00HOUSE BILL NO. 406                                                                                                    
01 "An Act relating to subsistence uses of fish and game."                                                                 
02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03    * Section 1.  FINDINGS AND INTENT.  (a)  The Alaska State Legislature finds that                                   
04   (1)  the ability to harvest fish and game for personal and family use for                                             
05 sustenance is a fundamental right under the Constitution of the State of Alaska;                                        
06   (2)  the common use clause of the Constitution of the State of Alaska imposes                                         
07 on the state a trust duty to manage the fish, game, and water resources of the state for the                            
08 benefit of all the people;                                                                                              
09   (3)  the harvest of fish and game for personal and family use for sustenance is                                       
10 the highest and best use of fish and game;                                                                              
11   (4)  the fish and game resources of Alaska have adequate biological and                                               
12 reproductive capacity to provide an abundance of fish and game for all users.                                           
13  (b)  It is the intent of the Alaska State Legislature to provide                                                       
14   (1)  for a preference for personal and family use of fish and game for                                                

01 sustenance that parallels the Congressional intent underlying the subsistence preference under                          
02 Title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act but does not violate the                              
03 fundamental constitutional rights of Alaskans to subsistence, equal protection, and common                              
04 use of fish and game under the Constitution of the State of Alaska;                                                     
05   (2)  a greater role for local fish and game advisory committees and regional fish                                     
06 and game councils in the review and approval of regulations governing the use of fish and                               
07 game resources;                                                                                                         
08   (3)  for a greater abundance of fish and game resources to serve as a source of                                       
09 food for persons who depend on those resources for personal and family use for sustenance.