HB 419: "An Act relating to regional seafood development associations and to regional seafood development taxes."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 419 01 "An Act relating to regional seafood development associations and to regional seafood 02 development taxes." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 16.43.160(e)(2)(A)(iii) is amended to read: 05 (iii) Department of Community and Economic 06 Development - commercial fishing loan program, Alaska Seafood 07 Marketing Institute, regional seafood development program, and 08 community development quota program; 09 * Sec. 2. AS 16.43.160(e)(2)(A)(ix) is amended to read: 10 (ix) Department of Revenue - fisheries business tax 11 program, fishery resource landing tax program, salmon enhancement 12 tax program, seafood development tax program, salmon marketing 13 tax program, and dive fishery management assessment program; 14 * Sec. 3. AS 43.76 is amended by adding new sections to read:
01 Article 6. Seafood Development Tax. 02 Sec. 43.76.350. Two percent seafood development tax. (a) A person 03 holding a limited entry permit or interim-use permit under AS 16.43 shall pay a 04 seafood development tax at the rate of two percent of the value, as defined in 05 AS 43.75.290, of fishery resources taken in a fishery that the person removes from the 06 state or transfers to a buyer in the state. The buyer shall collect the seafood 07 development tax at the time a fishery resource subject to the tax is acquired by the 08 buyer. 09 (b) A two percent seafood development tax on a fishery resource taken in a 10 fishery may only be levied and collected under (a) of this section if 11 (1) the commissioner of community and economic development has 12 designated an organization to be the qualified regional seafood development 13 association for the fishery under AS 44.33.065; and 14 (2) the two percent seafood development tax for the fishery is 15 approved under AS 43.76.370. 16 Sec. 43.76.355. One and one-half percent seafood development tax. (a) A 17 person holding a limited entry permit or interim-use permit under AS 16.43 shall pay a 18 seafood development tax at the rate of 1.5 percent of the value, as defined in 19 AS 43.75.290, of fishery resources taken in a fishery that the person removes from the 20 state or transfers to a buyer in the state. The buyer shall collect the seafood 21 development tax at the time a fishery resource subject to the tax is acquired by the 22 buyer. 23 (b) A 1.5 percent seafood development tax on a fishery resource taken in a 24 fishery may only be levied and collected under (a) of this section if 25 (1) the commissioner of community and economic development has 26 designated an organization to be the qualified regional seafood development 27 association for the fishery under AS 44.33.065; and 28 (2) the 1.5 percent seafood development tax for the fishery is approved 29 under AS 43.76.370. 30 Sec. 43.76.360. One percent seafood development tax. (a) A person 31 holding a limited entry permit or interim-use permit under AS 16.43 shall pay a
01 seafood development tax at the rate of one percent of the value, as defined in 02 AS 43.75.290, of fishery resources taken in a fishery that the person removes from the 03 state or transfers to a buyer in the state. The buyer shall collect the seafood 04 development tax at the time a fishery resource subject to the tax is acquired by the 05 buyer. 06 (b) A one percent seafood development tax on a fishery resource taken in a 07 fishery may only be levied and collected under (a) of this section if 08 (1) the commissioner of community and economic development has 09 designated an organization to be the qualified regional seafood development 10 association for the fishery under AS 44.33.065; and 11 (2) the one percent seafood development tax for the fishery is 12 approved under AS 43.76.370. 13 Sec. 43.76.365. One-half percent seafood development tax. (a) A person 14 holding a limited entry permit or interim-use permit under AS 16.43 shall pay a 15 seafood development tax at the rate of 0.5 percent of the value, as defined in 16 AS 43.75.290, of fishery resources taken in a fishery that the person removes from the 17 state or transfers to a buyer in the state. The buyer shall collect the seafood 18 development tax at the time a fishery resource subject to the tax is acquired by the 19 buyer. 20 (b) A 0.5 percent seafood development tax on a fishery resource taken in a 21 fishery may only be levied or collected under (a) of this section if 22 (1) the commissioner of community and economic development has 23 designated an organization to be the qualified regional seafood development 24 association for the fishery under AS 44.33.065; and 25 (2) the 0.5 percent seafood development tax for the fishery is approved 26 under AS 43.76.370. 27 Sec. 43.76.370. Election to approve, amend, or terminate seafood 28 development tax. (a) A qualified regional seafood development association for a 29 fishery may conduct an election to approve, amend, or terminate a seafood 30 development tax under this section after the commissioner of community and 31 economic development approves
01 (1) the notice to be published by the qualified regional seafood 02 development association; 03 (2) the ballot to be used in the election; and 04 (3) the registration and voting procedure for the approval, amendment, 05 or termination of the seafood development tax. 06 (b) The seafood development tax is levied under AS 43.76.350, 43.76.355, 07 43.76.360, or 43.76.365 on fishery resources taken in a fishery on the effective date 08 stated on the ballot if 09 (1) the levy, amendment, or termination of the tax is approved by a 10 majority vote of the eligible interim-use permit and entry permit holders voting in an 11 election held under this section; and 12 (2) the election results are certified by the commissioner of community 13 and economic development. 14 (c) In conducting an election under this section, a qualified regional seafood 15 development association for a fishery shall adopt the following procedures: 16 (1) the association shall hold at least one public meeting, not less than 17 30 days before the date on which ballots must be postmarked to be counted in the 18 election, to explain the reason for the proposed seafood development tax, the 19 amendment of the tax, or the termination of the tax and to explain the registration and 20 voting procedure to be used in the election; the association shall provide notice of the 21 meeting by 22 (A) mailing the notice to each eligible interim-use permit and 23 entry permit holder; 24 (B) posting the notice in at least three public places in the 25 region in which the fishery occurs; and 26 (C) publishing the notice in at least one newspaper of general 27 circulation in the region at least once a week for two consecutive weeks before 28 the meeting; 29 (2) the association shall mail two ballots to each eligible interim-use 30 permit and entry permit holder; the first ballot shall be mailed not more than 45 days 31 before the date ballots must be postmarked to be counted in the election; the second
01 ballot shall be mailed not less than 15 days before the date ballots must be postmarked 02 to be counted in the election; the association shall adopt procedures to ensure that only 03 one ballot from each eligible interim-use permit and entry permit holder is counted in 04 the election; 05 (3) the ballot must 06 (A) indicate whether the election relates to a seafood 07 development tax under AS 43.76.350, 43.76.355, 43.76.360, or 43.76.365; 08 (B) indicate the species of fishery resources and the fishery that 09 will be subject to the seafood development tax; 10 (C) ask the question whether the seafood development tax shall 11 be levied or amended, as appropriate; 12 (D) indicate the geographic boundaries of the fishery in which 13 the seafood development tax will be levied; 14 (E) provide an effective date for the levy or amendment of the 15 seafood development tax in the fishery; and 16 (F) indicate the date on which returned ballots must be 17 postmarked in order to be counted; 18 (4) the ballots shall be returned by mail and shall be counted by the 19 commissioner of community and economic development or by a person approved by 20 the commissioner of community and economic development. 21 (d) The commissioner of community and economic development shall certify 22 the results of an election under this section if the commissioner determines that the 23 requirements of (a) and (c) of this section have been satisfied. 24 (e) Except as provided in AS 43.76.375, an election to terminate a seafood 25 development tax shall be conducted under the same procedures established under (a), 26 (c), and (d) of this section for an election to approve or amend a seafood development 27 tax. 28 (f) In this section, "eligible interim-use permit and entry permit holder" means 29 an individual who, 90 days before the date ballots must be postmarked to be counted 30 in an election under this section, is listed in the records of the Alaska Commercial 31 Fisheries Entry Commission as the legal owner of an interim-use permit or an entry
01 permit that authorizes the individual to operate commercial fishing gear in the fishery 02 that will be subject to the seafood development tax. 03 Sec. 43.76.375. Termination of seafood development tax. (a) The seafood 04 development tax levied under AS 43.76.350, 43.76.355, 43.76.360, or 43.76.365 may 05 be terminated by the commissioner of revenue upon majority vote at an election held 06 under AS 43.76.370 in the fishery in which the seafood development tax is levied. 07 (b) The commissioner of revenue shall terminate a seafood development tax 08 under (a) of this section following an election conducted by the qualified seafood 09 development association for a fishery if 10 (1) a petition is presented to the commissioner of community and 11 economic development requesting termination of the seafood development tax that is 12 signed by at least 25 percent of the number of persons who voted under AS 43.76.370 13 in the most recent election to approve or amend the seafood development tax in the 14 fishery; 15 (2) an election is held in accordance with AS 43.76.370; the ballot 16 must ask the question whether the seafood development tax for the fishery shall be 17 terminated; the ballot must be worded so that a "yes" vote is for continuation of the 18 seafood development tax and a "no" vote is for termination of the seafood 19 development tax; 20 (3) a majority of the votes cast in the election by eligible interim-use 21 permit and entry permit holders are for the termination of the seafood development 22 tax; and 23 (4) the qualified regional seafood development association for the 24 fishery provides notice of the election in accordance with AS 43.76.370 within two 25 months after receiving notice from the commissioner of community and economic 26 development that a valid petition under (1) of this subsection has been received. 27 Sec. 43.76.380. Collection of tax and disposition of proceeds. (a) A buyer 28 who acquires a fishery resource that is subject to a seafood development tax levied 29 under AS 43.76.350, 43.76.355, 43.76.360, or 43.76.365 shall collect the seafood 30 development tax at the time of purchase, and shall remit the total tax collected during 31 each month to the department by the last day of the next month.
01 (b) A buyer who collects the seafood development tax shall 02 (1) maintain records reflecting the fishery in which the fishery resource 03 was caught; and 04 (2) report to the Department of Revenue by March 1 of each year the 05 total value, as defined in AS 43.75.290, of the fishery resources caught in each fishery 06 that the buyer has acquired during the preceding year. 07 (c) The Department of Revenue shall deposit the seafood development tax 08 collected under AS 43.76.350 - 43.76.399 in the general fund. The legislature may 09 make appropriations based on this revenue to the Department of Community and 10 Economic Development for the purpose of providing financing for qualified regional 11 seafood development associations. 12 Sec. 43.76.385. Liability for tax on fishery resources shipped from the 13 state. (a) The owner of fishery resources removed from the state is liable for payment 14 of a seafood development tax levied under AS 43.76.350, 43.76.355, 43.76.360, or 15 43.76.365 if, at the time the fishery resources are removed from the state, the seafood 16 development tax payable on the fishery resources has not been collected by a buyer. 17 (b) If the owner of fishery resources is liable for payment of the seafood 18 development tax under (a) of this section, the owner shall comply with the 19 requirement of AS 43.76.380(b) to report the owner's liability for payment of the tax. 20 Sec. 43.76.390. Exemption. AS 43.76.350 - 43.76.399 do not apply to 21 salmon harvested under a special harvest area entry permit issued under AS 16.43.400. 22 Sec. 43.76.399. Definition. In AS 43.76.350 - 43.76.399, unless the context 23 otherwise requires, 24 (1) "buyer" means a person who acquires possession of fishery 25 resources from the person who caught the fishery resources regardless of whether 26 there is an actual sale of the fishery resources but excluding a transfer to a person 27 engaged solely in interstate transportation of goods for hire; 28 (2) "fishery" has the meaning given in AS 16.43.990. 29 * Sec. 4. AS 44.33 is amended by adding a new section to read: 30 Sec. 44.33.065. Regional seafood development associations. (a) The 31 Department of Community and Economic Development shall assist in and encourage
01 the formation of a qualified regional seafood development association for a fishery for 02 the purpose of promoting and marketing Alaska seafood products harvested in a 03 fishery conducted in a seafood development region identified in (b) of this section. 04 The commissioner may designate an organization as the qualified regional seafood 05 development association for a fishery if the commissioner determines that the 06 organization 07 (1) is established for the following purposes: 08 (A) promotion of seafood and seafood by-products that are 09 harvested in the fishery and processed for sale; 10 (B) promotion of improvements to the commercial fishing 11 industry and infrastructure in the fishery and seafood development region; 12 (C) establishment of education, research, advertising, or sales 13 promotion programs for seafood products harvested in the fishery; 14 (D) preparation of market research and product development 15 plans for the promotion of seafood and their by-products that are harvested in 16 the fishery and processed for sale; 17 (E) cooperation with the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute 18 and other public or private boards, organizations, or agencies engaged in work 19 or activities similar to the work of the organization including entering into 20 contracts for joint programs of consumer education, sales promotion, quality 21 control, advertising, and research in the production, processing, or distribution 22 of seafood harvested in the fishery; 23 (F) cooperation with commercial fishermen, fishermen's 24 organizations, seafood processors, the Alaska Fisheries Development 25 Foundation, the Fisheries Industrial Technology Center, state and federal 26 agencies, and other relevant persons and entities to investigate market 27 reception to new seafood product forms and to develop commodity standards 28 and future markets for seafood products; 29 (2) is made up of representatives of commercial fishermen who hold 30 commercial fishing permits issued for the fishery under AS 16.43; 31 (3) includes representatives of other groups, including seafood
01 processors, interested in the fishery who wish to belong; and 02 (4) is organized as a nonprofit corporation under the laws of the state 03 for the purpose of marketing and promoting seafood products taken in the fishery. 04 (b) Seafood development regions are established for each of the following 05 regions of the state and are made up of the designated commercial fishing 06 management areas established by the Board of Fisheries in accordance with the 07 boundaries of those areas as adopted by the Board of Fisheries: 08 (1) Southeast Alaska seafood development region -- Southeastern 09 Alaska area and Yakutat area; 10 (2) Prince William Sound seafood development region -- Prince 11 William Sound area; 12 (3) Cook Inlet seafood development region -- Cook Inlet area; 13 (4) Kodiak seafood development region -- Kodiak area; 14 (5) Alaska Peninsula seafood development region -- Alaska Peninsula 15 area; 16 (6) Aleutian Islands seafood development region -- Aleutian Islands 17 area; 18 (7) Chignik seafood development region -- Chignik area; 19 (8) Atka-Amlia Islands seafood development region -- Atka-Amlia 20 Islands area; 21 (9) Bristol Bay seafood development region -- Bristol Bay area; 22 (10) Kuskokwim seafood development region -- Kuskokwim area; 23 (11) Yukon-Northern seafood development region -- Yukon-Northern 24 area and Kotzebue area; 25 (12) Northern Sound-Port Clarence seafood development region -- 26 Norton Sound-Port Clarence area. 27 (c) An organization may be designated as the qualified regional seafood 28 development association for more than one fishery in a seafood development region or 29 for a fishery conducted in more than one seafood development region. 30 (d) A qualified regional seafood development association for a fishery may 31 request state financial assistance from the department to aid the programs of the
01 association. 02 (e) A qualified regional seafood development association requesting state 03 financial assistance shall submit an annual financial report to the department on a form 04 provided by the department. The department may require that a qualified regional 05 seafood development association use a uniform system of accounting. A qualified 06 regional seafood development association requesting state assistance shall submit an 07 annual budget to the department on or before a date specified by the department. 08 (f) The department may adopt regulations necessary to implement this section. 09 (g) In this section, "fishery" has the meaning given in AS 16.43.990.