HB 178: "An Act relating to the powers and duties of the commissioner of fish and game, the Department of Fish and Game, and the Board of Game, to certain nonresident hunters, to nuisance game animals, and to consideration of the budget of the Department of Fish and Game by the legislature; and providing for an effective date."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 178 01 "An Act relating to the powers and duties of the commissioner of fish and game, the 02 Department of Fish and Game, and the Board of Game, to certain nonresident hunters, 03 to nuisance game animals, and to consideration of the budget of the Department of Fish 04 and Game by the legislature; and providing for an effective date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 16.05.020 is amended to read: 07 Sec. 16.05.020. Functions of commissioner. The commissioner shall 08 (1) supervise and control the department, and may appoint and employ 09 division heads [, ENFORCEMENT AGENTS,] and the technical, clerical, and other 10 assistants necessary for the general administration of the department; 11 (2) manage, protect, maintain, improve, and extend the fish, game, and 12 aquatic plant resources of the state to achieve abundance for maximum sustained 13 yield of those resources, excluding predators of game, in the interest of the 14 economy and general well-being of the state;
01 (3) have necessary power to accomplish the foregoing including, but 02 not limited to, the power to delegate authority to subordinate officers and employees 03 of the department. 04 * Sec. 2. AS 16.05.050(a) is repealed and reenacted to read: 05 (a) The commissioner has, but not by way of limitation, the following powers 06 and duties: 07 (1) to cooperate with and assist the Board of Fisheries, the Board of 08 Game, and the advisory committees established under AS 16.05.260 in managing the 09 fish, game, and aquatic plant resources of the state to achieve abundance for maximum 10 sustained yield of those resources; 11 (2) through the appropriate state agency and under the provisions of 12 AS 36.30 (State Procurement Code), to acquire by gift, purchase, lease, or other lawful 13 means land, buildings, water, rights-of-way, or other necessary or proper real or 14 personal property when the acquisition is in the interest of furthering an objective or 15 purpose of the department and the state; 16 (3) under the provisions of AS 36.30, to design and construct 17 hatcheries, pipelines, rearing ponds, fishways, and other projects beneficial for the fish 18 and game resources of the state; 19 (4) to accept money from any person under conditions requiring the 20 use of the money for specific purposes in the furtherance of the protection, 21 rehabilitation, propagation, preservation, or investigation of the fish and game 22 resources of the state or in settlement of claims for damages to fish or game resources; 23 (5) to collect, classify, and disseminate statistics, data, and information 24 that, according to the commissioner's discretion, will tend to promote the purposes of 25 this title except AS 16.51 and AS 16.52; 26 (6) to take, capture, propagate, transport, buy, sell, or exchange fish, 27 game, or eggs, or to authorize a person as agent of the commissioner to take, capture, 28 propagate, transport, buy, sell, or exchange fish, game, or eggs, for propagating, 29 scientific, public safety, or stocking purposes; 30 (7) under the provisions of AS 36.30, to provide public facilities where 31 necessary or proper to facilitate the taking of fish or game;
01 (8) to exercise administrative, budgeting, and fiscal powers and to 02 assign the highest priority to the allocation of the fiscal, personnel, and other resources 03 of the department to implementation of the plans, programs, and regulations adopted 04 by the Board of Game under AS 16.05.255(e) - (g) in a timely and effective manner; 05 (9) under the provisions of AS 36.30, to construct, operate, supervise, 06 and maintain vessels used by the department; 07 (10) to authorize the holder of an interim-use permit under AS 16.43 to 08 engage on an experimental basis in commercial taking of a fishery resource with a 09 vessel, gear, and techniques not presently qualifying for licensing under this chapter in 10 conformity with standards established by the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry 11 Commission; 12 (11) not later than January 31 of each year, to provide to the 13 commissioner of revenue the names of those fish and shellfish species that the 14 commissioner of fish and game designates as developing commercial fish species for 15 that calendar year; a fish or shellfish species is a developing commercial fish species 16 if, within a specified geographical region, 17 (A) the optimum yield from the harvest of the species has not 18 been reached; 19 (B) a substantial portion of the allowable harvest of the species 20 has been allocated to fishing vessels of a foreign nation; or 21 (C) a commercial harvest of the fish species has recently 22 developed; 23 (12) to initiate or conduct research necessary or advisable to carry out 24 the purposes of this title except AS 16.51 and AS 16.52; 25 (13) to implement an on-board observer program authorized by the 26 Board of Fisheries under AS 16.05.251(a)(13); implementation 27 (A) must be as unintrusive to vessel operations as practicable; 28 and 29 (B) must make scheduling and scope of an observer's activities 30 as predictable as practicable; 31 (14) to sell fish caught during commercial fisheries test fishing
01 operations; 02 (15) to establish and charge fees equal to the cost of services provided 03 by the department, including provision of public shooting ranges, broodstock and eggs 04 for private nonprofit hatcheries, department publications, and other direct services, and 05 reasonable fees for the use of state facilities managed by the department; fees 06 established under this paragraph for tours of hatchery facilities, commercial use of 07 sport fishing access sites, and operation of state hatchery facilities by private 08 aquaculture associations are not subject to the cost limit under AS 37.10.050(a); 09 (16) to permit and regulate aquatic farming in the state in a manner 10 that ensures the protection of the state's fish and game resources and improves the 11 economy, health, and well-being of the citizens of the state; 12 (17) to operate state housing and facilities for employees, contractors, 13 and others in support of the department's responsibilities and to charge rent that is 14 consistent with applicable collective bargaining agreements or, if a collective 15 bargaining agreement is not applicable, competitive with market conditions; rent 16 received from tenants shall be deposited in the general fund; 17 (18) to petition the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission, 18 unless the Board of Fisheries disapproves the petition under AS 16.05.251(g), to 19 establish a moratorium on new entrants into commercial fisheries 20 (A) that have experienced recent increases in fishing effort that 21 are beyond a low, sporadic level of effort; 22 (B) that have achieved a level of harvest that may be 23 approaching or exceeding the maximum sustainable level for the fishery; and 24 (C) for which there is insufficient biological and resource 25 management information necessary to promote the conservation and sustained 26 yield management of the fishery. 27 * Sec. 3. AS 16.05.080 is amended to read: 28 Sec. 16.05.080. Limitation of power. (a) Nothing in this chapter authorizes 29 the department or a board to change the amount of fees or licenses or to expend, 30 transfer, or reallocate funds appropriated to the department except as provided 31 in an appropriation made by the legislature.
01 (b) Nothing in this chapter authorizes the department to enter into a 02 cooperative agreement with any entity for the management of wildlife resources 03 in the state. 04 (c) The department may not expend more than seven percent of the 05 money appropriated to the department from any source for administration of the 06 department in a fiscal year. 07 * Sec. 4. AS 16.05.130(d) is amended to read: 08 (d) Revenue from the sale of general hunting, trapping, and fishing licenses, 09 [AND] tags, and permits together with the federal matching funds from Pittman - 10 Robertson, Dingell - Johnson/Wallop - Breaux programs shall be allocated by the 11 department to programs that [INTENDED TO] directly benefit license purchasers of 12 general hunting, trapping, and fishing licenses. The department shall prepare an 13 annual report by project of expenditures from the fish and game fund that describes 14 the anticipated results and benefits of each project in regard to fish stock and 15 game population abundance goals and harvest goals set by the department and 16 the boards and notify the legislature that the report is available. 17 * Sec. 5. AS 16.05.255(a) is amended to read: 18 (a) The Board of Game, as it considers necessary to manage, protect, 19 maintain, improve, and extend the game resources of the state to achieve 20 abundance for maximum sustained yield of game, may adopt regulations [IT 21 CONSIDERS ADVISABLE] in accordance with AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure 22 Act) for 23 (1) setting apart game reserve areas, refuges, and sanctuaries in the 24 water or on the land of the state over which it has jurisdiction, subject to the approval 25 of the legislature; 26 (2) establishing open and closed seasons and areas for the taking of 27 game; 28 (3) establishing the means and methods employed in the pursuit, 29 capture, taking, and transport of game, including regulations, consistent with resource 30 conservation and development goals, establishing means and methods that may be 31 employed by persons with physical disabilities;
01 (4) setting quotas, bag limits, harvest levels, and sex, age, and size 02 limitations on the taking of game; 03 (5) classifying game as game birds, song birds, big game animals, fur 04 bearing animals, predators, or other categories; 05 (6) methods, means, and harvest levels necessary to control predation 06 and competition among game in the state; 07 (7) watershed and habitat improvement, and management, 08 conservation, protection, use, disposal, propagation, and stocking of game; 09 (8) prohibiting the live capture, possession, transport, or release of 10 native or exotic game or their eggs; 11 (9) establishing the times and dates during which the issuance of game 12 licenses, permits, and registrations and the transfer of permits and registrations 13 between registration areas and game management units or subunits is allowed; 14 (10) regulating sport hunting and subsistence hunting as needed for the 15 conservation, development, and utilization of game; 16 (11) taking game to ensure public safety. 17 * Sec. 6. AS 16.05.255(g) is amended to read: 18 (g) The Board of Game shall establish high population goals based on 19 historic high population levels consistent with the maximum carrying capacity of 20 the habitat of the population and high harvest goals to provide for high levels of 21 human harvest and seasons for intensive management of identified big game prey 22 populations to achieve a high level of human harvest. The board shall annually 23 review the effectiveness of intensive management programs established under (e) 24 of this section to determine whether the abundance, productivity, population, and 25 harvest goals of the board have been achieved. If the abundance, productivity, 26 population, or harvest goals have not been achieved, the board shall adjust the 27 intensive management programs as necessary to specifically address the cause or 28 reason for the failure of the program to achieve the intended goals. 29 * Sec. 7. AS 16.05.255(i)(2) is amended to read: 30 (2) "high level of human harvest" means the allocation of one-third [A 31 SUFFICIENT PORTION] of the harvestable surplus of the post-calving population
01 of a big game prey population to achieve a high probability of success for human 02 harvest of the [GAME] population [BASED ON BIOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES OF 03 THE POPULATION AND CONSIDERING HUNTER DEMAND]; 04 * Sec. 8. AS 16.05.255 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 05 (j) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, the board may not adopt a regulation 06 under this section 07 (1) for the purpose of addressing or responding to opposition to 08 consumptive use of game, public safety concerns involving game, or existing illegal 09 activities involving game; or 10 (2) based on subjective standards related to the quality or nature of the 11 experience associated with the taking of game. 12 * Sec. 9. AS 16.05.407 is repealed and reenacted to read: 13 Sec. 16.05.407. Nonresident hunting big game animals must be 14 accompanied. (a) Except as provided under (e) of this section, it is unlawful for a 15 nonresident to hunt, pursue, or take brown bear, grizzly bear, mountain goat, or sheep 16 in this state, unless personally accompanied by 17 (1) a person who is licensed as a registered guide, master guide, class- 18 A assistant guide, or an assistant guide under AS 08.54; or 19 (2) a resident over 19 years of age who is 20 (A) the spouse of the nonresident; or 21 (B) related to the nonresident, within and including the second 22 degree of kindred, by marriage or blood. 23 (b) An applicant for a nonresident big game tag for the taking of an animal 24 specified in (a) or (e) of this section shall first furnish to the state on a form provided 25 by the state an affidavit showing that the applicant will be personally accompanied 26 while hunting by a person who is qualified under the terms of this section. A person 27 who falsifies the required affidavit is guilty of perjury under AS 11.56.200. 28 (c) A nonresident who violates (a) or (e) of this section or who fails to furnish 29 an affidavit under (b) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction is 30 punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than 31 $5,000, or by both.
01 (d) An applicant for a nonresident hunt permit for the taking of an animal 02 specified in (a) of this section shall, if requested by the department, first furnish to the 03 department proof of prior authorization to use federal or private land where the permit 04 hunt will occur. The authorization shall be provided to the applicant by the registered 05 guide or master guide with whom the applicant has contracted to guide the permit 06 hunt. 07 (e) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, it is unlawful for a nonresident to hunt, 08 pursue, or take brown bear or grizzly bear in an intensive management area 09 established by the Board of Game under AS 16.05.255(e) unless the nonresident is 10 personally accompanied by a resident over 19 years of age. 11 * Sec. 10. AS 16.05.430(a) is amended to read: 12 (a) Except as provided in AS 16.05.407(b) and (c) [(d)], 16.05.408(b), and 13 16.05.420(b), a person who violates AS 16.05.330 - 16.05.420 or a regulation adopted 14 under AS 16.05.330 - 16.05.420 is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction is 15 punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, or by imprisonment for not more than 16 six months, or by both. 17 * Sec. 11. AS 16.30 is amended by adding a new section to read: 18 Article 2. Nuisance Game. 19 Sec. 16.30.050. Taking of nuisance game animals. The commissioner of 20 fish and game or the commissioner of public safety or a representative of either 21 commissioner may take or may authorize another person to take a game animal if the 22 animal poses a danger or a nuisance to a person, property, or the public and the taking 23 of the animal is consistent with sound game management principles. 24 * Sec. 12. AS 37.05.146(b)(4)(U) is amended to read: 25 (U) commercial fisheries test fishing operations 26 (AS 16.05.050(a)(14)) [(AS 16.05.050(a)(15))]; 27 * Sec. 13. AS 44.39 is amended by adding a new section to read: 28 Sec. 44.39.060. Budget. In reviewing the proposed annual operating budget 29 of the department and in making appropriations for the operations of the department, 30 the legislature shall consider increases and decreases in the abundance of the fish, 31 game, and aquatic plant resources of the state and in the human harvest of those
01 resources. 02 * Sec. 14. This Act takes effect July 1, 2001.