CSSB 247(RLS): "An Act restricting the use of certain funds deposited in the fish and game fund; amending Rules 79(b) and 82(b)(2), Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, and relating to the powers and duties of the commissioner of fish and game; and providing for an effective date."
00CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 247(RLS) 01 "An Act restricting the use of certain funds deposited in the fish and game 02 fund; amending Rules 79(b) and 82(b)(2), Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, and 03 relating to the powers and duties of the commissioner of fish and game; and 04 providing for an effective date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 16.05.050 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 07 (20) to cooperate with sportsmen's organizations and other 08 organizations to increase game populations in the state and to introduce new 09 populations into suitable habitat. 10 * Sec. 2. AS 16.05.130(a) is repealed and reenacted to read: 11 (a) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, except as provided in (c) 12 of this section, money accruing to the state from sport fishing, hunting, and trapping 13 licenses or tag fees shall be expended only as provided by appropriation. The 14 legislature shall make a separate appropriation for each project to be funded from
01 money subject to this subsection. Money subject to this subsection 02 (1) shall be used only for projects that provide for 03 (A) intensive management of sport fish stocks and game 04 populations for maximum sustained yield by human harvest; 05 (B) propagation, reintroduction, restocking, transplantation, 06 manipulation of habitat, predator removal, hunter education, public access to 07 sport fishing and hunting areas, or restoration of sport fish and game resources; 08 (C) direct benefits to purchasers of sport fishing, hunting, and 09 trapping licenses and tags that increase sport fish stocks and game populations, 10 increase human harvests of sport fish and game, or decrease predation upon 11 sport fish and game taken by purchasers of sport fishing, hunting, and trapping 12 licenses and tags; 13 (D) construction and preservation of shooting ranges; or 14 (E) administration of the fish and game license function and 15 payment of license vendor compensation; and 16 (2) may not be 17 (A) expended for projects in an area where consumptive uses 18 of sport fish and game are not allowed; 19 (B) expended, borrowed, or otherwise used for a purpose not 20 authorized under this subsection; 21 (C) expended for costs of personnel or administration, other 22 than costs of personnel or administration directly incurred in conjunction with 23 projects allowed under this subsection; or 24 (D) expended for costs of construction, other than costs of 25 construction projects that are consistent with (1) of this subsection and that are 26 for 27 (i) facilities used solely for the propagation of sport fish 28 or game for restocking, enhancement, or transplantation; 29 (ii) shooting ranges; or 30 (iii) facilities to improve public access to areas where 31 consumptive uses of sport fish and game may occur.
01 * Sec. 3. AS 16.05.130(b) is amended to read: 02 (b) Money accruing to the state from waterfowl conservation tag fees from 03 hunters may not be diverted to a purpose other than (1) the [CONSERVATION AND] 04 enhancement of waterfowl; (2) the acquisition, by lease or otherwise, of wetlands that 05 are important for waterfowl and for consumptive uses [PUBLIC USE] of waterfowl 06 in the state; and (3) projects related to consumptive uses of waterfowl 07 [WATERFOWL RELATED PROJECTS APPROVED BY THE COMMISSIONER; 08 (4) THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE WATERFOWL CONSERVATION 09 PROGRAM; AND (5) EMERGENCIES IN THE STATE AS DETERMINED BY THE 10 GOVERNOR]. The department shall maintain a state waterfowl tag fee account within 11 the fish and game fund to permit separate accounting records for the receipt and 12 expenditure of money derived from the sale of waterfowl tags. [THE DEPARTMENT 13 SHALL PREPARE A REPORT BEFORE APRIL 15 OF EACH EVEN-NUMBERED 14 YEAR FOR THE PUBLIC AND THE LEGISLATURE ON THE USE OF MONEY 15 DERIVED FROM WATERFOWL CONSERVATION TAGS AND LIMITED 16 EDITION PRINTS. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL NOTIFY THE LEGISLATURE 17 THAT THE REPORT IS AVAILABLE.] 18 * Sec. 4. AS 16.05.130 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 19 (e) Except as otherwise required by federal law, federal funds received by the 20 state through the federal aid to fish restoration program or the federal aid in wildlife 21 restoration program may not be expended except as provided by appropriation. Funds 22 subject to this subsection 23 (1) shall be used only for projects that provide for 24 (A) intensive management of fish stocks and game populations 25 for maximum sustained yield for human harvest; 26 (B) propagation, reintroduction, restocking, transplantation, 27 manipulation of habitat, predator removal, hunter education, public access to 28 sport fishing and hunting areas, or restoration of sport fish and game resources; 29 (C) direct benefits to purchasers of sport fishing and hunting 30 licenses and tags by increasing sport fish stocks and game populations, 31 increasing human harvests of sport fish and game, or decreasing predation upon
01 sport fish and game taken by purchasers of sport fishing and hunting licenses 02 and tags; or 03 (D) construction and preservation of shooting ranges; and 04 (2) may not be 05 (A) expended for projects in an area where consumptive uses 06 of sport fish and game are not allowed except for construction projects that are 07 consistent with (1) of this subsection and that are for 08 (i) facilities used solely for the propagation of sport fish 09 or game for restocking, enhancement, or transplantation; 10 (ii) shooting ranges; or 11 (iii) facilities to improve public access to areas where 12 consumptive uses of sport fish and game may occur; 13 (B) expended, borrowed, or otherwise used for a purpose not 14 authorized under this subsection; 15 (C) expended for costs of personnel or administration, other 16 than costs of personnel or administration directly incurred in conjunction with 17 projects allowed under this subsection; or 18 (D) expended for costs of construction, other than costs of 19 construction projects that are consistent with (1) of this subsection and that are 20 for 21 (i) facilities used solely for the propagation of sport fish 22 or game for restocking, enhancement, or transplantation; 23 (ii) shooting ranges; or 24 (iii) facilities to improve public access to areas where 25 consumptive uses of sport fish and game may occur. 26 (f) The department shall prepare an annual report of expenditures from the fish 27 and game fund and provide the report to each member of the legislature. The report 28 must contain a detailed accounting of expenditures and a description of the proportion 29 of the fund expended for each project and of the benefits of each project to purchasers 30 of hunting, trapping, and sport fishing licenses. 31 (g) A person may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction
01 against a state agency or public official for an injunction to compel compliance with 02 this section or to compel remedial action to correct the consequences of a violation of 03 this section. A public official is not immune from suit under this section. 04 (h) A person who brings an action under (g) of this section and who prevails 05 in the action is entitled to recover the full, true, and actual costs of litigation, including 06 100 percent of actual attorney fees. 07 (i) In this section, 08 (1) "harvestable surplus" means the estimated number of animals that 09 is equal to the number of offspring born in a population during a year less the number 10 of animals in the population that die during the year from all causes other than 11 predation or human harvest; 12 (2) "high level of human harvest" means the harvest of one-third or 13 more of the harvestable surplus of an animal population by humans; 14 (3) "intensive management" means management, in accordance with the 15 sustained yield principle, of an identified big game prey population or fish stock to 16 enhance, extend, and develop the population or stock to maintain high levels or 17 provide for higher levels of human harvest, including control of predation and 18 prescribed or planned use of fire and other habitat improvement techniques, but not 19 including restrictions on methods or means of taking fish or game, access to fish or 20 game, or human harvest of fish or game; 21 (4) "maximum sustained yield" means the achievement and 22 maintenance in perpetuity of a high level of human harvest on an annual basis of 23 game, other than mammalian predators, and of fish. 24 * Sec. 5. AS 16.05.340(a)(17)(B) is amended to read: 25 (B) The Board of Game shall by regulation exempt the 26 requirement of a waterfowl conservation tag for waterfowl hunting in areas of 27 the state not likely to benefit from programs described in AS 16.05.130(b)(2) 28 and (3) [AS 16.05.130(b)(2) - (4)]. 29 * Sec. 6. AS 16.05.130(d) is repealed. 30 * Sec. 7. AS 16.05.130(h), added by sec. 4 of this Act, has the effect of amending Rules 31 79(b) and 82(b)(2), Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, by providing that a person who prevails
01 in an action under AS 16.05.130(g) is entitled to recover the full, true, and actual costs of 02 bringing and prosecuting the action, including 100 percent of actual attorney fees. 03 * Sec. 8. AS 16.05.130(h), added by sec. 4 of this Act, providing for the recovery of the 04 full, true, and actual costs of litigation, including 100 percent of actual attorney fees by a 05 prevailing plaintiff in an action brought under AS 16.05.130(g), takes effect only if sec. 7 of 06 this Act receives the two-thirds majority vote of each house required by art. IV, sec. 15, 07 Constitution of the State of Alaska. 08 * Sec. 9. This Act takes effect July 1, 1996.