00CS FOR SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 40(RES) am H                                                                       
01 Relating to the fisheries management fee proposed by President Clinton.                                                 
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE:                                                                                     
03  WHEREAS President Clinton has proposed in his Fiscal Year 1999 budget a fisheries                                    
04 management fee to fund the management and enforcement services of the National Oceanic                                  
05 and Atmospheric Administration; and                                                                                     
06  WHEREAS the proposed fisheries management fee would be derived from a tax of                                         
07 up to one percent on the ex-vessel value of all fish harvested by commercial fishermen; and                             
08  WHEREAS Alaska commercial fishermen would pay as much as $12,000,000 of the                                          
09 $20,000,000 in annual revenue the fisheries management fee is expected to generate from all                             
10 fisheries nationwide; and                                                                                               
11  WHEREAS the proposed management fee would impose a unique burden on Alaska                                           
12 commercial fishermen who produce more fish than the rest of the United States combined; and                             
13  WHEREAS the proposed management fee would have a negative effect on the                                              
14 economic competitiveness of the Alaska seafood industry; and                                                            

01  WHEREAS the seafood industry is the largest source of private sector jobs in Alaska;                                 
02 and                                                                                                                     
03  WHEREAS commercial fishermen and seafood processors in Alaska are already                                            
04 burdened with a variety of taxes and user fees, including a raw fish tax, marine fuel tax,                              
05 licensing fees, fishery landing tax, salmon enhancement tax, seafood marketing tax, and                                 
06 seafood marketing assessment; and                                                                                       
07  WHEREAS the total value in 1995 of the above-mentioned taxes and user fees                                           
08 exceeded $68,000,000;                                                                                                   
09  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully opposes the                                            
10 imposition of the proposed fisheries management fee; and be it                                                          
11  FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully urges the                                            
12 Governor and the Alaska delegation in Congress to oppose the proposed fisheries management                              
13 fee and work to ensure the fee is not included in the Fiscal Year 1999 federal budget approved                          
14 by the Congress.                                                                                                        
15  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the                              
16 United States; the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice President of the United States and President                            
17 of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the U.S. House of                                           
18 Representatives; the Honorable Trent Lott, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; and to the                               
19 Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the                                         
20 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.