Legislature(2021 - 2022)BUTROVICH 205
05/05/2021 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB134 | |
| SB133 | |
| SB79 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 133 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 134 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 79 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 134-MASTER GUIDE-OUTFITTER REQUIREMENTS
3:33:43 PM
CHAIR REVAK announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 134
"An Act relating to master guide-outfitter qualifications for
licensure."
3:34:09 PM
SENATOR NATASHA VON IMHOF, speaking as sponsor of SB 134, stated
the purpose of the bill is to address the unintended consequence
of legislation passed in 2019 regarding the conditions under
which the [Big Game Commercial Services Board] would take
disciplinary action against guides who violate the law
pertaining to their profession. SB 134 amends the language to
work as intended. She expressed hope this issue could be
resolved during this hunting season. She deferred a more
detailed introduction of the bill to Ms. Lucky.
3:35:09 PM
JULI LUCKY, Staff, Senator Natasha von Imhof, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, introduced SB 134 on behalf of the
sponsor, paraphrasing the following sponsor statement:
Senate Bill 134 clarifies under what conditions the
Big Game Commercial Services Board would be required
to revoke a Master Guide license. The bill corrects an
unintended consequence due to different
interpretations of language included in the board's
last reauthorization bill.
The Big Game Commercial Services Board regulates the
activities of professionals that provide guide, guide-
outfitter, and transportation services to big game
hunters. The board had a sunset review in 2018; Senate
Bill 43 was introduced in 2019 to extend the board for
five years. During deliberation on the bill, there was
some frustration regarding the inability of the board
to quickly take action to revoke the license of a
Master Guide who had been convicted of criminal
offenses. The board relayed that it had the ability to
revoke the license, but the process had to be
suspended during the criminal case, and the required
investigation and due process was lengthy.
A Master Guide license does not confer any additional
hunting rights; it is an honorary designation given to
Registered Guides who have demonstrated excellence
over a long history in their profession. Legislators,
members of the public, and clients expect those that
use the title to be held to the highest standard.
The Senate Finance committee added language that was
intended to require revocation of a Master Guide
license upon conviction in a court of law for criminal
offenses related to the profession. This language was
reviewed and approved by the full Senate, all
subsequent committees, and the full House.
Unfortunately, during the December BGCSB meeting, the
language was reviewed by staff attorneys and there was
concern that the statute could be construed to apply
to any violation of the statute even late paperwork
which was clearly not the legislative intent.
The BGCSB undertook a lengthy process to determine how
to capture the legislature's intent: holding Master
Guides to the high standard their title conveys and
requiring the revocation of licenses for egregious
offenses that do not honor the profession. Senate Bill
134 is the result of that work and would require
revocation of a Master Guide license after conviction
of an offense where the offender serves more than one
day in jail or a $1,500 or greater fine is imposed. It
also conforms the qualifications for a Master Guide
license to these standards and also requires that the
guide has not had a similar license revoked within the
past five years.
I would appreciate your support of this bill that
clarifies the statute and ensures it works as the
legislature intended.
MS. LUCKY summarized that SB 134 treats the narrow class of
egregious offenses for which a master guide license must be
revoked. The board proposed the language to meet legislative
intent and mirror existing statute to ensure it is interpreted
correctly.
3:36:03 PM
SENATOR BISHOP joined the committee meeting.
3:38:15 PM
SENATOR STEVENS asked what offenses require the board to revoke
a master guide license.
MS. LUCKY replied it would apply to offenses where a person was
imprisoned for more than one day or an unsuspended fine of more
than $1,500 was imposed. She said the board created those
standards after a review of the cases that came before the board
and the disciplinary actions it imposed. She directed attention
to the minutes of the Big Game Services Board teleconference
held February 20, [2020] in the bill packets. The relevant data
is on page 9 of the 9-page document. It shows the board
considered six master guide-outfitter violations [since the
sunset audit in 2018].
3:40:01 PM
SENATOR VON IMHOF interjected the table is outlined in green.
MS. LUCKY continued to detail the examples.
3:40:18 PM
At ease to help members find the table in their bill packets.
3:40:34 PM
CHAIR REVAK reconvened the meeting and asked for a better
description of the graph because the members' copies were black
and white.
MS. LUCKY restated that the relevant data is on page 9 of the 9-
page document. It enumerates six master guide-outfitter
violations the board considered prior to the statutory change in
2019. Violations one and four met the threshold for revocation
after the bill was enacted. SB 134 would require revocations for
these types of offenses, she said.
3:42:00 PM
SENATOR STEVENS summarized that revocations apply only to
specific hunting violations.
MS. LUCKY answered that is correct. She continued, "At this
time, the language that was in Senate Bill 43 was interpreted to
apply to any violations and that is what we are trying to fix.
And what this bill would do is say that the fine imposed would
have to be more than $1,500 or if the person spent a day in
jail. Those were the two conditions under which a Master Guide
[license] would be required to be revoked."
3:42:44 PM
SENATOR STEVENS asked for confirmation that a master guide who
received a $1500 fine or spent time in jail for something that
was unrelated to hunting would not be affected by this bill.
MS. LUCKY answered that is correct; she directed attention to
the language on page 2, lines 19-20 of the bill that clearly
states this is "related to hunting or the provision of big game
hunting or transportation services."
3:43:24 PM
SENATOR KIEHL referenced the eligibility provision in paragraph
(4) of Section 1 and asked why the lookback for hunting
violations was changed from 15 years preceding the date of the
application to 5 years.
MS. LUCKY answered that Section 1 relating to eligibility for a
master guide license was changed to conform to Section 2 that
has the "shall revoke" language.
3:44:12 PM
CHAIR REVAK requested the sectional analysis.
MS. LUCKY presented the following sectional analysis for SB 134:
Sec. 1: Amends AS 08.54.610(b), which outlines the
requirements to obtain a master guide-outfitter
license, to limit the violations that would
make a person ineligible to receive a license.
Specifically, the amendment limits the look
back period to five years and would only apply
after conviction for an offense where the
person was imprisoned for more than one day or
there was a fine of more than $1,500 imposed.
It also prohibits granting a master guide-
outfitter license to an individual that has had
a hunting, guiding, outfitting, transporter or
similar license revoked in another
jurisdiction.
Sec. 2: Amends AS 08.54.710(k), which requires revocation
of a master guide-outfitter license in certain
circumstances, to limit the violations that
would require revocation, similar to the
language in section one, to an offense for
which a person is imprisoned for more than one
day or a fine of more than $1,500 is imposed.
MS. LUCKY advised that one of the board's guiding principles was
to conform AS 08.54.610(b) to existing statute. She directed
attention to the document in the bill packets that shows the
statute relating to eligibility for licenses has a five-year
lookback. She noted the board suggested this language.
3:46:22 PM
SENATOR BISHOP asked if the statute had something similar to a
"Three strikes and you're out" provision.
MS. LUCKY said she believes that it would be the five-year
lookback, but she would defer to the board for confirmation.
3:46:56 PM
CHAIR REVAK offered his understanding that somebody who has a
qualifying violation has "a five-year timeout from being able to
receive a guide license." He asked if that was correct.
MS. LUCKY answered this would apply to individuals who are
otherwise eligible to hold a master guide license, but it was
correct that the lookback for guide-outfitter violations would
be five years.
CHAIR REVAK responded, "So if you got one of these violations,
you wouldn't be able to receive a guide license for another five
years."
MS. LUCKY answered, "That is correct Mr. Chairman, but I did
want to point out that you would also still have to meet all of
the other requirements for the master guide license. But this
would disqualify you for at least a period of five years."
3:48:03 PM
CHAIR REVAK repeated, "At least." He noted Renee Hoffard was
available for questions.
SENATOR BISHOP asked if there was a limit to the number of times
a guide could have their license revoked and reinstated after
five years.
3:48:40 PM
RENEE HOFFARD, Executive Administrator, Big Game Commercial
Services Board, Juneau, Alaska, referenced subsection (l) that
is not being amended and read the following:
Sec. 08.54.710. Discipline of guides and transporters.
(l) The board may issue a registered guide-outfitter
license to a person whose master guide-outfitter
license is revoked under (k) of this section.
She highlighted the provision that says to qualify for a master
guide license, the applicant must be a registered guide for 15
of the 20 years immediately preceding the date of the
application. If the offense is egregious enough, the board, in
consultation with the Department of Law, may choose to not issue
the registered guide license.
CHAIR REVAK asked Ms. Lucky if she had anything to add.
3:50:44 PM
MS. LUCKY noted the concern in the testimony the committee
received about "may" versus "shall." She said everybody agreed
the language needed to be amended but the opinions varied on how
to do that. Some people want the board to have discretion to
revoke a master guide license for certain violations, but the
board suggested narrowing the scope to just the most egregious
offenses and making the revocation mandatory.
3:51:57 PM
MS. LUCKY said the second issue relates to the effective date.
The hunting season is underway and there is some concern that
without an immediate effective date a small violation could
result in a guide having their license revoked for five years.
Self-reporting of small violations is common and that is
jeopardized by the current interpretation that all violations
result in license revocation.
MS. LUCKY said the sponsor has an amendment for an effective
date that is retroactive to the date Senate Bill 43 was enacted.
This makes the law consistent, and it clarifies the
legislature's understanding and intention when it passed Senate
Bill 43 in September 2019.
3:54:06 PM
CHAIR REVAK opened public testimony on SB 134; finding none, he
closed public testimony.
CHAIR REVAK asked if there were amendments.
3:54:32 PM
SENATOR MICCICHE moved Conceptual Amendment 1 to SB 134.
OFFERED IN THE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE
BY SENATOR VON IMHOF
TO: SB 134 (32-LS06096\I)
This is a conceptual amendment. Legislative Legal is
directed to make any changes or deletions to the
suggest language, including technical, conforming, or
bill title changes, in order accomplish the intent.
INTENT OF AMENDMENT: Add an effective date to SB 134
to match the effective date of the enactment of AS
08.54.710(k) by Senate Bill 43 in 2019 (CHAPTER 26 SLA
19).
3:54:43 PM
CHAIR REVAK found no objection and announced Conceptual
Amendment 1 to SB 134 passed.
3:54:51 PM
At ease.
3:56:37 PM
CHAIR REVAK reconvened the meeting and asked the will of the
committee.
3:56:49 PM
SENATOR MICCICHE moved to report SB 134, work order 32-LS0696\I,
as conceptually amended, from committee, with individual
recommendations and attached fiscal note(s). He directed
Legislative Legal to make changes or deletions to the conceptual
amendment to accomplish the intent.
3:57:20 PM
CHAIR REVAK found no objection and CSSB 134(RES) was reported
from the Senate Resources Standing Committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 134 Background - Related Statutes.pdf |
HRES 5/17/2021 1:00:00 PM SRES 5/5/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SB 134 |
| SB 134 Sponsor Statement 4.30.2021.pdf |
HRES 5/17/2021 1:00:00 PM SRES 5/5/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SB 134 |
| SB 134 Fiscal Note 4.31.21.pdf |
SRES 5/5/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SB 134 |
| SB 134 Sectional Analysis 4.30.2021.pdf |
SRES 5/5/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SB 134 |
| SB 134 Support Doc-BGCSB Final minutes 2.2020.pdf |
HRES 5/17/2021 1:00:00 PM SRES 5/5/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SB 134 |
| SB 133 Sponsor Statement 4.27.21.pdf |
SRES 5/5/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SB 133 |
| SB 133 Fiscal Note 4.26.21.pdf |
SRES 5/5/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SB 133 |
| SB 133 Sectional Analysis 5.3.2021.pdf |
SRES 5/5/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SB 133 |
| SB 79 CS ver W.pdf |
SRES 5/5/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SB 79 |
| SB 79 ver W Explanation of changes.pdf |
SRES 5/5/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SB 79 |
| SB 133 Remote Rec Presentation 5.5.2021.pdf |
SRES 5/5/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SB 133 |
| SB 133 VUU Map (No Layers - Reduced).pdf |
SRES 5/5/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SB 133 |
| SB 134 Support Letter APHA 5.5.21.pdf |
HRES 5/17/2021 1:00:00 PM SRES 5/5/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SB 134 |