HB 238: "An Act establishing a federal tax obligation loan program under the commercial fishing loan program."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 238 01 "An Act establishing a federal tax obligation loan program under the commercial 02 fishing loan program." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 16.10.310(a) is amended to read: 05 (a) The department may 06 (1) make loans 07 (A) to individual commercial fishermen who have been state 08 residents for a continuous period of two years immediately preceding the date 09 of application for a loan under AS 16.10.300 - 16.10.370 , who [AND] have 10 had a crewmember or commercial fishing license under AS 16.05.480 or a 11 permit under AS 16.43 for the year immediately preceding the date of 12 application and any other two of the past five years, and who actively 13 participated in the fishery during those periods [,] 14 (i) for the purchase of entry permits; [OR]
01 (ii) to upgrade existing vessels and gear for the purpose 02 of improving the quality of Alaska seafood products; or 03 (iii) to satisfy past due federal tax obligations that 04 may result in the execution on and involuntary transfer of the 05 individual commercial fishermen's entry permits, to the extent 06 allowed under (e) of this section; 07 (B) to an individual for the repair, restoration, or upgrading of 08 existing vessels and gear, for the purchase of entry permits and gear, [AND] 09 for the construction and purchase of vessels , or, to the extent allowed under 10 (e) of this section, to satisfy past due federal tax obligations that may result 11 in the execution on and involuntary transfer of the individual's entry 12 permits , if the individual has been a state resident for a continuous period of 13 two years immediately preceding the date of application for a loan under 14 AS 16.10.300 - 16.10.370, and either 15 (i) because of lack of training or lack of employment 16 opportunities in the area of residence, does not have occupational 17 opportunities available other than commercial fishing; or 18 (ii) is economically dependent on commercial fishing for 19 a livelihood and for whom commercial fishing has been a traditional 20 way of life in Alaska; 21 (C) for the purchase of quota shares for fisheries in or off the 22 state by individual commercial fishermen who 23 (i) have been state residents for a continuous period of 24 two years immediately preceding the date of application for a loan 25 under AS 16.10.300 - 16.10.370; 26 (ii) for any two of the past five years, possessed a 27 crewmember or commercial fishing license under AS 16.05.480 or a 28 permit under AS 16.43 and actively participated in a fishery for which 29 the license or permit was issued; 30 (iii) qualify as transferees [A TRANSFEREE] for quota 31 shares under applicable law; and
01 (iv) are not eligible for financing from other recognized 02 commercial lending institutions to purchase quota shares; 03 (2) designate agents and delegate its powers to them as necessary; 04 (3) adopt regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of 05 AS 16.10.300 - 16.10.370, including regulations to establish reasonable fees for 06 services provided; 07 (4) establish amortization plans for repayment of loans, which may 08 include extensions for poor fishing seasons or for adverse market conditions for 09 Alaska [ALASKAN] products; 10 (5) enter into agreements with private lending institutions, other state 11 agencies, or agencies of the federal government [,] to carry out the purposes of 12 AS 16.10.300 - 16.10.370; 13 (6) enter into agreements with other agencies or organizations to create 14 an outreach program to make loans under AS 16.10.300 - 16.10.370 in rural areas of 15 the state; 16 (7) allow an assumption of a loan if 17 (A) the applicant has been a state resident for a continuous 18 period of two years immediately preceding the date of the request for an 19 assumption; and 20 (B) approval of the assumption would be consistent with the 21 purposes of AS 16.10.300; an applicant for a loan assumption may not be 22 disqualified because the applicant does not meet the loan eligibility 23 requirements of (1) of this subsection; 24 (8) prequalify loan applicants for a limited entry permit loan or a quota 25 shares loan and charge a fee not to exceed $200 for prequalification; 26 (9) charge and collect the fees established under this subsection; 27 (10) refinance a debt obligation incurred by a borrower or borrowers 28 under this section if the borrower or borrowers otherwise qualify for a loan under 29 AS 16.10.300 - 16.10.370; the department shall collect a refinancing loan origination 30 charge of one-half percent of the amount of the debt obligation that has been 31 refinanced when the first refinancing payment is due;
01 (11) refinance debt obligations, not to exceed $300,000, incurred by a 02 borrower or borrowers for the purchase of a commercial fishing vessel or gear if the 03 borrower or borrowers otherwise qualify for a loan under AS 16.10.300 - 16.10.370; 04 the department may collect a refinancing loan origination charge as provided by 05 regulation. 06 * Sec. 2. AS 16.10.310 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 07 (e) The department may not make a loan to an individual under (a)(1) of this 08 section to satisfy past due federal tax obligations unless the individual has filed past 09 and current federal tax returns with the federal government and has executed an 10 agreement with the federal government for repayment of past due federal tax 11 obligations. An individual may receive only one loan to satisfy past due federal tax 12 obligations during the individual's lifetime under (a)(1) of this section, including 13 former versions of (a)(1) of this section. A loan made under (a)(1) of this section to 14 satisfy past due federal tax obligations may not exceed $30,000.