05/04/2023 10:30 AM House FINANCE

HOUSE BILL NO. 19                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     "An  Act  relating  to the  registration  of  commercial                                                                   
     vessels; and providing for an effective date."                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
11:14:54 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE LOUISE STUTES, SPONSOR, introduced the bill.                                                                     
She read from prepared remarks.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
     Thank  you,  House  Finance Co-Chairs,  members  of  the                                                                   
     committee.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
     For   the   record,   Representative    Louise   Stutes,                                                                   
     representing  District  5,  including  Kodiak,  Cordova,                                                                   
     Seward, and many smaller coastal communities.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
     Thank  you for  the opportunity  to  present House  Bill                                                                   
     19.  House  Bill  19  would   exempt  active  commercial                                                                   
     fishing    vessels   from    duplicative    registration                                                                   
     requirements created  by the passage of  Senate Bill 92,                                                                   
     the "derelict vessel bill", in 2018.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     SB 92  aimed to provide  State and local  municipalities                                                                   
     with  a   searchable  database  containing   details  of                                                                   
     vessels   and  ownership.   That  database  exists   for                                                                   
     commercial fishing  vessels in the  Commercial Fisheries                                                                   
     Entry  Commission  (CFEC). The  database  is updated  in                                                                   
     real  time  and  operators   are  required  to  register                                                                   
     yearly.  The database  is publicly  accessible, and  the                                                                   
     information is provided under penalty of perjury.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
          • The information includes:                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
          •    the legal owner of the vessel and a contact                                                                    
               person if not the same person as the                                                                             
               applicant.                                                                                                       
          o    permanent and mailing address,                                                                                   
          o    SSN,                                                                                                             
          o    phone numbers,                                                                                                   
          o    DOB, and                                                                                                         
          o    email address.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
     Members and  the public can find copies  of the relevant                                                                   
     forms  on BASIS. Further,  House  Bill 19 institutes  an                                                                   
     annual $8  fee for documented, CFEC-registered  vessels.                                                                   
     Currently, vessels  owners pay a  $24 fee to DMV.  HB 19                                                                   
     waives  the fee for  those vessel  owners who  have paid                                                                   
     the $24  to DMV in  the past two  years. This is  NOT an                                                                   
     additional fee for commercial fishermen.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Representative Stutes  interjected that currently  documented                                                                   
fishing  vessels were  required  to have  both a  CFEC and  D                                                                   
sticker.  The rationale  for the requirement  was to  provide                                                                   
the state  and local municipalities  with a  state-maintained                                                                   
database  of who owns  and operated  vessels. She  summarized                                                                   
that  the legislation  removed  the requirement  to obtain  a                                                                   
DMV  sticker  if the  vessel  operator  had a  CFEC  sticker.                                                                   
However,  documented  vessels  without  a CFEC  sticker  were                                                                   
still  required to  obtain a  DMV sticker.  She informed  the                                                                   
committee  that for the  prior 4  years, in conjunction  with                                                                   
the bill sponsor,  the Department of Public  Safety (DPS) had                                                                   
not enforced the dual sticker requirement.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Representative Stutes  reviewed the sectional  analysis (copy                                                                   
on file):                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     Section 1:  Amends AS 05.25.055(i) to exempt  U.S. Coast                                                                   
     Guard  (USCG) documented  vessels with  a valid  license                                                                   
     issued  by  the Commercial  Fisheries  Entry  Commission                                                                   
     (CFEC)  from  the  requirement   to  register  with  the                                                                   
     Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV).                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     Section  2:  Adds new  subsection  (e) to  AS  16.05.475                                                                   
     that  requires CFEC  to assess  an  $8 registration  fee                                                                   
     for USCG documented  vessels upon a renewal  or issuance                                                                   
     of a license  beginning on January 1, 2024.  This fee is                                                                   
     in  lieu of  the  current  3-year, $24  registration  or                                                                   
     renewal fee  collected by  DMV. Adds new  subsection (f)                                                                   
     to  AS  16.05.475  specifying  that  fees  collected  in                                                                   
     subsection (e)  will be accounted for as  provided in AS                                                                   
     05.25.096(b),  to be  made available  to the  Department                                                                   
     of   Administration,   the    Department   of   Commerce                                                                   
     Community and  Economic Development, and  the Department                                                                   
     of Natural Resources.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     Section  3: Adds a  new section  to uncodified  law that                                                                   
     requires  CFEC  to waive  the  $8 registration  fee  for                                                                   
     years  that USCG  documented vessels  have already  paid                                                                   
     through the 3-year, $24 registration fee with the DMV.                                                                     
     Section  4: Adds  a new  section to  the uncodified  law                                                                   
     that  makes  Section  1   of  this  act  retroactive  to                                                                   
     January 1, 2023.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     Section 5: Establishes an immediate effective date for                                                                     
     the remainder of the bill.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
11:20:54 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Edgmon provided  some  historical  context for  the                                                                   
bill. He  reported that the issue  of derelict vessels  was a                                                                   
longstanding issue  in the state.  With the passage of  SB 92                                                                   
[SB  92 -  Vessels: Registration/Titles;  Derelicts,  Chapter                                                                   
111  SLA 18,  10/11/2018],  "the  derelict vessel  bill,"  in                                                                   
2018,  an   oversight  occurred   resulting  in   duplicative                                                                   
registration.  He believed  that  the bill  was common  sense                                                                   
especially in  small communities  with one small  Division of                                                                   
Motor  Vehicle (DMV)  Office.  The  issue also  created  more                                                                   
complications  for the commercial  fishers. He  characterized                                                                   
the  issue  as  a   small  oversight    and  hoped  that  the                                                                   
committee passed the bill out of committee.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Johnson  recalled  hearing the  bill  the  previous                                                                   
year.  She  asked  about Coast  Guard  licensed  vessels  not                                                                   
licensed  by  CFEC. She  asked  for  comment by  the  sponsor                                                                   
regarding allowing  for other types of boats  licensed by the                                                                   
Coast Guard.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Stutes  was unsure  about  the question.  She                                                                   
explained that  vessels registered by  the Coast Guard  had a                                                                   
federal registration.  The bill created a  state registration                                                                   
for vessels.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
11:24:31 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
GLENN  HAIGHT,   COMMISSIONER,  COMMERCIAL   FISHERIES  ENTRY                                                                   
COMMISSION,  understood   the  question  to  mean   that  all                                                                   
documented vessels  would register with the CFEC.  He thought                                                                   
that it  would not be practical.  He explained that  when the                                                                   
CFEC licensed  a vessel  a metal plate  was issued,  and each                                                                   
subsequent  year was given  an updated  decal to display.  He                                                                   
furthered   that  for   non-commercial   vessels  that   were                                                                   
involved  in  other  endeavors   it  would  be  difficult  to                                                                   
distinguish  for  enforcement.  The documented  vessels  that                                                                   
were not involved  in commercial fisheries would  continue to                                                                   
register   with  the   DMV,  which   allowed   for  a   state                                                                   
registration and accompanying data base.                                                                                        
Representative  Stutes interjected that  there was  an effort                                                                   
to combine the CFEC database and DMV database into one.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Foster asked for closing comments.                                                                                     
Representative  Stutes  had  received  no opposition  to  the                                                                   
legislation.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
TRACY WELCH, EXECUTIVE  DIRECTOR, UNITED FISHERMEN  OF ALASKA                                                                   
(UFA), related that  UFA was in full support of  the bill and                                                                   
viewed it as a cleanup measure.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
HB  19   was  HEARD  and   HELD  in  committee   for  further                                                                   
consideration.