## Facts

- Alaska’s felony DWI statute formerly made DWI a felony if the defendant had two prior DWI convictions within five years.
- In 2001, the legislature amended the statute to extend the look-back period from five years to ten years.
- The bill specified a special effective date of July 1, 2001, displacing the default rule that statutes take effect 90 days after the governor signs them.
- The legislature transmitted the bill to the governor on June 20, 2001; the governor signed it on July 3, 2001 (after the stated July 1 date).
- On July 4, 2001, Eric B. Fowler committed DWI; he had two prior DWI convictions within ten years but not within five years.
- The State charged Fowler with felony DWI under the amended statute; Fowler moved to dismiss, arguing the amendment was not yet effective.

## Issues

1. When a bill specifies an effective date, but the governor signs the bill after that date, does the special effective-date clause fail so that the default 90-day effective-date rule applies?
2. If the special effective date controls, did the amendment become effective in time to apply to a July 4 offense despite the July 3 signature and the July 4 holiday?

## Decision

- The court held the legislature’s specified effective date controlled even though the governor signed after that date.
- The court concluded the bill became law upon the governor’s July 3 signature and, under Alaska timing rules and the bill’s effective-date clause, was effective as of 12:01 a.m. on July 4, 2001.
- The court rejected the argument that a holiday delayed the effective time of the statute or prevented its application on July 4.
- The court affirmed the superior court’s ruling permitting felony DWI prosecution under the ten-year look-back.

## Legal Principles

- A legislatively specified effective date displaces the default effective-date rule and remains operative despite a gubernatorial signature occurring after the specified calendar date.
- A bill requires gubernatorial signature to become law, but once enacted it may operate as of the effective date specified by the legislature, subject to constitutional limits.
- Under Alaska law, statutes with a specified effective date generally take effect at 12:01 a.m. on that date unless otherwise provided.
- Application of a criminal statute to conduct occurring after the statute’s effective time does not violate ex post facto restrictions, and holiday status does not alter statutory effective time absent a legal directive.

## Conclusion

The court affirmed Fowler’s felony DWI liability, holding that the ten-year look-back amendment was effective at 12:01 a.m. on July 4, 2001, and therefore applied to Fowler’s July 4 offense even though the governor signed the bill on July 3 and the legislature’s stated effective date was July 1.


Fowler v. State, 70 P.3d 1106 (Alaska Ct. App. 2003)