HB 392: "An Act relating to access by the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Fish and Game to confidential tax records for fisheries resources prepared or kept by the Department of Revenue under AS 43.75; relating to certain salmon products reports; and providing for an effective date."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 392 01 "An Act relating to access by the Department of Environmental Conservation and 02 the Department of Fish and Game to confidential tax records for fisheries 03 resources prepared or kept by the Department of Revenue under AS 43.75; 04 relating to certain salmon products reports; and providing for an effective date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 09.25.100(a) is amended to read: 07 (a) Information in the possession of the Department of Revenue that discloses 08 the particulars of the business or affairs of a taxpayer or other person is not a matter 09 of public record [,] except as provided in AS 43.05.230(i) or AS 43.80.063 or for 10 purposes of child support administration as described in (b) of this section, 11 investigation, and law enforcement. The information shall be kept confidential except 12 when its production is required in response to a request for purposes of child support 13 administration as described in (b) of this section, in an official investigation, in an 14 administrative adjudication under AS 43.05.400 - 43.05.499, or in a court proceeding.
01 These restrictions do not prohibit the publication of statistics presented in a manner 02 that prevents the identification of particular reports and items, the publication of tax 03 lists showing the names of taxpayers who are delinquent and relevant information that 04 may assist in the collection of delinquent taxes, or the publication of records, 05 proceedings, and decisions under AS 43.05.400 - 43.05.499. 06 * Sec. 2. AS 09.25.100 as repealed and reenacted under sec. 148(c), ch. 87, SLA 1997, is 07 amended to read: 08 (a) Information in the possession of the Department of Revenue that discloses 09 the particulars of the business or affairs of a taxpayer or other person is not a matter 10 of public record, except as provided in AS 43.05.230 or AS 43.80.063 or for 11 purposes of investigation and law enforcement. The information shall be kept 12 confidential except when its production is required in an official investigation, 13 administrative adjudication under AS 43.05.400 - 43.05.499, or court proceeding. 14 These restrictions do not prohibit the publication of statistics presented in a manner 15 that prevents the identification of particular reports and items, prohibit the publication 16 of tax lists showing the names of taxpayers who are delinquent and relevant 17 information that may assist in the collection of delinquent taxes, or prohibit the 18 publication of records, proceedings, and decisions under AS 43.05.400 - 43.05.499. 19 * Sec. 3. AS 43.05.230 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 20 (i) The commissioner shall, upon request, furnish to the Department of 21 Environmental Conservation or the Department of Fish and Game copies of tax returns, 22 reports, or other documents filed under AS 43.75, and copies of the Department of 23 Revenue's determinations and work papers related to those documents filed under 24 AS 43.75. The Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of 25 Fish and Game shall maintain the confidentiality that the Department of Revenue is 26 required to extend to the returns, reports, determinations, work papers, and other 27 documents furnished under this subsection. 28 * Sec. 4. AS 43.80.050(a) is amended to read: 29 (a) A fish processor engaged in the business of selling canned salmon products 30 at wholesale shall submit to the department, on a form provided by the department, 31 reports [A SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT] of the prices received by the processor or an
01 affiliate of the processor for the sale of canned salmon. Not later than May 31 02 [APRIL 30] of each year , a processor shall submit a report for the period January 1 03 through April 30 [OCTOBER 1 - MARCH 31]. Not later than September 30 04 [OCTOBER 31] of each year , a processor shall submit a report for the period May 1 05 through August 31. Not later than January 31 of each year, a processor shall 06 submit a report for the period September 1 through December 31 [APRIL 1 - 07 SEPTEMBER 30]. 08 * Sec. 5. AS 43.80.050(b) is amended to read: 09 (b) A report submitted under this section must [SHALL], for sales to buyers 10 that are not affiliates of the processor, include a description of the products and the 11 quantity sold by species and by the canned sizes in which the salmon is sold [UNIT- 12 OF-SALE CATEGORY] and the wholesale prices received. If a processor sells no canned 13 salmon products during a reporting period , the report for that period must [SHALL] include 14 only a statement of that fact. 15 * Sec. 6. AS 43.80.050(c) is amended to read: 16 (c) A sale to an affiliate of the processor may not be included in a report 17 submitted under this section by a processor. However, a processor shall report sales 18 by an affiliate at wholesale of canned salmon that was obtained from the processor. 19 The report shall include a description of the products and the quantity sold by the 20 affiliate by species and by the canned sizes in which the canned salmon is sold 21 [UNIT-OF-SALE CATEGORY] and the wholesale prices received by the affiliate. 22 * Sec. 7. AS 43.80.050(d) is amended to read: 23 (d) Information shall be reported for each canned size in which the salmon 24 is sold [THE FOLLOWING UNIT-OF-SALE CATEGORIES: 25 (1) 48-POUND CASE OF ONE-POUND CANS (48 CANS); 26 (2) 24-POUND CASE OF ONE-HALF-POUND CANS (48 CANS); 27 (3) 12-POUND CASE OF ONE-QUARTER-POUND CANS (48 28 CANS); AND 29 (4) 48-POUND CASE OF FOUR-POUND CANS (12 CANS)]. 30 * Sec. 8. AS 43.80.055(b) is amended to read: 31 (b) The department shall determine under this section the monthly and annual
01 wholesale price averages for each species of canned salmon for [IN] each canned size 02 in which the salmon is sold [UNIT-OF-SALE CATEGORY]. 03 * Sec. 9. AS 43.80 is amended by adding a new section to read: 04 Sec. 43.80.063. Audit authorized. (a) At the request and expense of a person 05 who is a collective price bargainer for persons who are engaged in the business of 06 fishing for salmon in the state, an auditor selected by the requesting person may audit 07 the sales records of fish processors who submit reports under AS 43.80.050 to 08 determine if the reports submitted to the department are accurate. 09 (b) A fish processor consents to the audit authorized by (a) of this section if 10 the fish processor engages in the business of fish processing in the state. 11 (c) The department shall provide the auditor with the names of the fish 12 processors who submitted reports under AS 43.80.050 and with the reports submitted. 13 (d) The audit report may not include information that identifies or could be 14 used to identify a particular fish processor. The audit report is public information. 15 Except for the audit report authorized by this section, an auditor may not disclose 16 information received from the department or from the audited records to any person, 17 including the person who requested the audit. 18 (e) An auditor who performs an audit under this section and who knowingly 19 violates (d) of this section is guilty of a class A misdemeanor. 20 (f) A fish processor who knowingly refuses to provide the processor's records 21 to an auditor under this section is guilty of a class A misdemeanor. 22 (g) In this section, 23 (1) "auditor" means a person who holds a certificate of certified public 24 accountant under AS 08.04.100 or a partnership, limited liability company, or 25 corporation registered under AS 08.04.240; 26 (2) "collective price bargainer" means a person who engages regularly 27 in the business of negotiating with fish processors the price that the fish processors 28 will pay for salmon to persons who are engaged in the business of fishing for salmon 29 in the state. 30 * Sec. 10. AS 43.80.100 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 31 (6) "canned" means cooked with heat under pressure in a can, pouch,
01 or other similar container in which the product will be sold. 02 * Sec. 11. TRANSITION. The first report required by AS 43.80.050(a), as amended by 03 sec. 4 of this Act, is due September 30, 1998, and must cover the period of May 1, 1998, 04 through August 31, 1998. 05 * Sec. 12. Section 2 of this Act takes effect only if AS 09.25.100 is repealed and reenacted 06 under sec. 148(c), ch. 87, SLA 1997. 07 * Sec. 13. Sections 1 and 3 - 12 of this Act take effect September 1, 1998. 08 * Sec. 14. If sec. 2 of this Act takes effect, it takes effect on the effective date of the 09 repeal and reenactment of AS 09.25.100 under sec. 148(c), ch. 87, SLA 1997.