SSHB 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 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 SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR 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 nuisance game animals, and 03 to consideration of the budget of the Department of Fish and Game by the legislature; 04 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 13 (A) in the interest of the economy and general well-being of the 14 state; and
01 (B) to achieve maximum sustained yield of those resources 02 of an area that are utilized by the highest number of people; 03 (3) have necessary power to accomplish the foregoing including, but 04 not limited to, the power to delegate authority to subordinate officers and employees 05 of the department. 06 * Sec. 2. AS 16.05.050(a) is repealed and reenacted to read: 07 (a) The commissioner has, but not by way of limitation, the following powers 08 and duties: 09 (1) to cooperate with and assist the Board of Fisheries, the Board of 10 Game, and the advisory committees established under AS 16.05.260 in managing the 11 fish, game, and aquatic plant resources of the state to achieve abundance for maximum 12 sustained yield of those resources; 13 (2) through the appropriate state agency and under the provisions of 14 AS 36.30 (State Procurement Code), to acquire by gift, purchase, lease, or other lawful 15 means land, buildings, water, rights-of-way, or other necessary or proper real or 16 personal property when the acquisition is in the interest of furthering an objective or 17 purpose of the department and the state; 18 (3) under the provisions of AS 36.30, to design and construct 19 hatcheries, pipelines, rearing ponds, fishways, and other projects beneficial for the fish 20 and game resources of the state; 21 (4) to accept money from any person under conditions requiring the 22 use of the money for specific purposes in the furtherance of the protection, 23 rehabilitation, propagation, preservation, or investigation of the fish and game 24 resources of the state or in settlement of claims for damages to fish or game resources; 25 (5) to collect, classify, and disseminate statistics, data, and information 26 that, according to the commissioner's discretion, will tend to promote the purposes of 27 this title except AS 16.51 and AS 16.52; 28 (6) to take, capture, propagate, transport, buy, sell, or exchange fish, 29 game, or eggs, or to authorize a person as agent of the commissioner to take, capture, 30 propagate, transport, buy, sell, or exchange fish, game, or eggs, for propagating, 31 scientific, public safety, or stocking purposes;
01 (7) under the provisions of AS 36.30, to provide public facilities where 02 necessary or proper to facilitate the taking of fish or game; 03 (8) to exercise administrative, budgeting, and fiscal powers and to 04 assign the highest priority to the allocation of the fiscal, personnel, and other resources 05 of the department to implementation of the plans, programs, and regulations adopted 06 by the Board of Game under AS 16.05.255(e) - (g) in a timely and effective manner; 07 (9) under the provisions of AS 36.30, to construct, operate, supervise, 08 and maintain vessels used by the department; 09 (10) to authorize the holder of an interim-use permit under AS 16.43 to 10 engage on an experimental basis in commercial taking of a fishery resource with a 11 vessel, gear, and techniques not presently qualifying for licensing under this chapter in 12 conformity with standards established by the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry 13 Commission; 14 (11) not later than January 31 of each year, to provide to the 15 commissioner of revenue the names of those fish and shellfish species that the 16 commissioner of fish and game designates as developing commercial fish species for 17 that calendar year; a fish or shellfish species is a developing commercial fish species 18 if, within a specified geographical region, 19 (A) the optimum yield from the harvest of the species has not 20 been reached; 21 (B) a substantial portion of the allowable harvest of the species 22 has been allocated to fishing vessels of a foreign nation; or 23 (C) a commercial harvest of the fish species has recently 24 developed; 25 (12) to initiate or conduct research necessary or advisable to carry out 26 the purposes of this title except AS 16.51 and AS 16.52; 27 (13) to implement an on-board observer program authorized by the 28 Board of Fisheries under AS 16.05.251(a)(13); implementation 29 (A) must be as unintrusive to vessel operations as practicable; 30 and 31 (B) must make scheduling and scope of an observer's activities
01 as predictable as practicable; 02 (14) to sell fish caught during commercial fisheries test fishing 03 operations; 04 (15) to establish and charge fees equal to the cost of services provided 05 by the department, including provision of public shooting ranges, broodstock and eggs 06 for private nonprofit hatcheries, department publications, and other direct services, and 07 reasonable fees for the use of state facilities managed by the department; fees 08 established under this paragraph for tours of hatchery facilities, commercial use of 09 sport fishing access sites, and operation of state hatchery facilities by private 10 aquaculture associations are not subject to the cost limit under AS 37.10.050(a); 11 (16) to permit and regulate aquatic farming in the state in a manner 12 that ensures the protection of the state's fish and game resources and improves the 13 economy, health, and well-being of the citizens of the state; 14 (17) to operate state housing and facilities for employees, contractors, 15 and others in support of the department's responsibilities and to charge rent that is 16 consistent with applicable collective bargaining agreements or, if a collective 17 bargaining agreement is not applicable, competitive with market conditions; rent 18 received from tenants shall be deposited in the general fund; 19 (18) to petition the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission, 20 unless the Board of Fisheries disapproves the petition under AS 16.05.251(g), to 21 establish a moratorium on new entrants into commercial fisheries 22 (A) that have experienced recent increases in fishing effort that 23 are beyond a low, sporadic level of effort; 24 (B) that have achieved a level of harvest that may be 25 approaching or exceeding the maximum sustainable level for the fishery; and 26 (C) for which there is insufficient biological and resource 27 management information necessary to promote the conservation and sustained 28 yield management of the fishery. 29 * Sec. 3. AS 16.05.080 is amended to read: 30 Sec. 16.05.080. Limitation of power. (a) Nothing in this chapter authorizes 31 the department or a board to change the amount of fees or licenses or to expend,
01 transfer, or reallocate funds appropriated to the department except as provided 02 in an appropriation made by the legislature. 03 (b) Before entering into a cooperative agreement with any entity for the 04 management of wildlife resources in the state, the department shall provide 05 notice of the proposed agreement to the public and a copy of the proposed 06 agreement to the presiding officers of each house of the legislature. 07 (c) The department may not expend more than 13 percent of the money 08 appropriated to the department from any source for administration of the 09 department in a fiscal year. 10 * Sec. 4. AS 16.05.130(d) is amended to read: 11 (d) Revenue from the sale of general hunting, trapping, and fishing licenses, 12 [AND] tags, and permits together with the federal matching funds from Pittman - 13 Robertson, Dingell - Johnson/Wallop - Breaux programs shall be allocated by the 14 department to programs that [INTENDED TO] directly benefit license purchasers of 15 general hunting, trapping, and fishing licenses. The department shall prepare an 16 annual report by project of expenditures from the fish and game fund that describes 17 the anticipated results and benefits of each project in regard to fish stock and 18 game population abundance goals and harvest goals set by the department and 19 the boards and notify the legislature that the report is available. 20 * Sec. 5. AS 16.05.255(a) is amended to read: 21 (a) The Board of Game, as it considers necessary to manage, protect, 22 maintain, improve, and extend the game resources of the state to achieve 23 abundance for maximum sustained yield of game, may adopt regulations [IT 24 CONSIDERS ADVISABLE] in accordance with AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure 25 Act) for 26 (1) setting apart game reserve areas, refuges, and sanctuaries in the 27 water or on the land of the state over which it has jurisdiction, subject to the approval 28 of the legislature; 29 (2) establishing open and closed seasons and areas for the taking of 30 game; 31 (3) establishing the means and methods employed in the pursuit,
01 capture, taking, and transport of game, including regulations, consistent with resource 02 conservation and development goals, establishing means and methods that may be 03 employed by persons with physical disabilities; 04 (4) setting quotas, bag limits, harvest levels, and sex, age, and size 05 limitations on the taking of game; 06 (5) classifying game as game birds, song birds, big game animals, fur 07 bearing animals, predators, or other categories; 08 (6) methods, means, and harvest levels necessary to control predation 09 and competition among game in the state; 10 (7) watershed and habitat improvement, and management, 11 conservation, protection, use, disposal, propagation, and stocking of game; 12 (8) prohibiting the live capture, possession, transport, or release of 13 native or exotic game or their eggs; 14 (9) establishing the times and dates during which the issuance of game 15 licenses, permits, and registrations and the transfer of permits and registrations 16 between registration areas and game management units or subunits is allowed; 17 (10) regulating sport hunting, including providers of commercial big 18 game services, and subsistence hunting as needed for the conservation, development, 19 and utilization of game; 20 (11) taking game to ensure public safety. 21 * Sec. 6. AS 16.05.255(g) is amended to read: 22 (g) The Board of Game shall establish high population goals based on high 23 population levels consistent with the maximum carrying capacity of the habitat of 24 the population and high harvest goals to provide for high levels of human harvest 25 and seasons for intensive management of identified big game prey populations to 26 achieve a high level of human harvest. The board shall annually review the 27 effectiveness of intensive management programs established under (e) of this 28 section to determine whether the abundance, productivity, population, and 29 harvest goals of the board have been achieved. If the abundance, productivity, 30 population, or harvest goals have not been achieved, the board shall adjust the 31 intensive management programs as necessary to achieve the goals.
01 * Sec. 7. AS 16.05.255(i)(2) is amended to read: 02 (2) "high level of human harvest" means the harvest of more than 15 03 percent [ALLOCATION OF A SUFFICIENT PORTION] of the harvestable surplus 04 of the post-calving population of a big game prey population [TO ACHIEVE A 05 HIGH PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS FOR HUMAN HARVEST OF THE [GAME] 06 POPULATION BASED ON BIOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES OF THE 07 POPULATION AND CONSIDERING HUNTER DEMAND]; 08 * Sec. 8. AS 16.05.940 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 09 (37) "maximum sustained yield" means the highest level of yield of a 10 fish, game, or aquatic plant resource that is achievable under existing biological and 11 environmental conditions. 12 * Sec. 9. AS 16.30 is amended by adding a new section to read: 13 Article 2. Nuisance Game. 14 Sec. 16.30.050. Taking of nuisance game animals. The commissioner of 15 fish and game or the commissioner of public safety or a representative of either 16 commissioner may take or may authorize another person to take a game animal if the 17 animal poses a danger or a nuisance to a person, property, or the public and the taking 18 of the animal is consistent with sound game management principles. 19 * Sec. 10. AS 37.05.146(b)(4)(U) is amended to read: 20 (U) commercial fisheries test fishing operations 21 (AS 16.05.050(a)(14)) [(AS 16.05.050(a)(15))]; 22 * Sec. 11. AS 44.39 is amended by adding a new section to read: 23 Sec. 44.39.060. Budget. In reviewing the proposed annual operating budget 24 of the department and in making appropriations for the operations of the department, 25 the legislature shall consider increases and decreases in the abundance of the fish, 26 game, and aquatic plant resources of the state and in the human harvest of those 27 resources. 28 * Sec. 12. This Act takes effect July 1, 2001.