the 2016 criminal justice reform signed by Governor Bill Walker, has been largely repealed. The legislature narrowed it with Senate Bill 54 in 2017, then Governor Mike Dunleavy signed House Bill 49 on July 8, 2019, which his office described as legislation that “effectively repeals and replaces the failed SB91.”1Office of the Governor. Governor Dunleavy Signs Crime-Fighting Legislation Into Law A few pieces survive, but the sentencing, drug, and pretrial framework SB 91 built no longer governs Alaska criminal law.

What SB 91 Set Out to Do

SB 91 followed a “justice reinvestment” approach: reduce incarceration of low-risk, non-violent offenders and redirect the savings into treatment, reentry support, and community supervision. The bill grew out of recommendations from the Alaska Criminal Justice Commission and touched nearly every stage of the criminal process, from charging decisions through probation.2Alaska State Legislature. Alaska Senate Bill 91 – Enrolled

Among its central changes, SB 91 reclassified most drug possession from a Class C felony to a Class A misdemeanor, raised the felony theft threshold from $750 to $1,000, capped many Class B misdemeanors at ten days in jail, made first-time Class C felony convictions presumptively probationary with no mandatory jail time, and required release of low-to-moderate-risk defendants in many non-violent, non-DUI misdemeanor cases based on a validated risk assessment.3Alaska Judicial Council. Table of SB91 Changes and Relationship to ACJC Recommendations

What’s Been Repealed

Public backlash over rising property crime and perceived leniency on repeat offenders arrived quickly. SB 54 in 2017 reversed some of SB 91’s most prominent changes, and HB 49 in 2019 dismantled most of what was left.

Drug Possession Is a Jailable Offense Again

HB 49 made simple drug possession jailable again. A first arrest is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail; a second arrest within ten years is a felony. Under current Alaska law, possessing any amount of a Schedule IA substance such as heroin, fentanyl, or oxycodone is a Class C felony with a presumptive range of zero to two years for a first offense.4Alaska State Legislature. Controlled Substance Statutes Reference Chart

The Felony Theft Threshold Dropped Back to $750

SB 54 undid SB 91’s increase and returned the felony theft threshold to $750, where it had stood before the reform.5Justia Law. Alaska Code 11.46.130 – Theft in the Second Degree HB 49 also gave prosecutors a new tool: multiple small thefts committed over a six-month period can be combined to charge a serial offender with a more serious theft offense.

Misdemeanor Maximums Went Back Up

HB 49 raised the maximum sentence for many Class B misdemeanors from ten days to 90 days, and the Class A misdemeanor ceiling from 90 days to a full year. Judges have substantially more room to impose jail time for lower-level offenses than SB 91 allowed.

Pretrial Risk Assessments Are No Longer Binding

HB 49 removed the requirement that judges follow pretrial risk assessment results when deciding whether to release a defendant before trial. It also repealed the provision requiring judges to revise release conditions that were preventing a defendant’s release, and it limited defendants to a single bail review hearing based solely on inability to pay.6Alaska State Legislature. Alaska House Bill 49 – Relating to Criminal Law and Procedure

Felony Sentencing Ranges Expanded

HB 49 widened presumptive ranges for repeat felony convictions. A second Class C felony conviction now carries two to four years, and a third carries three to five years. First-time Class C felony convictions still fall within a zero-to-two-year range, but courts may now require active imprisonment within that range as a condition of probation, a departure from SB 91’s probation-only approach.7Justia Law. Alaska Code 12.55.125 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Felonies Penalties for missing a court date and for violating conditions of release also went up.

What Still Remains From SB 91

A handful of structural pieces survived both rollbacks.

The Pretrial Services program within the Department of Corrections still exists and still conducts risk assessments. The difference is that judges now treat those assessments as advisory rather than binding.6Alaska State Legislature. Alaska House Bill 49 – Relating to Criminal Law and Procedure

Earned compliance credits remain available to people on parole, letting those who meet all supervision conditions reduce their time under state oversight. The early probation discharge pathway introduced through SB 54, which built on SB 91’s supervision reforms, also survived; probation officers can recommend ending supervision early for someone who has completed treatment and stayed compliant for a defined period.8Alaska State Legislature. Enrolled SB 54 – Relating to Crime and Criminal Law

The Alaska Criminal Justice Commission continues the monitoring role SB 91 assigned it, collecting data from state agencies and evaluating recidivism trends even though most of the policies it recommended have been unwound.9Alaska Judicial Council. Alaska Criminal Justice Commission Recommendations

Where Alaska Criminal Law Stands Today

For a reader trying to understand what the law currently requires in situations SB 91 once governed, these are the key rules now in force:

SB 91 went from landmark reform to near-total repeal in roughly three years. The sentencing environment Alaskans face today looks much closer to the pre-2016 framework than to the justice reinvestment model the Criminal Justice Commission originally proposed, with surviving pieces around pretrial services, compliance credits, and early probation discharge now operating inside a tougher overall system.