CSHB 216(RES): "An Act relating to the emergency order authority of the commissioner of fish and game and to meetings of the Board of Fisheries."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 216(RES) 01 "An Act relating to the emergency order authority of the commissioner of fish and game 02 and to meetings of the Board of Fisheries." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 05 to read: 06 FINDINGS AND INTENT. (a) The legislature finds that 07 (1) in rare instances, circumstances may require changes to fishery 08 management regulations outside of the process prescribed in the Joint Board Petition Policy 09 adopted by the Board of Fisheries and the Board of Game; 10 (2) emergencies should be held to a minimum and rarely be found to exist; 11 (3) a fish resource emergency is 12 (A) an unforeseen event that threatens fish resources; or 13 (B) an unforeseen resource situation in which a biologically allowable 14 resource harvest of a fish resource would be precluded by delayed regulatory action
01 and the delay would significantly burden the public because the fish resource would be 02 unavailable in the future; 03 (4) the ability to respond quickly to changing conditions on the fishing 04 grounds is often necessary for efficient use of fish resources and to avoid undue burden on the 05 public; 06 (5) the commissioner of fish and game is, in certain circumstances, better able 07 to respond quickly to changing conditions on the fishing grounds. 08 (b) The legislature also finds that 09 (1) public participation in the Board of Fisheries process for developing 10 fishery management regulations is an important element of the process; 11 (2) members of the public rely on the predictability of the Board of Fisheries 12 process in order to insure an opportunity to participate in the development of regulations that 13 are important to the public; 14 (3) public participation in the Board of Fisheries process would be enhanced 15 and surprises and inconvenience to the public would be avoided if the procedures for setting 16 the agenda of the Board of Fisheries were formalized. 17 (c) It is the intent of the legislature to 18 (1) clarify the roles of the Board of Fisheries and the commissioner of fish and 19 game and to recognize that the commissioner is better able to respond quickly to changing 20 conditions on the fishing grounds by authorizing the commissioner to supersede a regulatory 21 action of the board as necessary to assure efficient management of fishery resources; 22 (2) formalize the procedures for setting the agenda for meetings of the Board 23 of Fisheries in order to provide adequate notice and to avoid surprises and inconvenience to 24 the public that is affected by the decisions of the board; 25 (3) maintain the customary practice by which the Board of Fisheries may 26 change its meeting agenda to correct errors in regulations, to address unforeseen 27 consequences of regulations, and to address fishery conservation issues, but to further require 28 that an agenda change to address a fishery conservation issue be subject to the determination 29 by the commissioner of fish and game that a conservation issue does exist and that the issue 30 cannot be resolved under current regulations. 31 * Sec. 2. AS 16.05.060 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
01 (d) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, the commissioner may, on the basis of 02 new information, supersede a regulatory decision of the Board of Fisheries by 03 exercising authority under this section to allow or extend a fishing season to prevent 04 the loss of a biologically allowable resource harvest that would otherwise be precluded 05 by delayed action and be unavailable in the future. The commissioner may exercise 06 authority under this subsection only upon a determination that the basis for the board's 07 regulatory provisions can be adequately addressed. This authority may not be used for 08 the purpose of summarily changing the allocation of fishery resources among users 09 established by regulation. An emergency order issued under this subsection does not 10 supersede or amend regulatory decisions by the board beyond the scope or time set out 11 in the emergency order. This subsection does not amend or repeal the process of 12 petitions for regulatory proposals to the Board of Fisheries under AS 44.62 13 (Administrative Procedure Act) or regulations adopted jointly by the Board of 14 Fisheries and the Board of Game. 15 * Sec. 3. AS 16.05.300 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 16 (c) The Board of Fisheries shall adopt regulations establishing procedures for 17 proposing, adopting, and amending the agenda for meetings of the board. The board 18 may amend an adopted agenda in response to a request to consider a matter that is not 19 on the adopted agenda in order to (1) address a fishery conservation issue if the 20 commissioner concurs in the determination of the board that a fishery conservation 21 issue exists and that the issue cannot be resolved under current regulations, (2) correct 22 an error in a regulation adopted by the board, or (3) address an unforeseen 23 consequence on a fishery of a regulation adopted by the board. The board may not 24 consider a request for an amendment of an adopted agenda unless the request for the 25 amendment is accompanied by substantial evidence that the request complies with this 26 subsection and the regulations adopted by the board. This subsection does not restrict 27 the board's authority to schedule and consider regulatory changes as reasonably 28 necessary for coordination with federal fishery agencies, programs, and laws.