Legislature(2011 - 2012)CAPITOL 120
03/24/2011 05:00 PM House FISHERIES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB181 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 181 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES
March 24, 2011
5:06 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Steve Thompson, Chair
Representative Craig Johnson, Vice Chair
Representative Alan Austerman
Representative Lance Pruitt
Representative Scott Kawasaki
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Bob Herron
Representative Bob Miller
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 181
"An Act requiring the Department of Fish and Game annually to
collect confidential information related to days worked by
commercial fishing crewmembers and to compile statistical data."
- MOVED CSHB 181(FSH) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 181
SHORT TITLE: COMMERCIAL FISHING CREWMEMBER STATISTICS
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) AUSTERMAN
03/09/11 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/09/11 (H) FSH, FIN
03/15/11 (H) FSH AT 5:00 PM CAPITOL 120
03/15/11 (H) Heard & Held
03/15/11 (H) MINUTE(FSH)
03/24/11 (H) FSH AT 5:00 PM CAPITOL 120
WITNESS REGISTER
ERIN HARRINGTON, Staff
Alan Austerman
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented the committee substitute (CS) for
HB 181, on behalf of Representative Austerman, prime sponsor.
GERON BRUCE, Assistant Director
Division of Commercial Fisheries
Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G)
POSITION STATEMENT: Responded to questions, during the hearing
on HB 181.
ANDY VARNER, Executive Director
Southeast Municipal Conference
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 181.
SHAWN DOCHTERMANN, Executive Director
Crewman's Association
Kodiak, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified with concern on HB 181.
GERALD McCUNE, Lobbyist
United Fishermen of Alaska (UFA)
Cordova, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 181.
ACTION NARRATIVE
5:06:54 PM
CHAIR STEVE THOMPSON called the House Special Committee on
Fisheries meeting to order at 5:06 p.m. Present at the call to
order were Representatives Thompson, Austerman, Kawasaki,
Johnson, and Pruitt.
HB 181-COMMERCIAL FISHING CREWMEMBER STATISTICS
CHAIR THOMPSON announced that the only order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 181, "An Act requiring the Department of Fish
and Game annually to collect confidential information related to
days worked by commercial fishing crewmembers and to compile
statistical data."
5:07:50 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON moved to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 181, Version 27-LS0292\E, Kane, 3/22/11,
as the working draft. There being no objection, Version E was
before the committee.
5:08:48 PM
ERIN HARRINGTON, Staff, Alan Austerman, Alaska State
Legislature, presented CSHB 181, paraphrasing from a memo to
Chairman Thompson, dated March 24, 2011, RE: Changes to House
Bill 181 from Version B to Version E, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
The following changes have been implemented into House
Bill Version E, based on feedback from industry, the
Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), Commercial
Fisheries Entry Commission (CFEC), and committee
members. Except where noted, page and line numbers
refer to the draft committee substitute, Version E.
Deletion of Section 1 from Version B-Section 1 in
Version B directed ADF&G to issue crew activity forms
to crewmembers at the time when crew licenses are
purchased. The department instead envisions mailing
forms to crewmembers at the end of the season.
Section 1 was deleted to allow the department the
flexibility to design the best possible distribution
system for crewmember activity forms.
Throughout the bill-where the term "vessel" was
previously used, it has been expanded to include
vessels and set net sites. This is because fishing
activity at set net sites does not necessarily occur
on board a vessel.
Page 1, Line 14 to Page 2, Line 6-The data that
crewmembers will be mandated to report has been
changed somewhat, following additional conversations
with ADF&G and CFEC. An important goal of the data
collection is to link the crew database with existing
harvest and databases, in order to tie crew to fishing
activity. We recognize that doing this successful may
require some amount of experimentation in program
design. We have provided flexibility so the
department can design a successful program without the
need to return for legislation. Additionally, on Page
2, Line 14 and Page 3, Line 2, we have specified some
information that the agencies feel will be critical.
Page 2, Line 9-The reporting date has been changed to
April 15, as it is envisioned that crewmembers may
choose to complete their annual crew activity forms at
the same time they prepare their federal income taxes.
Page 2, Lines 13 and 14-We have provided the
opportunity for vessel and set net site owners as well
as operators to review the data. This is because
hired skippers sometimes operate vessel or sites.
Page 2, Line 25-The United States Department of Labor
was added to the list of federal agencies with which
ADF&G can share data. This is because the U.S.
Department of Labor administers the Trade Adjustment
Assistance program, which has been applied to
harvesters in Alaska several times in the last decade.
Page 3, Line 11-The sunset date was advanced by one
year. This ensures at least three years of complete
data, but brings the program back before the
legislature on a quicker timeline to ensure the
program is effective.
CHAIR THOMPSON opened public testimony.
5:16:03 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI asked how the reporting will be
enforced, observing that it appears to be a voluntary effort.
5:16:30 PM
GERON BRUCE, Assistant Director, Division of Commercial
Fisheries, said the Department of Public Safety (DPS) would be
in charge of enforcement activities, and agreed that it will be
difficult to ensure compliance.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI suggested that it could be a stipulated
requirement to be completed prior to license renewal, and asked
whether that would be a mechanism.
MR. BRUCE said that approach was considered; however, crew
licenses are sold in a manner that does not conform to that type
of requirement or enforcement by the vendor.
5:20:08 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI moved Amendment 1, labeled 72-
LS0202\E.1, Kane, 3/24/11, which read:
Page 1, line 11:
Delete "in which a crewmember"
Insert "on which a fishing vessel or set net site
operator"
Page 1, line 12:
Delete "employment"
Insert "each crewmember employed by the fishing
vessel or set net site operator"
Page 2, line 8:
Delete "(e) and (f)"
Insert "(f) and (g)"
Page 2, line 9:
Delete "crewmembers"
Insert "fishing vessel or set net site operators"
Page 2, following line 11:
Insert a new subsection to read:
"(e) The failure of a fishing vessel or set net
site operator to return all crew activity forms for
the vessel to the department is a violation and, upon
conviction, is punishable by a fine of not more than
$500."
Re-letter the following subsections accordingly.
Page 2, lines 13 - 18:
Delete all material.
Renumber the following paragraphs accordingly.
5:20:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON objected for discussion
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI explained that the amendment offers a
means to ensure reporting compliance. The second part imposes a
penalty for non-compliance. He said depending on voluntary
reporting may not be the best way to gain meaningful information
to build a data base.
5:21:30 PM
REPRESENTATIVE AUSTERMAN stated support for the intent of
Amendment 1, but said there are a number of ways to collect and
enforce the reporting of data. The ideal situation would be to
minimize the lag time. If the program works, in three years
compliance could be honed, and the possibility of a swipe card
could be considered.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI pointed out that the second part of the
amendment deals specifically with the collection of voluntary
data, which, he maintained, may not be reliable. He asked if
the department has objection to the amendment.
MR. BRUCE indicated that the department has discussed the
amendment, but the intent of the bill is to create a pilot
program first, and a great deal of outreach and widespread
partnerships will need to be cultivated during the educational
period of the program. It is important to introduce the
concepts in as simple a manner as possible: a one page form,
minimal questions, and a postage paid self addressed return
envelope to the department. Until a more sophisticated program
is developed this needs to be simplistic, he opined.
CHAIR THOMPSON agreed that a three year period will be a good
trial time.
REPRESENTATIVE AUSTERMAN said that the department is creating a
data base warehouse, which is currently not available, but
should eventually become a valuable aspect of this program.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON described his experience of purchasing a
dip netting permit, and said the department does send out mildly
threatening letters requesting the return of the license.
5:29:26 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI withdrew Amendment 1.
5:30:07 PM
ANDY VARNER, Executive Director, Southeast Municipal Conference,
stated support for HB 181, and said a perfect system may not be
possible, without a high cost. He opined that the bill is
appropriate.
5:34:30 PM
SHAWN DOCHTERMANN, Executive Director, Crewman's Association,
said the bill requires significant modification as it does not
fulfill the 12 recommendations made to ADF&G by an advisory
committee, which met on the subject and reviewed the project.
Further, it appears to place onus, for reporting, on the crew
members. He reported that the Crewman's Association developed a
proposal suggesting the utilization of swipe cards, and based on
the e-landing program that is in place for many state fisheries.
Instead of pushing this forward as a pilot program, he suggested
implementing a plan utilizing a swipe card, and to also consider
the program from a crew members point of view.
5:38:47 PM
GERALD McCUNE, Lobbyist, United Fishermen of Alaska (UFA),
stated support for HB 181 and said real time data would be
important, which can be provided by a swipe card. However, the
technology is not yet available for that type of data
collection/delivery. He said the bill will be a good start to
get the program off the ground and eventually a swipe card can
be implemented.
CHAIR THOMPSON closed public testimony.
5:40:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE AUSTERMAN said that funding and development of
the program will eventually allow implementation of technology
and connection with the comprehensive warehouse data base being
established by ADF&G.
5:42:25 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON moved to report CSHB 181 (FSH), Version
LS0292\E, Kane, 3/22/11, out of committee with individual
recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. Without
objection CSHB 181 (FSH) was reported from the House Special
Committee on Fisheries.
5:43:06 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Fisheries meeting was adjourned at 5:44
p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 181 - Version E.pdf |
HFSH 3/24/2011 5:00:00 PM |
HB 181 |
| HB 181 - United Southeast Alaska Gillnetters Ltr - Support.pdf |
HFSH 3/24/2011 5:00:00 PM |
HB 181 |
| HB 181 - Differences Between Versions B and E.pdf |
HFSH 3/24/2011 5:00:00 PM |
HB 181 |