00 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 27                                                                                          
01 Relating to United States Coast Guard commercial fishing vessel safety regulations.                                     
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03  WHEREAS the United States Coast Guard has proposed regulations on commercial                                           
04 fishing vessel safety; and                                                                                              
05  WHEREAS the Coast Guard has not allowed sufficient time for commercial fishermen                                       
06 and the commercial fishing industry to study the complex proposed regulations and to                                    
07 meaningfully respond to the proposed regulations; and                                                                   
08  WHEREAS the proposed regulations may be difficult for existing commercial fishing                                      
09 vessels to meet and may pose a significant financial burden on commercial fishermen and the                             
10 commercial fishing industry; and                                                                                        
11  WHEREAS the proposed regulations do not recognize the necessity to continually                                         
12 alter and improve fishing vessels to enhance the vessel's performance;                                                  
13  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the United                                      
14 States Coast Guard to                                                                                                   
01   (1)  extend the comment period on proposed commercial fishing vessel safety                                           
02 regulations in order to provide commercial fishermen and the commercial fishing industry a                              
03 total of at least 120 days to comment on the proposed regulations;                                                      
04   (2)  hold public hearings on proposed commercial fishing vessel safety                                                
05 regulations before closing the comment period on the proposed regulations;                                              
06   (3)  respond to suggestions made by commercial fishermen and the commercial                                           
07 fishing industry regarding stability tests, bulkhead changes on existing vessels, and other topics                      
08 important to commercial fishermen and the commercial fishing industry;                                                  
09   (4)  incorporate into the proposed commercial fishing vessel safety regulations                                       
10 the suggestions and recommendations made by private or independent naval architects familiar                            
11 with commercial fishing and commercial fishing vessels on the Pacific Coast;                                            
12   (5)  propose commercial fishing vessel safety regulations for commercial fishing                                      
13 vessels that are under 79 feet in length only after the commercial fishing industry has accepted                        
14 international commercial fishing vessel safety standards; and                                                           
15   (6)  delay the effective date of final commercial fishing vessel safety regulations                                   
16 applicable to existing and new commercial fishing vessels for a minimum of one year after                               
17 the final regulations are published.                                                                                    
18  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the                                
19 United States; the Honorable Federico Pena, Secretary of the U.S. Department of                                         
20 Transportation; Admiral J. William Kime, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard; the                                        
21 Executive Secretary, Marine Safety Council, U.S. Coast Guard; and to the Honorable Ted                                  
22 Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young,                                  
23 U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.