JUNEAU -- An Alaska Senate committee has introduced a sweeping crime package that, among other provisions, would raise the age of consent from 16 to 18.

The bill comes as advocates for the age of consent bill argue it should move forward as standalone legislation.

Anchorage Democratic Sen. Matt Claman, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and also a candidate for governor, introduced the 55-page omnibus bill Friday. It also includes measures to criminalize the creation of child sex abuse material using artificial intelligence and stiffen penalties for drivers in hit-and-run fatalities.

Rep. Andrew Gray, an Anchorage Democrat and sponsor of the age of consent measure, along with other advocates for the bill like the nonprofit Standing Together Against Rape, have said the legislation is crucial to protect older teens from predatory adults. Gray had argued that the measure -- which passed the House unanimously last session -- has a tougher chance of passing as one piece of a larger package.

Claman asserted in an interview Friday that some of the criticism of his approach has been misguided.

"People suggested that I do not support raising the age of consent. That's not true. I do support raising the age of consent, and you can see that because it's in the consolidated crime bill," Claman said.

Claman wrote in a Saturday op-ed for the Daily News that "by combining these carefully vetted measures into a single comprehensive bill, we can honor that work and get it across the finish line." The opinion piece was co-authored by House Majority Leader Chuck Kopp, an Anchorage Republican.

In addition to raising the age of consent, the package also includes measures that would:

Increase criminal negligence penalties for drivers who fail to assist in hit-and-run fatalities.
Criminalize generating child sexual abuse material using artificial intelligence.
Establish a tracking system for sexual assault examination kits, establish timelines for submitting the kits to the lab for examinations, and establish a new crime of organized theft. These measures were requested by the governor.
Close a "loophole" in the law that can make it more difficult to prosecute sexual assault perpetrated by a medical provider during treatment.
Criminalize counterfeit airbags.
Make some old marijuana conviction records confidential.
Extend confidentiality guarantees for victims who use tribal counseling centers.

Scott Kendall, an attorney who is on the board of STAR but who said he was speaking in his personal capacity, has been outspoken in his criticism of Claman.

"For all his talk of a quote-unquote omnibus bill, this is him grabbing a grab bag of other legislators' bills, and basically putting Scotch tape around them, and calling it Matt Claman's omnibus crime bill," Kendall said in a phone interview Monday.

The age of consent bill, HB 101, passed the House 39-0 on the penultimate day of the session last year. It has then remained in the Senate Judiciary Committee for much of this session.

Advocates from STAR urged Claman to move the age of consent bill from committee as a standalone bill. The Anchorage Assembly last week unanimously approved a resolution requesting that Claman move the bill from the Senate Judiciary Committee or that Senate leadership discharge it from committee and bring it to a floor vote.

Gray said in an interview Friday that raising the age of consent, regardless of the bill's form, is his biggest concern.

"I'm gonna do whatever I have to do to get that policy across the finish line, if that means continuing to advocate for HB 101 moving as a standalone bill, or advocating for an omnibus crime bill that has other good bills in it," Gray said in an interview Monday.

Alaska's sexual assault rates are four times the national average, according to the Alaska Criminal Justice Data Analysis Commission. The majority of sex offenses in the state involve crimes against children, according to a November 2025 report by the commission.

Gray said he hopes that the Senate and House will be open to negotiating amendments to the package.

He declined to say what changes he would advocate for. He said, though, he would vote in favor of the omnibus bill as it stands.

Claman led the charge as Judiciary chair in creating an omnibus crime bill in 2024 that passed with broad support from the Legislature. Most prominently, the bill imposed longer sentences for certain drug offenses.

This year's crime package is made up of nine provisions added to one underlying bill. That underlying bill, introduced by Kopp and Anchorage Democratic Rep. Zack Fields, would increase penalties for drivers who fail to assist in a fatal collision with a pedestrian. That bill also passed the House 39-0.

Kopp said that the bill has grown from "a sports car to a school bus," but that he supports all the added provisions.

Another widely supported part of the package is a provision to ban the generation of child sexual abuse material using artificial intelligence.

The package includes the Senate companion version of a House bill that passed the House 39-0. The Senate bill has remained narrower in scope, and does not include provisions added to the House version that would also ban using AI to create sexual images or video that impersonate a real, identifiable adult.

Senate Judiciary Committee members have until Friday to make amendments to the omnibus bill.

If it passes the Senate, it would then go to a concurrence vote in the House.

Claman said that he's talked with House and Senate leadership, and that he expects there will be "strong support" for the bill.

Amid discord on age-of-consent bill, Alaska Senate panel unveils sweeping crime package