Legislature(2007 - 2008)CAPITOL 17
01/28/2008 03:00 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB315 | |
| HB320 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 315 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 320 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 315-EXTEND BIG GAME COMMERCIAL SERVICES BOARD 3:03:00 PM CHAIR OLSON announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 315, "An Act extending the termination date of the Big Game Commercial Services Board; and providing for an effective date." 3:03:15 PM LINDA HAY, Staff to Representative Ralph Samuels, Alaska State Legislature, explained that HB 315 was introduced by the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee and would extend the sunset date of the Big Game Commercial Services Board (BGCSB) until June 30, 2012, which complies with the Division of Legislative Audit which recently reviewed the activities of the BGCSB. She said that Pat Davidson, Legislative Auditor, will walk the committee through the findings and recommendations of the audit. 3:03:40 PM PAT DAVIDSON, Legislative Auditor, Division of Legislative Audit, Alaska State Legislature, explained that the audit report recommended the following statutory change: to extend the termination date to 2012, which is a four-year extension of the BGCSB. She noted that oftentimes an audit will recommend extending a board for eight years, but since the BGCSB was reconstituted only a couple of years ago, the auditor recommended extending the board only four years. That recommendation allows the auditors to review how well the BGCSB is functioning in four years and to address any issues earlier. The other issues identified in the audit were administrative issues that needed to be dealt with by the Division of Occupational Licensing, Department of Commerce, Community, & Economic Development (DCCED). She said that no deficiencies surfaced with the BGCSB. 3:04:37 PM REPRESENTATIVE BUCH asked Ms. Davidson to review the first three finding and recommendations as listed on page 9 of the audit. MS. DAVIDSON reviewed the findings and recommendations and stated that the audit recommends that the Division of Corporations, Business, and Professional Licensing should be certain that its staff assigned to the BGCSB adheres to statute, regulations, and policy and procedures for efficient support of the BGCSB's day-to-day operations. She noted that some of the licensing files were missing certain documents. She explained that generally the auditor examines files for completeness and follows-up on any deficiencies. In this case, the audit identified that the licensing examiner needs to gather and compile additional information for the individual licensing files. With regard to the second recommendation, the audit revealed that one examination did not have adequate public notice. While the aforementioned is a problem, if a person is sitting for an exam, he/she is not generally going to rely solely on the public notice of the examination for information. Although the audit revealed public noticing as a deficiency that should be addressed, it was not of substantial concern to the auditor, she related. The third finding was that the proposed regulations issued by the BGCSB were not issued in a timely manner. She said the auditor found that the licensing support for this board was not "up to snuff". Although staff attempted to public notice the regulations and put them in draft form, they did not follow the right sequence. Normally these items individually would not warrant a recommendation, but taken as a whole, the auditor found the deficiencies were significant enough to warrant a recommendation to DCCED. 3:07:49 PM REPRESENTATIVE BUCH inquired as to whether these issues have been resolved to the auditor's satisfaction. MS. DAVIDSON answered that DCCED responded that it would address the issues, and did make some staff changes. REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN requested that Ms. Davidson explain the recommendation to review licensing fees. MS. DAVIDSON explained that the BGCSB is required to be financially supported by its fees. The auditor found that the costs of operating the board exceeded its incoming revenues. While the auditor does not recommend which particular fee should be addressed, the auditor does identify that the revenues need to be increased. She explained that is up to the division to ensure that the fees are sufficient; however, the division usually works with the board to determine which fees should be increased. 3:09:14 PM REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN inquired as to whether fee increases will mean an increase in hunting license fees. MS. DAVIDSON said that the fees are license fees generated by master guide-outfitters, registered guide-outfitters, Class A assistant guide-outfitters, and assistant guide-outfitters. The sport hunting and fishing license fees and do not support the BGCSB, but are deposited into the Fish and Game Fund. REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN asked who currently serves on the state lands subcommittee of the BGCSB. MS. DAVIDSON said she did not know. 3:10:29 PM PAUL JOHNSON, Chair, Big Game Commercial Services Board (BGCSB), stated that the primary member of the BGCSB State Lands subcommittee is Robert Fithian. The State Lands subcommittee was formed by the BGCSB to identify and address problems guide- outfitters had encountered on state lands and to make recommendations to the board. He said the subcommittee identified some ethical issues that the BGCSB dealt with and Mr. Fithian has been working with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to resolve other issues. MR. JOHNSON, in response to a question by Representative Neuman, said that the State Lands Subcommittee was established by the BGCSB and is charged to identify problems and coordinate its efforts with state agencies. He noted that Mr. Fithian has had major discussions with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). 3:12:17 PM REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN asked more specifically about the work done by the state lands subcommittee. MR. JOHNSON further responded that when the BGCSB was reactivated a couple of years ago, a number of guide-outfitters who guide-outfit on state lands complained that the permitting process and rules are complex. He added that while the BGCSB would like to take action to address the issues identified, the BGCSB lacks the statutory authority to do so. 3:13:18 PM REPRESENTATIVE GATTO asked for clarification of the recommendation that recommends that the board cease the electronic accumulation of information gathered from hunt records and transporter reports. He opined that sometimes it is best to not collect information because it is just stored and is unusable information. MS. DAVIDSON explained that the auditor's role is to control and verify data, and therefore the recommendation was highly unusual. However, prior to the reinstatement of the BGCSB, the Division of Legislative Audit found that DCCED was keeping enormous amounts of records that only the auditor ever asked to use. She said that the auditor reviewed the amount of effort involved to compile the data, and while many people thought [certain individuals] were using the data, it seemed that no one was using the data. She noted that DCCED disagrees with this recommendation, and therefore the recommendation is designed to have DCCED identify its users to ensure that the data is maintained in a useable format for the users. She related that the auditor found BGCSB staff in the process of keypunching very old hunt records. While that data might not have been used because it was not previously available, considerable efforts were being taken to enter the data. She suggested that perhaps a digitized hunt record with a searchable data base might be used. However, until the users are identified, DCCED staff should not invest a lot of time and energy into the data entry effort, she opined. 3:15:54 PM REPRESENTATIVE BUCH referred to a letter in the committee packet and asked whether someone was present to speak to the request by Commissioner Notti that DCCED be allowed to retain the information [contained in hunt records]. MS. DAVIDSON reiterated that the recommendation is based on the fact that no one uses the records. If users can be identified, the division is not opposed to the data being collected. 3:16:42 PM JENNIFER STRICKLER, Chief, Professional Licensing, Juneau Office, Department of Commerce, Community, & Economic Development (DCCED), related that the specific requirement to collect the data has been a statutory requirement for many years. She explained that guide-outfitters must submit a financial remuneration form for each hunt, which is by statute a confidential report that represents the guide/client contract. She explained that the requirement for the report remains in statute, and thus DCCED continues to collect the data. The data is used primarily by law enforcement agencies, particularly by the Department of Public Safety enforcement officers. There does not seem to be widespread interest outside law enforcement agency requests for the hunt records, she noted. She outlined the process a licensing examiner follows when a trooper requests copies of hunt data, and that the Division of Corporations, Business, and Professional Licensing (DCBPL) has been short staffed so that only one licensing staff assigned to the BGCSB is available to compile and certify copies of the hunt data. Since staff's primary duties include issuing licenses and preparing for examinations, the BGCSB staff has not been able to provide hunt record information in a timely manner. She said that the division is in the process of entering the data in an electronic format so that troopers and other enforcement agencies will be able to do their own queries and download the specific reports. She explained that the DCCED has reduced its backlog and has completed the data entry for transporter activity forms from 1993 to 2007. She noted that the division is currently entering guide-outfitter hunt records for 2007, and will work backwards year-by-year to capture the earlier data. 3:19:46 PM REPRESENTATIVE BUCH inquired as to whether other states maintain detailed hunt records. MS. STRICKLER said she was not sure. The state and federal wildlife officers support the division's efforts to maintain the hunt records, she related. REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX pointed out that whether to extend the BGCSB is the matter before the committee. She expressed support to extend the BGCSB. CHAIR OLSON noted that the only the only matter before the committee with respect to HB 315 is to extend the BGCSB until 2012. MS. DAVIDSON explained that extending the sunset date in HB 315 is only matter that currently requires a statutory change. The auditor's report provided meets a statutory requirement for the Division of Legislative Audit, which examines a variety of issues pertaining to the BGCSB. She noted that if the auditors had found substantial ongoing problems, they would make recommendations for statutory changes as remedies. In this instance, the recommendations are more for the committee's information to better understand how the board functions and how well the staff supports the board functions. She noted the audit recommends a four-year extension of the board, and it also highlights some areas that are necessary to improve the administrative activities of the board. 3:22:44 PM REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER asked if anyone has requested the data now that it is accessible. She further asked whether requests are for data in the 1980s or for more recent year's hunts. MS. STRICKLER responded that other agencies have expressed interest in hunt records. In fact, there are a few pending requests, including ones from federal enforcement officers and the DPS officers in Fairbanks. She highlighted that any agency requesting the information must have a secure web site in order to access the information. As far as the data entry, DCCED has asked the BGCSB whether it can cut off at a certain date. Some agencies have also offered to offset the costs of data entry, but thus far the division has yet to formulate a specific fee for accessing the data, although it remains a possibility. REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER added that perhaps charging a fee would help to offset the $55,000 deficit of the BGCSB, and inquired as to whether the records need to go back as far as 15-20 years. 3:25:02 PM MS. DAVIDSON, responded to a question by Representative Gatto whether the board membership was lopsided, answered that with respect to the number of public members on the board vis-à-vis the number of guide-outfitters serving on the board, that most occupational licensing boards have a majority membership of licensed professionals to represent the board. 3:25:58 PM MR. JOHNSON stated that, in his view, the 10-year gap without a board did not help the industry, although in some ways it was a healthy process. He noted that guide-outfitting is a $200 million industry for the state. In response to an earlier question about hunt records, he recommended that the division maintain at least three years of back records. He offered that the nine-member board consists of two members who are private landholders, two members who are transporters, two members who are registered guides, [two] who are public members, and one member who serves on the Board of Game and functions as a liaison between the BGCSB and the Board of Game. He asked the committee to support extending the BGCSB until 2012. 3:27:45 PM REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN inquired as to whether a person needs a transporter's license to transport game by air. For instance, would a constituent who lives near Skwentna and hunts, need a transporter's license. MR. JOHNSON answered that there is not a specific requirement for a transporter's license in order to transport game by air. However, if the person who is transporting game is compensated, then he/she must hold a commercial operator's certificate issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under Part 135, which allows an operator to charge more than a point-to-point fee. The operator would also have to have a transporter's license. He noted there have not been any recent changes to the transporter requirements. He gave a history of the BGCSB, which he said stemmed from a task force chaired by Henry Springer that was created in 1991, when the Guide Board was changed to the BGCSB. The BGCSB sunset happened in 1995 over a litany of issues, but nothing has changed since 1991 in terms of qualifications, he stated. 3:29:46 PM REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN posed an example in which he hunted with his friend in Skwentna. He asked whether the friend would be required to have a transporter's license in order to haul his gear or transport his moose. MR. JOHNSON specified that if the constituent is paid for his services, he would be required to have a transporter's license. He outlined the requirements for a transporter license, which include: an application, fees, activity reports, and documentation whether he/she provides air services and holds a commercial operator's certificate issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under Part 135, and proof of insurance. 3:30:50 PM REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN inquired as to whether someone would be issued a citation for transporting game without a license. MR. JOHNSON answered yes, and added that several people have been cited for not following the reporting requirements under state statute. 3:31:37 PM RICHARD ROHRER, Big Game Commercial Services Board (BGCSB) Guide-Outfitter board member, encouraged the committee to reauthorize the BGCSB. He explained that the BGCSB members work well together and that he is available to answer questions. 3:32:13 PM CHAIR OLSON upon determining no one else wished to testify on HB 315 closed the public testimony. 3:32:34 PM REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER moved to report HB 315 out of the House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, HB 315 was reported from the House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.
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