Section 18.65.670 - Village public safety officer program(a) The village public safety officer program is created in the department, with funding appropriated to the department and disbursed by the commissioner through grants made under this section. The purpose of the program is to appoint, train, supervise, support, and retain persons to serve as village public safety officers.(b) With funds appropriated for that purpose, the commissioner shall provide grants to nonprofit regional corporations and Alaska Native organizations for training and employment of village public safety officers. If a nonprofit regional corporation for a village or Alaska Native organization for the village does not exist or declines a grant under this subsection, the commissioner may provide the grant to a municipality with a population of less than 10,000 willing to administer the grant for the village. If a nonprofit regional corporation or Alaska Native organization declines a grant, the commissioner shall consult with the corporation or organization before awarding the grant to a municipality.(c) The commissioner shall annually accept applications from entities described in (b) of this section for village public safety officer grants. Grant applicants may apply to employ village public safety officers in participating villages located in the applicant's region. An application must include (1) a projected budget, including administrative costs;(2) a list of villages in which the applicant plans to employ village public safety officers; and(3) other information required by the commissioner.(d) The commissioner shall enter into a written agreement with a grant recipient before providing grant funding. The agreement must require the grant recipient to(1) comply with state and federal law;(2) provide a salary and benefit schedule for the village public safety officer;(3) be named as the employer of the village public safety officer; and(4) maintain insurance, independently, or with the assistance of the department, that includes coverage for premiums as follows: (A) workers' compensation insurance as required under AS 23.30;(B) comprehensive general liability insurance, including professional practice insurance for police with(i) a limit not less than $1,000,000; and(ii) the state, including an officer, employee, or agent of the state, listed as an additional named insured.(e) An award of grant funding, depending on the funds awarded, must provide for at least one village public safety officer for each village included in a grant agreement entered into under (d) of this section. A grant recipient may assign more than one village public safety officer to a village and request additional funding for the additional village public safety officer. The commissioner may approve the request for additional funding if the grant recipient provides justification reasonably related to the duties of a village public safety officer and other public safety needs.(f) A grant recipient may assign a traveling village public safety officer to serve multiple villages within the grant recipient's region.(g) A grant recipient shall(1) keep original financial, personnel, and other records relating to a village public safety officer for at least three years after the officer's termination of employment and, upon request, provide that information to the department;(2) provide annual financial audits to the commissioner;(3) facilitate site visits by the department to monitor village public safety officer performance and compliance with state and federal law;(4) notify the commissioner if the grant recipient fails to comply with state or federal law;(5) timely notify the department if a village public safety officer resigns or vacates a position; and(6) timely notify and submit a written report to the department if a village public safety officer points a firearm in the direction of another person or discharges a firearm while on duty.(h) The commissioner may, in consultation with grant recipients, as provided in (k) of this section, adopt regulations related to village public safety officers, including establishing minimum standards and training, physical fitness requirements, criteria for participation by a community, a municipality, an Alaska Native organization, or a corporation, and the interaction between the department and village public safety officers. If the commissioner adopts regulations regarding training for village public safety officers, the training must be consistent with the standards in AS 18.65.676 and disability training under AS 18.65.220 (3). The commissioner of corrections may, in consultation with grant recipients, adopt regulations related to the functions of village public safety officers providing pretrial, probation, and parole supervision.(i) A grant recipient may charge its federally approved indirect costs to the village public safety officer program grant if the statewide average of indirect costs does not exceed 35 percent.(j) The commissioner may not withhold, without reason, approval of a funding request made under a grant award. The commissioner shall timely disburse grant funds. A grant recipient may use funding for items reasonably related to public safety and village public safety officer duties under AS 18.65.670 - 18.65.688.(k) The commissioner and the commissioner of corrections shall (1) ensure all relations with a federally recognized tribal government that is the incorporator of a nonprofit regional corporation are conducted on a government-to-government basis;(2) ensure the department consults with a grant recipient (A) before implementing a policy or regulation that affects the recipient and as early as possible in the development of a new or revised policy or regulation;(B) on the state policies and regulations the grant recipient considers necessary, as well as the substance of the policies and regulations;(3) to the extent possible, use consensual mechanisms to develop policies and regulations, including negotiated rulemaking processes;(4) respect tribal sovereignty in consultations with grant recipients;(5) ensure consultations with grant recipients are open and candid to enable interested parties to accurately assess potential effects; and(6) ensure the removal of procedural impediments to working directly and effectively with grant recipients on programs that affect the governmental rights of a tribe.(l) The commissioner shall designate an official within the department who has the primary responsibility for compliance with this section. The official shall develop and annually review departmental procedures for compliance with this section. The department shall provide to all grant recipients the results of the annual review and post the results on the Internet website of the department.Amended by SLA 2022, ch. 16,sec. 3, eff. 6/29/2022 except that subsections (b) through (g) take effect 7/1/2022.Amended by SLA 2019SP1, ch. 4,sec. 87, sec.88, sec.89, sec.90 eff. 7/1/2019.Amended by SLA 2017, ch. 8,sec. 6, eff. 8/20/2017.Amended by SLA 2014, ch. 97,sec. 1, eff. 10/16/2014.