Legislature(2021 - 2022)BUTROVICH 205
04/12/2021 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB101 | |
| SB60 | |
| SB61 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 101 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | SB 60 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 61 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 60-SPT FSH HATCHERY FACIL ACCT; SURCHARGE
3:39:22 PM
CHAIR REVAK reconvened the meeting and announced the
consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 60 "An Act establishing the
sport fishing hatchery facilities account; establishing the
sport fishing facility surcharge; and providing for an effective
date."
He stated that this was the first hearing and his intention was
to hear invited and public testimony.
3:39:45 PM
DOUG VINCENT-LANG, Commissioner, Alaska Department of Fish and
Game, Anchorage, Alaska, stated that the department deems SB 60,
a governor's bill, as a legislative priority for this session.
To provide perspective, he explained that in 2005, the
legislature approved a bond to construct both the William Jack
Hernandez Sport Fish Hatchery in Anchorage and the Ruth Burnett
Sport Fish Hatchery in Fairbanks. To pay for the bond, ADF&G
added a surcharge to sport fishing licenses. All but $500,000 of
the surcharge went directly to the repayment of the bond. The
$0.5 million went to Southeast Alaska annually for hatchery
production because the area was not serviced by the two bonded
hatcheries. but fishermen paid the surcharge. The surcharge,
which was primarily collected from nonresident sport fishermen,
paid off the bond. No general fund dollars were used.
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG said the program was so successful,
the department paid back the bond five years early, in 2020. The
result was that the surcharge and the associated statutes
sunsetted on 12/31/2020. This left ongoing maintenance for the
hatcheries unfunded. If ADF&G were to pay for the maintenance
costs, it would be at the expense of other projects because
department funds are fully allocated. Another result of paying
off the bonds is that Southeast no longer receives the annual
$500,000 that came from the surcharge payments. That money was
used to raise and release more than 1.4 million Chinook salmon
and hundreds of thousands of coho smolt at release sites
targeted to benefit sport fishing in Southeast inside waters.
The loss of this money will negatively affect Southeast Alaska
sport fishermen and charter operators.
3:42:13 PM
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG explained that to address the loss of
the surcharge funds, the department worked with groups across
the state to propose a new, reduced surcharge to support
maintenance and nonprofit hatchery operations throughout
Southeast. SB 60 is the result. The original $9.00 surcharge is
reduced to $4.00. Again, nonresidents would contribute most of
the surcharge. He directed attention to a document in the bill
packets of the surcharge broken down by license type. Should the
bill pass, he said the intention is to deposit the surcharge
into a separate subaccount within the fish and game fund that is
used for sport fish enhancement programs, sport fish hatchery
facilities, and continued enhancement activities in Southeast.
He reiterated that Southeast Alaska anglers pay the surcharge
but derive no benefit from the two sport fish hatcheries in
Anchorage and Fairbanks.
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG informed the committee that the House
Fishery Committee amended the House version of the bill by
adding an additional $2.50 surcharge to pay for the work related
to fisheries management, research, invasive species management,
and habitat restoration. He opined that the language was broad
enough to cover access improvements for sport fishermen. The
amendment also requires separate accounting of the additional
collections. He referenced a fact sheet in the packets that
shows the sport fish enhancement programs release nearly 7.2
million fish annually in about 270 locations. In addition, 1.4
million fish are released annually in Southeast.
3:44:28 PM
CHAIR REVAK asked Ms. Hanke to walk through the sectional
analysis.
3:44:48 PM
RACHEL HANKE, Legislative Liaison, Alaska Department of Fish and
Game, Anchorage, Alaska, presented the sectional analysis for SB
60 that read as follows:
Section 1
Adds new section AS 16.05.130(h) which creates a new
sub-account of the fish and game fund called the sport
fishing hatchery facilities account. This section also
restricts the use of the sub-account to maintenance
and operations of sport fishing hatchery facilities as
well as sport fishing stock enhancement.
Section 2
Conforming amendment to reference new section.
Section 3
Adds new section AS 16.05.340(l) which establishes the
new sport fishing license surcharge fee schedule.
Section 4
Effective date July 1, 2021.
3:46:18 PM
SENATOR STEVENS asked if the department continued to receive
Dingell-Johnson Act matching funds after the bond was paid off
and the surcharge sunset.
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG replied the department would be able
to use the surcharge funds to match Dingell-Johnson Act funds
for the maintenance of the two hatcheries and Southeast
enhancement activities.
3:47:00 PM
SENATOR BISHOP asked what the annual maintenance expenses are
for the two hatcheries.
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG estimated that the maintenance backlog
at the Fairbanks hatchery was in the $4-6 million range, and the
Anchorage hatchery was higher, primarily from water filtration
issues. He offered to follow up with the actual data.
SENATOR BISHOP commented that the finance committee would look
into the maintenance/finance package.
3:48:17 PM
SENATOR VON IMHOF asked the commissioner to also provide the
finance committee information about when the hatcheries were
built and if there were plans for major maintenance beyond the
estimated $4-6 million per year.
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG restated that the funds would be
placed in a subaccount of the fish and game fund for the
hatcheries to use for long-term maintenance. The notion is to
build the fund enough to be able to tap it for deferred
maintenance, he said.
3:49:15 PM
SENATOR KAWASAKI highlighted that the fiscal note does not
indicate that the surcharge would be used to match Dingell-
Johnson Act funds. He asked for an explanation.
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG replied he did not have an answer, but
from his perspective it would be unwise to spend the fish and
game fund without taking advantage of the 3:1 federal match. He
related his intention to use the funds collected through the
surcharge as a match.
SENATOR STEVENS asked if the department had plans for additional
hatcheries.
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG replied most of the sport fish
stocking needs are met through the Anchorage and Fairbanks
hatcheries and the private non-profit (PNP) hatchery in
Southeast. He noted that the hatchery in Southeast is Crystal
Lake, which is state-owned and operated by a private non-profit
hatchery.
3:51:56 PM
CHAIR REVAK opened public testimony on SB 60, and encouraged the
testifiers to submit their written comments to sres@akleg.gov.
3:52:18 PM
RON SOMERVILLE, representative, Territorial Sportsmen, Juneau,
Alaska, stated the Territorial Sportsmen strongly support SB 60.
He related that some of the money from the surcharge has gone to
support the local Douglas Island Pink and Chum (DIPAC) hatchery
Chinook salmon programs on the Taku and Stikine rivers. He
reported that the wild stocks have been suppressed to the point
that there has not been any early king salmon fishing in the
area for more than seven years. Thus, the Territorial Sportsmen
support any stocking programs to support early runs.
MR. SOMERVILLE noted the substantial written support for
reinstating the surcharge and highlighted that much of it was
coming from people who are willing to pay for using the
resource. He also pointed out that there have been few
complaints from residents or nonresidents about paying this
surcharge. On behalf of the more than 1,300 members of the
Territorial Sportsmen, he restated support for SB 60.
3:54:31 PM
DAVID LANDIS, General Manager, Southern Southeast Regional
Aquaculture Association (SSRAA), Ketchikan, Alaska, related that
SSRAA is one of the private non-profits (PNP) that Commissioner
Vincent-Lang referenced that work with ADF&G to enhance sport
fish in Southeast. As such, the Crystal Lake hatchery is owned
by the state and operated under contract to SSRAA. Thus, a
portion of the surcharge revenue allocated to Southeast would go
to SSRAA programs. He noted that this funding is critical to the
continued operation of the hatchery. He referenced the
commissioner's comments on hatchery maintenance and advised that
there is a critically needed project at Crystal Lake to fix
leaking raceways. While SSRAA is worried about the issue, it is
willing to hold off on fixing the raceways until the fund has
built a reserve. At this point, the project is designed and
shovel ready.
MR. LANDIS cited an ADF&G publication to emphasize the
importance of keeping Crystal Lake intact with operational
maintenance funding. The department reported that nearly 50
percent of all Alaska hatchery king salmon harvested in
Southeast Alaska originate from Crystal Lake.
He concluded that SB 60 is important to residents and
nonresidents alike and to keep harvests active under the
auspices of the Pacific Salmon Treaty between the U.S. and
Canada.
3:57:13 PM
BEN MOHR, Executive Director, Kenai River Sportfishing
Association (KRSA), Soldotna, Alaska, stated he was testifying
to register KRSA's support for SB 60. He pointed out the
longstanding support for a user-pay model by both hunters and
sportfishermen for fish and game conservation. In the U.S. this
support goes back over 100 years. KSRA supports users funding
operations and maintenance. The sportfishing community across
the state uses these hatchery facilities for recreational
purposes and it makes sense that they pay their own way. SB 60
is the vehicle for that to happen.
3:58:20 PM
KATIE HARMS, Executive Director, Douglas Island Pink and Chum
(DIPAC), Juneau, Alaska, stated that DIPAC is a private non-
profit corporation whose primary mission is to sustain and
enhance the salmon resources in the state for the economic and
cultural benefit of all citizens. She stated support for SB 60
and gave a brief history of the sportfishing program DIPAC
operates through funds from ADF&G's Division of Sport Fish.
These programs currently are nearly 90 percent supported by the
sport fishing licensee surcharge.
MS. HARMS explained that prior to 1994, ADF&G raised Chinook
salmon at its Snettisham hatchery and released them at selected
sites in the Juneau area. In 1994, the hatchery was converted to
produce sockeye salmon and the Chinook program was transferred
to DIPAC. Since then, DIPAC has received a little more than
$300,000 annually from the Sport Fish Hatchery Enhancement
Program. Without the revenue from the surcharge, the Chinook
program at DIPAC would never have come to fruition. This ADF&G
funded, DIPAC produced Chinook program has become a stable sport
fishery for residents and nonresidents fishing shoreside and
from a boat. This hatchery fishery has become increasingly
important as wild Chinook stocks continue to decline in
Southeast. She relayed that the financial uncertainty associated
with poor salmon returns in Southeast will likely result in a
greatly reduced DIPAC Chinook program next year if SB 60 does
not pass this session. She thanked the committee for its
consideration of this important issue.
4:00:14 PM
FORREST BRADEN, Executive Director, Southeast Alaska Guide
Organization (SAGO), Ketchikan, Alaska, stated SAGO is a non-
profit trade group that represents about 300 guided sportfishing
businesses that operate in Southeast Alaska. On SAGO's behalf,
he stated full support for SB 60. He explained that these
businesses rely heavily on hatchery produced king and coho
salmon. He reported that about 25 percent of the king salmon
caught by the sport fleet are Southeast hatchery produced, as
are about half the sport fish caught in inside waters. This
fishery is clearly important to the sport fish industry; the
terminal harvest areas are often the only access sport anglers
have to these returning fish. He pointed out that even though
outside fisheries catch less hatchery fish, they are important
in maintaining the balance between inside and outside sport
fisheries that are managed as a whole. He asked the committee to
advance the bill.
4:02:44 PM
SUSAN DOHERTY, Executive Director, Southeast Alaska Seiners
Association (SEAS), Ketchikan, Alaska, stated that while SEAS
agrees with the intent of SB 60 and the comments of the SSRAA
general manager, SEAS would like assurance that the Crystal Lake
sport fish hatchery is included in ADF&G's priority funding for
desperately needed maintenance along with the hatcheries in
Anchorage and Fairbanks that Commissioner Vincent-Lang
mentioned.
4:04:19 PM
KEVIN BURCHFIELD, President, Juneau Charter Boat Operator
Association (JCBOA), Juneau, Alaska, stated support for SB 60 on
behalf of the 14 businesses in Juneau represented by JCBOA. He
mentioned the declining wild salmon stocks and emphasized the
need to augment Chinook salmon production.
4:05:12 PM
CHAIR REVAK closed public testimony on SB 60.
He asked Commissioner Vincent-Lang to comment on the Crystal
Lake hatchery.
4:05:45 PM
COMMISSINER VINCENT-LANG said that in addition to the
maintenance at the Anchorage and Fairbanks hatcheries, it is the
department's intent to pay for the backlog of deferred
maintenance at the Crystal Lake hatchery. It is important in
ensuring that hatchery production in Southeast Alaska is
sustained at current levels. He reiterated that Southeast
anglers pay part of the surcharge and therefore should receive
some benefit.
4:06:28 PM
CHAIR REVAK found no questions or comments and stated he would
hold SB 60 in committee for further consideration.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 60 Fiscal Note dated 1.28.21.pdf |
SRES 4/12/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SB 60 |
| SB 60 Sectional Analysis - ver. A 2.3.21.pdf |
SRES 4/12/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SB 60 |
| SB 60 Sponsor Statement 1.28.21.pdf |
SRES 4/12/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SB 60 |
| SB 60 Support Doc - Surcharge Revenue Breakdown 1.27.21.pdf |
SRES 4/12/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SB 60 |
| SB 60 Support Letters 4.10.21.pdf |
SRES 4/12/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SB 60 |
| SB 60 Support Letters Group II 4.12.21.pdf |
SRES 4/12/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SB 60 |
| SB 101 Letter of Support AMA 4.12.21.pdf |
HRES 5/14/2021 1:00:00 PM SFIN 4/20/2021 9:00:00 AM SRES 4/12/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SB 101 |