CSSB 247(RES): "An Act restricting the use of certain funds deposited in the fish and game fund; amending Rules 79(b) and 82(b)(2), Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, and relating to the powers and duties of the commissioner of fish and game; and providing for an effective date."
00CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 247(RES) 01 "An Act restricting the use of certain funds deposited in the fish and game 02 fund; amending Rules 79(b) and 82(b)(2), Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, and 03 relating to the powers and duties of the commissioner of fish and game; and 04 providing for an effective date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 16.05.050 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 07 (20) to cooperate with sportsmen's organizations and other 08 organizations to increase game populations in the state and to introduce new 09 populations into suitable habitat. 10 * Sec. 2. AS 16.05.130(a) is repealed and reenacted to read: 11 (a) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, except as provided in (c) 12 of this section, money accruing to the state from sport fishing, hunting, and trapping 13 licenses or tag fees shall be expended only as provided by appropriation. The 14 legislature shall make a separate appropriation for each project to be funded from
01 money subject to this subsection. Money subject to this subsection 02 (1) shall be used only for projects that provide for 03 (A) intensive management of sport fish stocks and game 04 populations for maximum sustained yield by human harvest; 05 (B) propagation, reintroduction, restocking, transplantation, 06 manipulation of habitat, predator removal, hunter education, public access to 07 sport fishing and hunting areas, or restoration of sport fish and game resources; 08 (C) direct benefits to purchasers of sport fishing, hunting, and 09 trapping licenses and tags that increase sport fish stocks and game populations, 10 increase human harvests of sport fish and game, or decrease predation upon 11 sport fish and game taken by purchasers of sport fishing, hunting, and trapping 12 licenses and tags; or 13 (D) construction and preservation of shooting ranges; and 14 (2) may not be 15 (A) expended for projects in an area where consumptive uses 16 of sport fish and game are not allowed; 17 (B) expended, borrowed, or otherwise used for a purpose not 18 authorized under this subsection; 19 (C) expended for costs of personnel or administration, other 20 than costs of personnel or administration directly incurred in conjunction with 21 projects allowed under this subsection; or 22 (D) expended for costs of construction, other than costs of 23 construction projects that are consistent with (1) of this subsection and that are 24 for 25 (i) facilities used solely for the propagation of sport fish 26 or game for restocking, enhancement, or transplantation; 27 (ii) shooting ranges; or 28 (iii) facilities to improve public access to areas where 29 consumptive uses of sport fish and game may occur. 30 * Sec. 3. AS 16.05.130(b) is amended to read: 31 (b) Money accruing to the state from waterfowl conservation tag fees from
01 hunters may not be diverted to a purpose other than (1) the [CONSERVATION AND] 02 enhancement of waterfowl; (2) the acquisition, by lease or otherwise, of wetlands that 03 are important for waterfowl and for consumptive uses [PUBLIC USE] of waterfowl 04 in the state; and (3) projects related to consumptive uses of waterfowl 05 [WATERFOWL RELATED PROJECTS APPROVED BY THE COMMISSIONER; 06 (4) THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE WATERFOWL CONSERVATION 07 PROGRAM; AND (5) EMERGENCIES IN THE STATE AS DETERMINED BY THE 08 GOVERNOR]. The department shall maintain a state waterfowl tag fee account within 09 the fish and game fund to permit separate accounting records for the receipt and 10 expenditure of money derived from the sale of waterfowl tags. [THE DEPARTMENT 11 SHALL PREPARE A REPORT BEFORE APRIL 15 OF EACH EVEN-NUMBERED 12 YEAR FOR THE PUBLIC AND THE LEGISLATURE ON THE USE OF MONEY 13 DERIVED FROM WATERFOWL CONSERVATION TAGS AND LIMITED 14 EDITION PRINTS. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL NOTIFY THE LEGISLATURE 15 THAT THE REPORT IS AVAILABLE.] 16 * Sec. 4. AS 16.05.130 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 17 (e) Except as otherwise required by federal law, federal funds received by the 18 state through the federal aid to fish restoration program or the federal aid in wildlife 19 restoration program may not be expended except as provided by appropriation. Funds 20 subject to this subsection 21 (1) shall be used only for projects that provide for 22 (A) intensive management of fish stocks and game populations 23 for maximum sustained yield for human harvest; 24 (B) propagation, reintroduction, restocking, transplantation, 25 manipulation of habitat, predator removal, hunter education, public access to 26 sport fishing and hunting areas, or restoration of sport fish and game resources; 27 (C) direct benefits to purchasers of sport fishing and hunting 28 licenses and tags by increasing sport fish stocks and game populations, 29 increasing human harvests of sport fish and game, or decreasing predation upon 30 sport fish and game taken by purchasers of sport fishing and hunting licenses 31 and tags; or
01 (D) construction and preservation of shooting ranges; and 02 (2) may not be 03 (A) expended for projects in an area where consumptive uses 04 of sport fish and game are not allowed except for construction projects that are 05 consistent with (1) of this subsection and that are for 06 (i) facilities used solely for the propagation of sport fish 07 or game for restocking, enhancement, or transplantation; 08 (ii) shooting ranges; or 09 (iii) facilities to improve public access to areas where 10 consumptive uses of sport fish and game may occur; 11 (B) expended, borrowed, or otherwise used for a purpose not 12 authorized under this subsection; and 13 (C) expended for costs of personnel, administration, or 14 construction except for construction projects that are consistent with (1) of this 15 subsection and that are for 16 (i) facilities used solely for the propagation of sport fish 17 or game for restocking, enhancement, or transplantation; 18 (ii) shooting ranges; or 19 (iii) facilities to improve public access to areas where 20 consumptive uses of sport fish and game may occur. 21 (f) The department shall prepare an annual report of expenditures from the fish 22 and game fund and provide the report to each member of the legislature. The report 23 must contain a detailed accounting of expenditures and a description of the proportion 24 of the fund expended for each project and of the benefits of each project to purchasers 25 of hunting, trapping, and sport fishing licenses. 26 (g) A person may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction 27 against a state agency or public official for an injunction to compel compliance with 28 this section or to compel remedial action to correct the consequences of a violation of 29 this section. A public official is not immune from suit under this section. 30 (h) A person who brings an action under (g) of this section and who prevails 31 in the action is entitled to recover the full, true, and actual costs of litigation, including
01 100 percent of actual attorney fees. 02 (i) In this section, 03 (1) "harvestable surplus" means the estimated number of animals that 04 is equal to the number of offspring born in a population during a year less the number 05 of animals in the population that die during the year from all causes other than 06 predation or human harvest; 07 (2) "high level of human harvest" means the harvest of one-third or 08 more of the harvestable surplus of an animal population by humans; 09 (3) "intensive management" means management, in accordance with the 10 sustained yield principle, of an identified big game prey population or fish stock to 11 enhance, extend, and develop the population or stock to maintain high levels or 12 provide for higher levels of human harvest, including control of predation and 13 prescribed or planned use of fire and other habitat improvement techniques, but not 14 including restrictions on methods or means of taking fish or game, access to fish or 15 game, or human harvest of fish or game; 16 (4) "maximum sustained yield" means the achievement and 17 maintenance in perpetuity of a high level of human harvest on an annual basis of 18 game, other than mammalian predators, and of fish. 19 * Sec. 5. AS 16.05.340(a)(17)(B) is amended to read: 20 (B) The Board of Game shall by regulation exempt the 21 requirement of a waterfowl conservation tag for waterfowl hunting in areas of 22 the state not likely to benefit from programs described in AS 16.05.130(b)(2) 23 and (3) [AS 16.05.130(b)(2) - (4)]. 24 * Sec. 6. AS 16.05.130(d) is repealed. 25 * Sec. 7. AS 16.05.130(h), added by sec. 4 of this Act, has the effect of amending Rules 26 79(b) and 82(b)(2), Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, by providing that a person who prevails 27 in an action under AS 16.05.130(g) is entitled to recover the full, true, and actual costs of 28 bringing and prosecuting the action, including 100 percent of actual attorney fees. 29 * Sec. 8. AS 16.05.130(h), added by sec. 4 of this Act, providing for the recovery of the 30 full, true, and actual costs of litigation, including 100 percent of actual attorney fees by a 31 prevailing plaintiff in an action brought under AS 16.05.130(g), takes effect only if sec. 7 of
01 this Act receives the two-thirds majority vote of each house required by art. IV, sec. 15, 02 Constitution of the State of Alaska. 03 * Sec. 9. This Act takes effect July 1, 1996.