CSHB 137(RES): "An Act raising certain fees related to sport fishing, hunting, and trapping; relating to fish and game conservation decals; raising the age of eligibility for a sport fishing, hunting, or trapping license exemption for state residents; raising the age at which a state resident is required to obtain a license for sport fishing, hunting, or trapping; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 137(RES) 01 "An Act raising certain fees related to sport fishing, hunting, and trapping; relating to 02 fish and game conservation decals; raising the age of eligibility for a sport fishing, 03 hunting, or trapping license exemption for state residents; raising the age at which a 04 state resident is required to obtain a license for sport fishing, hunting, or trapping; and 05 providing for an effective date." 06 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 * Section 1. AS 16.05.251(a) is amended to read: 08 (a) The Board of Fisheries may adopt regulations it considers advisable in 09 accordance with AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) for 10 (1) setting apart fish reserve areas, refuges, and sanctuaries in the 11 waters of the state over which it has jurisdiction, subject to the approval of the 12 legislature; 13 (2) establishing open and closed seasons and areas for the taking of
01 fish; if consistent with resource conservation and development goals, the board may 02 adopt regulations establishing restricted seasons and areas necessary for 03 (A) persons 62 [60] years of age and older to participate in 04 sport, personal use, or subsistence fishing; or 05 (B) residents under 18 years of age and nonresidents 06 [PERSONS] under 16 years of age to participate in sport fishing; 07 (3) setting quotas, bag limits, harvest levels, and sex and size 08 limitations on the taking of fish; 09 (4) establishing the means and methods employed in the pursuit, 10 capture, and transport of fish; 11 (5) establishing marking and identification requirements for means 12 used in pursuit, capture, and transport of fish; 13 (6) classifying as commercial fish, sport fish, guided sport fish, 14 personal use fish, subsistence fish, or predators or other categories essential for 15 regulatory purposes; 16 (7) watershed and habitat improvement, and management, 17 conservation, protection, use, disposal, propagation, and stocking of fish; 18 (8) investigating and determining the extent and effect of disease, 19 predation, and competition among fish in the state, exercising control measures 20 considered necessary to the resources of the state; 21 (9) prohibiting and regulating the live capture, possession, transport, or 22 release of native or exotic fish or their eggs; 23 (10) establishing seasons, areas, quotas, and methods of harvest for 24 aquatic plants; 25 (11) establishing the times and dates during which the issuance of 26 fishing licenses, permits, and registrations and the transfer of permits and registrations 27 between registration areas is allowed; however, this paragraph does not apply to 28 permits issued or transferred under AS 16.43; 29 (12) regulating commercial, sport, guided sport, subsistence, and 30 personal use fishing as needed for the conservation, development, and utilization of 31 fisheries;
01 (13) requiring, in a fishery, observers on board fishing vessels, as 02 defined in AS 16.05.475(d), that are registered under the laws of the state, as defined 03 in AS 16.05.475(c), after making a written determination that an onboard [ON- 04 BOARD] observer program 05 (A) is the only practical data-gathering or enforcement 06 mechanism for that fishery; 07 (B) will not unduly disrupt the fishery; 08 (C) can be conducted at a reasonable cost; and 09 (D) can be coordinated with observer programs of other 10 agencies, including the National Marine Fisheries Service, North Pacific 11 Fishery Management Council, and the International Pacific Halibut 12 Commission; 13 (14) establishing nonexclusive, exclusive, and superexclusive 14 registration and use areas for regulating commercial fishing; 15 (15) regulating resident or nonresident sport fishermen as needed for 16 the conservation, development, and utilization of fishery resources; 17 (16) requiring unlicensed fishing vessels present in or transiting the 18 waters of the state to report to the department the quantity, species, and origin of fish 19 on board; in this paragraph, "unlicensed fishing vessel" means a fishing vessel that is 20 not licensed under AS 16.05.490 - 16.05.530; 21 (17) promoting fishing and preserving the heritage of fishing in the 22 state. 23 * Sec. 2. AS 16.05.340(a)(1) is amended to read: 24 (1) Resident sport fishing license ......................................... $20 [$15] 25 However, the fee is 50 [25] cents for a resident who is blind. 26 * Sec. 3. AS 16.05.340(a)(2) is amended to read: 27 (2) Resident hunting license ..................................................... 30 [25] 28 * Sec. 4. AS 16.05.340(a)(3) is amended to read: 29 (3) Resident hunting and trapping license ................................ 45 [39] 30 * Sec. 5. AS 16.05.340(a)(4) is amended to read: 31 (4) Resident trapping license .................................................... 20 [15]
01 * Sec. 6. AS 16.05.340(a)(5) is amended to read: 02 (5) Resident hunting and sport fishing license ......................... 45 [39] 03 * Sec. 7. AS 16.05.340(a)(6) is amended to read: 04 (6) Resident hunting, trapping, and sport fishing license ........ 60 [53]; 05 (A) however, the fee is $5 for an applicant who 06 [(i) IS RECEIVING OR HAS RECEIVED 07 ASSISTANCE DURING THE PRECEDING SIX MONTHS UNDER 08 ANY STATE OR FEDERAL WELFARE PROGRAM TO AID THE 09 INDIGENT; OR 10 (ii)] has an annual family gross income of less than 11 $29,820 [$8,200] for the year preceding application; 12 (B) a person paying $5 for a resident hunting, trapping, and 13 sport fishing license must provide proof of eligibility under this paragraph 14 when requested by the department. 15 * Sec. 8. AS 16.05.340(a)(7) is amended to read: 16 (7) Nonresident sport fishing license - valid for the period inscribed on 17 the license 18 (A) For 14-day license .................................................. 60 [50] 19 (B) For seven-day license ............................................. 40 [30] 20 (C) For three-day license .............................................. 30 [20] 21 (D) For one-day license ................................................ 15 [10] 22 * Sec. 9. AS 16.05.340(a)(8) is amended to read: 23 (8) Nonresident annual sport fishing license ........................ 130 [100] 24 * Sec. 10. AS 16.05.340(a)(9) is amended to read: 25 (9) Nonresident hunting license .............................................. 125 [85] 26 * Sec. 11. AS 16.05.340(a)(11) is amended to read: 27 (11) Nonresident hunting and trapping license .................... 325 [250] 28 * Sec. 12. AS 16.05.340(a)(15) is amended to read: 29 (15) Nonresident big game tags 30 A nonresident may not take a big game animal without previously purchasing a 31 numbered, nontransferable, appropriate tag, issued under this paragraph. The tag must
01 be affixed to the animal immediately upon capture and must remain affixed until the 02 animal is prepared for storage, consumed, or exported. A tag issued but not used for an 03 animal may be used to satisfy the tagging requirement for an animal of any other 04 species for which the tag fee is of equal or less value. 05 (A) Bear, black, each ................................................ 335 [225] 06 (B) Bear, brown or grizzly, each .............................. 750 [500] 07 (C) Bison, each ......................................................... 675 [450] 08 (D) Caribou, each ..................................................... 485 [325] 09 (E) Deer, each ........................................................... 225 [150] 10 (F) Elk, each ............................................................. 450 [300] 11 (G) Goat, each .......................................................... 450 [300] 12 (H) Moose, each ....................................................... 600 [400] 13 (I) Sheep, each .......................................................... 635 [425] 14 (J) Wolf, each ............................................................... 45 [30] 15 A nonresident is not required to have a nonresident wolf tag to take a wolf in a 16 game management unit if the Board of Game has adopted an intensive 17 management program under AS 16.05.255(e) [AS 16.05.255] for all or a 18 portion of the game management unit. 19 (K) Wolverine, each ................................................. 260 [175] 20 (L) Musk oxen, each ........................................... 1,650 [1,100] 21 * Sec. 13. AS 16.05.340(a)(17) is amended to read: 22 (17) Waterfowl conservation tag ................................................ 10 [5] 23 (A) A person may not engage in waterfowl hunting without 24 having the current year's waterfowl tag in the person's actual possession, unless 25 that person 26 (i) qualifies for a $5 license fee under (6) of this 27 subsection; 28 (ii) is a resident under the age of 18 [16]; 29 (iii) is 62 [60] years of age or older and is a resident; 30 (iv) is a disabled veteran eligible for a free license under 31 AS 16.05.341.
01 (B) The Board of Game shall by regulation exempt the 02 requirement of a waterfowl conservation tag for waterfowl hunting in areas of 03 the state not likely to benefit from programs described in AS 16.05.130(b)(2) - 04 (4). 05 * Sec. 14. AS 16.05.340(a)(19) is amended to read: 06 (19) Nonresident small game hunting license .......................... 30 [20] 07 * Sec. 15. AS 16.05.340(a)(20) is amended to read: 08 (20) Nonresident alien hunting license ................................. 450 [300] 09 A nonresident alien may not take a big game animal without previously purchasing a 10 numbered, nontransferable, appropriate tag, issued under (21) of this subsection. The 11 tag must be affixed to the animal immediately upon capture and must remain affixed 12 until the animal is prepared for storage, consumed, or exported. A tag issued but not 13 used for an animal may be used to satisfy the tagging requirement for an animal of any 14 other species for which the tag fee is of equal or less value. 15 * Sec. 16. AS 16.05.340(a)(21) is amended to read: 16 (21) Nonresident alien big game tags 17 (A) Bear, black, each ................................................ 400 [300] 18 (B) Bear, brown or grizzly, each .............................. 900 [650] 19 (C) Bison, each ......................................................... 900 [650] 20 (D) Caribou, each ..................................................... 600 [425] 21 (E) Deer, each ........................................................... 250 [200] 22 (F) Elk, each ............................................................. 500 [400] 23 (G) Goat, each .......................................................... 500 [400] 24 (H) Moose, each ....................................................... 600 [500] 25 (I) Musk oxen, each ............................................ 2,000 [1,500] 26 (J) Sheep, each .......................................................... 650 [550] 27 (K) Wolf, each .............................................................. 75 [50] 28 A nonresident alien is not required to have a nonresident alien wolf tag to take 29 a wolf in a game management unit if the Board of Game has adopted an 30 intensive management program under AS 16.05.255(e) [AS 16.05.255] for all 31 or a portion of the game management unit.
01 (L) Wolverine, each .................................................. 350 [250] 02 * Sec. 17. AS 16.05.340(a)(23) is amended to read: 03 (23) Resident anadromous king salmon tag ............................. 15 [10] 04 A resident may not engage in sport fishing for anadromous king salmon without 05 having the current year's anadromous king salmon tag in the resident's actual 06 possession, unless that person 07 (A) qualifies for a 50 [25] cent license fee under (1) of this 08 subsection; 09 (B) is under the age of 18 [16]; 10 (C) is 62 [60] years of age or older and has been a resident of 11 the state for at least one year; 12 (D) is a disabled veteran eligible for a free license under 13 AS 16.05.341; or 14 (E) qualifies for a $5 license fee under (6) of this subsection. 15 * Sec. 18. AS 16.05.340(a)(24) is amended to read: 16 (24) Nonresident anadromous king salmon tag - valid for the period 17 inscribed on the tag 18 (A) for a one-day tag .................................................... 15 [10] 19 (B) for a three-day tag .................................................. 30 [20] 20 (C) for a seven-day tag ................................................. 45 [30] 21 (D) for a 14-day tag ...................................................... 75 [50] 22 (E) for an annual tag ................................................. 150 [100] 23 A nonresident may not engage in sport fishing for anadromous king salmon without 24 having a valid anadromous king salmon tag in the person's actual possession, unless 25 that person is under the age of 16. Members of the military service on active duty who 26 are permanently stationed in the state, and their dependents, who do not qualify as 27 residents under AS 16.05.415, may obtain an annual nonresident military anadromous 28 king salmon tag for $30 [$20]. 29 * Sec. 19. AS 16.05 is amended by adding a new section to read: 30 Sec. 16.05.352. Fish and game conservation decal. The department shall 31 annually produce and make available to the public fish and game conservation decals.
01 The department shall, by appropriate means, provide for the selection of designs for 02 fish and game conservation decals and for the production and sale of the decals. The 03 department may produce and sell different decals in quantities that the commissioner 04 considers appropriate. Upon payment of a $20 fee, a person may purchase a fish and 05 game conservation decal from the department. 06 * Sec. 20. AS 16.05.400(a) is amended to read: 07 (a) A license is not required of a resident under the age of 18 years or a 08 nonresident [PERSON] under the age of 16 years for sport fishing nor is a license 09 required of a resident under the age of 18 years [16] for hunting or trapping. 10 * Sec. 21. AS 16.05.400(b) is amended to read: 11 (b) A sport fishing, hunting, or trapping license is not required of a resident 12 who is 62 [60] years of age or more. The commissioner shall issue a permanent 13 identification card without charge to persons who qualify by age and residence and 14 who complete the forms required by the commissioner for implementation of this 15 subsection. A person who is issued a permanent identification card under this 16 subsection shall have it in possession while sport fishing, hunting, or trapping. 17 * Sec. 22. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 18 read: 19 APPLICABILITY. Notwithstanding the change made to AS 16.05.340(a)(17)(A)(iii) 20 by sec. 13 of this Act, the change made to AS 16.05.340(a)(23)(C) by sec. 17 of this Act, and 21 the change made to AS 16.05.400(b) by sec. 21 of this Act, a resident who was eligible for a 22 sport fishing, hunting, or trapping license exemption under AS 16.05.400(b), as that 23 subsection read before the effective date of this Act, shall continue to be eligible for the 24 exemption under AS 16.05.400(b), as that subsection read before the effective date of this 25 Act. 26 * Sec. 23. This Act takes effect January 1, 2016.