SB 247: "An Act relating to the fish and game fund; amending Rules 79(b) and 82(b)(2), Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure; and providing for an effective date."
00SENATE BILL NO. 247 01 "An Act relating to the fish and game fund; amending Rules 79(b) and 82(b)(2), 02 Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure; and providing for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 16.05.130(a) is repealed and reenacted to read: 05 (a) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, except as provided in (c) 06 of this section, money accruing to the state from sport fishing, hunting, and trapping 07 licenses or tag fees shall be expended only as provided by appropriation. The 08 legislature shall make a separate appropriation for each project to be funded from 09 money subject to this subsection. Money subject to this subsection 10 (1) shall be used only for projects that provide for 11 (A) intensive management of sport fish stocks and game 12 populations for maximum sustained yield by human harvest; 13 (B) propagation, reintroduction, restocking, transplantation, 14 manipulation of habitat, predator removal, hunter education, public access to
01 sport fishing and hunting areas, or restoration of sport fish and game resources; 02 or 03 (C) direct benefits to purchasers of sport fishing, hunting, and 04 trapping licenses and tags that increase sport fish stocks and game populations, 05 increase human harvests of sport fish and game, or decrease predation upon 06 sport fish and game taken by purchasers of sport fishing, hunting, and trapping 07 licenses and tags; and 08 (2) may not be 09 (A) expended for projects in an area where consumptive uses 10 of sport fish and game are not allowed; 11 (B) expended for projects in an area, or in regard to a game 12 population, that is subject to preferences among consumptive users that are not 13 valid under the state constitution or state law; 14 (C) expended, borrowed, or otherwise used for a purpose not 15 authorized under this subsection; or 16 (D) expended for costs of personnel, administration, or 17 construction except for construction projects that are consistent with (1) of this 18 subsection and that are for 19 (i) facilities used solely for the propagation of sport fish 20 or game for restocking, enhancement, or transplantation; 21 (ii) shooting ranges; or 22 (iii) facilities to improve public access to areas where 23 consumptive uses of sport fish and game may occur. 24 * Sec. 2. AS 16.05.130(b) is amended to read: 25 (b) Money accruing to the state from waterfowl conservation tag fees from 26 hunters may not be diverted to a purpose other than (1) the [CONSERVATION AND] 27 enhancement of waterfowl; (2) the acquisition, by lease or otherwise, of wetlands that 28 are important for waterfowl and for consumptive uses [PUBLIC USE] of waterfowl 29 in the state; and (3) projects related to consumptive uses of waterfowl 30 [WATERFOWL RELATED PROJECTS APPROVED BY THE COMMISSIONER; 31 (4) THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE WATERFOWL CONSERVATION
01 PROGRAM; AND (5) EMERGENCIES IN THE STATE AS DETERMINED BY THE 02 GOVERNOR]. The department shall maintain a state waterfowl tag fee account within 03 the fish and game fund to permit separate accounting records for the receipt and 04 expenditure of money derived from the sale of waterfowl tags. [THE DEPARTMENT 05 SHALL PREPARE A REPORT BEFORE APRIL 15 OF EACH EVEN-NUMBERED 06 YEAR FOR THE PUBLIC AND THE LEGISLATURE ON THE USE OF MONEY 07 DERIVED FROM WATERFOWL CONSERVATION TAGS AND LIMITED 08 EDITION PRINTS. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL NOTIFY THE LEGISLATURE 09 THAT THE REPORT IS AVAILABLE.] 10 * Sec. 3. AS 16.05.130 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 11 (e) Except as otherwise required by federal law, federal funds received by the 12 state through the federal aid to fish restoration program or the federal aid in wildlife 13 restoration program may not be expended except as provided by appropriation. Funds 14 subject to this subsection 15 (1) shall be used only for projects that provide for 16 (A) intensive management of fish stocks and game populations 17 for maximum sustained yield for human harvest; 18 (B) propagation, reintroduction, restocking, transplantation, 19 manipulation of habitat, predator removal, hunter education, public access to 20 sport fishing and hunting areas, or restoration of sport fish and game resources; 21 or 22 (C) direct benefits to purchasers of sport fishing and hunting 23 licenses and tags by increasing sport fish stocks and game populations, 24 increasing human harvests of sport fish and game, or decreasing predation upon 25 sport fish and game taken by purchasers of sport fishing and hunting licenses 26 and tags; and 27 (2) may not be 28 (A) expended for projects in an area where consumptive uses 29 of sport fish and game are not allowed except for construction projects that are 30 consistent with (1) of this subsection and that are for 31 (i) facilities used solely for the propagation of sport fish
01 or game for restocking, enhancement, or transplantation; 02 (ii) shooting ranges; or 03 (iii) facilities to improve public access to areas where 04 consumptive uses of sport fish and game may occur; 05 (B) expended, borrowed, or otherwise used for a purpose not 06 authorized under this subsection; and 07 (C) expended for costs of personnel, administration, or 08 construction except for construction projects that are consistent with (1) of this 09 subsection and that are for 10 (i) facilities used solely for the propagation of sport fish 11 or game for restocking, enhancement, or transplantation; 12 (ii) shooting ranges; or 13 (iii) facilities to improve public access to areas where 14 consumptive uses of sport fish and game may occur. 15 (f) The department shall prepare an annual report of expenditures from the fish 16 and game fund and provide the report to each member of the legislature. The report 17 must contain a detailed accounting of expenditures and a description of the proportion 18 of the fund expended for each project and of the benefits of each project to purchasers 19 of hunting, trapping, and sport fishing licenses. 20 (g) A person may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction 21 against a state agency or public official for an injunction to compel compliance with 22 this section or to compel remedial action to correct the consequences of a violation of 23 this section. A public official is not immune from suit under this section. 24 (h) A person who brings an action under (g) of this section and who prevails 25 in the action is entitled to recover the full, true, and actual costs of litigation, including 26 100 percent of actual attorney fees. 27 (i) In this section, 28 (1) "harvestable surplus" means the estimated number of animals that 29 is equal to the number of offspring born in a population during a year less the number 30 of animals in the population that die during the year from all causes other than 31 predation or human harvest;
01 (2) "high level of human harvest" means the harvest of one-third or 02 more of the harvestable surplus of an animal population by humans; 03 (3) "intensive management" means management, in accordance with the 04 sustained yield principle, of an identified big game prey population or fish stock to 05 enhance, extend, and develop the population or stock to maintain high levels or 06 provide for higher levels of human harvest, including control of predation and 07 prescribed or planned use of fire and other habitat improvement techniques, but not 08 including restrictions on methods or means of taking fish or game, access to fish or 09 game, or human harvest of fish or game; 10 (4) "maximum sustained yield" means the achievement and 11 maintenance in perpetuity of a high level of human harvest on an annual basis of 12 game, other than mammalian predators, and of fish. 13 * Sec. 4. AS 16.05.340(a)(17)(B) is amended to read: 14 (B) The Board of Game shall by regulation exempt the 15 requirement of a waterfowl conservation tag for waterfowl hunting in areas of 16 the state not likely to benefit from programs described in AS 16.05.130(b)(2) 17 and (3) [AS 16.05.130(b)(2) - (4)]. 18 * Sec. 5. AS 16.05.130(d) is repealed. 19 * Sec. 6. AS 16.05.130(h), added by sec. 3 of this Act, has the effect of amending Rules 20 79(b) and 82(b)(2), Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, by providing that a person who prevails 21 in an action under AS 16.05.130(g) is entitled to recover the full, true, and actual costs of 22 bringing and prosecuting the action, including 100 percent of actual attorney fees. 23 * Sec. 7. AS 16.05.130(h), added by sec. 3 of this Act, providing for the recovery of the 24 full, true, and actual costs of litigation, including 100 percent of actual attorney fees by a 25 prevailing plaintiff in an action brought under AS 16.05.130(g), takes effect only if sec. 6 of 26 this Act receives the two-thirds majority vote of each house required by art. IV, sec. 15, 27 Constitution of the State of Alaska. 28 * Sec. 8. This Act takes effect July 1, 1996.