Substitute Bill for Juvenile Fingerprints (HB48) passes House Committee, by Amy Novoa

Substitute HB48S3, which replaces the original HB48, excludes the language that juveniles shall be fingerprinted if they are believed to be affiliated with or in a gang. In addition, the bill clarifies that a juvenile may be photographed and fingerprinted if he/she commits a crime that would be a class A misdemeanor if the crime were committed by an adult. This substitute bill is more ethical, because innocent youth would not be targeted as much, however, it is not the way to educate youth to stay out of crime. We often see discrimination as an issue in our law enforcement. We often see youth being racially profiled or labeled as delinquents. Without the gang reference in this bill, youth won't be harassed as much as with the first bill, but we would rather see our money spent on programs that would benefit our youth. It is estimated that this bill will cost $51,000 the first year and $21,000 each year after. When we are cutting most state budgets by 7% we have to ask where this money is coming from, and if it could not be better used supporting youth programs. Through these programs we could teach morals to help educate youth to make healthier choices and become involved in sports, arts, community activities, academic activities, etc. We can offer them more opportunities to succeed, instead of labeling them and treating them as criminals. They are still very young and have the ability to change and better their community. This bill passed the house with a vote of 69-0 a and is now going into Senate committee. We strongly oppose this bill amended or not.