00 Enrolled HB 26 01 Relating to short-term commercial fishing crewmember licenses; and providing for an 02 effective date. 03 _______________ 04 * Section 1. AS 16.05.480(g) is amended to read: 05 (g) A [FOR A CREWMEMBER FISHING LICENSE ISSUED FOR 06 CALENDAR YEAR 2002 AND FOLLOWING YEARS, A] resident engaged in 07 commercial fishing who is 11 years of age or older and who does not hold an entry 08 permit or an interim-use permit shall pay a [AN ANNUAL] fee of $60 for an annual 09 crewmember fishing license. A [. FOR A CREWMEMBER FISHING LICENSE 10 ISSUED FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2002 AND FOLLOWING YEARS, A] resident 11 engaged in commercial fishing who is less than 11 years of age and who does not hold 12 an entry permit or an interim-use permit shall pay an annual fee of $5. 13 * Sec. 2. AS 16.05.480(h) is amended to read: 14 (h) A [FOR A CREWMEMBER FISHING LICENSE ISSUED FOR 01 CALENDAR YEAR 2002 AND FOLLOWING YEARS, A] nonresident engaged in 02 commercial fishing who is 11 years of age or older and who does not hold an entry 03 permit or an interim-use permit shall pay a [AN ANNUAL] base fee of $60 for an 04 annual crewmember fishing license, plus an amount, established by the department 05 by regulation, that is as close as is practicable to the maximum allowed by law. A 06 [FOR A CREWMEMBER FISHING LICENSE ISSUED FOR CALENDAR YEAR 07 2002 AND FOLLOWING YEARS, A] nonresident engaged in commercial fishing 08 who is less than 11 years of age and who does not hold an entry permit or an interim- 09 use permit shall pay an annual base fee of $5 plus an amount, established by the 10 department by regulation, that is as close as is practicable to the maximum allowed by 11 law. 12 * Sec. 3. AS 16.05.480 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 13 (j) Notwithstanding (g) and (h) of this section, a resident or nonresident 14 engaged in commercial fishing who does not hold an entry permit or an interim-use 15 permit may obtain a seven-day crewmember fishing license under this subsection. 16 During the period for which the license is valid, a person who holds a seven-day 17 crewmember fishing license may not engage in fishing with a rod and reel while 18 present on a commercial fishing vessel. The fee for a seven-day crewmember fishing 19 license is $30. 20 * Sec. 4. AS 16.10.310(a) is amended to read: 21 (a) The department may 22 (1) make loans 23 (A) to individual commercial fishermen who have been state 24 residents for a continuous period of two years immediately preceding the date 25 of application for a loan under AS 16.10.300 - 16.10.370, who have had an 26 annual [A] crewmember or commercial fishing license under AS 16.05.480 or 27 a permit under AS 16.43 for the year immediately preceding the date of 28 application and any other two of the past five years, and who actively 29 participated in the fishery during those periods 30 (i) for the purchase of entry permits; or 31 (ii) to upgrade existing vessels and gear for the purpose 01 of improving the quality of Alaska seafood products; 02 (B) to an individual for the repair, restoration, or upgrading of 03 existing vessels and gear, for the purchase of entry permits and gear, and for 04 the construction and purchase of vessels, if the individual has been a state 05 resident for a continuous period of two years immediately preceding the date 06 of application for a loan under AS 16.10.300 - 16.10.370, and either 07 (i) because of lack of training or lack of employment 08 opportunities in the area of residence, does not have occupational 09 opportunities available other than commercial fishing; or 10 (ii) is economically dependent on commercial fishing 11 for a livelihood and for whom commercial fishing has been a traditional 12 way of life in Alaska; 13 (C) for the purchase of quota shares for fisheries in or off the 14 state by individual commercial fishermen who 15 (i) have been state residents for a continuous period of 16 two years immediately preceding the date of application for a loan 17 under AS 16.10.300 - 16.10.370; 18 (ii) for any two of the past five years, possessed an 19 annual [A] crewmember or commercial fishing license under 20 AS 16.05.480 or a permit under AS 16.43 and actively participated in a 21 fishery for which the license or permit was issued; 22 (iii) qualify as transferees for quota shares under 23 applicable law; and 24 (iv) are not eligible for financing from other recognized 25 commercial lending institutions to purchase quota shares; 26 (D) to an individual commercial fisherman to satisfy past due 27 federal tax obligations, if the fisherman has been a state resident for a 28 continuous period of two years immediately preceding the date of application 29 for the loan, has filed past and current federal tax returns with the federal 30 government, has executed an agreement with the federal government for 31 repayment of past due federal tax obligations, and either 01 (i) has had an annual [A] crewmember or commercial 02 fishing license under AS 16.05.480 or a permit under AS 16.43 for the 03 year immediately preceding the date of application and any other two 04 of the past five years, and has actively participated in the fishery during 05 those periods; 06 (ii) because of lack of training or lack of employment 07 opportunities in the area of residence, does not have occupational 08 opportunities available other than commercial fishing; or 09 (iii) is economically dependent on commercial fishing 10 for a livelihood and for whom commercial fishing has been a traditional 11 way of life in Alaska; 12 (E) for the purchase of fishing quota shares by a community 13 quota entity eligible under federal statute or regulation to purchase the fishing 14 quota shares if the community quota entity is not eligible or qualified for 15 financing from other recognized commercial lending institutions to purchase 16 the fishing quota shares; 17 (2) designate agents and delegate its powers to them as necessary; 18 (3) adopt regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of 19 AS 16.10.300 - 16.10.370, including regulations to establish reasonable fees for 20 services provided; 21 (4) establish amortization plans for repayment of loans, which may 22 include extensions for poor fishing seasons or for adverse market conditions for 23 Alaska products; 24 (5) enter into agreements with private lending institutions, other state 25 agencies, or agencies of the federal government to carry out the purposes of 26 AS 16.10.300 - 16.10.370; 27 (6) enter into agreements with other agencies or organizations to create 28 an outreach program to make loans under AS 16.10.300 - 16.10.370 in rural areas of 29 the state; 30 (7) allow an assumption of a loan if 31 (A) the applicant has been a state resident for a continuous 01 period of two years immediately preceding the date of the request for an 02 assumption; and 03 (B) approval of the assumption would be consistent with the 04 purposes of AS 16.10.300; an applicant for a loan assumption may not be 05 disqualified because the applicant does not meet the loan eligibility 06 requirements of (1) of this subsection; 07 (8) prequalify loan applicants for a limited entry permit loan or a quota 08 shares loan and charge a fee not to exceed $200 for prequalification; 09 (9) charge and collect the fees established under this subsection; 10 (10) refinance a debt obligation incurred by a borrower or borrowers 11 under this section if the borrower or borrowers otherwise qualify for a loan under 12 AS 16.10.300 - 16.10.370; 13 (11) refinance debt obligations, not to exceed $300,000, incurred by a 14 borrower or borrowers for the purchase of a commercial fishing vessel or gear if the 15 borrower or borrowers otherwise qualify for a loan under AS 16.10.300 - 16.10.370; 16 the department may collect a refinancing loan origination charge as provided by 17 regulation. 18 * Sec. 5. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 19 read: 20 TEMPORARY SURCHARGE ON ISSUANCE OF SHORT-TERM COMMERCIAL 21 FISHING CREWMEMBER LICENSES. The Department of Fish and Game may collect an 22 additional administrative fee of $3 for each seven-day crewmember fishing license issued 23 under AS 16.05.480(j), added by sec. 3 of this Act, through December 31, 2005. 24 * Sec. 6. This Act takes effect July 1, 2005.