02/20/2020 11:00 AM House FISHERIES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB218 | |
| HB247 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 218 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 247 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES
February 20, 2020
11:05 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Louise Stutes, Chair
Representative Chuck Kopp
Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins
Representative Geran Tarr
Representative Sarah Vance
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Bryce Edgmon
Representative Mark Neuman
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 218
"An Act relating to salt water sport fishing operators and salt
water sport fishing guides; and providing for an effective
date."
- MOVED CSHB 218(FSH) OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 247
"An Act relating to the fish and game fund; establishing the
sport fishing enhancement surcharge; relating to the repeal of
the sport fishing facility surcharge; providing for an effective
date by amending the effective date of sec. 21, ch. 18, SLA
2016; and providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 218
SHORT TITLE: SALT WATER FISHING: OPERATORS/GUIDES
SPONSOR(s): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
01/27/20 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/27/20 (H) FSH, RES, FIN
02/06/20 (H) FSH AT 11:00 AM GRUENBERG 120
02/06/20 (H) Heard & Held
02/06/20 (H) MINUTE(FSH)
02/13/20 (H) FSH AT 11:00 AM GRUENBERG 120
02/13/20 (H) Heard & Held
02/13/20 (H) MINUTE(FSH)
02/20/20 (H) FSH AT 11:00 AM GRUENBERG 120
BILL: HB 247
SHORT TITLE: SPORT FISHING ENHANCEMENT SURCHARGE
SPONSOR(s): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
02/12/20 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/12/20 (H) FSH, FIN
02/20/20 (H) FSH AT 11:00 AM GRUENBERG 120
WITNESS REGISTER
ERIN HARRINGTON, Staff
Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Offered explanations on Amendment 1 and
Amendment 2 to HB 218, on behalf of Representative Jonathan
Kreiss-Tomkins, prime sponsor.
TOM TAUBE, Deputy Director
Division of Sport Fish
Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Offered comments on Amendment 1 to HB 218.
DOUG VINCENT-LANG, Commissioner
Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 247 on behalf of the House
Rules Committee, by request of the governor.
RACHEL HANKE, Legislative Liaison
Office of the Commissioner
Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Offered an explanation on the Sectional
Analysis for HB 247.
TOM TAUBE, Deputy Director
Division of Sport Fish
Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions pertaining to HB 247.
ACTION NARRATIVE
11:05:33 AM
CHAIR LOUISE STUTES called the House Special Committee on
Fisheries meeting to order at 11:05 a.m. Representatives
Stutes, Kopp, Kreiss-Tomkins, and Vance were present at the call
to order. Representative Tarr arrived as the meeting was in
progress.
HB 218-SALT WATER FISHING: OPERATORS/GUIDES
11:06:51 AM
CHAIR STUTES announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 218, "An Act relating to salt water sport fishing
operators and salt water sport fishing guides; and providing for
an effective date."
11:07:56 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS moved to adopt Amendment 1,
labeled 31-GH2192\A.1, Klein, 2/18/20, which read as follows:
Page 2, following line 5:
Insert a new paragraph to read:
"(3) signs a sworn statement identifying
whether the person is a state resident or a
nonresident;"
Renumber the following paragraphs accordingly.
Page 3, following line 8:
Insert a new paragraph to read:
"(4) signs a sworn statement identifying
whether the person is a state resident or a
nonresident;"
Renumber the following paragraphs accordingly.
11:08:05 AM
CHAIR STUTES objected to the motion, for the purpose of
discussion.
11:08:22 AM
ERIN HARRINGTON, Staff, Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins,
Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Jonathan
Kreiss-Tomkins, prime sponsor of HB 218, offered an explanation
on Amendment 1. She stated that the amendment would add the
requirement that people applying for licenses under HB 218 must
certify whether they are residents or nonresidents. She said
that it would provide a data point to help understand the
characteristics of the economic activity and participation in
this sector.
11:08:55 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked why the language in the proposed
amendment read "signs a sworn statement identifying whether the
person is a state resident or a nonresident" instead of having
the requirement be proof of residency, such as a driver's
license.
11:09:22 AM
MS. HARRINGTON replied, using sport fishing license applications
currently used in Alaska as an example, that this is a sworn
document which designates whether the applicant is a resident or
nonresident, the date a residency began, and requires a
signature making the document a suitable "certification
thereof." In response to a follow-up question, she stated that
it is anticipated that in the regulatory process and design of
the proposed application, the burden would lie on the Alaska
Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G) to determine what is
considered suitable for certification. She explained that she
had used the Sport Fishing License application as an example
because it was familiar and understood to have been put in place
by ADF&G to follow a directive in statute; not necessarily that
the proposed application would look just like it.
11:10:42 AM
TOM TAUBE, Deputy Director, Division of Sport Fish, Alaska
Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G), commented that similar to
Representative Vance's comment on the sworn statement, ADF&G
sees that HB 218 would already require an applicant to hold a
Sport Fishing License from the state; therefore, the applicant
is already signing an affidavit stating his/her residency
status, and it seems that there is some duplication in the
second portion of the proposed amendment.
11:11:41 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 11:11 a.m. to 11:13 a.m.
11:13:30 AM
MS. HARRINGTON stated that during the conversation that just
took place [during the at-ease] with ADF&G, it was distinguished
that the requirement for a Sport Fishing License exists under HB
218, and that the application does require a description of
residency; however, that would be a separate piece of
information living in a separate data house. The data for both
applications would be collected by ADF&G, but the goal of the
proposed amendment is to clearly understand the characteristics
of the sector of participants specific to the legislation
proposed by HB 218. She summarized that, although she didn't
want to personally put the ADF&G's support on the record, her
understanding is that ADF&G understands the distinction.
11:14:17 AM
CHAIR STUTES asked to have ADF&G offer firsthand information on
Ms. Harrington's comments.
11:14:30 AM
MR. TAUBE stated that based upon the discussion mentioned by Ms.
Harrington, ADF&G supports Amendment 1.
11:14:42 AM
CHAIR STUTES, after ascertaining that there were no further
questions on Amendment 1, withdrew her objection. There being
no further objection, Amendment 1 was adopted.
11:14:58 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS moved to adopt Amendment 2,
labeled 31-GH2192\A.2, Klein, 2/19/20, which read as follows:
Page 1, lines 1 - 2:
Delete "operators and salt water sport fishing
guides"
Page 5, following line 5:
Insert a new section to read:
"Sec. 16.40.287. Reports from unguided rented
boats equipped with gear for salt water sport fishing.
(a) The department shall collect information on the
rental of unguided boats equipped with gear for salt
water sport fishing, including
(1) the name and address of the person
renting the boat;
(2) the name and address of the person
offering the boat for rent;
(3) the stated reason for the boat rental;
(4) a declaration of whether the person
renting the boat used the boat for salt water sport
fishing; and
(5) the sport fishing license number of any
person who used the boat for salt water sport fishing
during the rental period.
(b) A person who rents an unguided boat equipped
with gear for salt water sport fishing shall record
the information required in (a) of this section.
(c) A person who, for compensation or with the
intent to receive compensation, offers unguided boats
equipped with gear for salt water sport fishing for
rent shall collect the information required in (a) of
this section and report the information to the
department.
(d) A person who is required to report or
collect information under this section may not provide
false information or omit material facts in a report.
(e) The board may adopt regulations under
AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) to implement
this section.
(f) In this section, "gear" includes rods,
reels, nets, gaffs, downriggers, fish finders, bait,
tackle, and fishing traps and pots."
11:15:04 AM
CHAIR STUTES objected to the motion, for the purpose of
discussion.
11:15:11 AM
MS. HARRINGTON offered an explanation on Amendment 2 to HB 218.
She explained that Amendment 2 would attempt to begin to put
some information in place to address the nebulous area of
unguided rental vessels. She explained that public perception
is that there is growth in this section of the fishing sector,
but currently there is no collected data which helps to describe
that growth or the characteristics of that sector. She stated
that the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) has
been discussing this topic and has an analysis from staff
looking into this issue in order to understand the sector. She
expressed that this is most important regarding halibut, as the
halibut fisheries are highly managed, regulated, and fully
allocated. She added that participation in halibut fisheries
takes place from commercial vessels, a commercial guided sector,
and from individuals using sport fishing licenses.
MS. HARRINGTON stated that the concern regarding people renting
boats to participate in unguided harvesting, is that there might
be significant growth in what is ultimately a commercial access
point to a resource that is not being quantified or described in
a way that allows for a place in the management scheme. She
added that the proposed amendment would attempt to begin
collection of baseline data to describe the unguided fishing
sector's participation in the commercial use of fisheries
resources.
MS. HARRINGTON clarified that Amendment 2 would specifically
propose "to do a few things, and there are some things
specifically that it does not propose to do." She stated that
the proposed amendment would not require enumeration of the fish
harvested from a boat; this would not be a logbook or a count.
She said that the legislation proposed under the amendment would
acquire information on businesses renting boats, and the
individuals renting those boats to confirm that they have sport
fishing licenses and determine whether they are fishing from the
rented vessels.
MS. HARRINGTON, speaking anecdotally, said that she had a
conversation recently with a well-informed member of the guided
charter sector, and this individual informed her that a business
he is familiar with just bought 10 additional vessels to add to
its fleet, for operations in a small Southeast Alaska village.
She remarked that 10 additional boats being fully utilized over
the course of a week could add as many as 80 angler days, which,
when added up across all businesses and regions in the state,
represents an unfathomable impact on a resource that is highly
regulated and managed. She added that this resource is managed
by the State of Alaska in partnership with the federal
government and through treaties with Canada. She summarized
that the legislation proposed under this amendment would attempt
to gain some understanding on what impact this sector might have
on Alaska's fisheries.
11:18:55 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked why Amendment 2 shouldn't propose a
fish count in addition to collecting data on who offers the
service and the gear. She expressed that this is a limited
resource and wondered whether there should be oversight without
a count attached to it.
MS. HARRINGTON replied that the proposed amendment is intended
to be a "stair step." She expressed that ultimately the
objective would be to understand the full scope of the
participation of this sector on fisheries, including harvest
retention. She added that this would be a larger, more complex
program which would require a lot of resources to bring it to
bear, and Amendment 2 is viewed as a first step towards that.
11:20:14 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS commented that in a "perfect world
all equal," it would be ideal to know how many halibut are being
caught by the unguided charter sector. He remarked that in
deference to the administrative complexity involved in gathering
all that information, it would make sense to "start with a very
basic level of data."
11:20:58 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked what the additional burden would be
to require a logbook program for the unguided charter sector in
the same venue as the program proposed for guided charters,
under HB 218.
11:21:36 AM
MS. HARRIGNTON answered that one of the things Amendment 2 would
allow is for a beginning in understanding the characteristics of
this sector. As an example, she said that a boat could be
rented and used for: sport fishing through an Airbnb; a club of
some sort; a remote cabin with "a skiff pulled up in the weeds
outside of it"; or kayaks. She stated that it is a "complex
world," and the proposed amendment could be the first step in
getting to the point of understanding it well enough to
implement a rational regulatory or reporting scheme. She
explained that the scale of vessels involved in the unguided
charter sector is still unknown; it could be 10,000 vessels or
200 vessels, but gathering information of this kind could lend
itself to the next step, which could then answer the question of
implementing a logbook. She expressed that many of the
businesses in the unguided charter sector might be set up very
differently from an operation in the guided charter sector, and
there might not be a person at the shore consulting with the
client.
11:23:15 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked whether the distinction between
regulating personal use and unguided charters needs to be
defined more clearly. She expressed that she thinks it is
important not to infringe on Alaskans' right to "go get
halibut," while being responsible for the allocation of that
resource which is no longer as plentiful as it once was. She
summarized that this could be a part of the stair step as
mentioned by Ms. Harrington earlier.
MS. HARRINGTON responded that she understands Representative
Vance's question and she thinks the answer to it might be "just
one half a step to the side" and the track to consider. She
recognized the importance of the point made by Representative
Vance for residents and nonresidents alike to be able to
continue harvesting Alaska's fisheries resources in a sport
fishing environment. She explained that the other two sectors
of commercial participation in the harvest of halibut, salmon,
and rockfish are well known, and they are held accountable for
the fish harvested and required to participate in processes that
allocate resources between them. She said that the processes
involved in this require intentional deliberation, tremendous
effort, negotiation, and attention to the science involved. She
added that a new business sector coming into these fisheries and
taking more of the resources, without participating in any of
the resource allocation processes, should be asked to become a
part of the discussion.
11:25:51 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP asked whether the proposed amendment had
been "run by" the Kenai River Sportfishing Association (KRSA).
He said that the lower four miles of the Kenai River are
saltwater sport fishing, and often boats are rented with guides
that bring people out for personal use dipnet fishing. He
expressed that the whole process can be complicated, and he
hadn't "even quite figured out in my head how all that happens."
He remarked that he just wanted to be sure that the proposed
amendment wouldn't do anything to inadvertently hurt operations
such as these, which provide great services that allow for more
personal use fish to be taken; in addition, the professionally
guided boats help to keep the chaos down on the river.
MS. HARRINGTON answered that KRSA had not yet been contacted
regarding Amendment 2. She explained that the proposed
amendment had been received quite recently, and the process of
working on the nuances had only recently begun.
11:27:33 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP commented that it looked to him like the
intent of Amendment 2 could be maintained while removing the
language from subsection (b), which reads: "A person who rents
an unguided boat equipped with gear for salt water sport fishing
shall record the information required in (a) of this section."
He noted that the language in subsection (c) of Amendment 2
would require the person who is receiving the money for renting
the boat to record the same information and report it to ADF&G.
He asked what the bill sponsor's thoughts on this might be.
11:29:08 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS replied that he thinks there are
aspects to the proposed amendment which need to be fine-tuned.
He remarked that he had not considered the Kenai River sport
fisheries and it would be good to investigate areas that are
half saltwater, half freshwater.
11:29:41 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked whether ADF&G would anticipate an
increased need for staff to address the increased workload, and
whether there should be an adjustment to the proposed fees to
accommodate for more resources. She expressed that it seems
that the proposed program would require some significant effort
from ADF&G.
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS replied that ADF&G had shared its
perspective recently on what the proposed project might look
like administratively, its thoughts on what the value of data
collection is, and the end goals from a management perspective.
He expressed that he sees this as another area in which he is
excited to fine tune the proposed amendment.
11:31:39 AM
CHAIR STUTES stated that Amendment 2 could be very helpful in
understanding the scope of activity related to barebones
charters, which is particularly pertinent in halibut fisheries;
however, she expressed that she understands the language of the
proposed legislation needs fine tuning, which Representative
Kreiss-Tomkins would be working with the appropriate parties to
accomplish. She expressed that her hope is that the work on the
proposed amendment would take place in the next committee of
referral.
11:32:21 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS withdrew Amendment 2.
11:32:45 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR commented that HB 218 would be moving to the
House Resources Standing Committee after it moved from the
current committee, and she would be happy to continue the
conversation there.
11:33:11 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP moved to report HB 218, as amended, out of
committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying
fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 218(FSH) was
reported from the House Special Committee on Fisheries.
11:33:36 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 11:33 a.m. to 11:37 a.m.
HB 247-SPORT FISHING ENHANCEMENT SURCHARGE
11:37:30 AM
CHAIR STUTES announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 247, "An Act relating to the fish and game fund;
establishing the sport fishing enhancement surcharge; relating
to the repeal of the sport fishing facility surcharge; providing
for an effective date by amending the effective date of sec. 21,
ch. 18, SLA 2016; and providing for an effective date."
11:38:34 AM
DOUG VINCENT-LANG, Commissioner, Alaska Department of Fish &
Game (ADF&G), presented HB 247 on behalf of the House Rules
Committee, by request of the governor. He expressed that HB 247
was a priority for ADF&G in the current legislative session. He
said that in 2005 the legislature had approved a bond measure to
construct two sport fish hatcheries: the William Jack Hernandez
Sport Fish Hatchery in Anchorage and the Ruth Burnett Sport Fish
Hatchery in Fairbanks. He expressed that he is proud to have
been personally involved in the design, construction, and
financing of the bills which were passed and allowed the
construction of the hatcheries. He expressed that in order to
receive the bond, ADF&G crafted an unprecedented repayment plan;
a surcharge was added to sport fishing licenses, all of which
went directly to the repayment of the bond, less $500,000
annually for hatchery production in Southeast Alaska. He stated
that the average collection from 2013 to 2018 was $6.4 million.
Most of the surcharge was levied to nonresident anglers and no
general funds were used for the repayment of the bond under this
unprecedented strategy; the bonds would be paid for by sport
anglers, the primary beneficiaries of the hatchery.
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG remarked that is important to note
that $500,000 of the surcharge was dedicated annually to support
sport fishing in Southeast Alaska; this was done recognizing
that part of license fees would be collected from anglers only
fishing in Southeast Alaska. He stated that this allowed
hatchery production to be expanded in Southeast Alaska, which
was critical given the status of its King salmon stocks. He
remarked that significant sport fishing opportunities are
provided through stocking efforts that are funded by the
surcharge. He expressed that the plan has worked so well that
ADF&G is paying the bond back five years early, in calendar year
2020. A promise was made at the inception of the bond that the
surcharge would go away as soon as the bond was paid. As a
result, the surcharge and all associated statutes will be
repealed at the end of calendar year 2020. He said he had made
that promise when he was part of drafting the bill. He stated
that he realized what this funding source could do to maintain
hatchery operations, but with the aforementioned promise in
mind, he said that he is now proposing a compromise and a $5
reduction from what is currently being collected across the
board; this leaves residents with a $4 surcharge and
nonresidents contributing the "lion's share" at over six times
what residents would be contributing [spreadsheet included in
committee packet]. He remarked that this would be a 34 percent
reduction now that the hatcheries are paid off.
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG said that ADF&G proposes to collect
the additional surcharge in a separate account within the ADF&G
fund to be accounted for and used only for the state's sport
fish enhancement programs and sport fish hatchery facilities.
Upon repayment of bond debt there is an immediate $500,000
funding impact to Southeast Alaska from the loss of the
surcharge income, that currently funds the raising and releasing
of over 1.4 million chinook salmon and smolt at release sights
targeted to benefit sport anglers in Southeast Alaska's inside
waters. He explained that losing this amount of funding, which
supports existing enhancement activities, would be detrimental
to Southeast Alaska's sport anglers.
11:42:32 AM
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG pointed out that sport fish
enhancement programs release nearly 7.2 million fish in nearly
270 locations annually, in addition to the 1.4 million in
Southeast Alaska. He stated that when the Ruth Burnett and
William Jack Hernandez Hatcheries came online nearly $5 million
in "DJ funds" had to be redirected in order to pay for their
operation and maintenance. Any needed repairs and maintenance
must come from existing operational budget funds and are usually
done at the expense of other divisional needs. He added that
there are other large expensive needs that were deferred during
construction and have yet to be addressed. As these facilities
age the maintenance needs will grow, which will put further
undue burden on other existing programs. He expressed that the
ability to tap into a source of funds to cover these needs would
allow ADF&G to sustain enhanced production without impacting
activities elsewhere. He said that there is an average of $6.4
million generated revenue from surcharge collections on sport
fishing licenses; ADF&G currently allocates a little over $7
million to enhancement-related programs and projects across the
division, with most tied to operation and maintenance of the two
large facilities in Fairbanks and Anchorage. He summarized that
establishing a new pared down enhancement surcharge would:
cover existing costs allocated to enhancement programs, allow
for the ability to reinstate old programs and projects, address
deferred maintenance and equipment needs, ensure contingency
funding is available for unforeseen events at these facilities
without having to approach the legislature for a supplemental or
shut down a facility, and allow the continuation of the
important Southeast Alaska hatchery production.
11:44:29 AM
CHAIR STUTES asked why ADF&G is decreasing the surcharge by $5,
when every year the ADF&G's budget is reduced. She suggested
that the $5 should be kept and added into the ADF&G's budget to
be used for deferred maintenance.
11:45:20 AM
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG replied that when he was helping to
put together the legislation to put the surcharge in place, he
made a commitment that when the bonds were paid off the
surcharge would go away. He expressed that he thinks it is
important to follow through on commitments made early on, in
order to assure people that a promise made regarding bond
payments will at least be partially fulfilled moving forward.
He stated that the goal with the proposed legislation is to
strike a compromise that would allow for the continued operation
of Southeast Alaska hatchery production and provide maintenance
for the facilities, while still following through, to the extent
possible, on reducing the surcharge amount based on the original
commitment.
CHAIR STUTES remarked that she appreciates Commissioner Vincent-
Lang's desire to follow through on the original commitment but
"times are changing," and with the funding for ADF&G being
continually reduced, she thinks that it should be up to the
legislative body to determine whether the surcharge should be
lowered. She said that she would personally like to see this
money stay within ADF&G and be utilized for management of
fisheries.
11:47:04 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR commented that she agreed with
Representative Stutes' statement. She explained that the prices
for licenses are already affordable; there wasn't any pushback
from residents to adjustments that were recently made regarding
surcharges under HB 137. She expressed that given how important
fisheries are to all Alaskans, she would like to see that they
have the resources necessary and she would be supportive of not
lowering the fees.
11:47:52 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked whether the proposed changes to the
fees would continue in perpetuity or have a sunset date.
11:48:15 AM
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG replied that the proposed fees would
continue in perpetuity.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked, if the surcharges stayed as they
currently are, whether ADF&G would have the discretion to use
the funds in the department as needed, or they would stay in the
Division of Sport Fish.
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG answered that the way the bill is
constructed, any funds collected through the surcharge would go
into a subaccount of the ADF&G fund which would be dedicated to
maintaining and operating the hatcheries and allowing production
in Southeast Alaska to continue.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked whether the proposed legislation
would address all the hatcheries throughout Alaska or only those
in Southeast Alaska.
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG replied that the proposed legislation
would allow Southeast Alaska production to increase and, to the
extent that ADF&G were to see needs for support in sport
fisheries in other areas of the state, funding could be
considered on a case by case basis. He emphasized that most of
the funds would go to the operation and maintenance of the Ruth
Burnett and William Jack Hernandez Hatcheries, which provide
fish for much of Southcentral Alaska including the Railbelt and
Kodiak. He explained that ADF&G saw this as an opportunity to
work to provide more fishing opportunities for Southeast Alaska,
as revenues were being collected from sport fishermen in those
area.
11:50:07 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS, referencing page 2 and 3 of HB
247, asked whether the resident/nonresident differential is
required to operate within constitutional parameters. He
referenced the Carlson case and said that interstate commerce,
privileges, and immunities govern a lot of what the state can or
cannot do regarding the ratio of resident to nonresident license
rates.
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG answered that ADF&G had talked to the
Alaska Department of Law (DOL) when it was originally putting
the legislation together; DOL said that it would violate the law
to have only a nonresident fee, but it was agreed that the
percentage breakdown regarding residents and nonresidents under
the existing surcharge was allowed. He stated the changes to
the surcharge proposed under HB 247 would be steps down from the
current surcharges, but he said that he thinks they would be
permissible; however, he thinks it would not be permissible to
have a surcharge on only nonresident licenses.
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS expressed that there is a big
difference between having a nonresident fee and no fee for
residents and having a set ratio between the two that the state
is required to work within. He expressed that he would like to
converse offline with Commissioner Vincent-Lang at a later point
to discuss legal guidance on this topic.
11:52:37 AM
CHAIR STUTES asked whether ADF&G could explain the Sectional
Analysis for HB 247 [hardcopy included in the committee packet].
11:53:19 AM
RACHEL HANKE, Legislative Liaison, Office of the Commissioner,
Alaska Department of Fish & Game, offered an explanation on the
Sectional Analysis for HB 247. She pointed out that existing
legislation created the enterprise account, which as
Commissioner Vincent-Lang had stated collected surcharge revenue
for the bond repayment. She explained that this would be
amended under Section 1 of HB 247 to remove any bond language
and create the subaccount in the ADF&G fund, which is the sport
fishing enhancement account. It would also allocate the revenue
to sport fishing facilities to be used only on enhancement
programs and facility maintenance. She pointed out that Section
2 would amend AS 16.05.340(j) to reference the new enhancement
surcharge for resident and nonresident sport fishing licenses.
Section 3 would repeal a reference to AS 16.05.340(j), which
would be kept in statute under the proposed legislation. She
said that Section 4 would repeal Section 34, ch.18, SLA 2016
which would be amended to allow AS 16.05.130(e) and AS
16.05.340(j) to remain in statute beyond the sunset date. She
pointed out that Section 5 is like Section 3 and makes a similar
amendment to retain the reference to AS 16.05.340(j). Section 6
is the transition language stating that any funds remaining in
the enterprise account after the bonds are satisfied will be
transferred to the new sport fishing enhancement account. She
said that Section 7 and Section 9 would give Section 1 and
Section 2 an effective date of January 1, 2021. Section 8, like
Section 3 and Section 5, would fix another reference to AS
16.05.340(j). The other remaining sections establish an
immediate effective date.
11:55:09 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked, if the surcharges were kept at
current levels to expand revenue, whether the proposed sport
fish enhancement fund fees could be used towards paying for the
modernization of the application ADF&G has in development.
11:55:55 AM
MS. HANKE replied that her answer would be no, but she would
like to have Deputy Director Tom Taube confirm this for the
record.
11:56:09 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE remarked that she had spoken with ADF&G and
she understands that one of the hopes for the application is
that it will provide anglers with live access to information on
what fish can be legally caught at a specific point in time.
She clarified that that is why she asked whether the fees could
be used towards application development, as it seems to her that
it is an enhanced service for sport fishing; however, she
expressed that she understands the legal restrictions on use of
the funds. She summarized that she is hoping to understand the
scope of what the options are for using the fund's fees.
11:57:09 AM
TOM TAUBE, Deputy Director, Division of Sport Fish, Alaska
Department of Fish & Game, replied that the way the proposed
legislation is currently written the enhancement fund is related
to hatchery production, and he did not think that would apply to
application development. He expressed that some of the
fisheries the application could provide access to would be
hatchery fish, but he would have to ask one of the ADF&G's
lawyers whether the language used in the proposed legislation
would allow for fees to cover application cost development or
anything outside of hatchery related expenditures.
11:57:59 AM
CHAIR STUTES, after ascertaining that there were no further
questions, announced that HB 247 would be held over for further
review.
11:58:28 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Fisheries meeting was adjourned at 11:58
a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 247 Support Doc - Surcharge Revenue Breakdown 2.12.20.pdf |
HFSH 2/20/2020 11:00:00 AM HFSH 3/17/2020 10:00:00 AM |
HB 247 |
| HB 247 Transmittal Letter ver. A 2.12.20.pdf |
HFSH 2/20/2020 11:00:00 AM |
HB 247 |
| HB 247 v. 2.12.20.PDF |
HFSH 2/20/2020 11:00:00 AM HFSH 3/17/2020 10:00:00 AM |
HB 247 |
| Marilyn Charles Board Application_Redacted.pdf |
HFSH 2/20/2020 11:00:00 AM |
|
| HB 247 Fiscal Note ADF&G 2.12.20.pdf |
HFSH 2/20/2020 11:00:00 AM HFSH 3/17/2020 10:00:00 AM |
HB 247 |
| HB 247 Hearing Request Memo 2.12.20.pdf |
HFSH 2/20/2020 11:00:00 AM HFSH 3/17/2020 10:00:00 AM |
HB 247 |
| HB 247 Sectional Analysis - v. A 2.12.20.pdf |
HFSH 2/20/2020 11:00:00 AM HFSH 3/17/2020 10:00:00 AM |
HB 247 |
| HB 218 Transmittal Letter 1.28.20.pdf |
HFSH 2/13/2020 11:00:00 AM HFSH 2/20/2020 11:00:00 AM HRES 3/18/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 218 |
| HB 218 Sectional Analysis 1.28.20.pdf |
HFSH 2/13/2020 11:00:00 AM HFSH 2/20/2020 11:00:00 AM |
|
| HB 218 ADFG Letter of Support 1.28.20.pdf |
HFSH 2/13/2020 11:00:00 AM HFSH 2/20/2020 11:00:00 AM HRES 3/13/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 3/18/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 218 |
| HB 218 Logbook Use Summary 1.28.20.pdf |
HFSH 2/13/2020 11:00:00 AM HFSH 2/20/2020 11:00:00 AM HRES 3/18/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 218 |
| HB 218 V. A 1.27.20.PDF |
HFSH 2/13/2020 11:00:00 AM HFSH 2/20/2020 11:00:00 AM HRES 3/13/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 3/18/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 218 |
| HB 218 ADFG Letter of Support 1.28.20.pdf |
HFSH 2/6/2020 11:00:00 AM HFSH 2/13/2020 11:00:00 AM HFSH 2/20/2020 11:00:00 AM |
|
| HB 218 Fiscal Note 1.27.20.pdf |
HFSH 2/6/2020 11:00:00 AM HFSH 2/13/2020 11:00:00 AM HFSH 2/20/2020 11:00:00 AM HRES 3/13/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 3/18/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 218 |
| HB 218 Letter of Support SEAGO 2.12.20.pdf |
HFSH 2/13/2020 11:00:00 AM HFSH 2/20/2020 11:00:00 AM HRES 3/13/2020 1:00:00 PM HRES 3/18/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 218 |
| HB 218 Amendment #1 Rep. Kreiss-Tomkins.pdf |
HFSH 2/20/2020 11:00:00 AM |
HB 218 |
| HB 218 Amendment #2 Rep. Kreiss-Tomkins.pdf |
HFSH 2/20/2020 11:00:00 AM |
HB 218 |